Here is a photo of a small Berber desert family. We visited them for a lunch of cous cous, and no, she didn’t use hand sanitizer.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Cous Cous
Here is a photo of a small Berber desert family. We visited them for a lunch of cous cous, and no, she didn’t use hand sanitizer.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Ourzazate - A Happy Hippie Town
We managed a cheap hotel room in Ourzazate, a sleepy little "happy hippie town". The vibe is already much more chill. We are getting out of the city and into the smaller towns, and it feels great. We crash out, have a quick coffee in the morning and walk about a mile and a half in the morning to catch the 8am bus to Tiniheir. This will be the last stop be for our entrance into the gorge. We are getting very close!
On the Way to Todra Gorge
We made to yet another bus in Marrakech. This time to Ourzazate en route to Todra Gorge. We are tired. The travel has taken a toll and we desperately want to get climbing again. The bus is filled with Arabic ring tones buzzing, multilingual conversations (French, Arabic, Berber, our English.) Throughout all of our bus rides we have yet to see another Caucasian traveler.
I wonder about all this travel and the idea to come all this way. What will Todra Gorge be like? I peer out the window as we round a mountain pass and see snow. Will it be too cold to climb? Have we made a major error in judgment with the climate? Will my shoulder be okay to climb hard? Many questions fill my mind. Soon I will have the answers!
I wonder about all this travel and the idea to come all this way. What will Todra Gorge be like? I peer out the window as we round a mountain pass and see snow. Will it be too cold to climb? Have we made a major error in judgment with the climate? Will my shoulder be okay to climb hard? Many questions fill my mind. Soon I will have the answers!
Aut Aurir and the SOS Orphanage
Right now, I am on a "grand taxi" which costs 6 dhirum from Aut Aurir, heading back to Marrakesh for the 35 K drive. FYI - 1 USD is equal to 7.5 dhirum, so 2$ is 15 dhirum. There are 25 people squeezed into a van a little smaller than the Tripper (another story, another time)! Arabic flows through the cabin.
Ryan and I just left a meeting with Houda, the admin person at the SOS orphanage in Aut Aurir. The orphanage was quite nice, very well kept, with grapefruit and orange trees on site, beautiful trees lining the walkways, and a great school where all the children from the village attend along with the orphans.
The orphanage has 14 houses, with 8 to 10 children per house. It doesn't appear that money is what is needed the most. On the tour we met many teachers and staff, including a very animated Mina, the preschool teacher. She has been with the orphanage since it opened 21 years ago!
Afterward, we phoned Severine, who is in Casablanca and she was very excited to talk with us about the possibility of training for the orphanage directors. She said the greatest need is "how to improve the communication between the educators and the youth which will facilitate their development and improvement as positive, autonomous individuals in society." She also referenced our web site and the story of the Thai training, about creating the possibility of dreams and goals for the future and positive belief systems for the children.
The result? Ryan and I will be heading to Casablanca to deliver a training on December 11 with the orphanage staff and educators for a full day! The goals: team building for the staff, and models, methods and tools for the educators to pass onto the children. We are so excited about delivering this True North seminar experience in Casablanca, Morocco!
Ryan and I just left a meeting with Houda, the admin person at the SOS orphanage in Aut Aurir. The orphanage was quite nice, very well kept, with grapefruit and orange trees on site, beautiful trees lining the walkways, and a great school where all the children from the village attend along with the orphans.
The orphanage has 14 houses, with 8 to 10 children per house. It doesn't appear that money is what is needed the most. On the tour we met many teachers and staff, including a very animated Mina, the preschool teacher. She has been with the orphanage since it opened 21 years ago!
Afterward, we phoned Severine, who is in Casablanca and she was very excited to talk with us about the possibility of training for the orphanage directors. She said the greatest need is "how to improve the communication between the educators and the youth which will facilitate their development and improvement as positive, autonomous individuals in society." She also referenced our web site and the story of the Thai training, about creating the possibility of dreams and goals for the future and positive belief systems for the children.
The result? Ryan and I will be heading to Casablanca to deliver a training on December 11 with the orphanage staff and educators for a full day! The goals: team building for the staff, and models, methods and tools for the educators to pass onto the children. We are so excited about delivering this True North seminar experience in Casablanca, Morocco!
The Marrakesh Marketplace
Sunday morning came early and we firmed our plans to visit the orphanage in Aut Aurir on Monday. We arranged some travel plans and got plane tickets for 30 euros (45$) from Marrakech to Barcelona on Dec 13.
The market was an amazing experience: curious tourists mill about trough dancing cymbal players, Tarot card readers, snake charmers (yes - it’s true!). Snail soup, goats head stew, grilled surprises are all at your hands at hundreds of stall. The shopping was crazy. Jewelry, clothes, glasses, lamps, the hand of Fatima (personal favorite) and a multitude of trinkets.
We finished the night off with a massage and scrub down at the local hamman.
This is the Moroccan version of the spa. Big steamy cellar with buckets of hot water. As we started the massage I thought the guy was going to rip my arm off. This continued with being scrubbed and having buckets of water thrown on us! Old school.
Pasha is the place to be
In Marrakech on Saturday night the place to be is Pasha. The best DJ’s in Europe spin to a wild Arabic crowd. Pumping "house" music, flashing strobes, jembe jams and a whole lot of crazy dancing!
Getting Squared Away in Marrakesh
We made the best of a rainy day and had tons of fun bantering and laughing with the locals. Everyone wants your attention to sell you or show you something. We got to the hamman (traditional bath house) just as it was closing. We got lost in the medina for hours and turned it into a big game. We arrived back at our hotel to be shown our room. A lovely honeymoon sweet with one bed, complete a big pink comforter. Not gonna do it. An hour later we were at a hotel in the new city, taking a nap before the big Saturday night in Marrakech.
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