Reflections

Now that I am home and have had some time to rest, I have several thoughts about our last three weeks of travel.  First thought is how extremely fortunate I am to be able to travel as I have done.  Many persons my age are not able to travel due to illness, money, work, or not sharing a life with another who is willing to participate in foreign travel.

Linda and I have discussed how this trip's experience is about all those photos that were not taken.  They were not taken because of cultural challenges or not shared for personal privacy.  I immediately think of the owl's eyed women in Figuig.  I would have loved to have taken their photos, but it is forbidden.  Owl's eyed women wear full chadre of white while they peer out with one eye.  What an incredible sight to watch them walk across the town square.

Our three weeks of travel were also divided into three separate trips.

First week of travel was with our Peace Corp friend living on the eastern border of Maroc.  We benefited from her skill of speaking Moroccan Arabic.

Second week was Linda and I traveling on our own throughout the more traveled parts of Maroc. We were very fortunate to have had the first week with our friend. This allowed us to take in stride the difficult issues of the more commercialized Maroc.

Third week was devoted to being with our French friends.  This indeed was a rare opportunity to experience France and reconnect with friends.  Merci beaucoup!

It is humbling to travel the world.  The world shrinks and the news becomes personal.  When you meet and interact with others where they live, it is impossible to take the position "our way only".

Blessed

Merci beaucoup!

Linda and I are so very appreciative of being invited as guest into your lovely home. Thank you for sharing your family with us.  We are honored to be a part of your recent life and family. Although the skies of Normandy are often cloudy and full of rain, our memories are full of sunshine and joy!  And as the youngest family member often sings "alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, amen", it gives voice to what we feel in our hearts.

Our travel to the Normandy region of France would not have taken place without your kind invitation.  We cherish the experiences shared in your home and community.  And although the Bishop was soundly critical of our language skills, he is right in pointing out our need for improvement.  Inshallah!

The trip home took much longer than planned.  We had a very bumpy landing in Minneapolis due to severe winds.  The severe winds across the country shut down many airports.  Minneapolis' airport had only one runway open.  We were lucky, we were delayed only 6 hours before being allowed to fly home.  Friends flying home from Brussels had to spend the night in Chicago.  We arrived home at 11 p.m., our time, and about 5 a.m. Paris time. 

Thank you for your generosity and friendship.  We are truly blessed! 

Kind regards to you and family,

Marcus & Linda

P.S. The meals at the Chez were  "magnifique!  Mes compliments au chef de cuisine!"

Merci beaucoup!!

Mont Saint-Michel

WOW!
Mont Saint-Michel is an architectural wonder.  It is a formidable structure in its own right.  Add to this the fact that it sits on a spit of land that allows the ocean to surround it during high tide is extraordinary.  Our first glimpse of St. Michel was from the expressway many miles away.  Our friends, and guides for the day knew of a lovely spot to view the cathedral from afar.  The foreground was sea salt grasses dotted with grazing black-headed, white bodied sheep.  This particular sheep is valued for its tenderized meat, (done so by the diet of sea salt grasses).

Mont Saint-Michel became a Benedictine monastery over a thousand years ago and is still home to a small monastic community.  The Archangel Michel appeared in dreams to the Bishop of Avranches three times during the year 708, each time instructing him to build a place of worship on the island.  Buildings were added to the fortified abbey throughout the Middle Ages, representing a wide range of Medieval architectural styles.  During the Hundred Years War, Mont St-Michel resisted three sieges and was not captured by the English.

As we approach Mont Saint-Michel by causeway we are told that the causeway is a ecological nightmare and soon will be replace by a bridge supporting a rail system for transporting the visitors.  Reason for the ecological nightmare is that the causeway does not allow the tide to carry back out to sea the sediments it brings during high tide.  The resulting left sediments is creating new land masses on either side of the causeway.  St- Michel is one of three most desired places in France to visit (the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame).

The construction of St-Michel took place in several stages and over a period of several hundred years.  It is a testament to one's inspiration of faith and fortitude. I would love to be able to spend the night during high tide at full moon.  The many views from the cathedral and village are endless.  The setting is a photographers paradise.

