How I Spent My Summer Vacation

The name of Jemaa el Fna, the vast market square in Marrakech, Morocco, literally means “assembly of the dead” and refers to the traditional display of the heads of criminals executed here until the 19th century and it is a wild and wondrous place. Think medieval Times Square. Literally out of nowhere, like some sort of snake charmer ninja, this Berber dude was holding a thick, viper over my shoulder. I think I might have thought it was pretty cool if I was unaware that he was about about to attempt to extort a large sum of money from me for being forced to hold his snake for him. I told him, he was being unreasonable but he *was* holding a viper. I probably should have just walked, but, like I said, he was HOLDING A VIPER, which by the way, he mentioned was venomous in the midst of our “negotiations.” After a bit of potentially fatal bargaining, we agreed on 150 DM (about $15) Not a bad deal for this picture and not being dead from snakebite!