From Fez to Chefchaouen

It was about a 4 hour drive through the Ri Mountains, which are markedly different from the Atlas: smaller, greener, with farms all along the route- many olive groves, but also grapes, figs, oranges, almonds. Observations on driving in morocco: People here walk. We see people walking along roads in the middle of nowhere. People also sit by the roadside in small groups, especially men. There are not infrequent 'haltes' for the gendarmerie. One sits at a table with a radar camera while another flags down cars. Our driver today said they are looking for those carrying kif (marijuana) which is all over Chefchaiuen, but we have seen them everywhere we have driven. There are lots of mules being led along the road, or tied to something while the owner works the fields. And: there are NO route numbers or street names posted. If you ask for a route number noted on the map, people think you are nuts.

More Fez

We woke to more rain and said a sad goodbye to Anita, Karen, and Caroline who got on the train to Casablanca. Now we are 5! We decided, despite the rain, to take two petite taxis to the Mellah, or Jewish quarter, right by the royal palace. We stumbled around til we found the old synagogue, and a nice woman let us in for 20 dirham each. The highlight for me was the mikvah in the basement, still filled with eater. Hope we can follow with photos. A very persistent young man wanted to lead us to the cemetary, but we were pretty sure it was the wrong direction and had difficulty shaking him. Finally ed dodged into a bijouterie where he got a new strap for his watch. The man lingered outside by the corner, but we finally lost him as we emerged from the neighborhood into pouring rain, where we hailed taxis to return us to the Blue Gate so we could get back to the Riad to dry out. We had a picnic lunch of leftover snacks in the sitting room, then decided to try for the museum of woodcarving despite the rain. This was a worthwhile stop. We had some mint tea in the salon on the roof to wait out the rain before retuning home. Poor Susan was hit with sickness, but the rest of us went to a restaurant in a Riad that Marge had been to on a previous trip. I haven't mentioned that the medina is so convoluted and confusing that one actually needs to hire a guide to get from the hotel to whatever your destination is. On this night a man from the restaurant met us at our Riad and led us all over creation, through narrow alleys, to the restaurant. It was nice but didn't compare with Fatima's cooking in our Riad the night before!

Exploring Fez

We woke to rain, so delayed our guide til afternoon. We walked to Cafe Clock for a light lunch of camel burgers (quite good!) where Hakim, our guide, met us. Another good idea to have a guide here in the craziness of Fez. Among the sights we saw: an old medersa with a still active mosque, just before the call to prayer, a pre-school with five 4 and 5 yr olds who sang for us, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, metalworkers tapping with hammers, weavers using Moroccan silk from the aloe cactus, cotton, and wool, craftsmen painting designs on pottery freehand, mosaicists tapping out pieces of ceramic while another placed them upside down by memory prior to the addition of plaster (hard to explain), and the tanneries that have been there for centuries. We had dinner at the Riad, prepared by Fatima, served by Ben, and we agreed it was the best meal yet! Carrot, avocado and apple salad, favs beans, lentil soup, potato puffs with tuna, eggplant with chermouil sauce, followed by amazing chicken tagine fez style, with caramel used onions on top and scrumptious pumpkin purée. Ended with fruit tarts.

On to Fez

Here is Ed saying goodbye to the camel driver, Mohammed, after the desert adventure

We were sad to say goodbye to Moustafa, Moustafa and Hassan, who took such good care of us for the last six days.  We spent our last night with them in Midelt, arriving quite late and just wanting to go to bed, but then were served one of the best tagines so far- one chicken with lemon and the other beef with prunes.

In the morning our beloved guides droves us through a Lake District, where we stopped at a lake and Phyllis saw her bustard (life bird), then to the cedar forest to see the monkeys, then a quick stop in
Ifrane for a coffee, pastry, and clean bathroom.  Ifrane has a European look, kinda like Switzerland.

We drove into Fez where the men with carts were waiting to take our bags into the narrow cobblestone streets of the medina to find our new riad, Dar El Hana, down a tiny alley with the usual nondescript door leading into it.

Angela is the young Aussie managing the riad, and we sat on the rooftop terrace looking out over the medina for our usual mint tea while she oriented us to this most fascinating and convoluted city.  Did we hear that there are 9000 streets in the medina? We ventured out through the markets (souks), pleased not to have the motorbikes we saw in Marrakesh beeping at us in the narrow alleyways.  Had a lovely dinner at the Ruined Garden, run by a Brit who came to do the garden project and never left.

Susan says hi!

This has been a marvelous experience thus far.  The country is beautiful, the people are lovely and the geology and geography are beyond description.  Our desert visit was great fun.  My camel and I got on quite well.  Today is rainy so we have a little down time.  So far I have acquired two rugs and a few small items.  Fez is a leather place and pottery is yet to come.  Have eaten much tagine and drunk good Moroccan wine....more sweets than I eat in a year.  Three of our group leave tomorrow and our remaining five head for Chechaouen (sp) on Thursday - then to Tangier.  Hope spring is in sight at home.

Our desert adventure

From the high Atlas, by way of a chilly night at a barely heated hotel, we descended through the Todra gorge.  Photos later...  Very narrow gorge with sheer rock walls, amazing rocky cliffs.

We had a late lunch at our desert hotel right at the edge of the Sahara, and mounted the camels around 5pm.  The hour and a half trek to the desert camp was magical to me. Bakkar and Mohamed each led a string of 4 camels, single file, across the sand. We soon lost sight of civilization and looked out on endless dunes, like the waves of the sea.  Little tufts of grass, lizard, beetle and fox tracks were all that marked the sand besides our own camel footprints. Our camel man walked regally, steadily in front of his charges, barefoot, with his blue robe blowing in the breeze.  Most of our group had learned how to wrap up in a scarf covering all but the eyes. (Photos later of our helpers who delighted in doing the typical turban wrapping.)

Our desert camp was at an oasis sheltered by a huge dune, Erg Chebbi. We climbed the dune for sunset, none of us reaching the summit. Our camp was made up of Berber style tents enclosing a central courtyard of sand with mats and rugs, where we had tea.  It got dark and cold quickly, so we let Marge and Karen try to read a star map and find constellations.  We slept on thin mats with heavy blankets and I was very comfortable.  What an experience to get up in the middle of the night to absolute silence and only star light.  It was absolute magic and I was glad I couldn't find the flashlight.  Our camel guides got us up early enough for sunrise.  I watched them get the camels up and moving.  They fussed and complained but the guys were gentle with them.

Now we are in Fez, in an ancient guest house with lovely rooftop terrace. And for the first time on the trip it's raining!

Snow on the pass, and tea with the Berbers.