Went to Azrou after class today. It's only an hour drive by grand taxi. It's a nice city, but the sole purpose of the trip was to see the wild troop of monkeys that lives in the mountains. After a short drive to the forest outside the city, this is what we came across:
Because of all the handouts from humans they're comfortable with getting close but wary enough to not let you touch them. The only way I was able to feel them was to let them drink water from my hands. I knew they were thirsty because, while trying to feed them bits of bread and a banana, they snatched my water bottle from me. I was able to grab it back but not without one angrily lunging at my arm and scratching me. The same thing happened when another one grabbed my purse. We eventually just gave them a bottle of water to drink straight out of, but it was an ordeal trying to get the empty bottle and wrapper back from them. Most of the adult monkeys knew how to drink like a human, but the baby monkeys needed a little help with pouring the water into their mouths.
It was amazing to see how affectionate and caring two parents were to their small baby, who couldn't have been more than a week or two old. They would huddle together, grooming each other and then let the baby explore the tree above them until he wandered too far.
Along with the macaques, the park contains the supposed oldest tree in Africa (above). It was a gorgeous area. After we left we stopped by a small Berber rug shop. I found two beautiful and strange wool rugs and got them for 300dh a piece, apparently a really cheap price.
I only have 3 more days left in Morocco. I'm sick again and I have final projects and tests to do. I don't know how I'm going to make it through these next few days, but I do know I'll be so happy to be home.
Because of all the handouts from humans they're comfortable with getting close but wary enough to not let you touch them. The only way I was able to feel them was to let them drink water from my hands. I knew they were thirsty because, while trying to feed them bits of bread and a banana, they snatched my water bottle from me. I was able to grab it back but not without one angrily lunging at my arm and scratching me. The same thing happened when another one grabbed my purse. We eventually just gave them a bottle of water to drink straight out of, but it was an ordeal trying to get the empty bottle and wrapper back from them. Most of the adult monkeys knew how to drink like a human, but the baby monkeys needed a little help with pouring the water into their mouths.
It was amazing to see how affectionate and caring two parents were to their small baby, who couldn't have been more than a week or two old. They would huddle together, grooming each other and then let the baby explore the tree above them until he wandered too far.
Along with the macaques, the park contains the supposed oldest tree in Africa (above). It was a gorgeous area. After we left we stopped by a small Berber rug shop. I found two beautiful and strange wool rugs and got them for 300dh a piece, apparently a really cheap price.
I only have 3 more days left in Morocco. I'm sick again and I have final projects and tests to do. I don't know how I'm going to make it through these next few days, but I do know I'll be so happy to be home.
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