Rest Day

Today is a scheduled rest day in Marrakech to rest tired bodies and service battered bikes

My ‘rest’ day begins about 5:00 am with a God awful racket. Bashing, stumbling, voices and general buffoonery. At first I think some donkeys have gotten loose in the compound. After I fight back the fog of sleep I realise I was close, not donkeys but, jack-asses. It is just Rick and Matt stumbling around in their tent (next to mine) having only just now returned from their big night out in Marrakech. I am very glad I came home when I did. Roll over, back to sleep.

I finally get up about 7:30 am and revel in a hot shower before heading to the little campsite restaurant for the ever popular ‘petite dejeuner’. At breakfast I meet Pete and we decide to grab a taxi and head into town to check out the Medina and the markets.

After arriving at the main square where we had dinner last night we find things in a much more subdued state. We grab a fresh squeezed orange juice from one of the street vendors and make a plan. We need to figure out how a couple of knuckle heads like us are going to get around the narrow closed in alleyways of the market place without getting horribley lost. Pete has a guide book which makes us feel better, but I am pretty sure we are going to get lost anyway.

The markets or ‘souks’ are situated in the old section of town called the Medina. They are a series of twisting and turning narrow alleyways that criss-cross back over themselves. The tops of the alleyways are covered to keep the heat out which makes keeping your bearings all that much more difficult. Different sections specialise in different products; rugs, spices, clothes, jewellery, and there is always a lively atmosphere of bargaining going on.

The Souks

Rug Souks

Spice Markets

We wander through the souks taking in the scene and trying to come up with some inspired gift ideas for our friends. It makes it a bit tougher when you are on a motorcycle and can’t carry much. We eventually stop in a little café for some of the obligatory mint tea Morocco is well known for, yum.  The café has two absolutely gorgeous waitresses working there, a welcome change since up until now the only women we have seen have been in the full Muslim garb.

Mint Tea

Next to the café is an old barber shop that looks like it has been there since the early Mesozoic era, as does the barber. So on a whim I decide I am going to give him a bit of business and get him to shave my head with a straight razor (don’t ask me why, I think the tea was spiked). After a bit of pigeon French and a bit of sign language I think he understands what I am after. After he does my head he gets to work on my 7 day growth. Quite nerve-racking having a straight razor scraped across your jugular by someone you don’t know and who doesn’t speak the same language. At any rate I walk out of the shop with a bit less drag than when I walked in. That has got to worth a couple extra Km/hr back on the road.

Going For The Low Drag Look

We walk around the souks a bit more looking at this and that and I buy a pair of Ray Ban knock offs, since I was dumb enough to forget my sunglasses back in Spain. Then we decide to walk into the new part of the city and see what this less touristy, more ‘real’ part of the city is like.

Wow, what a difference! All the locals are decked out in the stylish western clothes, there are western shops and there is something very different that I can’t put my finger on at first. I eventually figure it out, it is the fact that nobody is hassling me every 10 feet to buy something. I get the impression that this is where most of the locals hang out and that the Medina is just a bit ‘put on’ for the benefit of the tourists.

We eventually head back to camp. I do a bit of laundry since just about everything I have is filthy by now. It is a pleasant sunny afternoon and I decide to take a dip in the pool. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! It turns out to be so cold that it is nearly life threatening and I am out quickly while I still some of the feeling in my limbs.

We have some dinner while Rick and Matt regale us with tales of atrocities from the night before. A pleasant day of rest, but I am already itching to get back on the bike and twist the throttle wide open.