>Day 9
We wake up, do the usual walk around and eat in a local venue and after loosing the Blandés we manage to set off for Marrakech and arrive by night.
We to get ourselves a room in a hostel well known to japanese people and go out to get some food.
The Jaema el Fna square is full of people and some lights and smoke can be seen on the other side. It's full of orange juice stalls, food stalls and the usual merchants, some story tellers, people playing and dancing, some betting...
We get some food and go back to the hostel, Abduki has to get a flight early next morning.
On the way we get chased by a couple of fucking beautiful prostitutes and their little 3 years old boy. Me and Juan go to have coffee with them.
>Day 10
Abduki is gone. Bye!
The square is more walkable during the day. There's also a different kind of show in it. Now you get snake charmers with cobras included that attempt to put snakes on you so you can take picture and henna tattoo girls. On of them, lacking one eye, comes towards me and tells me that she'll draw something for free, as a present, then she drags me to her place and attempt to get a big one and charge 200 Dh. I manage to run away dropping 20.
We start walking towards the medina. Here they have reed covers on the streets giving a more Aladdin look.
I'm starting to get thirsty and I find a few people gathered around some corner stall serving them some colourful and thick beverage, I have to get one!
For 6 Dh I get the best smoothy in a long long time. A mix of several fruits making a very cool melange.
Walking around town we see a lot of donkeys pulling carts, some of them left under the sun to dissecate.
Exploring the streets I find the first rubbish container! It had its deal of containing so at some point it broke but someone properly fixed it by sewing it with metallic thread.
We keep on getting kids to tell us that the way we are going is closed. We usually agree with doubt.
A few more colourful smoothie's shops appear, so I take advantage to enjoy some more.
It's here also, by looking at an ancient closed gate that I realize that other than arabic, there's another language. One that resembles videogame-alien-greek. Later on I will learn that it's berber written language.
We get informed by an expontaneous wannabe guide that there's a Carrefour nearby. Juan and Juanjo rush to get some beers.
We end up watching the sunset on the terrace of the hostel.
>Day 11
We wake up to go and see a tomb of some important people. Nothing especially fancy. Weirdly the things that shock me most are the little cats that live on the tombs and that there are a couple f woman workers building a toilet in there.
Walking around we find some hammam for moroccan people for just 12 Dh. I go in to check how it is and it keeps and getting hotter and hotter and massages are given by your same sex and you have to buy yourself all the stuff for the massage. When I come out the sun battered streets seem quite fresh.
We meet some southern guy that invites us to his weaving shop and then shows us some hammams where we can get a massage by a woman instead of a man. We end up booking one of them for 250 Dh each for the afternoon. The price includes hammam and massage.
After lunch we meet up with Sarah again, who has come to get the flight that afternoon. She's got us some nice "power ranger" bracelets (they actually have the peace symbol) with colours matching some meaning.
Once in the hammam we get undressed and head upstairs for the bath. A very nice, tall and busty young lady scrubs us and washes us. I little later a fatty ugly one is helping her.
Once we have been washed, oiled and perfumed we're conducted downstairs to a room with massage beds. There we are given a simultaneous massage. The technique on the one on me is quite bad. She's rushing so much that I have to tell to go slower, she didn't care.
Once done the girls ask for a tip, but we already paid more than enough for the service given and leave something like 20 Dh and a funny note on the visits book.
After that Juan and Juanjo make a trip to Carrefour while I bid farewell to Sarah and try to find some company for the sunset.
We end up watching the sunset on the terrace of the hostel again, with two nice japanese girls and staying up until very late.
jueves, 11 de septiembre de 2014
domingo, 24 de agosto de 2014
==In an apartment in Moulay Bousselham listening to a balkan beats, la gran orquesta republicana, des+karadas, killer barbies, manu chao and others==
>Day 6
We wake up late and do the usual throughout the day. We meet up with Sarah again and while checking places to eat a youg moroccan couple approaches us and ask us about the festival. They tell us that there may be something going on in Sidi Kaouki, a beach south of Essaouira. There's hope again.
After some food we pack things and decide to go there to check what's going on. When we arrive to Sidi Kaouki we find ourselves in a nice beach, much better than the one in the city, and well suited for surfers.