As a more banal perspective, St-Michel is a perfect example of P. T. Barnum's "build it and they will come."  Not far from the front gate to Mont Saint-Michel is the restaurant La Mere Poulard whose specialty is omelets.  You can watch and listen to the chefs beat the eggs in large copper bowls, (CHEW-ga, chew-ga, CHEW-ga, chew-ga).  One omelet la mere will set you back a modest 42 Euro.

Oulala! immaculate eggs?

Ground Swell of Emotions and Other Unknown Realities of WW II

Spent the afternoon exploring the coastline of Normandy.  Our outing included the beaches of Omaha, Utah, and Arromanches, and towns St Aubin and Luc sur Mer. The first two, Omaha and Utah I already knew their significants in my country's life and the liberation of France.  Arromanches is another matter.

Arromanches has a museum that is dedicated to showing how the harbor was built and sustained to make D-Day a reality.  Hmmmmm, this was an area of knowledge in may education that was lacking.  How about for you?  Do you know the story of the Arromanches harbor?

The success of D-Day depended on the Allies building a harbor the would sustain the troops in France.  It was known that the fortifications by the Germans in pre existing French harbors were not an option.  The Germans were prepared to destroy the harbors when attacked.  So another plan had to be considered.

The harbor planning began in 1942, two years before D-Day.  Workers in Great Britain built floating docks that could be submerged to create a harbor.  They also built unloading docks that would rise and fall with the ships and the tides.  It was a first of its kind.  Soon after the beginning of D-Day's attack the artificial reefs for the harbor were sunk and the loading docks were positioned.  Within about 48 hours, most of the harbor was completed and withstood a very bad storm.  Another site closer to Omaha Beach was destroyed by the same storm.

Without the success of Arromanches' artificial harbor, D-Day would have failed after a few days.

Because 90% of Normandy was destroyed, most of the towns in Normandy have been rebuilt since the end of WW II.  There are many reminders of the war.  In St. Lô the cathedral's nave was completely destroyed by allied bombs.  When it was time to rebuild only the Christ figure hanging before the alter and the right-hand steeple remained standing.  The community chose to rebuilt the nave with a modern motif so that everyone would forever be reminded of the destructive time of WW II.

Later we visited several cemeteries scatter throughout Normandy.  The visual sight of row after row of marked graves induced a strong sense of emotions for the loss of life and the horror of that time.  More than 10,000 lives were lost in that single day!

Paris Train to Lison

Watching the public has been a life long passion.  As a child, my older brother and I would often sit in our Dad's car while he did visitations.  You might be amazed at what you can learn through this activity?

For example, during our 2 1/2 hour train ride from Paris to Lison (located in Normandy), one can learn a good deal about the French society.  The people are more open and trusting of strangers than we Americans.  They tend to be more watchful of the youth and the very young.  Family values are being publicly practiced, instead of used solely as a political slogan.  I would like to share two examples I observed while riding the train.

The school term had come to an end and many young students were returning to their homes to spend the next week with their family.  As students of various ages got on and off the train, they interacted with the other riders on the train.  Often they were seated next to an older person of either gender.  There appeared to be little apprehension for evil deeds that could befall them.

At one point a mother with two young children, plus a baby in a baby carriage boarded the train.  The mother left the sleeping baby in the carriage where there was an empty space intended for bicycles between the train cars.  She continued into our car and found their seats.  The mother entertained her small children and found activities for them; at the same time, she would occasionally check on the sleeping baby parked between the train cars.

Yes, people were still queuing to get on and off the train.  And they would speak in low voices to not wake the sleeping baby as they boarded and disembarked the train.  At one point, we were a part of that whispering public.

At first blush, we as Americans might blame the mother for being reckless and endangering the sleeping baby.  But really, what is more humane; waking a sleeping child to move into the train car, or allowing the sleeping child to sleep uninterrupted?  It was obvious that the mother did not possess undo fear toward travelers on the train.  It was also apparent that the wayfaring strangers had no evil intents for the sleeping baby.

Yes, watching others can be a useful learning experience for a stranger in a strange land.

Paris Land of Lights

HURRAH!

