10/2/05
About 10:00 we rolled out of our bed from a fairly restless nights sleep. The beds in the hovel we are staying in arent really that comfortable and they smell quite bad, we actually are using our sleeping bags on top of them. This place really is a dump but it is close to everything and the owner is quite friendly and helpful.
So after I wiped the sleep from my eyes I decided I should do some laundry since I am down to my last pair of chonies. After rounding up some soap from the corner shop, the corner shops here are little different than what we are used to, you dont walk in and the bell on the door rings as you close it, the corner shops are about 10 feet deep and 8 feet wide and are stacked from floor to ceiling with as much stuff as they can fit in and you just point to what you need and the guy working grabs everything for you. So as I was saying after grabbing some soap I heated some water up on our propane plate warmer and washed up my clothes. I tried convincing Anna that she should be doing my laundry but she wasn't buying into it, damn modern women
After the laundry was hung out to dry we headed down to the main square to find an internet cafe. On the way we stopped and had some bar-b-qed lamb with pita bread, quite good but Anna didnt seem to enjoy it too much. We found an internet cafe and since it wasnt that fast of a connection it took 3 hours to download 18 pictures and the journal and check my email. So for all you people I really hope you appreciate the pictures. I think this was a fast connection for Africa too, so in the future if the connections are this slow I might not be downloading so many pictures.
After the internet cafe we walked around and took some pictures before heading back to the hotel to relax for a little while. I will admit I did get suckered today, I came across several snake charmers and I was quite excited and i forgot to negotiate the price for pictures up front. So after I took about 30 pictures they said they wanted $20, after 10 minutes of arguing I walked away paying $10. I really should have paid about $1, o-well you win some and you lose some.
So after some tea with the owner of our pension we decided to go walk around some more. One great thing about this culture is that you could really get anything you want at anytime and anyday, everybody says America is the bigger better faster society, well I think this society has the title in the better faster catagories. My new motorcycle jacket I bought in France needed a couple upgrades done to it, mainly the edge of the collar was causing some serious chaffing and I also wanted some snaps added to the side of the coat as it is kinda big when I am not wearing the Armor. So at 10:00 PM how many places in the world can you find a seamstress to sew this on for you and even be willing to negotiate the price. Well in Marakesh I really believe anything is available 24 hours a day. So after some finding a place that I thought would do a good job the said they would have it ready for me first thing in the morning. Quite happy with getting this accomplished we decided to call it a night and head back to our dirty little room.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95F Sunny
Distance: 0 miles Markakesh
10/3/05
The plan for today was to leave Marakesh and head to Essourria, well it is good to have plans even if you don't follow through with them.
First thing was to go with our pension owner and check on the camera. (When we were in the desert my old digital camera that Anna was using somehow got filled with sand, and I mean allot of sand. I started to try to take it apart and as the pile of parts kept growing and every time I took one piece off there were two pieces behind it to take off I quickly realized I shouldn't be messing with digital camera innards, so when we got to Marakesh our pension owner new a guy who new a guy who could fix my camera. Anna thought I was a little crazy for just giving the camera to some guy who rented us a room to head off into to Marakesh to get it fixed, but you gotta have blind faith sometimes.) So the pension owner and I hopped in a cab and went to the camera shop where surprisingly the camera was waiting all fixed and good as new, well as good as a camera can look after spending 5 months driving around the world in a tank bag. But this camera genius was like the man who put humpty dumpty back together again, I was quite impressed and gladly paid the $30.
Once we got back to the house I parted ways with the house owner but not before he insist that at 1:00 Anna and I come over for home made couscous, I gladly agreed to this looking forward to a traditional home cooked meal. So I swung by the seamstress to pick up my coat, which the guy had done a wonderful job so I again gladly paid $5 and headed back to the house.
After getting Anna we went to the owners part of the house and sat down for a couple hours and enjoyed some good conversation and some traditional Couscous with 7 vegetables and beef. This is definitely the advantage of staying in Pensions or with people, you would never get this opportunity if you stayed at a hotel, this is definitely a good way to travel granted the luxuries and amenities aren't always as nice but the rewards are much better.
Well by the time we finished lunch I looked at the clock and realized we werent getting on the road today. So after a nap we decided to go do some souvenir shopping. My sister has been doing some serious wining about a Moroccan necklace.
So after finding a really nice place I found a great gift for her, Molly you owe me huge for this, I really am the best brother. It is kinda fun buying stuff here as the price depends on your negotiation skills but I always feel that maybe I could have gotten it just a little cheaper if I had worked the guy a little harder. Owell.
After walking around the market till after 10:00 I was quite tired both mentally and physically, bargaining takes so much out of my little mind.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95F Sunny
Distance: 0 miles Markakesh
10/4/05
Well I hate to admit but I really think I misjudged somebody and I feel kinda bad. I really wasnt too sure about the owner of the house, he always seemed like a nice guy and trying to be very helpful but I thought everytime he was offering assistance there would be a price attached to it. He actually spent allot of time getting my camera fixed and preparing dinner and always making sure we were enjoying our stay. Today when we left I paid him $30 for three night stay, a bargain for two people and indoor parking for the bike. I was expecting him to ask for more money for the lunch and all his troubles with the camera and it never came. I now believe he was a nice person and being hospitable beyond our agreed upon price for the room.
Getting the bike out of the house turned into its usual fiasco, after enlisting the help of a couple passerbyes, much sweat and one broken blinker we were out the door. Getting the bike out of the house had worn on me a little but as I loaded the bike my 6 foot padlock decided not to work, I think between 5 months on the road and the sands of the Sahara finally put it to rest. This frustrated me a little and after 20 minutes of trying to open I gave up and decided it was dead. I will have to find a new lock the next couple days.
So with a short 3 hour ride we made it to Essouria where we quickly found the only campground in town.
After checking the email we found out Thomas wont be here till tomorrow late afternoon. So after sending him a text message vie email with GPS waypoint of the campground, you gotta love technology, we decided to explore this old fort town. It is a very cool old Moroccan fort/fishing village. It is a little touristy but not too bad and the shop owners are not nearly as pushy as Marakesh. I liked Marakesh for the opposite reasons I like here. Marakesh was busy and full of energy but here is a small fishing village that is quite and mellow, really polar opposites.
So after grabbing a bite to eat and looking around we called it a night.
Todays Specs
Weather: 90F Sunny
Distance: 140 miles Markakesh to Essouira