Driving up and down along the coast I spot a group that fit in my mental profile of people that came for the festival. I run through the dessert sand and dunes of the beach to reach them. Two lovely black ladies that speak french tell me that there's a house nearby hosting the people that came to the festival and had nowhere to stay, and the performers. Great! we finally have something.
We find the place and get in. Not very friendly inhabitants populate the chalet by the beach, with swimming pool and big garden. I use my usual charismatic sociopathy to cut through the french antipathy and find out that there was a party there last night and they are planning on doing another one this night. We found a trance party!!
We leave the place very happy and try to find a place to get some dinner before everything starts. Finally a suitable candidate appears amongst the few places available. A group of people starting a bonfire signals the place. They even have some drinks in there. A lovely decorated space with nice moroccan people by the fire, a gothy sofa, a trunk/water tap and tajine are there.
The moroccans let me use their phone to contact Driss and Hassan. They are gathering in Tefna, a beach 24 Km south from there.
We finally finish the dinner at that cosy place and head back to the place the organizers had set up and find more people by the door. That looks good.
Well, it's not, it's actually people being left out as the owner of the place doesn't like more people to come in and they told us that it's a staff-only party. WTF?!
I mange to get in as I forgot my phone inside the first time. I manage to speak with a few of the people in there but they don't seem to give a shit about the situation outside. I come out again to encounter a strong discussion between a moroccan backpacker that came for the festival and one of the organizers.
It's getting tense. After a few minutes we decide that to the hell with their private party and head towards Tefna.
On the way we stop a few times to ask and even in Smimou, a stinky hole/town to get another moroccan mobile phone as it's taken much longer than expected. After couple of hours, past the beach where the and festival was meant to happen -guarded by police, we find the place.
As we arrive to that remote site we see some torches on the beach. A closer looks reveals what seem to be police kicking out a few people. Not good.
I drive until the light of the settlement fades out and request again a phone call from a mobile. Our new friends are having fun 15 minutes away, following the beach line. After all is done the police shows up and tells us that there's nothing in there and that we cannot camp. WTF?!
We walk towards the illuminated beach to look as innocent tourists going to the beach by night -it was past 2am already- to do some joggling and see the police checking the mobile phone we used from the locals. WTF?!
After some minutes we start walking along the beach to see if we can finally find someone. The beach was long.
There's a problem with moroccan people and numbers in indications. It's like inverse bargaining. What ever they tell you, it's always more than twice the distance or the time they tell you it will take you.
After what seems a long time and crossing a little river of tide coming down the covers up to the ankles we see some lights. There they are, camping and laughing. They are very happy to see us too.
They tell us that the police got their number form before and called them several times to warn them to leave the beach at once. They ignored it.
So our little gathering starts.
After one or two hours there me and Juanjo decide to go back to the car to pick out stuff. On the way there the little river is not little anymore. It covers a bit above the knees and with a strong current from the tide coming up.
After we come back we find out that it took us an hour and a half and not the 30 minutes expected by their previous indications.
I fall sleep observing the beauty of the beach valley with the sunrise.
>Day 7
I wake up and see most of the people awake. Then I find out that all of our new friends are moroccan and some with wealth.
They told me that the police came while I was sleeping and that we have to un-camp by 6 pm. It's around noon.
We go to swim for a bit. This atlantic beach is very new to me. Nice smooth sand and strong waves in the water. I manage to swim naked as I have nothing underneath my trousers and there's almost nobody where we are.
I manage to get to know some of them better in a less intoxicated state and we start packing up the settlement. There's a rumour about a trance rave party even more south, in Agadir state, away from Essaouira police reach. About 3 hours south.
We say goodbye to our moroccan mates hoping to see them again at the rave party. We want to take off quickly as Abduki has a plane to catch in a couple of days and it's a long trip finding the party and dropping him back in Marrakech.
We stop in a little town to put some petrol and to check in internet if there's some update about the festival and we find out that one of the deco guys has managed to get a club in Essaouira where 3 DJs will perform.
We meet Hassan again as he stops at the same petrol station and I realize that I need a moroccan SIM card in order to communicate properly with the locals. He helps me getting one for 20 Dh. I also get a USB/radio adapter to play more music than the 2 CDs Abduki burnt in Chaouen, but the device won't connect properly to the bloody hole in the Suzuki and keeps on disconnecting, making the experience quite bad.
