Today I toured with Mokhtar around Marrakech. After coffee (nus nus), an omelette cooked in a tajine (yum!), and WiFi,

we headed to the tannery to see how animal hides are processed and turned in to leather. It was interesting and definitely not as smelly as it could’ve been had the weather been hotter and sweatier. Still, we bought the bunch of mint available at the entrance to hold in front of the nose to ward off the smell, just in case. The tannery is full of concrete vats with stacks and stacks of pelts in various steps of processing. There’s lime to burn the fur off the skin, there’s a vat of chemical and water with cinnamon to tint the skin (soon to be leather) brown, a vat of chemical and water with “saffron” (or colorant) to make the skin turn orange/yellow, and various other colorants for other colors. There are men standing thigh deep or waist deep in these vats, often filled with chemicals. And there are men cutting skins with knives – – because it appears that they’ve been pulled right off the body so they needed to be cut so they are flat pieces of skin. I didn’t get the level of detail of information I would have liked due to not understanding my guide so I ended up just taking pictures. Here’s a link from Wikipedia about tanning, in case you’re interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanning. I very much enjoy stuff like this and would have liked more information, but I think this Wiki site tells a lot. At one point I asked the guide about these guys standing in chemical (not all of it is chemical but even the water can’t be hygienic!) and he looked at my puzzled. “Everyone needs to work,” he replied. So work is the most important thing, even over potential health issues. It was well worth the visit.

After the tannery I did the seemingly-mandatory perusal of the leather shop associated with the tannery. i didn’t want anything but looked to be fair to myself. The guy did his best to make me buy something and got a little annoyed when I asked Mokhtar to tell him I wasn’t interested (after I had asked a price of a particular silk piece I would have considered had his original price not been so high). Through Mokhtar I apologized to the guy for starting the conversation and told him I really wasn’t interested and didn’t want to offend him. We left unscathed after I extended my hand to him and he reluctantly shook it and we said goodbye. Clearly the goal is to sell me something.

It was hot out and we went right to the car to head to our next stop: Le Jardin de Marjorelle. What a beautiful place! Here’s what Wikipedia says: The Majorelle Garden (Arabic: حديقة ماجوريل‎) is a twelve-acre botanical garden and artist’s landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. It was designed by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 1930s, during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France. The garden has been open to the public since 1947. Since 1980 the garden has been owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden.

I walked slowly through the gardens taking some gorgeous photos. It’s impossible not to take beautiful photos in this place!

From the garden Mokhtar dropped me at the palace with instructions that I was to meet him under the flag in the souk at the silversmith shop he recommends I use to buy some silver. I meandered through the grounds of the palace enjoying the sunshine, the flowering trees, and the smell of jasmine wafting everywhere! It was mesmerizing! Here are some photos, before I go on…

Continuing to walk into the courtyard of the palace, I saw Marianne, Susan, Richard and Barbara! I was genuinely so happy to see them because we had been separated by differing activities for far too long! It was so much fun to run in to them. We sat on the bench and talked for quite a long time and I hated for them to leave. Meantime, Mokhtar called and wondered where I was; he had been waiting for a long time for me and I’m sure was wondering what was going on. So therefore, I rushed through the palace rather quickly. But what a gorgeous place! I had enough time to take some great photos, but not to learn anything about the place, which I suppose is fine since I was all about taking pictures.

Marianne and Susan halfway intended to meet Mokhtar at the silver shop so I directed them to it and told them I’d be home within two hours so I could let them in since they didn’t have a key. I walked down the street admiring the beauty all around me and spotted them way down at the end of the street. They turned down a narrow street before I could get to them so we shopped without them, sadly. The silver shop was small but filled with great stuff! I bought a beautiful ring and a bracelet. They gave me a charm of the hand of Fatima as a gift. It was a fun stop and I’m happy with my purchases, even now that I’m home!

