I woke up around 6h30 to "Fences" by Phoenix playing softly by my ear. I had set my alarm the previous night for our spontaneous excursion. Sarah, Kami, Molly, and I were ready to go by 6h45. We were supposed to leave by 7h00 but no one else was awake. Breakfast is supposed to be free every morning starting at 6h00 but there was no one awake to make it. I found Karim--the hostel manager, passed out on one of the couches. He seemed exhausted so I figured I'd let him sleep but someone started pounding on the door. The girls told me not to open it, and rightfully so, but our driver was supposed to come get us around that time. I tried the door, it wouldn't budge because it was locked with a key from the inside. I had fought against it internally, but I had to wake Karim. He stumbled with the door and fumbled with the keys but he finally got the door open. Sure enough, it was our driver.
One of us had asked Sarah about the other people going on the excursion. Before she could answer, someone popped their head up in the lounge where we were all waiting and said "That's us!" It was Courtney, she's an American. Consecutively, Peter--a Brit, and Carlie--an Australian lifted their heads as well. The three of them are students at Nottingham University in Great Britain. All 7 of us paid for the entire duration at the hostel before we left. It was 6 euro per day. So for Sarah, Kami, Molly, and I it was 30 euro each. The Nottingham bunch didn't have to pay for their first night at Mama Marrakech since they didn't have a room.
The seven of us got into the van and buckled in to leave. To our surprise he turns around and says "You pay me now please" so we each hand over the 500 diram (50 euro). Once he's satisfied, he turns back around and starts driving. I'm not sure why exactly, but I started getting an ominous feeling after that. The driver stopped in the square and asked us to get on the other bus which was also half-filled to save gas. This scene reminded me of a ton of tourist horror movies. A bunch of men in dressed like gangsters convening in a circle outside--speaking in a language we obviously don't understand while the rest of us pile onto a bus with no map or schedule of the day's excursion. I felt like something shady could happen so I left my seatbelt unbuckled.
I started to feel more comfortable as we began heading out of town because our new driver was constantly speaking to us. His name was Muhammad.
When Muhammad ascended on the mountains the view changed dramatically from one point to the next. The tan hills transformed into green, tree-covered mountains into blue, rocky, ice-capped peaks.
At the beginning of our ascent, Muhammed stopped at a scenic view so we could take pictures. It was here that I haggled for the first time. The man that approached us had a basket full of what looked like rocks. I immediately thought that I wouldn't be buying anything, but when he opened one of the rocks there was a beautiful Amethyst crystal formation inside. I absolutely LOVE geodes!!! He must've seen my eyes light up because he said "250 diram." That immediately translated in my head as 25 euro and I was thinking HELL NO so I countered his offer with 100 diram (10 euro) and stopped right there. I wouldn't even pay $10 for a geode in the states and I wasn't going to start here. I'm so cheap but I know that I can get anything I want for less than half the price advertised anywhere. I walked away to get a picture with my friends and the man followed me. He said "Okay, 200 diram." And I said "No, 100." and I didn't budge. He shook his head no but pursued me as I climbed onto the bus. When I turned around he was still standing there so I grabbed my wallet from Sarah. I kept different amounts of money in different pockets so that the bargainers wouldn't see I had more money. I showed him that I only had 100 diram and some change. I held out the money, we made eye contact--he could tell that I was serious. But then I smiled, and he smiled back at me. He just nodded, took the money, and handed over my new prize :-)
Muhammad drove on and we continued to climb the mountain. We stopped at a few places including a little shop for breakfast and a cooperative for making Argan oil.
The scenery was beautiful every step of the way. Even the villages on the sides of the hills were picturesque.
We got to the desert about 8 hours later. I didn't realize it'd be such a long drive from Marrakech to the desert. I kind of just assumed we were already there. Boy, was I wrong. I really didn't do any research before I came to Morocco. I thought it'd be more fun to just wing it, but it's smarter to at least get the basic information before you travel anywhere. I picked up some arabic phrases from Muhammad during the tour though. "Waha waha" means "okay" or as he says "okie dokie" and "yahlaa" means "come on" or "let's go."
Muhammad stopped right outside of Ouarzazate for lunch. Ouarzazate is a famous cinema location. Gladiator, The Mummy, and Kingdom of Heaven were filmed here. These are some of my favorite movies!
Soon after lunch the 7 of us went to look for scarves. It was then that I was duped into buying an entire Moroccan ensemble. I really didn't want the entire set, just the head scarf but I talked the guy down from 500 diram to 200 diram--20 euros so I guess that's alright. I kind of just regret it because of how stupid I look in the rest of the pictures from the trip. Ha haha. Oh well, memories.