We buy lots of ice creams in that town with very nice people and we decide to come back to Essaouira for the party.
When we arrive we manage to get a nice apartment in the centre for 1050 Dh for two days in the centre of the medina for the 5 of us, so we can rest, cook and after party.
Juan cooks a nice meal with tempura and avocado and we go to the party. So finally trance party it is!
The place is a posh venue just outside the medina and we get invited to sit in a table as we come in. No way! We came to dance, not to enjoy a white wine watching at the other people eat and drink.
The music finally starts while there are still two tables eating.
It's progressive, it's all right. Second is more elevator techno than anything. At last finally some trance, but still nothing surprising.
The place is filled with managers and bouncers watching us. The drinks are super-expensive. We get in for free but moroccan people has to pay around 100 Dh to get in. We keep on going out through the party to drink some stuff we brought from Spain. It finishes by 3. So not a good experience.
After it we go home to keep on partying until next night -awesome pillow fight included.
>Day 8
After party and resting.
We wake up late and do the usual throughout the day. We meet up with Sarah again and while checking places to eat a youg moroccan couple approaches us and ask us about the festival. They tell us that there may be something going on in Sidi Kaouki, a beach south of Essaouira. There's hope again.
After some food we pack things and decide to go there to check what's going on. When we arrive to Sidi Kaouki we find ourselves in a nice beach, much better than the one in the city, and well suited for surfers.
Driving up and down along the coast I spot a group that fit in my mental profile of people that came for the festival. I run through the dessert sand and dunes of the beach to reach them. Two lovely black ladies that speak french tell me that there's a house nearby hosting the people that came to the festival and had nowhere to stay, and the performers. Great! we finally have something.
We find the place and get in. Not very friendly inhabitants populate the chalet by the beach, with swimming pool and big garden. I use my usual charismatic sociopathy to cut through the french antipathy and find out that there was a party there last night and they are planning on doing another one this night. We found a trance party!!
We leave the place very happy and try to find a place to get some dinner before everything starts. Finally a suitable candidate appears amongst the few places available. A group of people starting a bonfire signals the place. They even have some drinks in there. A lovely decorated space with nice moroccan people by the fire, a gothy sofa, a trunk/water tap and tajine are there.
The moroccans let me use their phone to contact Driss and Hassan. They are gathering in Tefna, a beach 24 Km south from there.
We finally finish the dinner at that cosy place and head back to the place the organizers had set up and find more people by the door. That looks good.
Well, it's not, it's actually people being left out as the owner of the place doesn't like more people to come in and they told us that it's a staff-only party. WTF?!
I mange to get in as I forgot my phone inside the first time. I manage to speak with a few of the people in there but they don't seem to give a shit about the situation outside. I come out again to encounter a strong discussion between a moroccan backpacker that came for the festival and one of the organizers.
It's getting tense. After a few minutes we decide that to the hell with their private party and head towards Tefna.
On the way we stop a few times to ask and even in Smimou, a stinky hole/town to get another moroccan mobile phone as it's taken much longer than expected. After couple of hours, past the beach where the and festival was meant to happen -guarded by police, we find the place.
As we arrive to that remote site we see some torches on the beach. A closer looks reveals what seem to be police kicking out a few people. Not good.
I drive until the light of the settlement fades out and request again a phone call from a mobile. Our new friends are having fun 15 minutes away, following the beach line. After all is done the police shows up and tells us that there's nothing in there and that we cannot camp. WTF?!
We walk towards the illuminated beach to look as innocent tourists going to the beach by night -it was past 2am already- to do some joggling and see the police checking the mobile phone we used from the locals. WTF?!
After some minutes we start walking along the beach to see if we can finally find someone. The beach was long.
There's a problem with moroccan people and numbers in indications. It's like inverse bargaining. What ever they tell you, it's always more than twice the distance or the time they tell you it will take you.
After what seems a long time and crossing a little river of tide coming down the covers up to the ankles we see some lights. There they are, camping and laughing. They are very happy to see us too.
They tell us that the police got their number form before and called them several times to warn them to leave the beach at once. They ignored it.
So our little gathering starts.
