Tuesday, October 28
Paula: We decided to make this a day of relaxation before our upcoming long day of travel tomorrow. The sun was shining today and we enjoyed spending some time swimming in the pool at our hotel. None of us were enthusiastic about getting in the murky waters of the Atlantic, but we did enjoy walking the beach and watching the local kids play soccer. We are amazed at how well they play "football" even at a very young age, and by late afternoon there were at least 100 young boys playing soccer on the beach. We also enjoyed spending more time down by the port and in the Medina, making one final purchase - leather slippers. The sound of the ocean waves and the smell of the sea and salt all felt so familiar to me today even though I was on the other side of the Atlantic, off the coast of Africa. This evening's sunset was spectacular - water sunsets are wonderful!
Tomorrow is probably the worst travel day that we'll encounter - we have a 5-hour drive to Casablanca, followed by a flight to Madrid and then a connection to Seville. We don't get to Seville until 11:00 PM, so this will be a tough day.
Distance Walked: .83 Miles
David's Download - Feelings of Morocco before and after our visit
Morocco has been a wonderful and adventurous experience for me. Although I was hesitant at first about coming, I am now very pleased that we came and explored this this country. I now realize that you can't get a real sense of what the world is actually like without visiting places that are different from your way of living.
At first thought I pictured countries like Morocco to still be living in
the past. No technology, no modern architecture, no cars, nothing. In a way,
Morocco is still living in the past. Just take away the motorcycles and televisions
from the medinas (old towns within the cities), and you've got an old Arabic
country. I had no idea what to expect beforehand, and only got a small idea
of what it would be like after reading about it. 
When we arrived, I felt as if I were walking on a movie set or reading a
book. The snake charmers, markets, souqs, and storytellers seemed to be just
a dream. The clothes, mosques, family workshops, and acrobats were almost
unreal. Although I liked almost everything about Morocco, some things I just
despised. The air in the cities is so polluted from all the old cars and motor
bikes that my dad and I got instant headaches. But if exploring the coolest
thing I have ever seen in my life means getting a headache, it's defiantly
worth it! 
I also hated the bargaining. Everything in Morocco is negotiated and if you're too soft (like I am) you can get totally ripped off. Luckily my dad has a good strategy and enjoys doing it. He can always lower the price by saying that we will come back later. Usually shop owners raise the price by almost three times the actual price! I always feel like I am disrespecting them by offering a very low price, but in reality it's perfectly normal. I don't like it when shop owners approach me and try to get me to take a look in their store. I feel so uncomfortable. We have been told that ten years ago they would push and push you very hard until you buy something, but that now they have learned that that won't encourage customers.
The
technology hit me like a slap in the face. It was so strange to see cyber
cafes loaded with Moroccans in the middle of the souqs. It was also extremely
surprising to see television and radio auctions and even some play stations
sets in the very center of Marrakech. We got a kick out of hearing that almost
everyone has a cell phone, even the Berber tribes with no electricity! We
also noticed that all the apartments have satellite dishes. Every building
was dotted with them and put wherever there was room, whether on roofs or
out of windows. To my total surprise there were even cars (just kidding)!!!
Now that we have been traveling for four months, I have discovered that the places I will remember the most will be the places that are so different from our lives today. Russia, Morocco, and Istanbul are just some examples of places that are different from the States. Visiting places unlike your own is the only way to learn what the world is really all about.
