The entire group descends on the hotel restaurant for breakfast almost in unison today and following breakfast we're back out on Marrakesh's streets heading to the Medina. We retrace the previous nights trek back to the Jemaa el-Fna and find an entirely different scene. All the previous night's tables, kiosks and people are all gone. Last night's bustling plaza filled with numerous kitchens, roped off dining areas and countless street performers has been transformed into a vast,starkly empty plaza, most notable is the absence of trash anywhere within the Jemaa el-Fna. We find a lonely man with a performing monkey and a snake charmer dot the vast near-empty area as we cross.
Soon we join our guide and begin a tour of the vast bustling souk beyond the Jemaa el-Fna. Passing crowds of people, mules and mopeds on the busy streets, we visit stalls with merchants peddling wares of all sorts, from music and instruments, to clothing, leather lamps, to spices and food. We also visit art museums and Quaranic schools. We also visit ancient ruins being excavated within the Medina. As morning grows late, our tour comes to an end and we decide to meet at a restaurant overlooking the Jemaa el-Fna as we split to explore the Medina on our own. Kate and I slowly make our way back toward the plaza as we browse the stalls. As we arrive at the Jemaa el-Fna we discover we're the first back and find an upstairs table not only large enough to accommodate the entire group but offering a commanding view of the plaza. The group slowly trickles to our table and dining decisions are made, the conversation turns again to how lucky we were to have such a compatible group. Mohamed once again remarks how we're the best group he's had but we all assume he tells this to every group, though I'm aware our group's chemistry is more comfortable than any other group I've been a part of in the past and others mention the same.
With a hearty lunch consumed we're again out on the plaza as Kate and join up with several others to trek though a different part of the souk toward the Royal Palace and cemetery. This time we're finding our own way through the narrow streets to our destination without the luxury of a guide and easily traverse the Medina and arriving without incident at our destination. We soon find we're not the only tourists here this afternoon as hordes of other visitors are flocking to the cemetery entrance. Following our brief queue we enter the cemetery, passing through the narrow gates we enter a courtyard garden surrounded by tall stone buildings. The courtyard snakes past and around the buildings and is dotted with tombstones and crypts but with lush gardens throughout. Kate and I check the entire grounds before making our exit.
Upon leaving, Kate and I split from the remaining group and decide to walk to the Ville-Nouvelle. As the afternoon grows late, the cramped narrow streets soon widen and give way to grand avenues as we enter the provincial area of Marrakech. As we stroll up the avenue we pass many cars and pedestrians as well as horses and carriages and mules and carts making their way up the road. We pass an obvious KFC restaurant but the signage is in Arabic and soon decide a visit to the Moroccan McDonald's might be interesting and fill an empty spot from the long past lunch. It's funny how McDonald's is just as unappetising wherever in the world you happen to let down your guard long enough to visit one. Following our unsatisfying snack, we return to the hotel to relax and freshen up before dinner.
As the sun sets we all meet in the lobby for drinks and meet one of Mohamed's fellow guides, Khalid. We ask Khalid about a visit to the nearby Cascades d'Ouzoud waterfall and says he would be happy to lead us there and can obtain a driver. Soon Pete and Len show up in the lobby wearing their Jalabas, many of us return to our rooms to grab some the native garb we've acquired on the trip and meet back in the lobby. Turbans and local blouses soon join the Jalabas in the hotel lobby as Mohamed tells us tonight will be a special last dinner together. We again walk the streets of Marrakech toward the Jemaa el-Fna but this time stop short of the plaza and climb a short set of steps, led by the restaurant owner, to our table. We sit at a long table on an upstairs patio. Overlooking the entrance to the Jemaa el-Fna, the grand minaret of the Marrakech Mosque across the street, we enjoy each other's company for one last dinner together. Following dinner we take a quick stroll through the Jemaa el-Fna before leisurely strolling back toward our hotel with a detour to the nearby club for a nightcap. As we enjoy beers, wine and cocktails, we're soon joined by a belly dancer who coaxes us all to make embarrassing spectacles of ourselves by joining her in dance. The performer doesn't seem to mind how we unintentionally but completely ruin her dance with our total lack of talent. Too soon the night grows late and reluctantly we return to the hotel to call it a night.
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