November 5, 1996

The High Atlas mountains are, just as their name implies, high. Their snow capped peaks sit above deep valleys that spill out south and east toward the Sahara. They are dotted with kasbahs, palm groves and cities that, from a distance, look as if they have sprouted from the hills - their earth walls are built of the same red and brown dirt. The road through the range twists and winds and forever continues up. On the other side, it is endless down. (For the two cars we saw mangled at the bottom, it was a bit further than for the rest of us.) And all along the journey there are things to buy. The souvenir stalls are filled with earth for sale.

A gemologist would have a field day here. There are fossils, minerals, crystals of every kind. We didn't have any use for a clump of cobalt crystal but that didn't stop every seller from opening a rock and thrusting the insides toward our van as we passed. To go with the presentation, there was always a whistle and a 'hey!" when we didn't stop.

Alabaster is also popular here. Its carved into masks and statues. We stopped to look at quite a few pieces and in doing so we got caught up in the game of bargaining. First you ask the price; you get an answer so absurd you could have been pointing to a crown jewel. Then you shake your head, feign mild interest and walk away. Then the fun begins - the counter-offer, the look of disbelief, a new offer, another shake of the head. There were always the standard lines: "This is very difficult work, but you are my friends, so I give you best price." Or a quick glance around to see that no one is listening and in a whisper the words, "I am only telling you this price because you are from America." Everything is always "Very expensive, but for you", "The work here is the best, not like everywhere else", "This is finest quality, not the cheap tourist piece." We knew the lines. We shrugged. We remained indifferent.

The final offer was always followed by a more final one, and that by a "just a minute, let me see what I can do." We bought three statues for a fair price and one for more than we probably should have, but we really like it. Some things we didn't buy and that meant a chase to the van to have the item thrust in through the window, the price plummeting as the van pulled away.

We bought a few fossils in the High Atlas too and left a few T-shirts behind. Mostly we just waved to the sellers who, when they saw us coming, jumped on their shack roof holding out a carpet or rushed to the road side with a crystal. "For you my good friend, for you."