After one or two hours there me and Juanjo decide to go back to the car to pick out stuff. On the way there the little river is not little anymore. It covers a bit above the knees and with a strong current from the tide coming up.
After we come back we find out that it took us an hour and a half and not the 30 minutes expected by their previous indications.
I fall sleep observing the beauty of the beach valley with the sunrise.
>Day 7
I wake up and see most of the people awake. Then I find out that all of our new friends are moroccan and some with wealth.
They told me that the police came while I was sleeping and that we have to un-camp by 6 pm. It's around noon.
We go to swim for a bit. This atlantic beach is very new to me. Nice smooth sand and strong waves in the water. I manage to swim naked as I have nothing underneath my trousers and there's almost nobody where we are.
I manage to get to know some of them better in a less intoxicated state and we start packing up the settlement. There's a rumour about a trance rave party even more south, in Agadir state, away from Essaouira police reach. About 3 hours south.
We say goodbye to our moroccan mates hoping to see them again at the rave party. We want to take off quickly as Abduki has a plane to catch in a couple of days and it's a long trip finding the party and dropping him back in Marrakech.
We stop in a little town to put some petrol and to check in internet if there's some update about the festival and we find out that one of the deco guys has managed to get a club in Essaouira where 3 DJs will perform.
We meet Hassan again as he stops at the same petrol station and I realize that I need a moroccan SIM card in order to communicate properly with the locals. He helps me getting one for 20 Dh. I also get a USB/radio adapter to play more music than the 2 CDs Abduki burnt in Chaouen, but the device won't connect properly to the bloody hole in the Suzuki and keeps on disconnecting, making the experience quite bad.
We buy lots of ice creams in that town with very nice people and we decide to come back to Essaouira for the party.
When we arrive we manage to get a nice apartment in the centre for 1050 Dh for two days in the centre of the medina for the 5 of us, so we can rest, cook and after party.
Juan cooks a nice meal with tempura and avocado and we go to the party. So finally trance party it is!
The place is a posh venue just outside the medina and we get invited to sit in a table as we come in. No way! We came to dance, not to enjoy a white wine watching at the other people eat and drink.
The music finally starts while there are still two tables eating.
It's progressive, it's all right. Second is more elevator techno than anything. At last finally some trance, but still nothing surprising.
The place is filled with managers and bouncers watching us. The drinks are super-expensive. We get in for free but moroccan people has to pay around 100 Dh to get in. We keep on going out through the party to drink some stuff we brought from Spain. It finishes by 3. So not a good experience.
After it we go home to keep on partying until next night -awesome pillow fight included.
>Day 8
After party and resting.
miércoles, 13 de agosto de 2014
==Terrace of the hotel in Essaouira with electrosambarubbishwithinfiniteloops from the bars' terraces nearby==
>Day 5
I wake up (many times by Juan snoring and hitting me with the elbow) with Juan shouting that the festival has been cancelled. NO FUCKING WAY!
It was meant to start today at noon but the police had seized the area.
Apparently they had permission to do the party from the local government but a blogger did a post on it qualifying it as a satanic ritual or something like that, so it turned out to be a matter of state security.
Some of the DJs are already on the way or arriving and willing to perform and some attendees also so we try to assemble an alternative party by summon an assembly at sunset for the people already in Essaouria.
We go out to eat some tajine and come back having a stroll along the beach. The tide is high and the water is brown as it seems to be washing all the sand, not very attractive.
Essauoira is a very tourist place. Full of the usual crap. Not my cup of tea. Very windy and cold by night too.
People is already having fun around this tourist town with super-expensive prices and places that serve alcohol, so just one girl that we met earlier on the street shows up for the sunset meeting I attempted to set up.
I even write a little sign to see if someone sees us and speak with the young french owner of a new juice shop that's meant to open tomorrow to see if he knew something or could redirect people to us.
After it the guys go to a place to drink some beers while me and the british girl try to find a public phone that works to call a couple of people involved in the festival. After lots of walking, dead phones and faulty ones we can finally place the calls. One goes straight to answering machine, the other seems engaged. No rose over this garden.
We go to find the guys that seem to be having fun in the backstreet bar and after one average bottle of cold pee I decide to come back to the hotel to check over the internet if there are any news about the festival and the outcomes. Not much actually.