From our plane we are able to see the Eiffel Tower lighting the Parisian sky.  What an amazing sight.  Finding the pick-up spot at the airport for our hotel proved to be a challenge but doable.  Linda and I are dead tired and at this point have not yet heard whether our plans to travel to Normandy need to be altered because of the strikes in France.  I hope our friends will not be inconvenienced meeting us in Normandy.

AND

if so, I do hope they will share that concern.  It is too late to call and verify tonight.  I will do it early tomorrow morning.

INSHALLAH!

80% Inshallah

Earlier with our travels in Maroc we ran across the saying, "80%".  It refers to any project or end product as meeting the 80% rule.  It reflects the attitude of completion that one experiences while traveling in Maroc.

Linda and I believe this rule holds true only because 100% of the women make up the total 80%.  Men are seen all day sitting at the sidewalk cafes sipping super sweet mint tea or an expresso.

Imagine what would happen if 20% of all the men sipping their drinks would pitch-in and give the women some help?  It might just add up to 100%!

Rabat

What a lovely repast from Marrakesh. Palm boulevards with broad
walkways. Found a hotel a few blocks from railway station. Hotel
Central is more than a bit dog-earred. A fitting way to leave Maroc.

Spent afternoon walking the town and part of the medine. Rabat is like
everywhere else we have traveled in Maroc. The photos taken are not
the ones we will remember; the images, they were never taken nor could
they.

When we returned to our hotel a demonstration was in the early stages.
People wearing different colors marched down the street chanting. All
the people stopped in front of the government building. Guards moved
quickly against the demonstrators whacking a few individuals. The
crowd reacted with jeers and maintained their presents for another
hour before marching away in unison singing. I understand this is
fairly common occurance in Rabat.

As I prepare to move on, Rabat prepares for the night. A night for
walking, eating and meeting friends at a sidewalk cafe or in the park.

WHEW!

We are on the train to Rabat. It is however, not without drama. Evidently two sets
of tickets were sold for the same seats we are sitting. The conductor has taken
our tickets? Train is moving and we are on it. What is next is still
unkown.

Lady across aisle is reading the Koran. Black man next to me
is singing quitely what sounds like Christian chants. Before train
left the station, people around us debated the situation. I am hoping that
the lady and the man's prayers are answered. They both agreed that we were
in the correct seats. The conductor has returned with out tickets
punched. Dacor! The other ticket holders were found separate seats. Prayers of
this traveler were answered.

Black man is Algerian on his way to Paris. The border overland is
closed so he entered Maroc by air and will then fly on to France. I asked
about the strike in France and he said he thought the government would
not enact the legistration. All would be fine by the time we arrive.
Let's hope he is correct. If not, Bruno and family will not be able to
travel.

Algerian man then asked me about our upcoming election. I express some
concern about the Tea Party and his response was "why, they stand for
absolutely nothing!". I replied, "I was fearful of all those people
who support absolutely nothing!"

The man smiled as he was leaving the train and said, "I have always
thought of myself as a Republican. My Dad was a diplomat and graduated
from MIT."

I wished him safe journeys.
What just happened?

24 Hours Later

Awoke feeling much better. My body is free of aches for the first time
in three days; and although my stomach is tender, I think that I can
leave my room today.

Walked to train station to check schedule. This was a test run for
leaving our room. Okay so far! Our friend living in Maroc refers to
the 80% solution for how things are done. The train station is a
perfect example of 80%. It is modern and quite opulant; but the johns
must be flushed by sloshing a pail of water into the bowl. Yes, there
is running water in the station, but not for the johns.

One more note about the toilets; a woman attendant sloshes the men's
side while each woman has the job of sloshing her own john. We discovered this by
sharing with each other how odd that a modern building had no
flushable johns.  Is this 50%?

Checked out the goverment controled art cooperatives and found many
lovely things which we can live without, even the rugs. Ah, but they
are very nice!

A light rain encourages us to take refuge in our room until evening
dinner. I am hoping to be able to keep it. Tonight is omellettes!

Marrakesh the Wall

The train to Marrakesh was pleasant enough but hours later Linda and I
are not feeling well. We have sought refuge in our room.

