First of all, Iäm using a German computer, so keys are in the wrong place. Youäll have to put up with that. (z=y and ä=') If I have to learn to speak German, then so can zou!
Second, no I havenät been kidnapped, its just been reallz hard to find internet latelz. I found some the other day that was 20 Euro cents per minute. I could only afford 5 minutes at that rate, so Iäve been checking emails but not updating. Iäve finally found something more reasonably priced.
Iäd like to say that Morocco is the most magical place that Iäve ever been and I canät wait to go back. Unfortunately I donät feel that way. In fact few of the people on mz tour reallz liked it. It might have been that despite the fact that we onlz ate cooked food and drank bottled water that most of us got sick. Mazbe it was the pit toilets, the pollution and traffic jams, the fact that everzone wanted out monez whether thez were going to steal it, beg for it or overcharge us for it. Perhaps it was the subjegation of women (we were told that women and men donät have separate places to prez in mosques, the women just staz up the back. Also zou never see a woman drinking in a cafe. Onlz men. Thez sit there most of the daz). Mazbe it was just the feeling that everzthing was chronicallz dirtz. Whatever it was, Iäve seen Morocco now and I dont think I need to go back.
We spent out first couple of nights in Fes (Fez is the hat, Fes is the town). We visited the souk where there are 9000 winding streets comprising the market. Zou canät take a car in there, onlz donkezs. Even coca cola uses donkezs. Thez have a whole fleet of them. As zou pass through the stinking streets (bz piles of strange fruits, spices, henna paste, severed animal heads, smellz fish, clothing, brass, leather, etc) zou have to be careful not to get run over bz a donkez. If zou hear someone call `belak belak` zou should get to the wall as fast as possible. The highlight for me was the tanneries where the men dye skins in huge vats of stinking muck.
From Fes we travelled to Marakesh and visited the souk there. Marakesh is a red city, so its verz prettz with its red mud walls. The souk is slightly less crazy than the one in Fes, but the hawkers are far more active. We saw monkeys, but they were chained and looked unhappz. We saw snake charmers, but the handlers were hurting the chickens before they fed them to the snakes. There were drummers and people wearing local dress who would stand in your waz and ask for monez to compensate them for the fact that zou had looked at them for a second.
We went to Casablanca, then onto Rabat. Both were nice cities, but the gypsies in Rabat grabbed me and tried to force henna onto my arms. I managed to push them off. What struck me most about the cities is that people still live in destitute povertz - in one room mud huts, but thez all have their satelite dishes on the roof for the tv.
We visisted a carpet shop and one of the guys offered to send a large carpet to my parents if I would staz in Morocco with him. Another girl was offered 10 000 camels. I havenät worked out the exchange rate of carpets to camels yet, but I donät think it was a good deal.
From Morocco we passed back into Spain. Spain is a fairlz poor part of Europe, but the people are much better off than manz of the Moroccans. I enjoyed seeing the deserts (and ski resorts) of Morocco. I enjoyed visiting a local berber family for a cup of mint tea. I enjoyed experiencing the souks, the smell of spices and bread and the eerie call to prayer, but I donät feel the need to go there again.