Since we decided we were going to make omelets for breakfast for everyone the next morning, Mokhtar went and ordered the seasoned meat we planned on using. It’s not an easy thing to find or buy so he had someone get it ready for him to pick up later. After shopping for silver we walked around in the souk a bit and then went back to the riad so that I could let Marianne and Susan in and so we could attend the second cooking class: chicken and vegetables with preserved lemons and Moroccan salad. I found the cooking classes frustrating because we didn’t get to do our own chopping, talking or cooking! Our “teacher” was a pregnant girl who didn’t feel well and had a bad attitude in general. She rushed through the whole process at lightening-speed and bolted out of there before we knew what hit us. Asking questions did no good because she didn’t speak English. The head of the cooking school told us that every family has their own way of doing things and that she did things differently. Well, I no more know how to make chicken and preserved lemon than I do a figgy pudding. It’s frustrating because I paid to learn these things and suffered through some really annoying hours to get to this point. But I digress. I don’t want to focus on the only negative part of the trip. So I’m done discussing the cooking “school” experience on this blog.

Here’s what. As a group, we always had fun together! We laughed a lot and generally enjoyed each other’s company. At least I speak for myself on this. I grew very fond of these people I traveled with during these two weeks and I loved being with them! But I also liked being on my own exploring Marrakech in the way that suited me.

It was Friday, 23 March, 2012. My first full day in Marrakech and the surrounding area. Some of the other members of the group were walking around the medina and the souq; others were visiting museums and landmarks in the city. But first things first. Barbara and I had a hankering to do some computering and we needed WiFi fast! Richard and Mokhtar were visiting a hammam (a.k.a. bath at a bathhouse) in the morning so they dropped Barbara and I off at Grand Cafe de la Poste. What a great place! The music was amazing and the atmosphere comfortable, if not a bit hoity toity. Still, it was exactly what we craved and we were both able to blog, check Facebook and email, and drink fresh squeezed jus d’orange and mint tea! We actually probably talked more than we blogged or wrote, but we needed that, too! We were able to make a few plans for the coming days and share our thoughts about the trip thus far. It was really fun and a great bonding experience because it really was the first time we had to spend completely alone! Sooner than we expected, the guys showed up and Richard told us all about their hammam experience. It was funny to hear him describe it. “We stripped down to our underwear and carried our own water in buckets into a room with marble slabs. And suddenly they threw water on us and used something like, I don’t know, rusty nails or something to scour our bodies…” It was hilarious! Only when I had my hammam experience a couple of days later did I understand how true his story was!

We finished up and dropped Richard and Barbara off at the riad. We probably went in for a while but I don’t remember those details. What I do remember is that after a few minutes’ discussion, Mokhtar and I decided to get out of Marrakech and headed to the Ourika Valley. I had no idea what I was in for! It is beautiful! I loved it and ended up going back again on Monday with Marianne and Susan, and Richard and Barbara. There was so much to see and so much to photograph. Unfortunately the weather was rainy so I had to make the most of photography through raindrops. Still, I was able to get some good shots. We went back to the riad later and I picked up some fresh clothing and we went over to Mokhtar’s apartment to make tajine since everyone was out and about that night. I learned how to make tajine in a regular kettle, not in a tajine, and was a little disappointed that it was really good, even without the ubiquitous conical-shaped pottery slow cooker! I was given the responsibility of shelling fava beans and snap peas: two whole bags! I think more landed on the floor than in the pan! But after waiting the requisite 2 hours of cooking, the meal was delicious! A beautiful day and a great evening!

The joy of living: joie de vivre. I have it; I know that. I feel it strongly often, but especially when I travel. In my life I often feel different from those around me. Not in a bad way. But I’m a democrat in a sea of republicans, single amongst doubles, no children around those with children, a traveler amongst non-travelers, etc. But when I travel I feel a part of everything and everyone. I feel like I blend in with those around me – – even though I probably really don’t! I always look different from those I’m traveling among and I’m carrying a camera, for goodness’ sake, so how can I really blend in? But the point is, I feel like I blend in to my surroundings when I travel. Traveling makes me more joyful!

My favorite day happened to be the last day we were all in the van together. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy other days prior. And I most certainly enjoyed the days after this day, but there was something about this place in the valley that I particularly found beautiful. I have already written a bit about it but now I write more – – and add pictures. The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. And I knew it was the last day in the country before going to Marrakech. This time with the group, as I knew it, would end.