It's eleven o'clock and I feel sad, but I don't wanna loose faith in having a nice trance party, at least for a day or two. We still have lots of energy to burn!
When the guys finally come back to the hotel we drink a bit of rum and listen to some music, and even play some games until late.
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Lagheena/Il taga - cancelled/someone cancelled it
I wake up (many times by Juan snoring and hitting me with the elbow) with Juan shouting that the festival has been cancelled. NO FUCKING WAY!
It was meant to start today at noon but the police had seized the area.
Apparently they had permission to do the party from the local government but a blogger did a post on it qualifying it as a satanic ritual or something like that, so it turned out to be a matter of state security.
Some of the DJs are already on the way or arriving and willing to perform and some attendees also so we try to assemble an alternative party by summon an assembly at sunset for the people already in Essaouria.
We go out to eat some tajine and come back having a stroll along the beach. The tide is high and the water is brown as it seems to be washing all the sand, not very attractive.
Essauoira is a very tourist place. Full of the usual crap. Not my cup of tea. Very windy and cold by night too.
People is already having fun around this tourist town with super-expensive prices and places that serve alcohol, so just one girl that we met earlier on the street shows up for the sunset meeting I attempted to set up.
I even write a little sign to see if someone sees us and speak with the young french owner of a new juice shop that's meant to open tomorrow to see if he knew something or could redirect people to us.
After it the guys go to a place to drink some beers while me and the british girl try to find a public phone that works to call a couple of people involved in the festival. After lots of walking, dead phones and faulty ones we can finally place the calls. One goes straight to answering machine, the other seems engaged. No rose over this garden.
We go to find the guys that seem to be having fun in the backstreet bar and after one average bottle of cold pee I decide to come back to the hotel to check over the internet if there are any news about the festival and the outcomes. Not much actually.
It's eleven o'clock and I feel sad, but I don't wanna loose faith in having a nice trance party, at least for a day or two. We still have lots of energy to burn!
When the guys finally come back to the hotel we drink a bit of rum and listen to some music, and even play some games until late.
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Lagheena/Il taga - cancelled/someone cancelled it
==Listening to ambient and trance chill at the lounge of the hotel in Essaouira==
... and we had to pack it, it being narrowly stuck between some of them. We managed to do it and a friendly driver helped us fixing a hanging piece of plastic protector that was broken since Spain.
And bye bye Chefchaouen.
On our way to Fèz we go.
The trip goes quite smooth, with a nice feeling a car's light goes off showing what the drivers already knew, there's something wrong. The car has been having a low power and had to be overstepped on the gas and reduce too many gears to avoid the car shacking and loosing revs.
At the mechanic we find out that one of the plugs is not working properly, but they say that we can go on with it. So we do.
We arrive to Fèz medina just before it gets dark. We check in a guest house (Cascade) just by Bab Bou Jeloud, have a shower and I go to have a stroll with Abduki and newly met guy around the twisting zouq. I get myself a tarbush and an indigo bandanna.
Later we all go together to have dinner at a nice place that will charge us almost half of the written price and we have a problem with the man in there after a mistake. He serves Abduki a dish he may have not asked for, he says so and the man tries to take it away. We says that it's fine, we'll eat it anyway. In fact I had ordered that. But the man gets really angry and decides not to serve food to him. The reason remains unclear, but maybe because of his Omanian origin.
We sleep on the rooftop this night. By the time we go there we find out that all the nice places have been taken but we manage to get some rest using just blankets on one side and get a discount next morning.
>Day 4
After a breakfast in several different places we take off to Essaouira.
A long driving journey awaits us.
Just before getting into the motorway, we get stopped by police and shows us that I was driving at 86 Km/h when I should be driving at 60 Km/h and asks for 60 after asking for all the papers. Reluctantly we show him 60 Dh but he says that that it's not right. He was asking for 60 € and tell him that it's impossible. He shows me what's supposed to be the fines book showing 500 Dh. That's not 60 €. After some arguing about hash he considers that we are good people and lets us go but warns us to be careful.
Juan finally takes the car for a while in this journey.
Arriving to Essaouira we got stopped again about Abduki not wearing the safety belt right after loading some petrol.
