Thursday, April 17, 2014
Was this the bone carver we saw in Fes?
This New York Times article about Fes profiles an elderly carver of bone combs - could it be the same one we saw on our tour?
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Getting home
One more story about the adventure of driving in Morocco.
Besides getting lost various times and me getting a speeding ticket we had one more challenge: a flat tire on the way to the airport!
It happened on the Autoroute. Elizabeth skillfully got the car to the right shoulder and Susan warned the oncoming traffic while we tried to find the jack, spare tire, directions etc. No phone to reach any help...no jack in sight( who knew it was under the hood?)...all the luggage by the side of the road and time ticking down to airplane check-in. A truck stopped with 3 guys at the same time a highway assistance truck appeared and another Moroccan miracle took place. We were back on the road in record time, waving goodbye to another 4 "brothers". Made it to Casablanca in time. Needless to say our adrenalin was in overdrive.
Besides getting lost various times and me getting a speeding ticket we had one more challenge: a flat tire on the way to the airport!
It happened on the Autoroute. Elizabeth skillfully got the car to the right shoulder and Susan warned the oncoming traffic while we tried to find the jack, spare tire, directions etc. No phone to reach any help...no jack in sight( who knew it was under the hood?)...all the luggage by the side of the road and time ticking down to airplane check-in. A truck stopped with 3 guys at the same time a highway assistance truck appeared and another Moroccan miracle took place. We were back on the road in record time, waving goodbye to another 4 "brothers". Made it to Casablanca in time. Needless to say our adrenalin was in overdrive.
In NJ but on Morocco time...
Looking back at the blog I think we have a treasure in the YouTube video made in Chouen, here
If you can watch it to the end you see all of the town as we experienced it; the blue walled streets and alleys, the main square, the shops, the beginning of the walk up the mountain. Even the public wash boards at the waterfall are in the video. Don't miss the cute straw hats, which are a take off on the typical hats Rif women wear and seem to be the main souvenir item for Moroccan tourists.
Seeing these happy youth who made the video reminds me that our cultures are pretty similar around the world.
If you can watch it to the end you see all of the town as we experienced it; the blue walled streets and alleys, the main square, the shops, the beginning of the walk up the mountain. Even the public wash boards at the waterfall are in the video. Don't miss the cute straw hats, which are a take off on the typical hats Rif women wear and seem to be the main souvenir item for Moroccan tourists.
Seeing these happy youth who made the video reminds me that our cultures are pretty similar around the world.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Counting down
We are in a beautiful Riad in Sale and it is a great contrast to Larache. The place is spotless, and every detail artistically presented. The staff are attentive and pleasant. We even have a cute cat companion. The medina here is clean and quiet....so we should stay a few more days. BUT tomorrow we head home.
Rabat is a modern sort of city where we can catch a tram that runs across the river that separates Sale from Rabat. It's quick and efficient and very civilized. We've explored the famous sites, along with all the Sunday crowds, then today had a morning in the Chellah, a items of old ruins and extensive grounds with nice gardens. There are around 75 nesting pairs of storks, and I feel like I've photographed them all.
Now we are recovering from a scrumptious dinner, and getting packed. More to come, with photos!
Rabat is a modern sort of city where we can catch a tram that runs across the river that separates Sale from Rabat. It's quick and efficient and very civilized. We've explored the famous sites, along with all the Sunday crowds, then today had a morning in the Chellah, a items of old ruins and extensive grounds with nice gardens. There are around 75 nesting pairs of storks, and I feel like I've photographed them all.
Now we are recovering from a scrumptious dinner, and getting packed. More to come, with photos!
Larache
Larache is not a tourist town; I call it La Raunchy due to its impressive garbage piles, one of which greeted us each morning as we left our Riad. And the Riad gave us much fodder between its grime and our very weird host Hassan......however, we had two great days in the region!
The first day we, with some difficulty, found the roman ruins of Lixus, which is not given its due in the guidebooks. We were lucky enough to have a young man guide us through for over two hours. His father and grandfather had also been caretakers of the site, but the ministry of culture no longer supports the guards, so he gave us this fascinating and detailed tour at no charge, due to his passion for the site.
The next day we met the Hassan mentioned in all the guidebooks as the expert birder at mousy bousselham- and expert he was indeed! He took us out on his boat and I will let the birders tell all we saw; the pink flamingos were the most unusual to this non- birder. Then he showed us the fishermen who had returned with a big haul, picked out a variety of fish and crabs for us, and shared an amazing lunch in the restaurant nearby who cooked them up for us!
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