One family gave them 1 dh and they got 12 lychees in return. He was really very friendly, but we didn't want any-so we gave him some coins and took his picture with the kids instead. He wanted to the see the photo, when Jason showed him he smiled and said, "c'est bonne."We arrived at out hotel around 11:30 and the staff seemed surprised to see us, none of the rooms were ready. Our guide warned us that there really wasn't anything around and we had all packed a picnic lunch which we ate on the hotel's rooftop terrace. We had to eat quickly and move away as lunch is the biggest meal in Morocco and this hotel's biggest trade was lunch for well off Marrakechi's.
We checked into our very cold rooms, turned the heater on and left to sit by the pool wondering what to do next. Our guide said he would return around 3:30 or so to take anyone on a walk that was interested. After the craziness of Marrakech we all just sat around the pool while the kids played around the hotel grounds.
We were traveling with 2 other families; one family from the London area had 2 children aged 5 and almost 4 I believe. Our kids got along quite well with them. The other family was a pleasant Scottish family consisting of 2 children, their parents and various aunts, uncles, and granny. Although the adults outnumbered the children in their case, the kids seemed to get the best of even them at times.
Around 3, a family with 2 kids from London suggested we walk on our own as the sun was fading quickly with the mountains. Since our kids were playing together we thought that was also the best way to make them want to explore.
Down by the river we were met by an old Berber man speaking a combo of French and Berber. He seemed very intent on telling us all he knew about his home, showing us a picture of his family and a card from a professor recommending him as a
guide. He carried the kids across the water and then showed us what he made for a craft-it looked like a wooden mortar and pestle. He gave the kids sparkly rocks, picked mint for them, showed us a few cars that had gone over the edge of the cliff. After a while we took photos of him, paid him for his time and started back to the hotel. Along the way we saw a man selling tajines by the roadside-we could tell he was proud of his creations as he opened each one for us to admire.
Back at the hotel we sat in the lounge of the restaurant around the fire for a few hours, drinking mint tea and trying to get warm. After dinner we went to bed, huddled together in order to stay warm.
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