Day 12: Balloon Ride and more!

(a short post for reasons)

My alarm went off at 4.15am so that we could be ready for our 5am pick up.  The medina was empty - very different from just a few hours prior. 

Our guide led us to a waiting van that drove us 40 minutes NE of the city to a hot air balloon experience.  When we got to the operation, we waited in a lit courtyard, sipping mint tea, coffee, and munching rosewater madelines.

After we checked in and got the arrangements squared away, we all left the grounds for the balloons that were filling up. 

Our basket held 24 passengers.  Most of the passengers had to climb into the basket while it was tipped over.  Once there was enough weight in the basket, a pickup truck pulled it up right and the rest of us climbed in.

In no time, we were airborn.  The views were amazing!  I have so many photos, but will just post a few here.

Our guide was knowedgeable and safe, and he kept us giggling by making taliban jokes (these jokes were pretty funny this morning, but definitely wouldn't fly in the states).

We were in the air for around an hour before landing safely and heading back to the balloon flight HQ for breakfast.  Then, back to Marrakesh.  We were at the Riad by 9.15am.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.  H and I had massages (awesome), we did some shopping, and we did most of the packing for the multi-leg trip home.

I'm a little concerned that we may have a problem flying out of Marrakesh.  The airport security sometimes requires passengers to have printed boarding passes before entering the airport.  I tried to get our boarding passes taken care of, but there's a problem with H's.  Instead of listing her as Firstname Middlename Lastname, her ticket lists her as Firstnamemiddlename Lastname.  Because this isn't what's on her passport, I couldn't get her boarding pass.  I was on support lines with Edelweiss Air (our carrier subsidiary), Swiss Air (our carrier), and United (with whom we booked the tickets) for 90 minutes and no one could help me.  Fingers crossed that it all works out!  Gulp.

We ended our day with a visit to The Secret Garden and a dinner at Le Jardins.  Delightful all around!

On the walk back, we passed through the main square.  Then quickly to the Riad.  We're getting picked up at 5am again to head to the airport!

Day 11: Walking Tour, Desert Visit

 I had trouble getting to sleep last night, so was a little groggy this morning.  We all managed to get ourselves up and breakfasted before Rashid arrived for our walking tour.  He took us all through the old city.  We started off our tour walking to the Kutubiyya Mosque (and the accompanying minaret, the oldest one in Marrakech) and the adjacent Parc Lalla Hasna, a lovely green space with some fountains.  From there, he took us to Madrasa Ben Youssef, which used to be a university (and is now a restored tourist attraction/museum).  S and I wandered the halls and quarters while H rested.  Then, Rashid showed us a few Hammams (spas/bathhouses), including a pit stop to where the fires are stoked to heat the water.  One of the workers kept tossing wood shreds into the oven to make a beautiful fireball for us!

From there, Rashid led us into a rug shop.  A great big rug shop.  A man in a suit started showing us rugs.  S and I hadn't really considered buying a rug, but we have a room that could use it and when in Morocco....

H has been giving each of the cat she sees around the medina their own names.  These are Scritches and Smokey.

Then, on to an herbalism shop for some lessons (and sales) about Arnica oil.  We asked Rashid to end the tour by taking us to his favorite spice shop, but it was closed (still for Ramadan).  So we, parted ways with him.  He was a great guide - knowledgeable and engaging.  And he knew so many people on the streets.  I started calling him Mr. Mayor.  Everywhere we went, he was hugging people and greeting them.  Not just his shopkeeper colleagues, but just passersby too!

After saying farewell to Rashid, we bought a cheap kaftan for H. Then, we had lunch at Cafe Nomad, a touristy spot on a rooftop overlooking one of the small market squares.  Our meal was pricey (relative to Marrakech), but super delicious.  Ingredients were fresh.  Flavors popped.  My favorite dish was the sardine tart.  S liked the zucchini fritters with mint.  H ordered the chicken tagine but ended up just dipping her bread in the sauce.

the view from the rooftop at Nomad

Sardine Tart - delicious!

From lunch we headed back to the Riad for a siesta before our evening plans.

After our siesta, I headed out to grab a coffee before our evening plans.  

When I got back to the riad, I found that both H and S were feeling crummy. Not super-bad, but definitely not up for the long car ride we had planned. They didn’t need me to stick around, so I left with the porter and met the driver Idris for a trip into the Agafay Desert.  

The desert is about 40 minutes out of Marrakech, and it's a sort of central business district for desert activities. We had booked a camel ride and a dinner/music/schlock experience. The camel ride was first and was pretty fun. I was one of around 12 riders in a small caravan, and we spent around an hour loping through the rocky hills. I was the only American in the group, but not the only tourist: most of us were from outside Morocco, as far as Zimbabwe and Holland.  

"dressed like a Berber man" said the guide

When we arrived at the camel ride, Idris asked for the payment. He paid for everything out of that. I didn't get a discount since S and H didn’t come, but I presume Idris didn’t pay for their camel ride or dinner.  

After the ride, Idris drove me further into the desert to the restaurant. I was seated at a table by myself, and had enough time before dinner to snap a few photos of the sunset.  

The menu was limited: as an entree I could choose chicken tagine, meatballs tagine, chicken couscous, or a vegetarian entree. I had chicken tagine yesterday at the cooking school, so I opted for the meatballs in a spiced tomato sauce.  

