Rules of the Road

On account of Eid, the University was shut down for a week, giving students the opportunity to flit off across Europe and Africa. I chose to stay in Morocco to discover a bit more about the country, and one of my best friends from the States came to explore with me.

Saturday, November 13, was my birthday. It started with some surprise gifts from my roommate, birthday wishes from the family, and then I was off on a train ride to Rabat. Well, actually Sale. Sale was an adventure in itself, so I'll leave that for another blog. I picked Lisa up from the airport without too much difficulty, and we found a budget hotel close to the train station in Rabat.

The next morning we were up at 4:30 to catch the 5:30 train to Marrakech. The train was not so prompt as we were. It was delayed by an hour, and we were sleep deprived and hungry. Marrakech was huge. Djemma al-Fna was all that I had heard it would be. Snake charmers, herbalists, musicians, comedians, monkeys, hedgehogs, and acrobats. We munched on some freshly roasted sheep and wandered the souks. I was horrified at the prices that were demanded for the goods-escalated 6 times that of what you would be given as a price in Meknes. We were able to barter a few things down to acceptable levels, and on the whole, the day was pretty fantastic! At night, Djemma al-Fna becomes even more enchanting, as portable restaurants fill the square with smoke. Eerie Eastern music fills the air, and the other attractions try one last time to entice customers.

The next day we rented a car in downtown Marrakech to begin the road trip portion of our adventure. Driving in Morocco, need I say more? We somehow made our way out of the city, picking up a map on the way. Soon, we found ourselves winding through the High Atlas. Our little golf cart (as we fondly nicknamed it) whined when forced to climb the steep hills, and she shook when she went too fast on the downhills.

In Morocco it isn't taboo to pass on curves or hills or curves on hills. In fact, I learned that for many, uphill curves provide the best opportunity to pass if your car has enough power. I think I would have been much more intimidated at the prospect of driving in Africa had I not lived here for a few months. I've had the opportunity to see how Moroccan's drive, so I knew the system or lack there of.

Having a car allowed us the freedom to make stops wherever we pleased. We pulled over and hiked to the the top of a mountain. The big stop for the day was in Ait Ben Haddou, a small kasbah that has been featured in many films-Star Wars, Lawrence of Arabia, and Gladiator, to name a few. It is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever seen. It looks like a giant sand castle on the side of a hill. The residents of the village are just beginning to learn how to take advantage of their historic town, but it is still off the beaten track enough so as to still have an almost untouched feel.

We spent that night in Ouarzazate-the Hollywood of Morocco. It reminded us of a ghost town. It isn't tourist season, and I don't think any major productions were in town. We ate at a restaurant with about 50 tables, and we were the only ones there.

The next day we drove across flat southern Morocco and stopped for a hike in the Todra Gorge, which awed us with its size and changing colors. As the daylight waned, we drove toward the desert where we let the golfcart rest for a while and opted for a more traditional form of transportation. After our Eid experience, we climbed aboard our trusty steeds (by steeds I mean gallumphy camels) and headed into the Sahara Desert for a picturesque sunset and camping under the stars.

On Thursday we drove back up to Fez, through the High Atlas where we saw snow capped mountains, throu the Middle Atlas where we saw pine trees and rivers. We drove through landscapes that looked like Arizona and through landscapes that looked like Ireland. It was absolutely gorgeous.

There are only two rules of the road in Morocco-yield to the right (an old French rule for roundabouts), and each man for himself. As we pulled into the parking lot of the Sheraton to return the car, I realized that I had adapted much too quickly to these rules-America, watch out!