The Trip of a Lifetime: May 18 to 24, 2022 - Marrakech

May 18, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 31: Wednesday; Marrakech
We took the train to Marrakech today. Beautiful trip up into the desert and the mountains. What a difference a day makes. In fact, what a difference half a day makes. This morning I was jogging along the chilly coast and this afternoon it was 98, as we sat by the pool. This is an actual resort. All inclusive. The food is outstanding. Food and drinks included.
This trip has caused me to think about other trips ion the past. In 2011 I went to Guatemala with a UM class. Professor Michelle Maldonado warned us before we went there that we would see people do things very inefficiently, but not to say anything, because they think it is the correct way. Robin Morey went out one day to help four men dig a hole for a septic system. They were already eight feet deep when we arrived. There were four men with two shovels and one homer bucket with a rope. We decided to go buy another bucket. It made sense. We found out three things. 1. There are ferraterias in San Lucas Toliman where Spanish isn’t spoken, 2. It is almost impossible to buy a homer bucket there, and 3. The men didn’t understand why we wanted to ruin a good thing, so they didn’t use the bucket.
Why am I thinking about that? Well, there is rubble everywhere in Morocco. When they rip down a building and construct a new one they just pile the rubble next to the job site and that’s where it lives forever. It drives me crazy, but it’s how they do things here. Right outside of this resort there are fields of rubble.
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May 19, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 32: Thursday; Marrakech
Scary run this morning down a rocky dirt road. There were some people walking and riding scooters to work. But then a pack of dogs started barking and advancing toward me from an open field. I started to turn back, and then a woman in a burkha ahead of me whistled and motioned for me to continue forward. I asked, “C’est bon?” She said, “Oui, c’est bon, Monsieur.” I thought maybe she wanted to see me get bit going past them and then again coming back. But she didn’t. It was bon.
We went to the Medina today. Interesting, but not Indiana Jones with a wily monkey, whips, Nazis and airplane propellers cutting into bald heads interesting. It was our tourist day. The thermometer hit 107 degrees. Yeah, I know: Dry heat! Boy did that pool feel good when we returned. We had lunch at a Beatles themed Ryad. Tomorrow starts the culture part of our visit to Marrakech…
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May 20, 2022: Captain’s log: stardate 33: Friday; Marrakech
We did a cooking class today. It was so much fun. We made famine de poult, a hot eggplant salad and a roasted pepper and tomato salad. I think I could beast Bobby Flay with this. The dadas at Maison Arabe are great. They take you to a classroom in the middle of a garden for the class. They grow a lot of their ingredients. I now know the secret of making Moroccan tea. I will be spilling a lot of it when we get home.
Friday night at the resort is party night. Tons more people and kids. Ceremonies going on. Guess we won’t get much sleep tonight. It’s all good.
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May 21, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 34: Saturday; Marrakech
We did domestic things and started planning the rest of the trip today. Buying some clothes, etc. We are only booked through Cadiz, on the way home. We have an itinerary and a deadline to reach Southampton, but nothing after June 6th booked. We are considering a ton of outside the box ideas: forms of travel, types of lodgings and, of courses, places to experience.
The plan is to hang out at the resort tomorrow and book a lot more of this trip.
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May 22, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 35: Sunday, day at sea; Marrakech
This resort is a lot like a cruise ship. Jogging around in circles on the running path. There is an activities director, so there are activities. And of course there is a buffet. Keeping with that theme, today was a sea day. We didn’t leave at all. In fact, we worked on the remainder of our trip most of the day. We were going to head up to Lisbon and Porto on our way to Santiago de Compostela.
But we decided to abruptly change our plans (once again) and head to Madrid for a few days and then Into France for a goodly portion of the rest of our time here. We are putting aside some dream come true destinations to take a chance on doing something even better than following a dream.
Oh, and we are strongly considering driving the leg out of Cadiz. I know. I’m a glutton for punishment…
My phrase is Je n’parle pas bien francais.
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May 23, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 36: Monday; Marrakech
Pain in my left arch this morning, the one that was run over by a car, so I hiked around the compound again. No sense in aggravating it while we are on the road. And I am getting plenty of exercise just being a tourist.
We let our dirty clothes pile up for a few days and then had the resort launder them. They did a good job and it was inexpensive, but we decided to get back to washing stuff regularly. In AirBnB’s we have a washer and a rack to dry them on. In holets, we can find a nearby laundromat. Like I said yesterday, this place is like being on a cruise, so we are doing our clothes cruise ship style; washing them in the shower and then hang them on the balcony.
One reason I like to keep up with it is because I am down to three pairs of USA underpants. The underpants I’ve purchased in Spain and Morocco are horrible and uncomfortable; tight and slippery. I look like Ron Jeremy in them. I would post a picture, but children may see this… I want to wear boxers anytime I’m going to be sitting for a while.
Sometimes we recycle old ideas. In early 1974, my girlfriend Joeann and I lived on Makua Beach, Oahu. We didn’t have a house on the beach. We lived on the sand. There were little fishing shacks and we crashed in them; camping I guess. We had very little money. We would buy big cans of fruit cocktail and eat them with chopsticks. We didn’t scoop with the chopsticks, we ate one piece at a time to make the can last. It worked.
I’m recycling that idea on this trip. Not because we are poor. The residual effects of chemo and radiation in 2006 and 2007 have made it a challenge for me to eat. Here I am going for small chunks of easy to chew food, eaten slowly, one at a time. I’m getting enough to eat every day and I’m probably losing weight.
We finished shopping in the old Medina today. Gifts are all purchased.
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May 24, 2022: Captain’s log: star-date 37: Tuesday, day at sea; Marrakech
We planned a lazy day by the pool after packing. There was also the little matter of deciding which very expensive but really intriguing option to book. Well, there was no availability on either. They were a river cruises; one through Portugal and the other through France. So we decided to just book a week in Madrid and see what happens when we get there. We have a date certain for the boat back to the USA from Southampton, England.
So the itinerary is now: Rabat, Fez, Chefchaouen, Algeciras again for a night, Cadiz, Badajoz for a night and then Madrid.
It is fun meeting people on trips. Now with social media you can stay in touch with them. On cruises I usually don’t become friends with other passengers, because they tend to be sanctimonious a**holes, who go on and on about all the places they have “seen.” The staff, on the other hand, are people from all over the world, who are in the middle of making their dreams come true. Often they are supporting families thousands of miles away. I remember one bartender from the Philippines. He married a woman from Thailand he met working on a cruise. She was in Manila with his mom, raising their new baby. His dream was to open an Italian restaurant in Manila. I asked if there was someone named Luigi in either of their families and he said “No, I love Italian food and there is a need for it there.”
We met Ross and Sue Sue here. Wonderful people. They are engaged, getting married in November and hoping to work on a cruise ship and eventually emigrate to Canada. I’m sure they will do well and reach their goals. There is also a nice young man named Michael from Casablanca who is a dancer here.
Also met some awesome travelers like Sharon and David from England and Martine and John from Paris. I’m sure there will be more as we find our way back home. The destination was Marrakech, so tomorrow we click our heels together and say…and there isn’t.
It keeps getting more expensive every day here, and we miss the comfort of our home, the routine of our lives and our family and friends. Now we head back that way.
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