Muhammad was continuously a source of cheer for me anytime I was bored during the excursion. He got to know me a bit better after lunch. He asked for my name, where I was from and such. At one of the last stops before we got to our campsite he told me that I was going to be his next wife. Luckily, I keep a ring on my special finger just in case I run into these situations. I winked at him, told him I was already married and he replied with "Me too!" Ha haha ;-)
One of us had asked Sarah about the other people going on the excursion. Before she could answer, someone popped their head up in the lounge where we were all waiting and said "That's us!" It was Courtney, she's an American. Consecutively, Peter--a Brit, and Carlie--an Australian lifted their heads as well. The three of them are students at Nottingham University in Great Britain. All 7 of us paid for the entire duration at the hostel before we left. It was 6 euro per day. So for Sarah, Kami, Molly, and I it was 30 euro each. The Nottingham bunch didn't have to pay for their first night at Mama Marrakech since they didn't have a room.
The seven of us got into the van and buckled in to leave. To our surprise he turns around and says "You pay me now please" so we each hand over the 500 diram (50 euro). Once he's satisfied, he turns back around and starts driving. I'm not sure why exactly, but I started getting an ominous feeling after that. The driver stopped in the square and asked us to get on the other bus which was also half-filled to save gas. This scene reminded me of a ton of tourist horror movies. A bunch of men in dressed like gangsters convening in a circle outside--speaking in a language we obviously don't understand while the rest of us pile onto a bus with no map or schedule of the day's excursion. I felt like something shady could happen so I left my seatbelt unbuckled.
I started to feel more comfortable as we began heading out of town because our new driver was constantly speaking to us. His name was Muhammad.
Our driver on the left
When Muhammad ascended on the mountains the view changed dramatically from one point to the next. The tan hills transformed into green, tree-covered mountains into blue, rocky, ice-capped peaks.
At the beginning of our ascent, Muhammed stopped at a scenic view so we could take pictures. It was here that I haggled for the first time. The man that approached us had a basket full of what looked like rocks. I immediately thought that I wouldn't be buying anything, but when he opened one of the rocks there was a beautiful Amethyst crystal formation inside. I absolutely LOVE geodes!!! He must've seen my eyes light up because he said "250 diram." That immediately translated in my head as 25 euro and I was thinking HELL NO so I countered his offer with 100 diram (10 euro) and stopped right there. I wouldn't even pay $10 for a geode in the states and I wasn't going to start here. I'm so cheap but I know that I can get anything I want for less than half the price advertised anywhere. I walked away to get a picture with my friends and the man followed me. He said "Okay, 200 diram." And I said "No, 100." and I didn't budge. He shook his head no but pursued me as I climbed onto the bus. When I turned around he was still standing there so I grabbed my wallet from Sarah. I kept different amounts of money in different pockets so that the bargainers wouldn't see I had more money. I showed him that I only had 100 diram and some change. I held out the money, we made eye contact--he could tell that I was serious. But then I smiled, and he smiled back at me. He just nodded, took the money, and handed over my new prize :-)
Muhammad drove on and we continued to climb the mountain. We stopped at a few places including a little shop for breakfast and a cooperative for making Argan oil.
The scenery was beautiful every step of the way. Even the villages on the sides of the hills were picturesque.
We got to the desert about 8 hours later. I didn't realize it'd be such a long drive from Marrakech to the desert. I kind of just assumed we were already there. Boy, was I wrong. I really didn't do any research before I came to Morocco. I thought it'd be more fun to just wing it, but it's smarter to at least get the basic information before you travel anywhere. I picked up some arabic phrases from Muhammad during the tour though. "Waha waha" means "okay" or as he says "okie dokie" and "yahlaa" means "come on" or "let's go."
Muhammad stopped right outside of Ouarzazate for lunch. Ouarzazate is a famous cinema location. Gladiator, The Mummy, and Kingdom of Heaven were filmed here. These are some of my favorite movies!
Soon after lunch the 7 of us went to look for scarves. It was then that I was duped into buying an entire Moroccan ensemble. I really didn't want the entire set, just the head scarf but I talked the guy down from 500 diram to 200 diram--20 euros so I guess that's alright. I kind of just regret it because of how stupid I look in the rest of the pictures from the trip. Ha haha. Oh well, memories.
Muhammad was continuously a source of cheer for me anytime I was bored during the excursion. He got to know me a bit better after lunch. He asked for my name, where I was from and such. At one of the last stops before we got to our campsite he told me that I was going to be his next wife. Luckily, I keep a ring on my special finger just in case I run into these situations. I winked at him, told him I was already married and he replied with "Me too!" Ha haha ;-)
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