Salam Vazaha! {Madagascar : People}

We've come back from Madagascar after a two weeks trip exactly three months ago.

I haven't had the courage to go through the thousand of pictures I've took up until recently, and by this time, it's too hard to repost this as a diary. I don't remember what we ate which day, how many km we drove the day after or exactly what we saw. So I'm going to report this in a different way, with a lot of pictures and very few words, and I'm going to start with people. 

Because people, this people, I clearly remember.

p.s. It's also too hard to do any kind of post production, mainly because I can't do post production, so the pictures you see here are exactly as I took them with my camera.

The number of kids popping up from every corner as soon as we stepped down the car, or even drove by, yelling "Salam Vazaha!" (Hello Foreigner!) was what impressed me the most. They are the friendliest and even if shy, curiosity drove them to see us. In some towns they were more accustom to see tourists, or foreigners in general, but in some others I really felt a little out place. Not because of anything they did, don't get me wrong. I've never, in fact, felt in danger or risks of any kind. Any. The truth is I've never been in such a poor country, and as much as I think I'm aware of how the world goes, my privileged life doesn't allow me to completely understand. I could have taken way more pictures, but I really wanted to also just look at them. Because look at them! Could you take your eyes away? 

May Your Highest Hopes Be Exceeded {Morocco Part 3 }

(part 1 and part 2 are here)

Day 4

We woke up just in time to see the sunrise. 

What a sight , yet again, we were able to admire.

Can you see M walking on the dune?

After another 30 minutes on the camels again, we took the car back and started are route back to Marrakech. 

First stop : Rissani, where one of the biggest open market is held...during the week. We, of course, were there on Sunday :D. 

It was still really interesting to walk around and almost get ripped off for a little bag of dates by a local vendor. 20 years of travelling by ourself in foreign countries, but still I get surprised of how easy it is to feel out of place.

 

Back on the road, desert for hours and hours.

Second stop: the Draa Valley. Pretty impressive how nature changes so fast...and in matter of meters, palms were seen everywhere thanks to an underground river.

We were able to visit yet another Kasbah , Tamnogalt.

One of the towers of the Kasbah Tamnogalt

^^What was the synagogue before it came down. Because there are no more jews living there nor near by, it has not been reconstructed in years.

Back on the road...toward the high Atlas with final destination Marrakech 

Highest peak on the High Atlas

We stopped in a small shop run by women to by all kinds of Argan Oil products...worth it.

The 10 hours in the car back to Marrakesh driving like this and making this kinds on encounters on the road were definitely part of the fun and scheduled part of the trip but was I ever glad to arrived that night at 9 pm.

We went back strolling in the medina as soon as we could.

Day 5: Visiting Marrakesh.

We saved the last day to finally visiting the town and its buildings. We rushed through the historical palaces with a very busy guide in the morning, and saved the best part of the trip for the very last afternoon: wander around through the infinite maze of the medina.

one of the doors of the Medina

One of the visits I loved was the Medersa, a learning center that hosted more than 900 students at a time between 1500 and 1946...it gradually lost its use, mostly because of security reasons, but never lost its charm. It seemed so calm, even if right smack in the middle of the market chaos.
It's inscripted on the entrance door :"You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded".
Every religion teaches the same, universal truth: humans thrive on hope.

The medersa Ben Yiussef was one of the biggest quranic learning center in Africa

We had dinner in a popular restaurant and had back the the hotel. 

In just 5 days we drove more than a thousand km, rode a dromedary , spent a night under the stars, saw amazing places, faces, food and races. 

If this is how we're going to spend all of our anniversaries, sign me up. I'm ready!