Camels in the Sun and Couches in the Stream

Christmas Camel spotting in Sti Fatma

This week in Marrakech we observed the birth of Muhammad the prophet, spotted Christmas camels in Sti Fatma, and made an effort to keep the gingerbread house tradition alive with a ladyfinger log home for smurfs. Despite the lack of a pre-baked structure (yes, there is no shame in buying a pre-made house people) this year, we managed to pull off a house that is still standing five days after completion. I am happy to report that, with the absence of Nolan, all of its candy decorations are also still intact for the first time ever.

Mountain Transport

The waterfalls of Sti Fatma got us out of Marrakech for a day in the mountains. Andy and I squeezed into a "grand taxi" van for the two hour ride from Marrakech. We are getting accustomed to the routine of finding a van, sitting and waiting until it fills up, finally departing, and then picking up twenty more people along the way. My legs don't fit into the space between my seat and the one in front of me, so I have to contort myself into a little bit of an aisle-pretzel, which means that people usually end up straddling my legs or sitting on my lap somewhere along the way. About 10 km outside of Sti Fatma we started seeing hundreds and hundreds of chairs, tables and couches lined up next to the rushing river. This is where people from Marrakech come to cool off in the hot months. Restaurants set up their tables in the river so that customers can sit with their legs in the river while they dine. It's crazy to see all of the colorful chairs just sitting in the water.

Sti Fatima boasts a trail that leads to seven waterfalls. The first trick is to find the trail and politely decline the guides clambering to help. We opted for breakfast in the sun next to the camels to get things started - figuring that would give a little time to try to figure out where the trail was on our own. While we waited for omelettes, we declined roaming vendors' offers of thyme, music, Berber jewelry, and geodes from the mountains. However, we broke down when presented with an interesting woven cane basket filled with mysterious red berries. It seemed like something we should try, so we bought one. The basket alone was worth the dollar we paid. We cautiously bit into the berries (waiting to drop dead or discover they were some magical mountain laxative). They tasted a bit dry and seedy - palatable, but nothing to write home about. We did a bit of Internet sleuthing when we got home and determined that we had tried the fruit of Morocco's strawberry tree. Check it out. There are apparently three different versions of the Strawberry tree fruit around the world. Personally, I would stick to the strawberry plants that grow on the ground if given the option!

Strawberry Tree Fruit

After enjoying our omelettes in the sun, we set out on one of the dozens of suspended bridges that cross the river in Sti Fatma and headed up the well-traveled path to the waterfalls. When I say "well-traveled" I mean the path which is bordered by restaurants, tea houses, souvenir stands, a mountain pool hall, and a shooting gallery. For real. We browsed our way up the trail for a good twenty minutes before the commercial operations finally dwindled. The bulk of the hiker traffic stopped at the first waterfall. In order to progress to the second waterfall, it was necessary to scale a wet rock ledge. An enterprising man had set up a ladder and was charging hikers to climb it. We paid and headed up, hoping he'd still be around when we decided to come down. We hiked along the river and caught occasional glimpses of snow capped peaks and sunshine while trying to figure out which waterfalls actually counted as "official" waterfalls. Lots of fresh air and mountain time found us relaxing at the end of the day among the Lazy Boy recliners on the edge of the river. They may be on to something. I may just explore the possibility of popping a few couches into the Mad River when I get back to Vermont.

Riverside Dining

Shooting Gallery along the trail