Spelunk!

Last (and best!) weekend in Fez:

On Saturday, some friends and I went to Taza for a brief day trip with the intention of visiting the Tazzeka National Park, walking in the cedar forest and maybe seeing some monkeys. Plans changed when we accidentally went spelunking in the deepest cave in North Africa, Gouffre du Friouato. In fact, this cave is so big, no one knows exactly how far down it goes because it hasn't been explored completely. Though we were slightly underdressed for this adventure, we didn't let it get in the way of finding our inner spelunkers. We didn't get to see the forest of cedars, or the monkeys, but I think after spending three days in Marrakech I've seen enough monkeys and snakes to last me a while.

Going in

View from the bottom

Walking planks across giants pools of water, then holding the guide's hand as he lead us across a 2-inch ledge that separated us from water on the right, and a giant hole on the left

Walking back up the 720 steps to exit the cave after 2 hours inside. We were filthy.

When we finally made it out, our driver had lined the inside of the taxi with big sheets of cardboard. We had intended to continue with our adventures, but instead asked to be taken directly back to Fez so we could shower, wash our clothes, and eat. Two hours of hairpin turns down the mountain, listening to the same ear-splitting song over and over, we made it back to the Villa and immediately showered and went to Sicilia's for pizza and spaghetti.

Time in Fez is running out quickly. I still can't believe I've been here almost three months.

B'salama,
Danielle

Marrakoosh

If you can believe it, I finished my last class at ALIF last Friday. Whoot!

About three hours after said-class, I boarded a train with some friends from school, and off we went to Marrakech. Eight sweaty, long hours later, we found ourselves in Djemaa el-Fna, which is the main square of the medina. In three nights we were in Marrakech, we were able to

• Get hassled relentlessly by vendors
• Eat a fresh donuts strung together by a blade of grass in the Mellah
  
• See nearly every cemetary in Marrakech
• Go to a Moroccan wedding
• Get hit by a car
• Visited the Jardin Majorelle and see the Islamic Art Museum
• Eat the best chwarama in Morocco for 20dh
• Walk some more
• See the snake charmers
• Eat chocolate and watch Flight of the Conchords from my ipod
• Eat at another restaurant where the service was so good we forgot we were in Morocco

In the Mellah

Funny sign for the hammam

After Kendell left us early Monday morning so she could make it to her afternoon class, Yan and I split up the eight-hour train ride be stopping in Casablanca for the night. There, we:

• Walked around some more, because apparently that's our favorite thing to do
• Saw the Hassan II Mosque, which is not only the second largest mosque in the world, but has the world's largest minaret, a laser that points to Mecca, AND a glass floor over the Atlantic ocean
• Passed by Rick's Café
• Walked through the medina
• Walked even more along the Atlantic
• Ate tapas and paella which tasted suspiciously like gumbo
• Ate more donuts
  

Hassan II Mosque at night

More pictures are here and here.

Now I'm back in Fez, sitting and enjoying my last week in Morocco before I go back to the States and face the real world. Tonight there are tentative plans of seeing an movie at the cinéma, and tomorrow the plan is to take a day trip to Taza, a Berber town about an hour and a half away by train or grand taxi. From there, we'll head over to the cedar forest, which is home to the Barbary ape. I haven't decided what else to do with the rest of last week in Morocco, but that will come later. Today, I had my last couscous Friday in Morocco. Tear.

B'salama,
Danielle

Family Schmamily

After three nights with the host family, I decided it wasn't for me, and swiftly made my way back to the Villa. Don't get me wrong; living with a family was a wonderful experience. The family was sweet and kind, the mother was a wonderful chef, and they were extremely respectful of my privacy (which, apparently, can be quite rare amongst Moroccan households), but I couldn't get used to having a new set of "parents" to check in with all the time. I've been living in this country for over two months on my own time, on my own schedule, and to be living on someone else's agenda was a bit too much for me. Now, I am living in the Villa for the rest of my stay in Fez--which is only two days from now--and then off I go to the South. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

After moving back into the Villa, I've had nothing but nonstop Moroccan magic falling in front of me. Friday consisted of couscous with one of my friend's host mother, Fatima. The couscous was by far the best I've had yet, which only got better when it was followed by tea, cookies, and a henna party, which was held in preparation for Kendell's birthday party, scheduled to take place the next day. Even though Kendell was turning twenty-four, her party was more similar to that of an eight-year-old's, but despite that, it was the best birthday party I've been to since I can remember. We sat around and danced with a live ganawa band, ate cookies, drank mint tea, ate more cookies, drank coffee, ate cake, and danced some more until our bodies could no longer take the abuse.

Kendell, the birthday girl, and me with our henna hands. After getting the paste on, Fatima wrapped our hands in toilet paper and then covered them with socks so as to keep the paste on longer, which yields a darker henna stain.

close-up of my henna

After eating our weight in confections, I went to Chefchaouen with a few friends from school. Chefchaouen is a little city about four hours north by bus, known for its blue walls and mountains. There, we managed to go hiking on the trails, tour the Kasbah, stay in a 50 dirham hostel where the sheets were constantly slightly damp, drinks lots of coffee, and eat lots of candied peanuts. My friend Yan and I met a man who called himself Rashid Couscous; he sold blankets of "a thousand colors", wanted to trade Yan "a thousand camels for [my] smile", and then ended our meeting with "a thousand thank-yous". He was possibly my favorite part of Chefchaouen, coming close to our hike to the ruined Spanish mosque.

Jimmy, beginning the ascend to the top of the mountain

View from the minaret

In other news, but still very important, Jordana made it to Nepal! I'm so excited that she and I have been lucky enough to undertake such adventures at the same time. The Grodek clan is currently touching three continents right now, yaa Allah! Pretty soon the world will be saved--or at least a little part of it--one Grodek at a time.

B'salama,
Danielle