WOOHOO!! We're in Africa. A new continent for both of us!

We arrived in Marrakech just after 3pm but didn't get out of the airport until 4:30pm. The customs routine is comical and efficiency is definitely not the name of the game. In a way, it's a great induction into the Moroccan way of taking your time. I think we were 3rd in line and it took nearly an hour to get our passports stamped. A driver picked us up at the airport to take us to the Riad L'Orientale just off the Jemaa al Fna. Good thing that we headed this piece of advice. We'd still be walking around Marakech if they hadn't held our hands. As soon as the driver had us in the car, he began to ask about our trip and offer his services and car for a "very reasonable price". Again, another introduction to what we were going to experience. Just about everything is for sale and negotiable. Good learning! The driver was charming despite our refusal of his offer(s) and pointed out various sites and landmark on our 15 minute trip to the square.

He passed us off to Zacharia-one of our hosts for the two days in Marrakech. Thankfully he was there to help us navigate our way through the maze of the medina. At 5pm, when we arrived in Jemaa el Fna, the square was just starting to come alive and it was sensation overload. So much going on in every direction--eyes, ears, nose all engaged in processing the moment. A smile came over my face and I knew we'd be in for an adventure.

Two left turns off the Bab Fetouh and we were at our place. Just as expected, it looked dodgy from the outside - rancid smells from the sewer drains, dark alleys, and trash strewn about -- but once the door opened we were in a beautiful historic home. Zaccharia took us to our room to drop off our bags and then met us in the foyer with mint tea and fresh squeezed orange juice. We could not get enough of the juice....YUM!!! It was just the ticket to get us ready for our night in the square.

We headed out with no plan other than to not buy anything except food for dinner. Timid and unsure about the negotiation etiquette, we initally kept our distance; not committing to any one store and telling all of the shopkeepers that their stuff was lovely but we were not interested. Gradually, we started engaging to better understand how much things cost and that's when we learned that our concept of cost and their concept of cost were very different. The shopkeeper views things on a macrolevel and how well he did on all of the transactions that came before and how well he anticipates doing on the transactions that come after. Day-to-day and hour-to-hour this picture changes so as the saying goes, "timing is everything." Fortunately for us, we were not buyers today.

The deeper we made it in to the souks the less pressure I felt to make an offer on things I knew I would not buy. I also felt less sure of where we were and how we were going to get back. Fortunately, Todd has an impecable sense of direction and pretty decent map. As he pulled it out, we were approached by a guy offered to show us around -- "you no pay, I just help". Naively, we said okay and off we went. Left, right, through the back room, back on the main street, through another shop, stop and say hello to someone, off down an alley...and so it goes. I completely lost track of where we were but had an odd sense of confidence that we would be okay. He ended up taking us to the "Number One Berber Pharmacy" which was a room in a building with a bunch of jars filled with herbs and other "natural remedies" -- Berber viagra being the showcase remedy. The "pharmacist" was disappointed when we didn't buy anything but we stuck to our guns, left the shop, and ditched our "guide". *phew* now Todd could get us back...right? He never let on that he had no clue where we were and his sense of direction did not fail us but I laughed from my belly when he fessed up later that he was completely turned around.

"Safe and sound" back in the main square, it was time to check out the scene -- transvestite belly dancers, story tellers, henna tatoos, everything you read about. I even got groped several times...which was when I pulled the plug and got out of the milleu. I was totally overwhelmed. Not scared but a little creeped out by being surrounded by so many men and not understanding customs, cultures or language to anticipate the world around me. Getting out of the crowd helped me to regain my bearings...as well as hear my stomach growl. To the food stalls!

We walked up and down the stalls making friends with all of the salesmen manning the front of the stall. We would walk by each one and the drill would be the same. The menu would be inserted in Todd's hand and the young man would start rattling off all of the yummy treats (which were the same at each stall but this stall was the best): chicken kebabs, lamb kebabs, couscous, Berber air conditioning (aka the summer breeze). It was the schtick and they had it down.

We resisted them all and found the stall with the least number of tourists and the simplest menu: the sandwich stall. This stall consisted of a u-shaped table lined on the outside with benches and the inner part of the "u" was where the prepped the food. It went something like this: one bun, one egg, one tablespoon of olive tapenade or something like it, one steamed and peeled potato all mixed up with the blade of a little paring knife and topped with a vinegar hot sauce. YUM! We sat on the bench for an hour watching the world go by and the interaction of our "chef" and the other customers. A young boy around 16 was the main guy putting the sandwiches together and he was a character. He had a rapport with all of the people that came to his stand. It was clear they knew him and he them. I felt like we experienced something real in this great big production.

Satisfied and exhausted, we headed back to our riad and drifted off to sleep...