On the entrance to Essaouira many young fellas show us keys and speak to us about apartments. We have a target and avoid them.
We find a nice hotel in the medina near the beach with a nice receptionist that goes crazy about my black nail varnish and keeps on calling me Clara ;P
The rooms here are very nice, almost european, with bathroom and shower inside. Also more expensive: 100 Dh each.
We go to the fish stalls and try to check the fish quality without being ear-raped by the tenders of the first two ones. Juan keeps on checking fishes and we finally make a decision. We try to get some white wine but the shop for that is closed already. So almost 3 kilos of fish it is.
I soon find out that in this town locals are more arrogant than in other places, almost assholes. They all smile and make a big effort to grab you into his den of things and when they realize that you want nothing to do with what they offer, they turn into sour bastards.
I also realized here that some people is open for exchanges instead of selling, usually the ones that seem berbers or with the head Tuareg thing.
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Tarbush - red hat (fez)
Waha waha - hold yourself
And bye bye Chefchaouen.
On our way to Fèz we go.
The trip goes quite smooth, with a nice feeling a car's light goes off showing what the drivers already knew, there's something wrong. The car has been having a low power and had to be overstepped on the gas and reduce too many gears to avoid the car shacking and loosing revs.
At the mechanic we find out that one of the plugs is not working properly, but they say that we can go on with it. So we do.
We arrive to Fèz medina just before it gets dark. We check in a guest house (Cascade) just by Bab Bou Jeloud, have a shower and I go to have a stroll with Abduki and newly met guy around the twisting zouq. I get myself a tarbush and an indigo bandanna.
Later we all go together to have dinner at a nice place that will charge us almost half of the written price and we have a problem with the man in there after a mistake. He serves Abduki a dish he may have not asked for, he says so and the man tries to take it away. We says that it's fine, we'll eat it anyway. In fact I had ordered that. But the man gets really angry and decides not to serve food to him. The reason remains unclear, but maybe because of his Omanian origin.
We sleep on the rooftop this night. By the time we go there we find out that all the nice places have been taken but we manage to get some rest using just blankets on one side and get a discount next morning.
>Day 4
After a breakfast in several different places we take off to Essaouira.
A long driving journey awaits us.
Just before getting into the motorway, we get stopped by police and shows us that I was driving at 86 Km/h when I should be driving at 60 Km/h and asks for 60 after asking for all the papers. Reluctantly we show him 60 Dh but he says that that it's not right. He was asking for 60 € and tell him that it's impossible. He shows me what's supposed to be the fines book showing 500 Dh. That's not 60 €. After some arguing about hash he considers that we are good people and lets us go but warns us to be careful.
Juan finally takes the car for a while in this journey.
Arriving to Essaouira we got stopped again about Abduki not wearing the safety belt right after loading some petrol.
On the entrance to Essaouira many young fellas show us keys and speak to us about apartments. We have a target and avoid them.
We find a nice hotel in the medina near the beach with a nice receptionist that goes crazy about my black nail varnish and keeps on calling me Clara ;P
The rooms here are very nice, almost european, with bathroom and shower inside. Also more expensive: 100 Dh each.
We go to the fish stalls and try to check the fish quality without being ear-raped by the tenders of the first two ones. Juan keeps on checking fishes and we finally make a decision. We try to get some white wine but the shop for that is closed already. So almost 3 kilos of fish it is.
I soon find out that in this town locals are more arrogant than in other places, almost assholes. They all smile and make a big effort to grab you into his den of things and when they realize that you want nothing to do with what they offer, they turn into sour bastards.
I also realized here that some people is open for exchanges instead of selling, usually the ones that seem berbers or with the head Tuareg thing.
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Tarbush - red hat (fez)
Waha waha - hold yourself
martes, 12 de agosto de 2014
==Listening to loud trance in the car towards Fèz==
>Week 0
Drunk and crazy around Málaga.
>Day 1
We barely made it. Running up and down along the southern coast from Caños to Tarifa to take a ferry that will take us to Tánger. We finally arrived and embarked just before the close the boat gates.
Nice boat ride to Africa. We enjoy our lasts beers in what will be a trip with a complete change in consumption. We're allowed a few bottles though, so we bring with us some Absynth, Rum, Vodka and Jagger.
