The week vacation has now officially been consumed by food poisoning for Ryan and me making many pots of herbal tea, bland, sick-friendly food concoctions, and the only real venturing being to the Supermarche. I'm happy to report the patient is making a full recovery, and we also got to indulge in lots of movie watching and childhood sick day comforts like Cinnamon Toast! I did some cultural spying from the window and other observing at the grocery store where lines of people waited as grocery carts of sheep were processed into manageable portions by the butchers. They even set up special waiting room-like seating right in the dairy aisle. We were also treated to a giant full moon that lit up the night sky and was so bright it washed out all the neon signs on the street.
Cultural Spying: This photo is just post ecstatic hugs and kisses and greetings as families and friends are meeting up to celebrate Eid. Notice everyone is dressed up and looking GOOD!
Here these guys just unloaded a slaughtered sheep (by palm tree) the man in blue is holding a big knife and they are working out the payment situation. The fella in white is wearing a blood splattered apron type shirt and bloody white rubber boots. He might be a roving sheep processor with some knives in that backpack.
In another context, looking out the window and seeing a man wielding a knife would be disturbing...but here, and now, it makes sense.
The two TV channels that show Mecca were going off! We could watch over the course of the day as more and more pilgrims made their way. All those little dots are people! Below the image is a ticker of the different prayer times depending on the country.
I mentioned before the guys who cruise around with a donkey cart going through dumpsters to score reusables. Usually they take water bottles and recyclables, but when I walked back from the store they had a new timely item to score. The entire cart was filled with discarded sheep skins, layed out to dry in the sun while they make their rounds. From my observation deck I did see a few people shouldering a big mass of fur that they heaved into the dumpster. These guys are hitting it big today!
Below are some sheep skin furs drying on a roof near the French School.
Also near the school are some of the fading blooming bushes that are everywhere in Agadir. They are all oranges, and pinks, and purples.
No matter how hard you try, you can never experience the moon in a photograph they same way you can in person...
Cinnamon Toast!
Happy Veteran's Day + Three day weekend!