We awoke early to a cool, dead silent desert. Perfect sleeping conditions so we fell back asleep and.. woke up again at 10:15, crap! We ran out into the blazing sun to meet Hassan, Kenza, Steve, and Jen for breakfast. Hot fast cold slow manic still.. that was today.

A driver took us to Marrakech (same place, it ended up costing 800dh=~$80 to go from the train station to Agafay then to our riad in the medina). He dropped us off at the Mohammed V school, the farthest he could drive before it got narrow and crazy. We uhm.. thought that happened several blocks earlier so we’re understanding. Steve took a quick picture when we got out and a man promptly yelled at him for taking it. Photos need to be not of people, of large groups, or with permission. I learned that using the Insta360 makes it very non-obvious that I’m even taking pictures so a good discrete choice.

That’s the yelling guy’s donkey cart, he had run off

The riad owner met us and helped us bring our stuff to the Riad. It was only 500m but between the cobblestones, the hordes of people, and the motorbikes it was an experience. At all times in the Medina (walled city) a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle may randomly whiz by within inches. There are no clear rules and there is little or no warning. It definitely spoils the peace in popular areas.

Our riads are fascinating. They are solid doors off of the street but when you enter you walk into beautiful, ornate, well-lit courtyards. The smells (almost always pleasant mind you!) of the city transition quickly into carefully chosen incenses. Our riad host immediately served us hot Moroccan mint tea.. mmmMMMM! He also gave us a map they had made that provides a lot of color to the street network.

Our room is fairly simple but still ornate, comfortable, and bright.

We had ~spa appointments across town but realized that the time to walk out of the medina, get a taxi, drive, then get to our destination was similar to just walking. As result we just walked the whole way, winding through the souks (open-air markets). Even mid-afternoon they were packed and many of the vendors approached us to hawk their wares. We pushed through, just starting to absorb the vibe of this bustling old city.

Majorelle Signature was the spot, and we all got hammams (body scrubs) and massages. We don’t know the exact rules, but we had to do this as couples. As we understand it, women as serviced by women, men by men, but a married couple can be serviced together by women (and maybe men as well, Burt this facility was all women). Savitri and I were given amusingly symbolic disposable underwear and the hammam was done in a small room all made of heated white marble. Two women in hijabs scrubbed almost every inch of us both. They showered, soaped, exfoliated, oiled, washed, re-oiled, and rinsed us. It was so funny y because not only were we unsure what was next at every turn, but they’d tell us what to do in French. I speak a little French, but not so much body positioning terms! It was like teachers trying to train fish how to sit and turn-over. We flopped around wet and oily. I even kicked over a couple metal dishes of water with a thunderous clanging. Thankfully the ladies got a laugh out of our inabilities as well.

Next we were moved to another room to get our massages. They told me to discard my not-really-underwear and put on a robe then disrobe in the next room. Guess that was a disconnect because they were quite surprised to find me buck-naked. They jumped, ran out giggling, then returned to hand us both new coverings. Always a good ice-breaker. The massages were on the gentle side but soothing. We got oiled again so for the remainder of the day I could (and did!) reach up and feel oil on my neck.

For a long list of obvious reasons I have no pictures of any of this.

The girls stayed and got additional facials, mani/pedis, hair treatments.. and who knows what else. Hassan, Steve and I went to a coffee shop around the corner. I failed to take a picture of the shop, but did get a shot of the setting sun colors over the roof of a neighboring building.

Hassan ran some of his business ideas by Steve and I and we had fun talking to his business partners and brainstorming.

After we all regrouped we drove to the Jamaâ el-Fna Plaza in the medina. It is off-the-charts huge and packed on a Saturday night! Many thousands of people and ~hundreds of vendors of foods, beverages, crafts, demonstrations, animals performing.. it’s fascinating.

We sat at a food vendor’s booth and quickly were served sautéed mutton, dishes of olives, French fries, breads, salads, and Moroccan mint tea. It was a fast-paced, fresh food frenzy (and apparently an alliterative attraction). YUM!

Tea-pouring is a thing. The higher you pour from, the more mixed and bubbly the tea. This is scalding hot tea too, something I have retested several times already..

We wanted to sit on the rooftops surrounding the square so we went to a restaurant on the perimeter, Amor n Akoch. I always get distracted by the cool colored lamps all over.

This “Arab Africa vs Black Africa” thing keeps catching our eye. There is very little to indicate that we’re in Africa. Steve of course found a kindred spirit kitty cat that sat on his lap happily the entire time.

Hassan is always partying.. and always selling/working on his projects!

We walked back the 10 min to our riads afterward. It had started to die down so walking was easier. The vendors were all still out though. It’s like an Aladdin film come-to-life with the layers upon layers of people and metal vessels and lanterns.