Arrival. The first they say to me is, while I'm driving the car out of the ferry, "go, go man, don't wait, this is Africa!". And so it was. Tonto el último. Welcome to the chaotic traffic of any SEA town, but this time with asphalt and huge roundabouts.
I manage to take the car safely to a cash machine without a scratch.
We take some dirhams out and drive again towards Chefchaouen. A big rest to drive out of the city.
We put some petrol, cheap but not as cheap as expected.
We stop near Tetouan in a road lamb restaurant. A huge venue with tasty meat, olives and salad. Our first taste of Moroccan cuisine. 4 of us full for 180 Dh.
Back on the road. Now is dawning and an amazing full moon salutes us. The road starts getting more curvy and the driving more aggressive. Now Abduki is driving, here's from Oman, so he's used to this stuff.
We arrive at night and head straight to the medina. The town is still busy. Crazy guys and young fellows approach us for different reasons.
We park and go to find a guest-house. The nice one Juan knew about was really pretty, "La Castellana". We find the guy praying so we let me finish. There's a room for 4 free, at 75 Dh each but there's a problem here. Apparently there's a law in Morocco that doesn't let some combinations inside the same room, like an unmarried couple, or in our case, one muslim with "christians". With a little help from some locals we find another one that will take us, "Souika". But this one is not as pretty but almost same price 70 Dh each. We get a top floor room with beds and door, very hot inside. Keeping everything open will help to sooth the sauna conditions. Everyone else in that floor is whether sleeping on the floor with a mattress and no roof or in separate compartments filled with rugs and cushions for just 40 Dh. Better and cheaper.
That first night we go out to meet some locals. On the way back the streets of the medina are empty.
>Day 2
Next morning we wake up late and go to have to some nice orange juice near the main square and soon after to find a proper place to eat, away from the tourist nucleus, but not really far. We eat a traditional menu: Salad, Tajin (meat/couscous/vegs) and fruit for 40Dh. On the square is 55 Dh.
Here comes our walking trip around the medina, at peak time, on a sunday. Streets bustling with life. We manage to make our way to Talassemetane a small river flowing around the medina on the mountain side. Everyone is cooling out in here. Kids bathing, moroccan tourist watching a peacock spectacle, people smoking under the bridges and everyone relaxing and having some rest from the excruciating sun that hits you in August.
Here, under a fig tree, listen to the water run and kids play, time stops, I find peace.
Locals are much friendlier here, like if a blessing is upon all of us.
The way back is as hectic as before, but with a rested spirit everything seems more bearable.
We find our way into the evening and get some merienda: fresh cheese, different kinds of olives and huge thick and spongy pitas. 25 Dh and still have some left for breakfast.
This night we take a walk out of the medina to take a closer look at the idiosyncrasy of an evening around here.
We see some stalls and finally get into a local restaurant. Meat is at 2.5 Dh per piece and deep fried aubergine and spiced balls of mashed potato for 1 Dh each. There was also soup for 4 Dh. My friends took a mix of all the elements, I was more than full with 3 aubergines and 2 potato thingies.
Then I bought the most expensive thing till then, a 1L bottle of yummy apple soda for 9 Dh.
After coming back to the main square a friendly young local invited me to his terrace. After a little stroll we found ourselves in front of a coluorfull and scented shop. After 10 minutes I came out with a pumice stone, a couple of soaps and a little piece of solid purple perfume.
Went back to the guy's terrace and we all shared a glass of average tea overlooking Uta el-Hammam square.
Back in the guest house there was a noisy gathering by the terrace. Caught some reading and fell asleep.
>Day 3
We wake up a little later than expected, but some of our dreams were well worth it.
After we get ready, I manage to get some figs on the way out of the medina and go to pack the car.
The day feels extra hot. And maybe is extra hot. Our car is just by the taxi stop and ......
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Saha - enjoy
Sahten wa aafia - enjoy back to you double ;)
Lmaa/Mai - water
Lou samaht - please
Smahali - excuse me
Ma salama - see you
Shukran - thanks
Drunk and crazy around Málaga.
>Day 1
We barely made it. Running up and down along the southern coast from Caños to Tarifa to take a ferry that will take us to Tánger. We finally arrived and embarked just before the close the boat gates.
