Our parents surprised us by meeting up with our aunt and uncle. At dinner they surprised us by putting the menus in front of their faces and hiding. We all got confused until they took the menus off of their faces and it all made sense. We arrived in Fes and it was super busy. We got to our hotel (all the people in Fes call hotels Riad) and we accidentally interrupted the person who works there. He was doing his prayer. By the way it was Ramadan which is when you can’t eat until 7 to 8 o’clock pm! Ramadan goes on for a month! I would not survive not eating for a day! There were lots and lots of cats in Fes and lots of meat hanging from the walls. It was really disturbing! The markets were crouded and on Fridays and during their prayer they were silent and not even half as many people as the day we arrived. The tanneries are where you take the skin and fur off of goats and sheeps and make jackets, purses, and bean bags. They call bean bags “poofs”. The tanneries do not smell good- Do Not Go To The Tanneries! It was my birthday there it was the best birthday I’ve ever had with my family! I REALLY LIKE FES!!!

Here’s a summary of our three nights in Marrakesh. On the first night, we were surprised by our aunt and uncle. They were hiding behind their menus and sitting at the table of a fancy restaurant. It was such a lovely night to catch up on the past nine months. Day 1 in Marrakesh was spent at the botanical gardens and in the Souqs and ended with a good dinner of Tajines and donuts. A Tajine is stewed veggies or meat cooked in a cone shaped clay pot. On day 2, our uncle and aunt had Hammams, so we spent our day in the Souqs (again) and the stinky tannery. A Hammam is a scrubbing spa and yes, they scrub you everywhere. It is a very naked experience. A tannery is where they make leather from cow, goat or sheep skin. The night ended with meeting up with our aunt and uncle at a nice restaurant.

The Sahara had was on my bucket list for a long time. When we arrived after a long day of driving, we took off with our backpacks and we all hopped on our dromadaries. It was a fairly uncomfortable ride but well worth it. As we walked through the Sahara desert, we could see nothing but the little village behind us, sand dunes and others riding dromadaries. It was a nice relaxing walk to our campsite. When we arrived, we climbed to the top of a dune and we watched the sunset. Did you know that Sahara means desert in Arabic? So when you say “Sahara desert” you’re really saying “desert desert”. Dinner was salad, Tajines and fruit. The next morning, we woke up at 5am to watch the sunrise. It was so beautiful! After the sunrise, we rode back to the village on our dromadaries.