I woke up sweating. I showered. I was sweating before I finished toweling off. I got dressed and felt more confident in my ability to get around today. I also knew enough to wait until 11am to head to the main square. More fresh juice. Back to the souks. I walked down the same path I had taken my first day. This time I avoided the stench of the tannery and kept left instead of going right.
Juice Bros
A man I vaguely remember from the day before calls out to me. I think this was the guy that led me to the tannery entrance. He speaks zero English. He keeps following me. I try to brush him off, but he's sticking like my nuts to my leg. He finally grabs my arm and whispers, "Hashish?" I figure I'm safe to buy since he knows me. I ask the price and he quotes me about $30. I laugh and offer $5. He accepts. He approaches a man on the street and procures a rolling paper and a cigarette. He walks me down a dark, narrow alley and I start preparing myself to get jumped. Just in case. He produces a small ball of hash and starts making magic.
Dude had a DEX score of 18.
He splits the cigarette perfectly down the seam and dumps the tobacco in his hand. He breaks the hash ball into the tobacco and rolls the mixture into the rolling paper. Using the filter from the cigarette, he presses down the tobacco/hash into one end. He uses the scrap paper from the cigarette to reinforce the filter to the new paper. He twists it all perfectly and lights it for me. He stands watch while I smoke. I was awestruck by the rolling skill this guy had. I finish the hash joint and realize I have about 2 minutes to find a safe haven. I thank him and tell him I'm going back to the main square.
Drugs in narrow alleys
I walk quickly lest he alert anyone that this American is super baked and is now an easy target. I get back to the main square as it starts to take hold. I head to a juice stand for some refreshment. Right on cue, I'm way too high. Damn. I head over to the park to find some shade where I can sit down and just people watch without appearing wobbly. I found a bench that was mostly shaded and set myself up for couch lock. I spent the next 2 hours watching stray kittens play in the park. I had a great time.
After I felt able to walk again I went to a nearby cafe for lunch. I had the Harira soup and a cheese panini. I felt totally at home here. I watched the crowds ebb and flow. I found another bench and watched the traffic move in those incomprehensible patterns. I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged most of it. I used the remainder to cool off my face and neck. Once I felt in control enough for a long distance walk, I head to back to the hostel for a shower and a nap.
I showered and lay down. Not 5 minutes later the front desk guy woke me up and asked if I would move to a different room so that a large group could all stay together. I obliged and got upgraded to a large bed upstairs. I lay down again, and again, not 5 minutes later I had a new roommate. A girl about my age on vacation from the UK. We talked for a few minutes and she informed me that she was going to meet a German couple she met on a camping trip in the desert. She asked if I would join her, so I got dressed and we went back to the square. A solo female traveler in a predominantly Muslim country intrigued me. We became fast friends and seemed to share a similar outlook.
Main square at night
We met with the Germans and went hunting for food. We all sat and got to know one another over some Moroccan dish I couldn't identify. Most of the food here seems to have an overabundance of cumin and very little salt. UK was returning home the following day. The Germans had one more day. We all agreed to walk the souks together and check out the square after the sun had gone down. We took a path I hadn't yet traveled. The Germans wanted a chess set, UK wanted loose leaf mint tea. Everyone eventually found what they were looking for and we went back to the square. It was more crowded than I had seen it before. We all got some sorbet and sat in my stoner park to eat and watch the crowds. It turns out that the Germans were currently living in Spain and didn't know anyone. They invited me to come stay with them for a few days. I hope that turns out. Dessert finished, we went our separate ways. I walked UK back to our room.
These wall tiles were putting on quite a show
We talked for a few minutes before I asked her if she wanted to drop acid with me. It was 11pm so I was expecting a no. She was leaving the next day at noon. She said, "FUCK YEAH, FUCK SLEEP!" I demonstrated how to use the nasal spray bottle and we each took a couple squirts to the dome. We each lay on our own beds and talked about how old people keep fucking up politics. About 40 minutes in, we started to feel the body high coming on. I took 2 more and she took one more. We were getting the giggles and trancing out regularly. We traded places so I could see the bottom of the mattress above her and she could stare at the ceiling. We both agreed that the mattress above her bunk was the best view in the house, so we crammed together and stared at it while talking about the friends we had lost to babies. We were both trying to fuck with each other by saying weird shit totally out of context and laughing our asses off. We started to drift off to sleep around 7am; cuddling, sweating, and occasionally laughing.