Is Giving On Our Mind?

A quick post written yesterday to let you know what was on my mind. Tomorrow is a long travel day (or two) so I may skip a day and you will next be reading what I write from France. I will try and write up a summary of Morocco and feature more of the people who made it fun and a learning experience.

The photo is of my debut as a snake handler in Marrakech.  The snake around my neck was so tired that I felt like holding him for a while was an act of charity.

I hoped to share a photo of the waiter who was so nice, but he refused the photo-op. Please do not relate the snake thing with Mark Zuckerberg. Mere coincidence. Really.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions, I had no idea it would be so easy to deal with that part of the process on a cheap cell phone. Note that I have to approve each one so it could take some time to appear.

Ait Ben Haddou and new friends

This very place is what motivated me to 'get out of town' and cross the Atlas mountains to spend some time in Ouarzazate (which I can now pronounce well enough for locals to understand me) and I did not pick a loser.

While there are signs of the wear that the harsh environment has delivered for centuries, the structures are there to see and are being used as shops and, it appears, dwellings.

Mosque at Ait Ben Haddou

I'll let you read the Wiki entry for more info, and will add just a few personal images.

But, you know I'm a people person, so I'll share two people who entered my life today during this excursion.

First is Mubarak, a guide arranged by my hotel. Having a driver who can take you where you want to go and can suggest things, allowing one to refuse, is great.

So first we went to Atlas Movie Studio, which was more interesting than I thought it would be. Here is a shot of Mose's home from the 1995 TV movie. Game of Thrones stuff was shot here as well a lot of movies you have heard of or seen. It's all fake stuff but amazing to look at.

Moses' home 

Then we went to Ait Ben Haddou. Mubarak simply parked at the entrance and let me take a leisurely walk around this amazing community.

Needless to say, I am now a Berber guy according to a peddler of Berber headwear.

What do you think?
It is much cooler than the RiderCoach hat I'd been wearing. He wanted to trade, but I offered cash.

The next person was another vendor, but he actually wanted to talk about something he saw on the news from the USA.

No, not a presidential candidate, but about forest fires and floods. Did I have my emergency manager hat on? No, I was in Berber costume.  We talked for about ten minutes about woodland fires, prevention, causes, Public education and he never even showed me what he was selling. A first for me, how refreshing. Has there been some new flood and fire in the last week?

Tomorrow morning I'm going to an Oasis with a guy I met just after getting off the bus from Marrakech. He saw the picture of Hasna (the dentist I met on the bus) on the blog and thought it unusual that a woman would let me take her photo without some more formal relationship. Well, I asked and she said yes, so that was all of it.

If and when I get to better connectivity I will put up an album of Ouarzazate and nearby unreal stuff.

Thank you for reading and sharing this trip with me.  As always, I thank God for the path I walk, I feel blessed at every moment, even in airports. I think of my former colleagues at Virginia Tech and my church and family and expect that you each may one day do things like this that stretch your mind, heart and faith to make each stronger.

And aren't you glad that you didn't have to read all this from my note pad? I typed this on a phone so I can now compare the two methods.

Extra Edition: Bread

What can I say?

Hasna

Marrakech Express

Lots going on that is hard to put in words.

At Majorelle Gardens

Rabat overnight and train to Marrakech

More photos tonight, but had a good night in Rabat, toured Medina (marketplace) and now waiting for train to Marrakech having a smoothie.

A funny thing happened on the way to Rabat

First update from Paris

Preview - First Stage of the Trip

The first stage of this trip takes me from Roanoke Virginia to Paris, via Atlanta, and on to Rabat, the capital of Morocco.  Then a bus ride to Marrakech, a day and a night of sightseeing, and over the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara desert town of Ouarzazate, pictured below.  My intention is to use three days in the desert as a buffer between my real life in the US as well as the travel stress and a major purpose of the trip, the Camino de Santiago.

 Kasbah Taourirt

My posts from the Way will be mostly pictures of my journal page - written for my friends and one or two local pictures of things seen since the last post.  I'm using very simple technology, so there may be times when I can only post once a week, but I'll try to share the highlights with you.

And I'll always try to include a map - here is one to give you an idea of my overland Morocco first stages.