Hello, My Faithful
Readers
August 28, 2017
Volume 1, Number 12
Today in a holiday
here in Georgia…
I want to share about
my travels in Morocco; but first, I want to update as to the status of my
relocating here in Tbilisi. So, the quick answer is that “I found an apartment!”
This was way harder than I thought it would be as I was always told that
there are so many apartments for rent; and yes there are, but many I would not
want to live in (for various reasons) or the price was not in my budget.
First, let me give you
a brief summary of my apartment hunting. I did find a new realtor, one that
would not charge me for finding an apartment. Well, that was good news. Also,
the realtor and her partner were really great and found some interesting
locations. For example; a really great apartment in the heart of Tbilisi (Vake)
the section I wanted to be in. However, it was on the 5th floor and
there was no elevator. I really gave it some thought; but, 5 flights of stairs.
I thought “it could be an exercise program”…but, what about luggage up and
down; and groceries. So, we looked at additional apartments.
Another was in a brand
new building and was really nice; but, the price went up $100.00 USD when he
(landlord) saw that I was an American. This does happen often here in Georgia.
And the next apartment was also in a brand new building. The price did remain
the same, even though I was an American; however, the apartment looked like it
was out of the royal palace in France. There were chandeliers in the bathroom
and the living room. The shower was almost as big as my apartment back in the
States. Everything was brand new, still in plastic; but, I was so uncomfortable
with the extravagance of the apartment layout and the furnishings; I knew I
could never live there…I could go on; but I think you get the picture.
So…..About a year ago
I visited a friend in a lovely, small apartment. Location was good and so was
the price. It has a little balcony and faces a park with lots of big, tall
trees as my vista (with of course large apartment buildings in the background).
At that time I didn’t take it because he said there was lots of dogs barking in
the park; and that scared me off. However, I found that the apartment was empty
so I went to re-look at it. It is very small; almost like a college dorm
apartment. But, one of my decisions was to scale down “my crap” and this would
force me to do just that. This will be an adjustment for me; as my current
apartment is and has been too big for me. I have found myself trying to fill it
up and that is not what I want.
So, next blog I will
go into more detail and post pictures; but for now know that I have a new
apartment!!!!
News Bulletin: Today marks “57” days of my Meditation
Practice!
Here we go……My Travels and Experiences in Morocco….
Overall; it was a wonderful trip. Hot as all get
out; seriously, my clothes were wet on my back for the majority of the trip.
However, the group I was assigned to was just terrific. There were two groups
touring Morocco; my group of (7) and the other group of (12). Many of the
people on the tour were from either Australia or New Zealand; which I thought
was a long way to travel; but, they said this is the price you pay for living
“down under”.
I arrived in Casablanca and was so disappointed. I
bought into the mystic of the city I’d seen in films and books; but the reality
was that Casablanca is really an industrial/port city and handles so much of
the insurance and banking industries. I saw no charm in the area my hotel was
in. It was a business hotel. Very nice; but I could have been in any city in
the world. The market or “Medina” was awful. The merchants would not leave me
or anyone alone. They bombarded with pleas of buying their goods; to the point
that I could not think. I was so tired of saying “No, Thank You”, that I had to
leave the market.
I walked around the city to try and get a flavor of
it; but, it was overall a dirty, litter infested place that made me just want
to go back to my hotel. There were more cats then I could count. Some of the
restaurants that I wanted to have some food were so dirty that I finally turned
to the Sheraton Hotel as a possible Oasis of clean eating. Although the hotel
was lovely, very charming in a traditional way; the food was just so-so and was
very expensive.
I found out that the next day we would travel to
Marrakech as that is where the other members of the group flew into. I wish I
would have known that…oh well, travel is a learning experience.
Overall and throughout the trip, and not a surprise,
it was HOT, HOT, HOT….what else, August in Morocco…We did have air conditioned
buses and hotels; but, we were out and about a lot and had to deal with the
heat. I was soaking wet most of the time. It was uncomfortable; but not
horrible and because I had so many wonderful sights to keep me occupied.
I loved Marrakech. It was so green and new, at least
the areas we were in. The hotel was just lovely. It was a resort hotel with
pool and areas around the hotel to walk and enjoy the palm trees and flowers.
