Down to Ouarzazate: Grand taxi to Ouarzazate, Dinner at the Zween House

_____The next morning we got up and went to the Artisanale near the main mosque. The idea of an Artisanale is that you buy directly from the artisans (craft workers) and cut out the middle-man thus providing more income for the artisans. These types of organizations are being used to incorporate female workers into the economy. This is a large cultural problem in Morocco. Women have a hard time participating in the economy in a way that is both productive and respectful of the slowly changing conservative beliefs concerning a woman's place in society. At the Artisanale I ended up buying some slippers and a leather poof that you stuff with stuff and sit on. We then returned to the hotel, collected our baggage, and caught a petite taxi to the grand taxi stand. On the way there M'barka explained to me how grand taxis work. You go to the grand taxi lot and there is a head guy who runs the show. You tell him where you need to go and he hooks you up with a driver who is going there. Now these "taxis" are either early eighties diesel Mercedes or slightly newer Pugeot station-wagons which are painted an awful beige. Now here's the rub; each grand taxi can 'safely' transport six passengers plus the driver and you have to wait until all of the spots in the taxi are filled before you can leave. Often times this can take hours. Mom said that on one occasion she waited five hours for a grand taxi to fill up. Sometimes they pick up people from the side of the road. If you are in a hurry you can buy up the extra spaces at full price and leave early. So we show up at the grand taxi lot and load all of our stuff in a cab that is going to Ouarzazate. and then sit down to wait. It only takes 10 minutes before all of the spaces are filled. I guess I brought good luck with me from the states. Mom and I get squished in the front seat of this Mercedes and these four Moroccan dudes pile in the back. I instinctively reach for the seat-belt but to no avail- it has been removed from the car. Then I try and lock the door: no lock. I look over at the driver's instruments and nothing works. These small shortcomings play perfectly into my fears of dying a bloody death on the highways of Morocco. The worst was still to come. The road from Marrakech to Ouarzazate takes you up and over the High Atlas Mountains and is actually two whole lanes and is paved. The other roads that we were to travel on were going to pale in comparison, but I didn't know this at the time. The problem with the road to Ouarzazate was that it was filled with switch-backs and there was only an occasional guard rail. Our driver would get stuck behind these large trucks and then try and pass them when he had no view of oncoming traffic. Becky caught me saying, "Don't do it" under my breath on several such occasions. I clung to the little handle the whole way up. From that point on I began chiming in "bis m'allah" with the locals at the beginning of each taxi ride. At Tichka Pass (2260M) we stopped at a little café for lunch and a bathroom break. The views from the Café and from the window of our taxi were unbelievable! Of course none of the pictures came out.

We picked hunks of meat off of the hanging specimens and then they grilled it up for us. Mom explained how to pick out the best pieces of meat. In theory, all of the meat comes from animals that were killed that morning and that's fine and dandy. However, sometimes you can get some bad meat. You can tell the bad meat because it has a lot of flies on it. BUT, if the meat has no flies on it then it has been treated with chemicals and you don't want that either. The trick is to pick out pieces of meat that attract just enough flies. Mom said that it took her a while to get it down but assured me that by the end of my trip I would be able to pick meat like a local.

After three hours in the grand taxi I was thankful that we were still alive. Despite the odds we had safely arrived in Ouarzazate. We took a petite taxi to the "Zween House", so called because not only does it have a refrigerator and an oven but it also is outfitted with the crème de la crème of all Peace Corps sites: hot water! That night we cooked a great meal and had a bibulous time (hashuma). We discussed the latest rumor that the King was coming to town and how that would explain all of the military gear and infrastructure improvements put in over the past weeks. Then we decided that if the King were to come to Ouarzazate then we must have him over for dinner!

From left to right: Jamil, Chris & Amy, M'barka, M'luda, and Deana. Kris & Amy's web site has a lot of cool pictures and details about Morocco. Check it out.

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