On top of this, I continue to battle a headcold I picked up in Fez.
Neither one of us have much energy. Sigh! There is much to see in
Marrakesh.

I went shopping for bannas and bland cookies I hope that we can
quickly recover from our malade. Linda is weak and nonfunctional today.

Thank goodness we spent extra money for this room!  We are spending way too much time in it!

Train to Marrakesh

Train station just a block from Hotel Magestic. Our first class
tickets for $60 gives us a six or seven hour day of travel.
Train arrived on time and our seats are comfortable. Track bed is
good and our electric train is moving at a fast pace.

Land is farm land and flat. Near Rabat we are able to view the ocean
from our train window. The color is aqua blue-green.
Land south of Casablanca is fertile farm land. It reminds me of
Kansas. Just as quick, the terrain looks like Arizona!

Train station in Marrakesh is ultra modern. Lots of other
contradictions regarding women's dress. Perhaps the most trendy to date?

Dinner setting is along a boulavard, tree lined with cars, busses, motorbikes, and bicycles; oh, I forgot to tell you that there are hordes of people trying to cross the street. Police whistles and hand jesters seem to have little meaning or affect.

Bon apetit!

Meknes

After breakfast we walked to the bus station. The best thing about
touts is they make it easy to find the right bus. Have not needed
going to the ticket counter for tickets.

While waiting for departure we are entertained by a constant stream of
humanity. Boys selling food, men selling herbal medicines, religious
materials, and even the maimed displaying their imperfections for
donations.

Saw a rare outbreak of anger. A tout shoved a women and instantly
others got involved. Several women surrounded the man and shoved him
while talking in a very animated level.

Upon arrival in Meknes, we guessed right and got off the bus near the
hotel we wanted. This saved us a taxis fare. Hotel Magestic is grand
1930s era, Art Deco. Even the main desk manager seems to have come
from that era.

After checking in, the front desk arranged for us a taxis to take us
to Volubilis (a Roman provincial capital), and Moulay Idriss
(country's first Arabic dynasty). Volubilis is perhaps the southern
most capital of Roman influence. The movie The Last Temptation of
Christ was filmed here. The people of Moulay Idriss are all direct
descendents of Mohammed. The town has just recently been opened to
foriegners. There is a wooden bar across the temple entrance to keep
non Muslims out.

Being sick of Moroccan food forced us into a dingy place for pizza. Took forever for the pizza to arrive, but it gave us plenty of time to watch small cockroaches
running about on the bread at our table.

Fez

Had a lovely sleep and awoke to a feast of breads, jams, and fresh
olives. Soon after breakfast our guide for the day arrived. Because it was the
Sabbith (Friday), the shops closed at noon. This made navigating the
medina much easier. Narrow streets or foot paths crisscross the
medina. There are over 900 walkways (streets) in the medina.

While we had lunch our guide quickly ate and went to prayers. After
lunch we got a white Mercedes to transport us around Fez and to the
ramparts to view the city.

Although our guide spoke very good English, I think he was unhappy
that we did not buy at the shops he showed us. The shops included rug
dealers, tannery, and ceramics. Today he worked for just his wages
without commissions.

Enjoyed lamb tajine for our evening meal. Delicious!

Midelt

French plumbing for jon bons is not up to British standards. One
Yankee dump and the entire hotel's plumbing stopped working! How
embarrassing, it is such a nice little 8 room hotel. Meanwhile, my
quads are getting strong from daily use of a squat john.

We got a much longer look at the snow capped mountains as we left
Midelt. We stopped for lunch and outside our bus window is the
butcher's shop. They skin the animals leaving either the tail or the
head for animal identification by the customer.

The bus took us though twisting mountain roads. We passed a recently over turned
oil tanker along the way. At one point we were in a dense pine
forest. Along the road we spied monkeys. They looked like green rocks
until they moved.

Azrou looks like a Swiss town with all of it's chalet looking houses.
Very prosperous town. Next town of Irfene is equally prospering. The
King has built a center for Islam, Jewish, and Christian faiths.

In Fez we are met by Karem who takes us to his riad. Such a beautiful place.
As I write this, his son is saying his evening prayers in the next room.

