Two Curious Souls

As we left Marrakech by train headed to Rabat, we tried to stay in the moment. It would have been easy to spend the travel day reminiscing about Marrakech. We were in a train car that was divided into cabins of six people. We were seated across from each other. Our first stop was Casablanca. For this leg, we were reminded of what good train etiquette involved by the woman sitting next to Susanne. She spent the entire trip, either on her phone talking or talking to the woman on the other side of her. All of this chatter while the rest of us were also listening to her text notifications pinging loudly from her phone at a rate of about one every minute. We were all relieved when she got off in Casablanca. She was replaced by a young gentleman, who I don’t think anyone knew, but he quickly connected with the other gentleman in the middle seat across from him and they spent the entire trip from Casablanca to Rabat talking. As the train got louder so did the conversation. The entire train ...

The word of day is senses. Very seldom do our five senses erupt in a collision so great that we’re unsettled. That’s Marrakech. You don’t smell, taste, feel, hear, or touch Marrakech. Marrakech takes all of these senses and slams them back in your face. Full-on and at high speed! You try to avoid it but it’s always there, in your face. From the polite aggressiveness of vendors in the marketplace to the individuals trying unsolicited to help you solve a problem, aka directions, and then expecting a well-deserved tip. We loved it and feared it. We were enchanted and intimidated by it. You couldn’t walk through the medina without being overcome with the smell of fragrant Tagine cooking. And when you taste the Tagine, its over-the-top flavors hit you like a Mack truck. There were always sounds all around. In a language we didn’t’ understand and coming from unknown directions. We’re walking down tight alleys in the Medina, maybe 6’ to 8’ wide. You know the eyes are all on you. Maybe not...