Got my blanket and possibly an offer to be one of 10 wives

Smiling cuz I'm happy or crying out in pain because
my tired feet hurt so much. You decide!

Chefchouen. The city of a zillion steps. And I think I’ve dragged my butt up (and down ) all of them.

The only activity planned today was a two-hour guided tour throughout the Medina. I felt sorry for our guide, Mohamed, because it’s seven women and one man on this tour and we walked by a lot of souks (Arabian marketplaces) on our way to each place he wanted to teach us about. And a lot of souks means a lot of shopping! I think he would’ve preferred to herd cats. Speaking of cats (briefly), they are everywhere. And people feed them, which means they don’t go hunting for mice. There are some dogs, as well, but not like cats. Anyway… After our tour, we stopped by a small village square and had mint tea, fresh bread, fresh goat cheese, walnuts and olives — the perfect lunch. Our group chatted and we asked the guide a bit about himself. He said he’s 40 years old and recently got married for the first time. He said he wanted 10 wives and 10 children. Not long after, he looked at me and asked if I was married. Oddly enough, he didn’t ask anyone else.

After lunch, the rest of the afternoon was free. I wasn’t sure I wanted to shop, so I found a cafe, ordered a mint tea, and watched the world go by. It was perfect. A little while later, a few of my fellow travellers came by and I was able to flag them down to join me. They talked about doing a bit more shopping and, while I wasn’t sure I needed anything, there was the blanket with beautiful pastel colours that I really liked. So I decided to go hunt for it and I got lost, so lost! I thought I had an idea of where it was. I did not. I set and reset my checkpoints to no avail. After over an hour, I decided the blanket and I were not meant to spend our lives together. So, in an effort to get untwisted, I asked for directions back to my hotel. And, lo and behold, I found my blanket. At this point, I was a combination of tired/sore feet/grumpy/grubby, and the owner of the blanket knew it. So when I bargained with him, he gave in close to my asking price and threw in directions to the hotel. And, as it turned out, I was about a five-minute walk back. So, I might not spend the rest of my life with another amazing man but I will spend it with an amazing blanket. I rested in my hotel for a little bit, started writing this blog piece, and then went out for supper with my group. Some of the supper chatter centred around the fact I’m pretty damn good at flirting, which I don’t agree with but it’s cool. It stemmed from Mohamed asking about my marital status. You know what, though? I love being teased by my new friends. These are amazing people and I’m having so much fun connecting with them. I love that I decided to do this trip. Someone asked if Paul would’ve like this. No! He would’ve hated it! But that’s OK because I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing it for me. And so it’s time to say goodnight. Tomorrow we hit the road for Fes. All the love to you all from the Girl under the Chefchouen moon.