We finally have internet at home in Dakar, and I have a lot to tell.

We spent 6 days in Morocco in September on our way to Senegal, where we plan to stay 4 months. In my mind, this trip to Africa is a return to my days of exploration in the Peace Corps, a time when I was able to live in another country and get a real feel for another culture. I wasn’t really all that surprised, then, when we discovered that on our flight from New York to Casablanca were 54 brand new Peace Corps volunteers headed to Morocco for 2 years. The picutre above was taken on the morning of September 13 as we first entered African airspace over Morocco.

Morocco completely exceeded my expectations. It is an amazing country that merits an extended visit of several weeks. We decided to spend most of our time in just one place in order to give us a chance to get a feel for the place. That place was Marrakech (with a side trip to the coast at Essaouira). What a lively place. I cannot describe to you the feeling of strolling around the central square, Djemaa el Fna, in the old city. People were literally everywhere. Many of them ate at the stalls scattered around the square. Others watched snake charmers and story tellers. Some shopped for spices or brillinatly dyed textiles in the narrow, winding alleys that fanned out from the square. And none of this was a show put on for tourists (there were few tourists) — the square has been like this for many hundreds of years. We wandered aimlessly for days. It was electrifying. We knew we were in a truly different country. Marrakech is very photogenic. We took hundreds of pictures, and could have taken hundreds more. Below are just a few. 

  

Shopping for nuts, dates and apricots in the Djemaa el Fna. 

  

Wandering the souks, where you can buy almost anything. 

  

Boys in the metalworks souk. Of course, this being Morocco, they demanded a few dihrams after we took this picture. 

  

Abraham being hit-up for a few more dihrams. 

  

Alley leading to our hotel

  

Abraham outside of our hotel room at the beautiful Jnane Mogador.

  

Outside the old city walls.

  

The colors were amazing in the late afternoon.

  

As the day passes into night, the alleys become quietly beautiful.

  

But the Djemaa el Fna continues to hum.

  

You win something — I’m not sure what — if you can place the ring around the bottle.

  

The square at night. The lit area was full of outdoor restaurants where we ate all kinds of grilled food.

  

We also spent a day in the coastal town of Essaouira. The beach was full of activity that Saturday morning, including numerous soccer matches. Abraham took this priceless shot.