At 7 p.m. a person came to take us to dinner and then return us once we were
finished.  Our meal was served on the terrace roof top. Again, way too much food!

Arrived safely back at our riad.  Could not have done it without our guide.
Inshallah!

Morning After

Awoke at 5:15 A.M. to watch the sunrise. Desert air is very crisp. You
can hear the camels complaining as they are prepared for the return trek.

After breakfast we return to the auberge and our guide. After a fast car
ride back to Erfoud we catch a white Mercedes taxis for an equally fast
ride to Errachidia. From there we instantly boarded a bus headed to
Midelt.

Traveled through the mountains. Shortly before Midelt we saw snow
topped mountains.  Ate a huge meal at local street cafe. We had tajine and two "nes-nes" (coffee latties). Salad of fresh olives and tomatoes. Went to bed early, we are so tired from our desert adventure.

My shower felt pretty good after two days of travel.

Merzouga

We made it to Errachidia in record time (like I would know), and
caught the next bus to Erfoud. While heading to Erfoud we saw perhaps
10 kilometers of Date Palmeries.

In Erfoud we met our guide who would take us to Merzouga for the camel
ride. Merzouga is beyond the end of the road where the Sahara is
encroaching on the otherwise desert plains.  Sweet tea was served on our arrival. We walked about the Auberge Saide. The Berber camel drivers prepared the camels for the trek to our overnight tent.

AYE!!!

Riding camels can be a gender bending experince. Just getting on and
off the ground challenges any amusement park ride. After mounting the
camel you are facing upwards at a sever angle followed immediately by
looking straight at the ground ten feet in the air. With luck and
holding on, you are soon level with the ground.

After a 90 minute trek into the desert, we arrived at our tents. Sweet tea
was served and later for dinner we had a chicken Tajine.

The sky is filled with many stars! And, from our tent you can see
most of them. Evening drumming is the night's entertainment.

Bouarfa

Figuig is at the end of the line and you have only two chances to leave (7 or 8 AM).
We caught the late bus to Bouarfa.

As we arrived in Bouarfa, a torrent of rain came down. Soon the roads
were turned into fast flowing rivers. We became drown rats just by getting off the bus and fetching our bags.  We grabbed a cab and soon we were at our PC friend's house. Cab driver refused payment.  Ate breakfast consisting of strong coffee with milk and eggs.

Midday has been spent lying about and drying out. Later this afternoon we will buy bus fair to Errachidia.

Tomorrow will be a long bus ride. Bouarfa to Errachidia is 5 hours.
From Errachidia we will travel by bus to Erfoud (2 hours), and take a
cab from Erfoud to Merzouga (?? hours ??).

In Merzouga we will hook-up for our camel trek into the desert.

Figuig Day Two

After a slow start, we took coffee on the veranda over looking Algeria.  We decided to wander the pathways of  the Date palmeries of Figuig.  The lanes are narrow and on either side are adobe mud walls protecting farms and family dwellings. Occasionally we would come to a dead end and need to retrace our steps.  After several hours of maze existence, we happened upon the plaza of commerce for lower Figuig.

We decided to have a refresco and people watch.  The women of Figuig wear white chadres with only one eye exposed.  This is known as the owl's eye.  It is amazing to see the many variants for women's dress.  A group of four women walked by ranging from exposed bare arms to complete owl's eye apparel.

Next to our table a man is mixing hashish with his tobacco cigarette!

We were met by a man who then gave us a tour of more lanes not yet explored.  He returned us to the house where we had dined last night (Jack and Ina).

Once again we enjoyed a great meal with yet more lively conversation.  This setting took place on the roof top where we could watch the sunset and an Arabian night.  While there, a weaver dropped by to show examples of her latest work.  Linda bought a piece.  We were able to get her consent for a photo along with her weaving!

Before saying our goodbyes we got a lead on a riad in Fez.

We paid for our friend's room and the other female PC volunteer.  $100 total for four persons for two nights does not even begin to pay for their knowledge shared!

Figuig

Today was a very busy day.  Our friend took us to visit her work site in Tendrara.  We met her director for the community youth corp.  We were then summoned to the police station so that they could meet us and record our presents.  After introductions and questioning about our travel plans we catch the bus to Figuig.

