Today we had a little bit of a sleep in and did not leave
Erfoud until 8:30 am. It is a ‘sea day’
and we needed it after the action packed marathon yesterday. Many of us stayed
up late after dinner trying to post to Facebook, or to contact friends at home
because of the excitement we had experienced.
Today was a long drive to the former capital of Fez,
sometimes spelled Fes. The scenery has
become ordinary to us, except that the further north we go the more green we
see. There were men on donkeys going
what seemed great distances.
There were vendors at every photo stop. Here a nice young man was selling dates when
we stopped to see more date palms. Judy
and Cindy chat with them all and share their histories with us.
There was time to take a photo of Aziz who is the driver’s
assistant. He loads the bags on and off
the bus. He backs up to cliff sides to
act as a guard so none of us fall over while focusing on photos. He stands in
streets so cars don’t hit us since we are distracted by the sights. He keeps us supplied with cold water on the
bus.
So I also took a photo of Hakkim who is a wonderful
driver. As this day went on, we were
later hit by a car going the other direction, but nothing fazes Hakkim. He calmly got out, walked to the back of the
bus, where we were hit because the oncoming driver missed the curve. No big damage and we more heard it than felt
it. Thought maybe a tire had blown out. None of us felt more than a tremor.
Hakim and I have a joke. I always was saying “hello, again” or “good
bye again.” I said it so often getting
on and off many times during the day all this whole trip, that now we greet each other in as many foreign
languages or ways as we can.
This might have been a touristy stop…so we didn’t! That is, of course the shadow of our bus. If he could have, the dinosaur would have stood in its shade for as long as he could. Everyone was always seeking the least bit of shade.
There was a garden at the Afriquia, truck stop, where took our break. We stopped at these often because they are clean, have decent restrooms, a little coffee shop, and the much treasured free WiFi. I enjoyed
walking for a while. Kahlid keeps us
busy on the bus with history and funny stories. My brain gets tired! He
makes fun of his relationship with his wife, but I suspect he is very much in
love with her. She is a teacher at a
French style school where their seven year old son attends.
This tunnel hardly looks big enough for one bus alone. Hakim is always careful to pull over a little anytime another vehicle of size comes
towards us.
Elva seems to be enjoying the trip through the Middle Atlas
Mountains.
In the afternoons we always see groups of women
converging. Their work of the day is
done, and they have worked hard. Once the fields have been plowed, the women do the tending and the harvesting. They make and sell handicrafts and
pottery. We see them beating rugs, tending
the home chickens and goats, and of course, surrounded by children. Generally the women of Morocco are the workhorses
of the nation. But the daily routine
includes late afternoon time for some gossip and some tea.
The long ride between our lunch stop in Azrou and our break
in Ifrane was well occupied.
We took a short Macaque feeding stop at the Mid Atlas
Forest. These are the cousins to the
famous Barbary Apes of Gibraltar. The
Rock of Gibraltar, in Spain, is only about nine miles from Tangier, across the Straits
of Gibraltar from Morocco. The word
Barbary comes from Berber. Berbers were
the rulers of North Africa and conquered Spain.
Eventually Muslims overtook their rule.
(That is if I remember my high school history correctly! Do any of us remember the Goths, Visigoths,
and Moors correctly? I never thought I would ever really need to know. Now I wish I had studied up a bit before the trip.)
As we continued passing through the deep green shade of the Cedar trees
and Holm Oaks I marveled at the geographic variety of Morocco. Not only the land but the architecture and
general feel also changed. No more flat
roofs because here, just a two hour ride from the desert, there are heavy winter snows!
We arrived at Ifrane which is both a university town and a
ski resort. Kahlid assures us it is
great fun for him and his family to come in the winter and play in the snow. He and his son build a snowman. They cannot come every year because, much
like ski resorts in Colorado, Ifrane is very expensive.
What a change this town is.
So European in feel and look! The
fall colors are a breath of fresh air and it was nice to see young people in a
variety of dress, traditional, modern, and each one so young and vibrant. Since education is free in Morocco through
the university level, the colleges are full and seem to be exciting places
filled with students anxious for a brighter future.
The French Patisserie was delightful.
This fountain, which looks as though it might be a globe like
the one I love in the square in Dover, England, was closed down and drained giving
proof of the upcoming season.
Yet just outside of town we again see the ubiquitous
sheep! They are already wearing their
winter coats.
Elva and I made our way across the street to the Golden
Arches in order, not so much to have a burger, as to try to secure more
reliable WiFi. We chatted with a nice
man from the Netherlands who now lives here with his Moroccan wife and their
daughter. He helped us to order as the
menu was in French. He did so a little peremptorily
saying about the kids behind the counter, “They think they speak and understand
English, but really they only know French!”
He and his family waved to us when they had finished their ice cream and
were leaving. Our whole order of
burgers, fries, and drinks cost 50.50 DH.
That is $5.50 for the two of us.
Both McMissions were not particularly successful. The food wasn’t great and the WiFi was worse.
I did notice as we walked though, that we are now seeing the green crescents
more often. Most often at this point
they indicate a pharmacy. They never used a Red Cross or any 'cross' sign on any thing. You can see here as well how busy the streets and foot traffic is in the early evening.
Back in our room for the night, Elva demonstrated our travel
weariness. She was showering when she
realized she still had on her money belt! Luckily her carefully protected
passport was not damaged. She peeled the
bills apart and set them to dry in the closet on a towel.
 |
| Ii promised Elva I would not use this photo, but how could I not? We both were hysterical with laughter. It has been a long trip! |
Definitely time to say goodnight after a sojourn through the
climates of Morocco.
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