Where ever you go… There you are.

  Oh yes, the travelling life is one lesson learned after another.  Like one of the most valuable lessons in Morrocco. Local buses hurt your bum, take twice as long, stop every twenty seconds to pick up, drop off, or litter on the country side and you get all those lovely bonuses for 5dirhms less than the cushy, plush reclining seats of the CTM.  Just like my friend who invites you in for tea, Lesson learned.  It was an experience though, not everyday do you get to see a guy narrowly get on the bus running beside waving a sickle madly only to get off in the middle of nowhere and just start walking off to some unknow destination.  Morrocco is a freaking surreal experience in itself. 

  So the bus ride to Fez was long and hot, but filled with lots of lovely countryside and entertainment provided by the little towns we crossed and the people who were constantly getting off and on.   Approaching Fez, you begin to wonder if there is a storm a brewing because a black cloud hovers over the city.  Nope, rain wasn’t on the forcast, it is geuinue smog that layers the city and barely lets a peek of blue through unless you are really lucky in the morning. 

  I can’t blame it all on Fez though, the city is built in a valley between two mountains.   Strategically for commerce and saftey it works out great.   Enviornmently Fez is screwed. The exhaust from all the scooters, taxis, and buses of over one milloin people  leave a black layer that hovers over the city, LA has nothing on this place. 

  The medina is a labyrinth consisting of 9,400 tiny alleys that twist and turn you until you have no idea how to get out;  Your only hope is to follow the flow of people that will eventually end to some “main” throughway. 

  Also the streets are so narrow that the “medina taxis”  mules and donkeys have to carry everything in and out of the Medina.  Things like silk, skins, fur, veggies, cigarettes, soda…  everything, really it is a crazy sight to behold.

The medina itself houses something like one third of the population of Fez, I swear all of them have a little shop of some kind.  You can buy everything and aything your heart could ever desire.   Too bad I don’t desire much, and the pressure to buy is everywhere, so I have decided to head on down to Meknes tomorrow.  Hopefully to chill out relax a bit before making the plunge down south.. 

   Suprise!  I decieded that being in the south of Spain was way too close to Morroco not to go.  Really I was kind of planning it all along but was waiting until I snagged the right person who was travelling in the same direction, wonderful things happen at Rhambutan.  Steve is a cool guy from San Francisco I met at the top of the world, I needed a guy to protect me from being sold into the camel caravan.  Just kidding!  He was just heading south the same time I was. 

  I crossed the Stait of Gilbralter yesterday on a very slow boat.  I watched as Spain disappeared into a hazy mist as Morrocco came into view as a mountainous mystery.  We landed in Tangier.  Tangier must have been preparing for some huge party because the Moroccan flags were going up in full force and everthing seemed to be getting a fresh coat of paint.  It wasn’t the best port town, but I have to say the hustle in Jamaica was a heck of a lot worse than what I have seen here.  I am kind of glad I got the practice a few months ago.  We were offered a taxi to Chefchaoen for 60 euros, but that was the extent of the hustle, only taxi drivers.   We’ll take the bus thank you.     

 Thank goodness I know some French, I am using the heck out of it.  The greatest thing is that I can actually understand the people speaking.  Go figure.  So our ride to Chefchaoen turned out to be 3 dollars US instead of 60euros!  Yippee!  The bus ride up to Chefchaoen  was long ride up a winding mountain road but we made it.  Chefchaoen is in the Rif mountains high on the mountain.  Adobe houses cling to the walls and climb high in the sky.

    Late in the evening we arrived then walked up a near vertical hill to the depths of the medina to find our hostel.  Thankfully some nice guy helped us find it, even though it was the long way.  The hostel is in the heart of the medina, cheap and gorgeous.  Mosaics line every possible surface and the intricate metalwork on the lamps, railings and windows are so amazing I can’t believe it is real.

Walking throughout the medina,  is such a maze and so much fun to get disoriented and lost for a little while.  It seems that you always end up in a relatively recognizable place though.   There are so  many smells and sights to devour, everything is so different and alive I love it.  Little shops line the medina  and some friendly guy appears to sell you carpets I mean “share some tea”  Okay lesson learned.  

Tomorrow I am doing a hike along the Rif mountains, I can update more often because internet is so freaking cheap as is everything else. So expect lots from me.

I promise to take heaps of photos and more importantly take care of myself(Hi momma)

Hugs and couscous 

jessica