Nice boat ride to Africa. We enjoy our lasts beers in what will be a trip with a complete change in consumption. We're allowed a few bottles though, so we bring with us some Absynth, Rum, Vodka and Jagger.
Arrival. The first they say to me is, while I'm driving the car out of the ferry, "go, go man, don't wait, this is Africa!". And so it was. Tonto el último. Welcome to the chaotic traffic of any SEA town, but this time with asphalt and huge roundabouts.
I manage to take the car safely to a cash machine without a scratch.
We take some dirhams out and drive again towards Chefchaouen. A big rest to drive out of the city.
We put some petrol, cheap but not as cheap as expected.
We stop near Tetouan in a road lamb restaurant. A huge venue with tasty meat, olives and salad. Our first taste of Moroccan cuisine. 4 of us full for 180 Dh.
Back on the road. Now is dawning and an amazing full moon salutes us. The road starts getting more curvy and the driving more aggressive. Now Abduki is driving, here's from Oman, so he's used to this stuff.
We arrive at night and head straight to the medina. The town is still busy. Crazy guys and young fellows approach us for different reasons.
We park and go to find a guest-house. The nice one Juan knew about was really pretty, "La Castellana". We find the guy praying so we let me finish. There's a room for 4 free, at 75 Dh each but there's a problem here. Apparently there's a law in Morocco that doesn't let some combinations inside the same room, like an unmarried couple, or in our case, one muslim with "christians". With a little help from some locals we find another one that will take us, "Souika". But this one is not as pretty but almost same price 70 Dh each. We get a top floor room with beds and door, very hot inside. Keeping everything open will help to sooth the sauna conditions. Everyone else in that floor is whether sleeping on the floor with a mattress and no roof or in separate compartments filled with rugs and cushions for just 40 Dh. Better and cheaper.
That first night we go out to meet some locals. On the way back the streets of the medina are empty.
>Day 2
Next morning we wake up late and go to have to some nice orange juice near the main square and soon after to find a proper place to eat, away from the tourist nucleus, but not really far. We eat a traditional menu: Salad, Tajin (meat/couscous/vegs) and fruit for 40Dh. On the square is 55 Dh.
Here comes our walking trip around the medina, at peak time, on a sunday. Streets bustling with life. We manage to make our way to Talassemetane a small river flowing around the medina on the mountain side. Everyone is cooling out in here. Kids bathing, moroccan tourist watching a peacock spectacle, people smoking under the bridges and everyone relaxing and having some rest from the excruciating sun that hits you in August.
Here, under a fig tree, listen to the water run and kids play, time stops, I find peace.
Locals are much friendlier here, like if a blessing is upon all of us.
The way back is as hectic as before, but with a rested spirit everything seems more bearable.
We find our way into the evening and get some merienda: fresh cheese, different kinds of olives and huge thick and spongy pitas. 25 Dh and still have some left for breakfast.
This night we take a walk out of the medina to take a closer look at the idiosyncrasy of an evening around here.
We see some stalls and finally get into a local restaurant. Meat is at 2.5 Dh per piece and deep fried aubergine and spiced balls of mashed potato for 1 Dh each. There was also soup for 4 Dh. My friends took a mix of all the elements, I was more than full with 3 aubergines and 2 potato thingies.
Then I bought the most expensive thing till then, a 1L bottle of yummy apple soda for 9 Dh.
After coming back to the main square a friendly young local invited me to his terrace. After a little stroll we found ourselves in front of a coluorfull and scented shop. After 10 minutes I came out with a pumice stone, a couple of soaps and a little piece of solid purple perfume.
Went back to the guy's terrace and we all shared a glass of average tea overlooking Uta el-Hammam square.
Back in the guest house there was a noisy gathering by the terrace. Caught some reading and fell asleep.
>Day 3
We wake up a little later than expected, but some of our dreams were well worth it.
After we get ready, I manage to get some figs on the way out of the medina and go to pack the car.
The day feels extra hot. And maybe is extra hot. Our car is just by the taxi stop and ......
*Vocabulary for the chapter:
Saha - enjoy
Sahten wa aafia - enjoy back to you double ;)
Lmaa/Mai - water
Lou samaht - please
Smahali - excuse me
Ma salama - see you
Shukran - thanks
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