390 miles traveled by train.
3 cities visited. 10 pounds added
to my weight. Morocco was one hell of a
port.
Our whirlwind tour of the Northeast tip of Africa was
incredible. Kelly and I were determined
to make the most of our last port and I think we were pretty successful. We visited the cities of Marrakesh and Rabat
on back to back days by train, riding 2nd class but having a 1st
class experience.
Marrakesh was over a 3 hour train ride from Casablanca but
well worth the travel. We left early in
the morning on Friday arriving around noon.
Sadly we only spent 5 hours exploring the gateway city to the Sahara
desert but the exotic vibe of the city was very prevalent. An oasis at the base of the High Atlas
Mountains, Marrakesh truly is a jewel of the Islamic world. It is home to a Medina with a huge square
featuring snake charmers, story tellers and hawkers selling lanterns, tea pots
and fresh orange juice. The maze of
reed-covered bazaars and narrow alleyways made me feel like I was living out a
scene from Aladdin and the 40 Thieves. I
was never sure what was around the next corner and we got turned around so many
times I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever make it out. I loved every minute of it.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the tumultuous square
during the evening because we caught the evening train back to Casablanca but
the train ride was an experience in its own right. On the way there we rode in a passenger compartment
that felt straight out of Trading Places.
There was an older Arabic woman, a father and son and another Arab
gentleman who were very pleasant. We
didn’t have much of a conversation because of the language barrier but it was
interesting to see how the two strangers interacted with the young boy who they
didn’t seem to know but fondly played with and helped entertain.
Our train ride back to Casablanca was a different kind of
ride. We made the train with less than a
minute to spare before departure and we were counting our blessing to not have
to wait the two hours for the next train.
What we didn’t realize was that there would be no seats like on the way
there and the train was packed with passengers carrying what seemed like their
entire life’s belongings. You see they
never really sellout second class in Morocco, they just pack you in. We spent part of the trip standing in an area
between the train cars, part sitting on the floor in a nook behind some seats
and then again crowded in a hallway outside the bathroom. It may sound awful but the time went by
really quickly and the people watching was well worth the ticket.
The people on the train were all very nice and helped us
figure out where we were going since we couldn’t understand the
announcements. This being my first trip
to a Muslim country I wasn’t sure what kind of reception we would receive. I’ve never subscribed to the “evil Muslim”
stereotype some people try to use to divide the world but being the obvious
tourist we are we still stick out. Every
person we interacted with on our trip was wonderful. From the old woman who offered Kelly here
granddaughter’s sweatshirt to sit on when we were stuck sitting on the train
floor to the guy who walked us to the Medina when we were lost and trying to decipher
our map.
Traveling is a wonderful opportunity to get out there and
see that people are generally good and we shouldn’t let the media and the
actions of a few crazies generalize an entire population. Or to put it more poetically, “Perhaps
travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry,
laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and
understand each other, we may even become friends”. - Maya Angelou
