Marrakech III (Spring Break)

2/27/15

Day 43

I still hurt. All of me hurts. Even my thumbs because they have blisters from hanging onto the camel's little metal handlebar for dear life. But I can't let the fact that I can't move my legs stop me from hiking to see the Ouzoud Waterfalls because today is the day! Since I made a Pinterest in high school, I have been obsessed with Moroccan architecture, the desert, and the Ouzoud Waterfalls. Basically, Pinterest is really good for tourism. 

A van picked us up and drove for a few hours until we were far from Marrakech. What we saw of the countryside was beautiful but barren.

We drove on roads lined with palm trees framed by snow capped mountains in the distance but we also drove over multiple rivers that were entirely dry. Kids played soccer on dirt fields and kicked up clouds of dust. Sometimes we saw shepherds with groups of sheep and donkeys carrying things and there were no machines in the fields, only workers. The cars and trucks were old models from before the 90's because I didn't even recognize them. It seemed like Morocco and especially the rural areas are stuck in the past. 

We met up with our guide at the village near the waterfalls and he led us to the top and around the edge so we could take plenty of pictures. He gave us a brief lesson on Berber culture (he was Berber and the village we were in was Berber so it wasn't too out of place) and I learned that in schools, kids are taught Berber (the native language of the country), Arabic (the language of the region), and French (the language of the government). We also got a lesson in how the head scarves are tied differently for mountain versus desert people, and in the desert, men and women look the same because they have so much of their faces covered to protect from the sand.

We hiked down one side of the ravine and then took a boat across (which to no one's surprise, cost money) to a restaurant right by the cascades.

Lunch more than surpassed my expectations and then we made our way back up the other side back to the top, stopping for only a second of playing with the monkeys.

My friends were heartbroken that they paid for the whole tour to see the monkeys and we barely even got to take pictures of them. (Secretly, I was on the waterfall tour to see the waterfall though so I wasn't aaaaas upset that I'd spent the money on the tour) And then out of nowhere we were back on the bus and headed home.

For all 10 days and both countries of of spring break, I only brought my Docs. Besides needing to buy shoes for Kapital, they served me well. So this spring break has been brought to you by Docs. And my phone camera.