"You are only one Euro or you are Salad People?"

So we get plopped off in Rassani just before 6am, and we are many combinations of cranky and delirious. And despite the hellish hour of the morning, there were men around trying to take us this way and that...some gentleman had a shop full of many blue and yellow things from the sound of what he was saying. After a few moments of wandering around in the dark we finally took up a guy on his offer to open his restaurant early for us to eat breakfast. Of course it was bread and confiture (although to be fair we did get cheese this time as well!) After some very awkward conversation with a man who claimed to be the "Brad Pitt of Morocco" we managed to pay, leave, and meet our guide scheduled to meet us at 8 and take us to the desert.

So we all piled into cars and headed to a tiny town called Fes (obviously not THE Fes). I think Jana described the town the most accurately when she said "I feel like I'm surrounded by sandcastles." All the buildings are made of mud and straw and are exactly the same color as the sound which stretches for miles in all directions.

We were taken to a home where we were given some time to rest and clean up after our long journey, then we were taken on a tour of Fes. When we first met up with our tour guide he asked us one of the most hilarious questions I've ever heard in my life: "You are all one Euro, or you are salad people?" Ever time I think of this I can't help but at least chuckle a little to myself. Needless to say, the term "salad people" has definitely stuck amongst the group of people on this trip. Our tour guide led us along with his very cute little boy who had us all in stitches. He kept throwing up different signs with his hands and it was pretty funny to walk at the back of the group and see everyone mimick him. We went to a manmade oasis, the town's water supply. There were women working on small crops, and I couldn't help but think I might be resentful of tourists if I were them. I felt similar to when we watched the men working at the tannery in the city Fes. I can't help but think that these short tours give only a tiny glimpse into the lives of the people here, and you're meant to leave thinking "Oh look at the cute people with their cute little water supply." But really...these people are living in the desert and using their tiny bit of water to desperately try and grow SOMETHING....anything...and here we come trapsing through their workgrounds...

But it was beautiful none the less. There were tons of frogs all along the route and I was surprised to see that the other tourists there were Moroccan. It made me feel like we were definitely somewhere very special if it is a travel destination for local people.

After our tour of the Oasis we were shown into a house where people were preparing for a wedding. The bride was completely covered, protecting her beauty the last few days before becoming a married woman. We were then taken to a separate room where we suppose her bridesmaids were celebrating, and one of the coolest things I've ever done ensued. We bellydanced with the ladies! I was so happy to be able to show off my newly acquired booty shaking skills with these women. They were tickled pink when a few of us knew some basic belly dancing moves, and they even tied scarves around our hips to help us reach maximum shake power.

We then rested and were given lunch before heading out to begin our camel trekking! A minibus pulled up for us, and several of us jumped on the opportunity to sit on the roof. Sounds cool right? It was pretty painful! The rack on top was definitely not designed for the comfort of humans...especially not male humans. hehe. After a pretty hilarious ride we finally arrived at the beginning point for our trek....