It's Monday...

Today we were up early. Wakeup call was at 5:30 this morning. We were on the bus at 7 am and headed along the coast line towards the Atlantic. Our first view of the rock of Gibraltar was beautiful. Sometimes it is shrouded in fog. Tomorrow we will be coming back and actually visiting the rock. Today we just passed by it and went directly to the ferry that would take us across the mouth of the Mediterranean to Africa. We will land at Ceuta. A town still owned by Spain in Morocco. From the ferry we boarded another bus for our trip into Morocco. The boarder was insanely busy. And it was bedlam! Thousands upon thousands of people cross it each day. The Moroccans come into Ceuta daily to purchase tax free goods that they then smuggle home. Our passports have been taken by our local guide Mohammad (for entry control). We get them back at the end of the day. Scary!

Shortly after crossing the boarder, we stopped for a few minutes so the kids could have a ride on a Moroccon Mercedes ... A camel! Lol! Since I already had that experience in Egypt, I did not feel the need to repeat it! We travelled for about an hour to the town of Tetuan, an ancient, moroccan city that is a mixture of cultures, Moroccon (Muslim), Jewish, Christian, Bedoin. In addition to our local guide who brought us across the boarder into Africa, we had 2 additional guides and a photographer with us. With the group the size it is, they always have extra people helping. They took us to the center of the city by bus and than from there into the old city. And I mean OLD! The Moroccons settled the city in 711. Can you even grasp that? I can't! It was incredible. We were told to stay close because it was easy to get lost. We were also told it was safe because the Moroccons are very friendly and they love tourists and above all, their laws are VERY strict and VERY harsh and they are very afraid to break them. All that being said, the inner city is ancient and is comprised of 3000 interconnecting alleys. You can't even really call them streets! 3000!!! Wow! I gcould get lost in 30! Lol! So into the market we went. Live chickens and fresh fruit & veggies everywhere. The strawberries were huge and smelled soooo yummy! There were figs, oranges, apples, dates, bananas, spices and nuts. There were vendors selling meat and fish! Oh my! Basket and basket of stinky smelly fish. And whole chickens hanging and running around and being slaughtered. One of the girls was standing beside me when we stopped in front of a place selling chicken and just a few feet from us the vendor slit the throat of one! And Layla said 'omg! Did you see that? He killed it! It was alive!'. I could not help but laugh at their reactions to this experience! Where exactly do they think those neatly wrapped chickens in the supermarket come from? Or the whoppers they have been chowinh down? Too funny! I took so many pictures in the market. After the food, there was clothing vendors. And jewellry! Wow! Shop after shop of gold! But they kept us moving. There was not time for shopping with these vendors.

When we were buried too deep in the center of the market to find our way out, they took us to a carpet factory where we got to see the most amazing rugs and carpets imaginable, not to mention blankets and table cloths. We were told that each town was particularly known for its particular craft or area of expertice. This town is known for its carpets. They are all hand woven and the craftmenship dates back centuries. I have seen a carpet factory and shop in Egypt so I understood the prices of what we were looking at. The kids did not fully grasp what they we're in for when they enthusiastically asked for prices on what we were shown. For every piece we indicated approval for, another sales person came through the door. It was interesting to see the kids haggle for the prices or try and get out of haggling! Lol! A few of them did but a small rug, but for the most part it would have been more effective if they had been selling placemats! Some of the carpets were so beautiful but all I could see was Myah chewing the end off a 500€ runner I had shipped home from Spain! Lol!

From there we headed to a pharmacy which is a cool stop. They have so many natural products available for you to try and of course purchase. Almond creams and rose and coconut creams. Creams for acne and cold sores and big bites (I was tempted by THAT sales pitch!). They had a massage oil for muscle injuries and arthritis pain. And they also sold headache and snoring medications. A very cool shopping stop and these vendors made more sales than the carpet vendors.

After all that, we made the almost 4 hour trip back to the hotel for a late dinner and bed! Another full day is looming tomorrow! Our last day already. I can hardly believe it. On wed we start the trek home and it will be almost a 24 hour trek! Yikes!

Ciao!
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