As the restaurant filled up, some musicians started to play by the fire pit. About half of the guests went out to watch them, dancing, clapping, or just listening. There were four frame drum players and one brake drum player. All sang, and once in a while they brought out a wash tub to dance/stomp on, like a tap surface.  

please forgive the noise - I'm editing fast!

We filed back inside with them and sipped our tea as they kept the misic going for over 30 minutes straight. They played a fast 6/8, usually in two but occasionally slipping into three to change songs. Each drummer found a groove in the beat, and their constantly varying accent patterns kept the music engaging the whole time. The musicians invited some diners to dance while they played; the diners had varying levels of rhythm.  

My server Cid brought bread and four small bowls of potato salad, cole slaw, beets, and white rice. And bread, of course. And for the Russian couple in front of me, a hookah!

The drummers wrapped up and were soon replaced by two more musicians playing a different set of Moroccan instruments. These were more like the Gnawa music that I remember falling in love with in college. They played a few, generally with a similar structure: a simple start, meter in a fast two, then speeding up, then slipping into a slower three.  Which then speeds up. Sometimes the piece would start in three. The percussion generally played a moderate swing, not quite a triplet, but not straight either. As they finished their set and left the playing area, I'm pretty sure i saw the percussionist pull hearing protection out of his ears.  

Once night had fully descended, the distant desert lit up with lights. What looked completely desolate at dusk was full of activity. Way in the distance.  

The meatballs arrived and were tasty, if a little oily.  

Next, the frame drummers returned! Sans brake drum. By this time it was well after 8, so I left a tip and snuck out early. We have an early morning tomorrow!

To be honest the whole evening made me a bit uneasy. I felt performed-at in a way that I don't really like. That said, the music was beautiful!

On the way back to Marrakech, Idris's car was making a funky rhythmic clanking sound that sped up with the car's speed. He spent most of the ride home either visibly stressed or trying to reach people on the phone. I think maybe he was trying to diagnose the problem from the road.  

I got back at around 10pm.  S let me and we both conked out.

Day 10: first full day in Marrakech

Today was a no-alarm morning for us.  (except that I used an alarm anyway).  H and I were downstairs at 9 for breakfast with Adzin, who prepared a nice array of carbs - bread, crepe, cake, jams, butters, etc.  S slept in longer (she's still feeling crummy and moved to the spare room in the middle of last night).  

After breakfast, H jumped back into the jacuzzi and I caught up on some work. 

 As the morning wore on, H and I decided to go for a walk in the Souk.  She wanted to find the colored geodes that she saw in a stall the night before, so we hunted for them.  After, we kept walking, picking up coffee for S, a pineapple juice for H, and a schwarma lunch for all three of us.

Much of the Souk was closed because of the Eid holiday.

Back at the Riad, we chilled out for a while and caught up with S, who's still feeling like crap.  H relaxed in her room on her ipad.

At around 2.30, H and I took off for a cooking class at the Moroccan Culinary Arts Museum. S stayed back because, well, sick. The museum itself is lovely, with a great dining room where we sipped mint tea while we waited.  When it was time for us to start the class, our translator/guide led us upstairs to a beautiful 34-station cooking lab, where each station had a Moroccan mise-en-place, a sink, a two-burner stove, and a bunch of other equipment.  Our translator said that all 34 stations are usually booked, but because today was the end of Ramadan, there were only three spots taken (the third person was a nice German woman on a 2-month motorcycle tour of north Africa).  

Our dishes for the day was a chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, an eggplant and tomato salad, and a roasted-pepper and tomato salad.  For dessert, we made a wonderful pastilla with slice almonds.  H had great knife skills and what she lacked in speed, she made up for in enthusiasm.

chopping tomatoes

sauteeing the eggplant and tomatoes

the pastilla gets a seal of approval

H made this rose from a tomato peel!

After the class, we went downstairs to the main dining room to enjoy our dishes.  The website promised a 'snack,' but we were presented with everything we made, in its entirety.  The class even gave us the food that the chef prepared in demonstration to take back for sick Sarah.  We also all got certificates of completion (even S, who didn't attend.  Talk about grade inflation!).

H announced that the chicken tagine was her favorite food ever. 

The food was delicious!

We said goodbye to our new German friend and walked back to the Riad.  It was around 5.30pm by this time, and none of us were particularly interested in 7pm dinner reservations.  We cancelled those, and watched the sunset from the rooftop patio.

a view down into the ruins of the riad next door.

After sunset, I went back out to wander the market.  I needed to get some cash, and I wanted to experience the festivities of the end of Ramadan. The streets were packed with Moroccans and tourists alike.  The little square of food vendors near our place was jammed with people (including one woman who was very overwhelmed with the jostling and was crying out in distress - fortunately she had friends who were with her to take care of her).  The main square, Jemaa el-Fna, was packed with food vendors, temporary picnic tables, souvenir salespeople, families, musicians, monkeys, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, dogs, and cats.  It was truly an amazing experience.  I had to try four different ATMs before I found one that gave me cash (one would only give me a balance, one had a 'non-functioning' sign on it, one took my code and withdrawal request and just spat my card out without cash - twice!), so I spent more than a few minutes in the square, searching the perimeter for a functioning machine.

Cash firmly in pocket (as were my hands, holding onto cash, wallet, phone, and keys during the tight jostling), I returned to the Riad, stopping to grab some pastries for the evening.  When I got back, H was back in the jacuzzi, our naked water baby.  

Tomorrow is a busy day - two planned outings!