We spent the day touring the markets and the Mechoui
Alleys. Of course we had a guide otherwise I would still be in Marrakech. I
just LOVED it. I lost count of the stores that offered everything from soup to
nuts (or so it seemed). The alley was filled with people, livestock,
motorcycles, bikes and carts. Once we found our way out of the alley’s we ended
up in the Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
Video below will give you a sense of the place. All
kinds of food and entertainment; for example, snake charmers, monkies,
acrobats, dancing…it was pretty wild. After exploring our guide took up to a
traditional Moroccan restaurant for dinner with belly dancers and the candle
dance. We thought the tray was secured to the woman’s head; but it was not. It
was fun to watch. What wonderful days; but long.
Taxi cabs in Morocco come in two varieties. The
first is called “Petite Taxi”. It holds ONLY 3 passengers and the color of the
taxi depends on what city you are in. The other variety holds 6 or 7 passengers
and they are white.
Note – Most hotels and restaurants have metal
detectors at the entrance. However, they also have another door, with a ramp,
that you can roll up your luggage and there-by miss the metal detector….Oh
well.
The next day headed out. They are very strict with
seat belts in Morocco. Along every road we traveled there were police outposts
setup to insure that people had seat belts on.
We were headed to the Atlas Mountains and then to
Alt Ben Hadddou, which is UNESCO World Heritage
Site. It is a fortified village along the caravan route between the Sahara and
Marrakech. Many movies are made here. It is one of the Kasbah – built for
defense- that we got to see.
Ouarzazate -The
area is called the “Hollywood” of North Africa. Many movies; including Lawrence
of Arabia was filmed there. It is also known as the Gateway to the Sahara.
Note – “City without traffic lights”….means the
desert. You don’t want anyone to say that is where you are going to go….
Note – Hydraulic break….is the bathroom (just some
trivia for your amusement).
So, we are heading now towards the Sahara. But,
before we went we spent the night at a lovely hotel. I felt more like I was at
a Buddhist center then I was at a hotel. It was a wonderful break from travel.
The pool was extra-ordinary and we all swam or bobbed all the while drinking
beer in the pool. After the pool; went out to another wonderful Moroccan dinner
in the city. I love this hotel.
Into the Sahara: We first stopped at a medina to get
a head scarf to ride into the desert; as well as water (as there is NO water in
the desert - HA). The medina had frozen water that would take hours to defrost
so for a little while we had cold water.
We arrived at base camp and loaded our luggage in a
room set aside by the hotel staff. We only took what we needed into the desert.
At that point, we went to meet the camels. Apprehension was so thick you could
cut it with a knife; but, we all managed to get on camels. The string of camels
is (5) with a camel herder leading the group. I didn’t realize we would be
riding for 1 hour and 40 minutes, 5K into the desert. We went up and down sand
dunes; we went around really high sand dunes all the while being present to the
dune buggies in the distance and people sledding down the sand dunes.
The first hour it was good. I was not as afraid as I
was riding in India as this camel had a saddle with a bar to hold onto. Almost
to the camp, and it was getting dark, we had thunder, lightning, and wind….a
sand storm and then rain. Thank goodness for the head scarf as we could cover
our faces; but, the sand hitting my arms had a sting to it. As we arrived at
camp and got off the camel my legs left like rubber. I sunk into the sand way
over my ankles and almost fell a couple of times.
The camp was a run down assortment of tents. I could
tell that this place has been in place for quite some time. There were tables
set up as we will have dinner in the desert (which was very good) and then the
staff entertained us with drum music and singing. As the night wore on the moon
(a full moon) came out and there were a couple of stars…but, it was really
dark. There were real toilets off to the side; but, first you had to walk
through the bats flying around.
We could not sleep in the tents as it was just too
hot – so, we all dragged our mattresses out onto the carpet (on the sand) and
tried for sleep. The snoring was hard to handle and I woke up with a big black
bug on me. The bats flying didn’t help; I swear – I slept with one eye open. It
was beautiful hearing the wind and seeing the sky above and the full moon; but,
I was so happy to see the sun come up.
At day break we loaded up and headed back to base
camp on the camels. I had thought that I might walk out; but, that would have
been more difficult than riding a camel. Again, 1 hour and 40 minutes and the
sun was coming up behind us. We could see our shadow and hear the wind blowing.