In Bouarfa we meet another PC member and continued on to Figuig.  Did I mention that today we are experienceing a sand storm?  The bus has had to slow down because of poor visiblity.

We are staying at Hotel Figuig.  It is perched on the edge of upper and lower Figuig which is nestled amongst an oasis of Date palms.  For sunset we sat at the hotel's outdoor cafe drinking coffee and watching the evening light settle on the closed border of Algeria.

Jack and Ina, older Peace Corp volunteers in Figuig, invited us to their house for dinner.  It was delicious!  We had a tasty chicken curry, tomatoes with yogart cream, topped off with a dessert plum tart.  Even more rewarding than the food was the evening's conversation.  Our hosts were old PC volunteers, Linda a former volunteer, and our two young, female friends are volunteers.  Such a mixer of years, experience, and life's experiences of living made for an evening of animated entertainment.

Slept well!

Bus Ride Adventure

Our friend met us in Oujda and we all rode the bus back to her village named Tendrara.  It is located on the eastern side of Maroc about three hours south of Oujda.

The road was fine but the bus was another matter.  I had read that often the locals get sick riding a bus because they are not use to riding.  I think perhaps the sickness is due to busses not having adequate shocks! That was our experience today.  In our bus, the open road was like sailing in a category 6 sea.  Happy to say that we made it without embarrassing ourselves.

At a rest stop a brave old man wanted to practice his English since my Arabic is NOT!  He was a retired teacher of Arabic.  He was very impressed with our friends Arabic accent.  During our conversation he spoke well of many of the key leaders of WW II.  It was interesting that he thought my hometown hero, Mr. Truman, was foolish for bombing the Japanese.

After he discovered that I spoke some German, he asked me what I thought of Hitler, .  My reply was that Hitler was a bad man.  His response was, "no, no, he was foolish."  I am well aware that during the WW II Northern Africa viewed Germany as the liberator from the English and French.

How you describe the elephant depends on what part you grab!

Oujda Arrival

Arrived in Oujda early this morning at 1:30 a.m. I was glad to see
two cabs at the airport for hire. Ibis Hotel had our room waiting for
us. Slept until 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. Linda and I forced ourselves
to get up and reset our bio clocks.

Did a city walk in search of the local supermarket (not to be confused
with the market). Never did find it but we did begin to settle into the
routine of Maroc. Sat and had a refresco at a sidewalk cafe while
watching the flow of people as they interacted with each other. Men
kissing both cheeks while shaking hands (hands would then go to their
hearts). Men as well as women held hands while walking down the street.

Dined at a local restaurant across the street from our hotel. We had tajine
chicken. It is chicken baked in an earthen ware with vegetables (tasty).
Also shared a bowl full of fresh olives. I've not had fresh olives until
now. They were harvested in September.

There is far more varity in the females' dress than I had originally
expected here in Oujda. I wonder if this is typical of all Maroc?

I am having some difficulties with the social custom of always being
spoken to regarding all matters. This fact is accerbated in that for this
trip, Linda is the language expert (French). Neither of us know
Moroccan Arabic.

Did not see nor hear a single dog all day!

Contrasting Styles

This past week has been an opportune time to watch contrasting leadership as it pertains to orchestral conductors.  One conductor was very detail oriented and controlling (there was not one dynamic passed over without taking issue).  The dynamics were either too soft or too loud.  The conductor essentially taught note by note to the entire orchestra of professional players.  The conductor used much of the rehearsal time to explain his wants.  During one 2 1/2 rehearsal the collective group played no more than 40 minutes during the entire rehearsal.

Second conductor had definite ideas regarding the musical phrases of each composition.  To this end, he rehearsed the orchestra repeatedly until he heard the sound that he desired.  Few words were spoken, but much time was spent playing by the individual musicians.

After each respective dress rehearsal, the orchestra members quickly left the stage of the first conductor; and for the second conductor, the orchestra members broke into spontaneous applause as an expression of gratitude.

On the day after the concert, second conductor sent an email to the membership expressing heartfelt thanks for working hard and presenting a fine program.  The first conductor...