We drove through such beautiful scenery and stopped for coffee in a beautiful setting. We also stopped again at what was my favorite place for tajine. Everyone else was tired of tajine so I joined Ahmed and Mokhtar for some and was able to eat up with all the rest of the men, including many guides that Mokhtar knew. “He’s from my village,” Mokhtar always told me. I know he’s from M’Hamid, a small village of about 3,000 people. We ran in to about 6 people from his village in Marrakech and the surrounding area, a pretty high ratio, I’d say.

Everything changed as we approached Marrakech. No more countryside and villages. Now lots of people, activity and commotion. We arrived at our riad and settled in. I stayed with Catharine in a twin room. All of us were on the second floor except Carolyn who stayed down near the kitchen on the first floor. I spent the first evening with Mokhtar at his apartment where he made spaghetti for dinner and we used his WiFi to catch up on computer stuff. It was fun to see a different part of Marrakech and to experience a bit of normal life. I slept like a baby in our riad that night and was happy to be settled in to one place for the next many days for the first time on the trip!

The Eagles sang about a peaceful, easy feeling and referred to a desert. I keep singing that song over and over. Here are a few more memories of the Sahara…the place I can’t get out of my mind…

The sand can be as cold as snow in the evening or the morning. The sky is a deep, dark blue with a million stars all around. Seeing the Milky Way in such intensity was a first for me. I have never seen so many stars nor have I ever been so impacted by a sky as the Moroccan sky. Truly amazing and something to behold! The sky in Tibet was amazing: a bluer blue than I’ve ever seen. But this was different. Maybe it’s just knowing that I was out in truly the middle of nowhere that caused me to be so impacted by it; maybe it was the state of mind I was in or the happiness I was experiencing. It doesn’t matter. It was absolutely amazing to experience the desert and the sky.

Its vastness is amazing! The word ‘Sahara’ means desert in Arabic. So its name is a literal translation. Twenty years ago, researchers using radar technology discovered in the depths of the rocks of the wide valleys, a web of “channels”, some small, others wider, as broad as the Nile, which represent the dry riverbeds of the rivers that crossed Sahara thousands of years ago. Niger River once originated in Sahara.

The desert of Sahara is supposed to be at least 2.5 million years old. Studies made on the fluctuations of humidity in Sahara during the last 40,000 years revealed that the borders of the desert moved sometimes southward and other times northward and in particular periods, the desert disappeared completely, the sand dunes being replaced by wooded savannas, like those found today in eastern Africa. 18,000 years ago, the last Ice Age had reached its peak and Sahara had moved 400 km (250 mi) south from its current location. But the ice covering Europe, northern Asia and North America melted between 13,000 to 8,000 years ago.

The geological history of Sahara showed glacier vestiges in a 450 million old Sahara, during the Ordovician, at the beginning of the life explosion on Earth.

At different geological depths were found fossil algae that confirm that 150-200 million ago, during the Jurassic (the middle dinosaur era), Sahara was covered by an ancient sea, which was in some places 5,000 m (15,000 feet) deep. By 135 millions years ago, dinosaurs roamed Sahara, like the 9 m (30 ft) long carnivorous Afrovenator or the 22 m (73 ft) long sauropod Jobaria.

From that sea, many fossils came, like ammonites (a type of shelled squids), one meter long fishes from extinct groups and ancient huge sea reptiles. Later, during the early Cretaceous (the last dinosaur era), the zone was roamed by different species of dinosaurs. Even today, in the underground of Sahara, at 800 m (2500 feet) depth, there is a subterranean sea of fossil freshwater, compassing 620,000 cubic kilometers (150,000 cubic miles) over a surface of 6.5 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles).

The exploitation of this water allowed the flourishing the Garamante civilization in the middle of the desert, between 500 BC to 500 AD, till the desert weather worsened too much.

One detail: today the symbol of Sahara is the dromedary camel. This species entered Sahara around the times of Jesus Christ, brought from Arabia. Before that, people of the place used the donkey, originated from the African wild ass, a native of the area.