It was not yet hot; thank goodness. Finally, at the camp there was 1 shower for
17 people. What joy that was; rustic living. We had breakfast and then hit the
road.
We were headed for Fez, which is the oldest and
largest medieval city in the world.
I really liked this city for a number of
reasons…first, was the alley ways. There are 9, 400 alley ways – kind of like
Marrakesh – but bigger. Of course we had a guide as if not I would still be
trying to find my way out. We went to the dye pits and tanneries and also to a
pharmacy shop with more spices and herbs that I could count. The shopping was
amazing…again, everything from soup to nuts and then more. I bought a tea pot
which our guide haggled with to get the price down to something I could afford.
It is a nice memory.
We spent the night at a wonderful hotel that was
next door to a mosque. We heard the “call to prayer” louder than I’ve ever
heard. We got to see so many storks on the roof tops; along with their nests.
The hotel was in one of the alley’s so that we had to hire a man with a cart to
take our luggage to the hotel – as a car would not be able to make it to the
hotel entrance.
Next morning, we were on the road and headed to
Rabat – but before we reached the capital city (on the Atlantic) we visited the
UNESCO Roman Ruins of Volubilis, 40 AD. Much of the site has been excavated;
but they have lots more to do. Fascinating.
We went to a night club in Rabat where the music was
authentic. On stage there were security officers as well as officers walking
around the club. We did unwind with Moroccan beer and just relaxed after so
much travel and driving.
Again, we stayed at an authentic traditional hotel
that was situated in an alley. We were again next to a mosque…it was unique and
lovely.
As a note – the first thing you do when arriving at
your hotel room is to check to make sure that the toilet works, sink and shower
(the in room safes never work). I was lucky that my rooms were complete; but
many members of the group were not; but, even without an initial working toilet
– everyone loved their rooms.
Leaving Rabat we headed toward Casablanca. This was
the end of the trip for me; but the others were going onto Marrakech. Although
I didn’t like Casablanca; we did get to see the Hassan ll mosque. It is an
amazing piece of art as well as a mosque. They do charge for the tour and I
decided not to tour but to enjoy the courtyard and the Atlantic Ocean. It is
built partly on the water and the air was extraordinary to enjoy while the others
were inside.
The mosque has the highest Minaret in the world. It
is 200 meters high. It can hold 25,000 people for prayer. It is way more
elaborate than some of the other mosques I’ve been in – but, I just love being
in the space of the mosque.
From there we went to lunch on the Atlantic Ocean.
We had a terrific view of the ocean from the restaurant and I think if my hotel
was in this section of the city I would have liked Casablanca more. We did get
to see “Rick’s Café” – not the real one from the movie; but, another tourist
hang out.
The group left me to travel to Marrakech and I was
once again alone in the city. I walked around feeling a lot more comfortable
than I did when I first arrived.
At one point we all wanted McDonald…believe it or
not and it was one of the BEST meals I’ve had at McDonald. Maybe because I’ve
not had fast food in years; but it was a real treat.
Another point is that Morocco is ruled by a King. He
has 37 Palaces throughout Morocco… and you know you are near a Palace because
the road has to be in excellent shape for the King to ride on. I also wanted to
mention that there is not much of anything as you make your way from one city
to the next. There is lots of desert and maybe a Kasbar or a lone house or
sheep farming. Most of it is brown with the occasional oasis of green.
One location was IFrane…which is called the
Switzerland of Morocco. I loved this place. It has Lots of snow and the 1% of
the 1% seem to find their way here. I have no idea and cannot remember why this
place was built; but it is truly something. We walked around and stopped at an
ice cream shop for a treat. There is a statue of a lion that everyone wants to
have their picture taken with; I think it represents the last lion that was
killed in Morocco.
So, here I am 7 or 8 pages in and I have given you
the short version. It was an amazing trip. Exhausting but exhilarating. I don’t
think I would go back to Morocco; just so many other places to visit: but, I
would have liked to see Tangiers and Gibraltar. Oh well, I got to see so much
and I appreciate it.
Thanks for taking this journey with me.
Best, Catherine Lawrence – 8/28/17
Alley way in Fez....so much fun!
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