I was filled with excitement as I waited for my plane to Marrakesh. I was also tired enough to sleep through almost the entire 2.5 hour delay on the runway. The woman sitting next to me was one of the stranger people I've been seated next to on a plane. First she sat in my seat and didn't want to leave it. Then, when she saw me reading my magazines she asked if she could have them. She hummed constantly. At one point she disappeared for about 6 hours. The best 6 hours of the entire flight. Some people should just not be allowed planes, or at least they should have their own section!
Due to the delay I missed my connecting flight in Casablanca. I had arranged to be picked up (I'm in Marrakesh for a work thing) through my event planner. I realized too late that I didn't have anyone's phone number to tell them that I would not be on my original flight. Still, someone called me and waited the additional few hours for me.
I had to wait for about an hour to check into my room. What was nice was that despite the fact that I looked like crap they treated me like gold. My room is amazing. I've never stayed in a place like this before. I have a king sized bed, a seating area and a little patio.
After cleaning myself up it was time to hit the town. By the town I mean Djemma El Fna, the reason to come to Marrakesh. Djemma El Fna is an amazing market with a souk right next to it. I felt like a kid in a candy store and I
walked around with a dumb grin on my face. Everywhere I walked the vender's called to me from the stalls. Everything looked am
azing, well, except for the sheep head and brain. There were also women wandering around trying to get me to buy henna tattoos from them. I do kinda want one, but I need to be professional for work. There were large circles of people with men screaming in the middle. I think they might have been story tellers.
I was attracting quite a bit of attention and it was exhausting. At one point I had about 6 guys around me trying to get me to eat at their stalls. I did the brave thing and I ran away. Eventually I found a stall that didn't beg me and I ate there.
I spent a few hours just wandering and meandering through the different stalls. In Jordan Rachel and I attracted a lot of attention but no one ever tried to touch us. Here, the men seem to have no qualms about grabbing my arm to try and get my attention. Once again I bought a necklace from the man who didn't call out to me. He did tell me that I am beautiful and he offered to give me a tour, to practice his English, not for money. Yeah right.
At one point I found a bunch of stalls that had animals and I really like the little turtles. To boys, around eight, pick up a couple of the turtles and tried to get me to hold them. I pretended that I was frightened and they laughed like crazy.
When I was done being starred at it was time for me to go back to the hotel. It took some time to find a taxi and during my walk up the main street in the modern part of the town men made kissy noises at me. I was able to bargain a bit for my cab ride.
After returning to the hotel I visited their bowling bar. It was empty and I was tired. So soon I headed back to my room for some sleep.
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