We arrived at 1:30 PM, and were met at the gate by a driver for our hotel. (Actually, we are staying at a riad, which is sort of Moroccan for "guest house". More on that later.) You can tell a lot about a place just by observing how the locals drive. Here, the road markers are treated more like suggestions than hard and fast rules. Some roads don't even have painted center lines. Motor bikes are everywhere, mixing it up with cars, horse drawn carriages, and donkey carts. We've even seen some camels parked along the side of the road. The drivers can be classified as "very aggressive". It was a miracle that we saw only two traffic mishaps on our 15 minute journey to our riad: one bike got read-ended by a car, and another rider fell over on his bike. It's amazing anyone lives past twenty here.
Update: Here's a video I took later of a typical drive through Marrakech:
Our riad is super-cool. Bryce and Laurel loved it from the first instant. I guess it's more like a bed-and-breakfast than anything else. We have a really large suite, with three functioning bedrooms, living room area, and a huge outdoor terrace to ourselves, with another outdoor terrace shared by the guests. There is a plunge pool in the courtyard. This place is really comfortable, and is going to work out great.
Upon our arrival, one of the hotel managers (named Moad) gave us an orientation to Marrakesh. Since this city evolved with no urban planning whatsoever, navigation is very challenging for the uninitiated. Just getting to our riad involved a series of left and right turns down a single lane alley. Our own residence in the riad is over a street - literally. It is built directly above and crossing the alley down below, which is not uncommon. Moad gave us the helpful hint of "just go left, right, left, right, left and right" and you'll always be able to find the riad. At least, that's how you get there from the main road anyway. Moad gave us a couple of other hints for locating the main square - the Jemaa el Fnaa - and left us with a map. We were on our own.
Sue and the kids were content to get settled into the riad, so I ventured out to see if I could locate the Jemaa el Fnaa. As I ventured out, I noticed that there are rarely any street signs, so if you get lost it's difficult to figure out exactly where you are. The best landmarks (clearly shown on the map), are Mosques and parking lots. I walked down the alley a little, then retraced my steps a bit to make sure I could locate our riad. I was hoping to find a vendor selling a bag of breadcrumbs so I could Hansel-and-Gretel my way back home if necessary, but after verifying the left-right-left-right-left-right trick, and locating a prominent mosque from where to start, I determined I could return safely. I was able to locate the Jemaa el Fnaa (more on that later).
When I returned home, I felt confident enough in my guiding skills to take the family out, so we ventured back out to find the Jemaa el Fnaa again. Along the entire way, we encountered the Morrocan version of the strip mall. Most of the way is a narrow alley, with predominantly pedestrians and sporadic motorbikes going way too fast weaving in and out of the people. Both sides of the alley were wall-to-wall shops selling food, jewelry, lamps, scarves, leather, and all kinds of other things. We stopped by a wood workers shop where he was carving chess pieces the old fashioned way with a manually driven lathe, using his foot to stabilize the wood piece. In about two minutes, he had carved a chess pawn, and presented it to Bryce as a gift. He had some really cool "magic boxes", and so thoroughly charmed us that we bought a magic box and a set of chess pieces. We didn't really bargain with him, as you are supposed to do, but we got a good value for our money nonetheless.
We had dinner arranged for our first night to be prepared by the chefs at our riad. As we were having cocktail time, the nearby mosque had their call to prayer, and within 30 seconds we could hear the muezzin (priests) from ten other mosques all singing and chanting. It was like a chorus of bullfrogs, or the air-raid sirens in San Francisco that go off every Tuesday at noon. After about a minute or so, all the imams were silent. Their songs were beautiful, especially as a chorus, even though they were all different.
Our first meal was amazing. We had a lounge all to our selves on the rooftop terrace of the riad, and they started by bringing us an amazing plate of cold veggies, including green beans, and some sort of sweet potato. Laurel, who rarely eats anything green, really liked the green beans, and Bryce was in heaven, and chowed down. Next was a meat dish, with a delicious sauce made from dates, and a couscous dish with its own separate sauce, also really tasty. We had strawberry tarts and mint tea for dessert, and then lounged back on the pillows by our table. Another call to prayer entertained us.
The kids are really liking Morocco so far. Sue and I think it's pretty cool too.
Update: Bryce got sick the next morning, probably from eating something from the market or too many veggies or lettuce.
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