I woke up earlier than anticipated. I decided to take a small dose of LSD and wander the city. I had never snorted LSD before and haven't tested this particular batch yet. I grabbed a map and asked the front desk where we were. The guy put a small circle around a parking symbol and said, "You'll find our street if you can find this." Good enough for me.
My hostel
I started walking toward the main square by keeping a large mosque in my line of sight. I had expected there to be more people out at 8am. I was walking with my GoPro on a selfie stick and filming my walk. The acid starts to give me that familiar tingle in the back of my head and neck. My mood brightens and I'm excited to get my first Moroccan meal. I see some military looking guys and keep walking past them. One of them starts yelling, I hope it's not directed at me. A passerby gets my attention and points at the yelling guy. Shit. He doesn't really speak English, but I get what he's mad about. He thinks I was filming the palace entrance. I was, but the camera looks off. I keep playing confused and show him the camera is off. He eventually walks away and I quicken my pace.
10 minutes into my first excursion and I'm getting hassled by a Moroccan g-man. I must be doing something right. That little encounter gave me a kick of adrenaline and the acid starts giving me that dreamy headspace. I start to worry that it's kicking in too hard and fast for what I wanted. I really don't want the confusion of a full hit to take over. I take a deep breath and calm myself. It's not up to me. Just roll with it.
I arrive at the main square and it's barely populated. It wasn't until later that I realized this place doesn't really get moving until 11am. I stopped at a juice stand and downed two glasses of fresh OJ. I walked to the edges of the square and started browsing the souks. Every time I turned to look at something a shopkeeper would appear and try to put stuff in my hands. I started carrying a water bottle and my camera in hand so it didn't happen anymore. As I got deeper and deeper into the marketplace I knew I was lost, but it didn't seem to matter at the time.
I started to smell something that was like death and shit had fucked in a hot car. I couldn't resist following my nose. The acid made this extra funny and I was giggle-gagging my way down the streets, looking for this mysterious odor. I had stumbled into the tannery area of the city. A gentlemen gave me a handful of mint to breath through and took me on a tour of the pigeon shit pits and rotting carcasses. After getting my picture taken, the tour ended in a leather shop. Damn. I'm on drugs and this stuff is beautiful. I knew I was going to get a leather jacket at some point in my travels. I just didn't think it would be my first day when it was 110 degrees.
After exiting the shop I was hopelessly lost and crazy hungry. I paid a guy to drive me back to the main square on his moped. Darting through the alleys and dodging the people while scraping my shoes along the walls was exhilarating. Back in the main square, things had really livened up. I chose a small outdoor restaurant and pointed at a thing on the menu that was prominently featured. 10 minutes later I was eating a meat and veggie pita with french fries. I got another glass of juice from the juice stands and then just stood and watched the people. The acid was mostly behaving itself, but I was worn out and eating that meal had put me on the train to sleepy town.
I started to walk back to my hostel and got confused at a turn I wasn't sure about. I just kept walking and ended up in the marketplace area for the locals. It was smaller, dirty, and smelly. I saw a dude weighing a live chicken on a balance scale, then break it's neck and hand it to the customer. I saw raw meat sitting in the sun and covered in flies. The acid was not behaving anymore. I was lost and grossed out and just wanted to stop sweating. Some guy noticed I was lost and offered to help me find my way. I gave him money and off we went. We got to the hostel door and he kept trying to get more cash out of me. I kept trying to get him to fuck off, but he wasn't fucking off. I finally gave him another $1 and he kissed my head. I got inside and immediately washed myself in the sink. I stared at myself in the mirror for a few minutes, cursed myself for being stupid with drugs, and took a nap.