Saturday March 26
Bus ride to Somewhere.
Sunrise. Took a walk up onto a dune to watch the sunrise. Both the sunrise and the clouds to the west where perfect. One of the best sunrises I have seen, not that you can compare such things. The sky to the east was clear, with clouds to the west showing colors. A little brisk but not frigid.
Breakfast. Same as yesterday. I'm happy about that though- with the eggs and French toast it was a lot more filling than the standard Moroccan breakfast- coffee juice and lots of bread.
Too cold to shower. It doesn't even seem like the water is running this morning. So it wouldn't have been possible. And....
Where and when am I going?
So I did a dumb thing and canceled the reservation for the cave because I didn't think I could make it there. When I found out transport wasn't going to be a problem it was too late. Addi had a waiting list and filled my spot immediately. Sara said she was working out plans for me, which was nice since I didn't want to sit around trying to work that out myself when I was trying to sit around, relax, and explore. But I still don't know what this plan is, I was just told it's time to go. I'm ready. Yallah, let's go.
Ali drives me to the bus station, back through the desert and I like that. I like "off roading" but I don't get many chances to do it. No doubt it's fun. Ali forgot to bring the print out of where I'm staying. He told me what town to take the bus to and that people there will meet me at the station. Ok. I'll go with the flow and trust in the unicorn in the sky. And I have a few Moroccans phone numbers, maybe I'll actually have to use them.
Just as I'm about to board the bus he returns with a handwritten piece of paper with the name of the place I will stay and my hosts names and phone number just in case. Winning. Thanks unicorn.
Bus ride, this is the first bus ride in the country that had no obvious Moroccans on board for a good portion of the ride. One or two hopped on along the way. Mostly young backpacking travelers from Germany and Spain. The driver played a radio station broadcasting prayers on the speakers almost the whole morning, than it switched to talk radio.
We drove through a dry mountainous region to Tinghir, a small town near the gorge I was trying to get to. This part of Morocco reminds me of New Mexico and Arizona. Even similar artistic embellishments to some of the buildings.
I arrived and was approached by a guy (we met again the next day, his name is Omar) but I didn't think he was my contact. Another guy walked up to me and said Rafael? I said no and kept walking. Omar tried again and I said "I'm looking for Mustapha". Then the other guy comes back and says he's Mustapha. I said I'm not Rafael but then he confirmed that Sara had sent him. We had a good laugh about this at dinner later. So I met Mustapha, my host who is a Berber who grew up in a village we can see from his house. He saw a friend at the bus stop with a car and we got a ride half way to his place, then we walked the rest of the way.
He lives in a small village that is so fascinating to me. The homes are made of mud and straw and there was a bad snow storm 40 or so years ago that did some serious damage to the town. Most people moved to the other side of the road and built new houses out of concrete. He moved here five years ago and has been renovating his place along with his wife Fanny, from France. and it is a beautiful home. It looks like he is in the middle of Roman ruins. A perfect filming location. So cool. It's not a hotel or B&B. No signs. Just a family home where they sometimes host travelers. They live right off of a "palm oasis" but it's much more than palms, which produce dates. I went for an afternoon walk and there's pomegranate, fig, peach, almond, and olive trees as well as fennel and some other herbs. I assume there's a lot more growing I just don't know enough about identifying the plants. I could use a Joe Rubin or Johnny B to help. And I know nothing about birds but Ive seen and heard a bunch of cool ones. But I'm jumping ahead.
I arrived at the home and was served mint tea. Then they went about preparing lunch. Mustapha is a trained French chef. They cook eat food that is locally grown and produced- Fanny mentioned that she feeds her compost to the animals so she knows what they eat. Mustapha only likes to cook with fresh food. Yesterday's gatherings and groceries goes to the animals too.
Fanny and I had a conversation about books. She's reading a book by Jack London that talks about the Chicago uprising in 1913 and I suggested she check out The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. She also has a copy of People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. She said it was given to her by another American traveler who told her it may make her cry. and we talked about her trip to America many years ago and how much she enjoyed the train from Chicago to San Fransisco during Christmas and the her trip down the coast to San Diego from there.
There is another couple staying here, a Brazilian and his French wife. They are renovating a place not far from here and hope to move in by December. Lunch was a tomato, avocado, and onion salad, roasted potatoes and some meat skewers grilled on a small barbie in the yard.
The walk through the grove was very interesting. I enjoy trying to identify the trees and plants, and it was apparent that this was a town a long time ago (I found out later it was over 1000 years ago) There is very little recorded history of the region, but people are trying to figure it all out.
The paths I walked on seem like they used to be the walls of homes. They are dirt paths about 2 feet wide and 5 or 6 feet high from the ground, sometimes higher even. Below the paths people have little plots to garden. There are intricate canals all through the oasis, made to guide the water to the plots. Lots of alfalfa and beans are starting to get about knee high. A guy with a few Trumps passed by, and a few kids were playing and hanging around which I passed. They all said bonjour and giggled.
The stars here are vibrant and very visible here. I went to the roof for a great panoramic view.
So I've tried the Tangier sub par offerings. Chefchaouen had its powdery style. But I've heard that Ketama's the best source for hash and I think I can now say what I've heard is true.
After the pre-game it was time for Dinner. Mustapha and Fanny prepared a cauliflower soup, and a kafta tagine, which are like small spiced meatballs, with green beans and carrots. Yummy.
After dinner the conversation got past me for the most part as there was a lot of French and Berber spoken, neither of which I can understand. We spoke a little Spanish at some points and I amazingly held my own, understanding and communicating more than I expected to.
But I appreciated this as one of the things I have been able to experience this trip is being the Outsider. Not like I've never been around a group of people speaking a language I don't understand before. This is just a world which I for the most part don't understand. But I'm learning.
There are 3 official languages in Morocco; Berber, French and Arabic. Although there are some English signs in some places, it's rare. "Donny, you're out of your element" I enjoy the change from "the norm"
Tis bah allahcha.
