some notes from Ouarzazate (which is a bitch to write on a French keyboard)
I apologize to anyone who has actuqlly checked in hoping to see word of our travels. It has been really difficult to have enough energy after Ben’s asleep to get to a “cyber” and impossible to do when he is awake. And French/Arabic keyboqrds, which are not QWERTY, are really difficult for a touchtypist.
I will just have to save up my scribbles and post when were back in brooklyn; weve journeyed from desert to mountains to towns, in crowded grand taxies and local buses that stop every 100 feet, with little Berber babies on my lap; on camels; hitching in the flatbed of pickups down hairpin mountain roads; and now in our very own rental car, a local Dacia, a half step above a Yugo;
A few notes from our travels:
Morocco is a beautiful place.
A Nintendo DS is kiddie crack and can be used to bribe a child to do anything.
camel poop is dry and shaped like the capsule the toy comes in in kinder eggs; after leaving the camel, the poop capsule will roll downhill, leaving tracks in the sand like a little creature. They gather in depressions in sand dunes in places where many camels walk, forming little pebble fields.
beware the pistachios from the guy in Fes next to Thami’s; if you eat them, expect a few very long hours during which you cant remember how to speak and others think youve had a stroke; for this, Moroccan doctors will prescribe antibiotics and muscle relaxants.
Not enough Americans travel and not enough of them travel the right way. People are constantly surprised by us.
Ben is my hero.
How wonderful to hear from you again! Ah, NOW I’m an authority on camel poop! The things I don’t know!
Sounds like it is a grand adventure, except for the pistachios….who was unlucky enough to consume them?! We just returned from Kathleen and Caroline’s graduation….Kathleen did the graduation ceremony, Caroline didn’t, but we knew that would be the routine. It was meaningful to all and we had a day of complete rest on Sat. Reading by the pool, watching a movie, Scrabble, etc. Good time. Thanks for passing on news of the trip when you can. Love to all…we’ve been thinking of you and realizing that it’s your last week. Safe journey home, Mom and Pop
Morocco IS a stunningly beautiful place. I was there for about 10 hours in 1990. It was about 3 dyas afer Saddam invaded Kuwait, and the IHT headline the day we arrived was “Morocco Sends Troops to the Gulf”. My travel companion got a lot of long looks from border patrol when we arrived (Jewish last name) so she was already anxious and uncomfortable. I was not overly concerned, but she was convinced that they were going to close the borders, so we left. I was tremedoulsy annoyed, and heartbroken, but since she did not feel safe, what could I do? When we arrived back stateside we had missed our connecting flight to Chicago and had an unespected free afternoon in New York. I met my favorite aunt at MOMA, where they happened to have an exhibit entitled “Matisse in Morocco”. I almost missed that second plane.
Your trip sounds amaaaaaaazing. You are absolutely right. Americans go to touristy places and stay in the righ hotels and follow the tours and cheat themselves of the rich experience you are having. And kudos to you for sharing that with a child, how invaluable it must be for Ben.
What an adventure! Yes, I agree about DS kiddie crack – unfortunate, but necessary! Who at the pistachios?!? Can’t wait to hear all when you get back – safe trip home – nothing like having a kid who travels well!
Hoooorraaaayyyy!!! The Kimmel Jensens are traveling again. You are amazing people and I can’t wait to hear all about your trip when you return. Ben is my hero too!
Safe Journey.
Kara
Hi guys,
Looooooooooved seeing the sketches. They really do capture the place so well!! I hope there will be more appearing soon. I hope some of Ben’s will be going online too! (Hi Ben! I still have the cape and mask you made for me… Shukran!)
Loved seeing you both and meeting Ben, too. So glad the timing lined up after all. (Just wish I’d gotten back a little sooner so that i’d have done my post-mission mental adjustment, had my head together a bit more and had fewer boring administrative tasks on my “to do” list.)
‘nshoufkum min b’ad (see you later)
R xx
What happened with the pistachios? Do tell!
One morning in Fes, I woke up unable to…access…words. I could speak, but only with a handful of simple words, and I felt like I could not “find” the rest of my vocabulary. I felt mentally altered, but couldn’t figure out how or why. I just knew something was terribly wrong. Kristin and the son of our guesthouse-owner were sure I had had a stroke. It was terrifying. A doctor was called, who confidently said I’d had some sort of reaction to a toxin in some bad food and gave me a prescription for antibiotics and a muscle relaxant, for some unknown reason. I recovered within a few hours, but a week or so later, in a different town, I began to feel a hint of the same sensation, but this time, I had been eating some pistachios we had bought in Fes—pistachios from the same batch I had gorged on the night before the first incident. I knew instantly they were the cause and stopped eating them before I got truly affected. It was a very strange experience, and haven’t really had it explained to my satisfaction. I’m not allergic, and I’ve had pistachios since with no effects. CRAZINESS!