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Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Pictures from Fez, Morocco
On our last day in Fez together, Susannah, Genna and I visited the Medursa, the oldest University in the World.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Algeciras to Madrid
(Written 6pm July 2nd, 2009)
I am sitting on the train en route from Algeciras to Madrid. I am surrounded by a sea of green and a backdrop of blueish mountains in the distance. The green is almost wholly olive grees, with the only variance being those groves that are aligned perfectly, and those that are more chaotic. Whitewashed houses speckle the horizon, and the occasional town in the distance. In the beginning, we traveled through the mountains, through tunnels and along beautiful gorges. I kept falling asleep - so I went and had an espresso. Now we seem to be in a large valley heading in the direction of Cordoba. The train itself is quite comfortable, I have no one next to me, and teh snack car is one train up. I rarely feel any vibrations from the tracks, and the cars are exceptionally clean. Amtrak should try modeling their service off of these punctual and clean trains with friendly staff. It might turn around the use of trains in America which seems to have declined rapidly over time.
I am surprised how much spanish I remember when I need, although the phrases are gone - but the vocab remains. I am pleased to say I have received a few compliments on my spanish. Of course, grammar is another story. But I can get the point, even if I implicate myself in the same conversation as being a he, a she, and a we (el, ella, nosotros). I am sure with time it will get more focused.
I wish I had my camera ready, on the left, I just glimpsed a beautiful little white washed town flowing over a hill and into a valley of olive grees and grapes. On the top of a steep mountain overlooking the town was a beautiful castle.
As I mentioned in my blackberry post, I met a very nice family on the ferry also traveling to spain (I guess that is rather obvious as we were on the ferry to spain). We chatted about other adventures and far off lands. They live in Ohio, but the mother was born in Morocco, and kept a house in Casablanca. They were kind enough to give me their numbers so that should I be in casablanca again, or Ohio, I can stay by them. I shared my information as well, should they be in the city (for those confused about the concept of "A city" and "THE city", please speak with a New Yorker, any resident of "THE city") I can give them some ideas of places to explore.
In the station, after a sidewalk lunch, and some clothes shopping (unsuccessful, no linen shirts to be found), I met a mom and daughter traveling together also waiting for a train (they tried to book a hostel using my blackberry, but the final page wouldn't load, unfortunately). They had gone into Morocco for a few days, and were on their way back into Spain. The daughter, just finished university, and is planning to teach biology. The mom now lives in Costa Rica, and we chatted about the American School. Perhaps a sign since less than 24 hours before, while letting Genna take some time to explore the different bag options, Susannah and I threw around some ideas for our respective futures, and the American School came up as a method of exloring new international locales, while working at the same time.
I am sitting on the train en route from Algeciras to Madrid. I am surrounded by a sea of green and a backdrop of blueish mountains in the distance. The green is almost wholly olive grees, with the only variance being those groves that are aligned perfectly, and those that are more chaotic. Whitewashed houses speckle the horizon, and the occasional town in the distance. In the beginning, we traveled through the mountains, through tunnels and along beautiful gorges. I kept falling asleep - so I went and had an espresso. Now we seem to be in a large valley heading in the direction of Cordoba. The train itself is quite comfortable, I have no one next to me, and teh snack car is one train up. I rarely feel any vibrations from the tracks, and the cars are exceptionally clean. Amtrak should try modeling their service off of these punctual and clean trains with friendly staff. It might turn around the use of trains in America which seems to have declined rapidly over time.
I am surprised how much spanish I remember when I need, although the phrases are gone - but the vocab remains. I am pleased to say I have received a few compliments on my spanish. Of course, grammar is another story. But I can get the point, even if I implicate myself in the same conversation as being a he, a she, and a we (el, ella, nosotros). I am sure with time it will get more focused.
I wish I had my camera ready, on the left, I just glimpsed a beautiful little white washed town flowing over a hill and into a valley of olive grees and grapes. On the top of a steep mountain overlooking the town was a beautiful castle.
As I mentioned in my blackberry post, I met a very nice family on the ferry also traveling to spain (I guess that is rather obvious as we were on the ferry to spain). We chatted about other adventures and far off lands. They live in Ohio, but the mother was born in Morocco, and kept a house in Casablanca. They were kind enough to give me their numbers so that should I be in casablanca again, or Ohio, I can stay by them. I shared my information as well, should they be in the city (for those confused about the concept of "A city" and "THE city", please speak with a New Yorker, any resident of "THE city") I can give them some ideas of places to explore.
In the station, after a sidewalk lunch, and some clothes shopping (unsuccessful, no linen shirts to be found), I met a mom and daughter traveling together also waiting for a train (they tried to book a hostel using my blackberry, but the final page wouldn't load, unfortunately). They had gone into Morocco for a few days, and were on their way back into Spain. The daughter, just finished university, and is planning to teach biology. The mom now lives in Costa Rica, and we chatted about the American School. Perhaps a sign since less than 24 hours before, while letting Genna take some time to explore the different bag options, Susannah and I threw around some ideas for our respective futures, and the American School came up as a method of exloring new international locales, while working at the same time.
Lunch in Algeciras
Arrived via ferry in algeciras from tangiers. I met a family from ohio who was traveling as well. They are visiting spain for the day. Very nice, they bought me coffee and offered me to stay with them next time I am in ohio, or their place in casablanca.
Lunch at restaurantes montes, a sidewalk cafe.
So far from what's come out, my glass of red wine, sparkling water, cheese and bread, its been a success. And they take credit card. I think I am going to love spain.
I have a 3pm train to Madrid, and will post more upon arrival.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tangiers! or Morocco Lite
From a distance, Tangiers is quite beautiful with white washed houses, and french architecture. Up close, the beast comes out, and it's a lot less exciting. I checked lonely planet for some suggestions. It listed a restaurant, but it turned out to be a cafe with only coffee, tea, and alcohol. I had walked maybe an hour to get there, and was pretty annoyed. I decided to try the next place on the list, Palace Maharab.
What a scam.
It was the worst couscous, our camping couscous from the white mountains blew this stuff out of the water. Very overpriced, poor service. some music players who just mumbled most of the words to songs. The only nice part was the setting. Unfortunately, my camera was safe in my hotel room.
The medina is small, and much easier to navigate. Not much more to say there.
At least the hotel has wifi.
I went to purchase a ticket for the ferry, I walked all the way down the hill to find out that you need the physical passport, numbers are not enough. So I walked back up the hill, got the passport, came back.
Oh, we can't sell you a ticket until the day of.
That sealed tangiers fate for me. I don't like to write things off, but I still have not encountered anything redeeming in this city. It is more helpful that people speak spanish, but that is about it. English fluency is also higher than the southern parts of Morocco that I visited. All in all, my best experiences in North Africa, Morocco specifically, were outside of the entry cities - casablanca and tangiers.
The cool part is that I while I was told my room has a sea view, which it does just barely, I have to open the window, lean all the way out, and inhale the smoke from a truck parking lot below me, I can see spain across the strait of gibralter. That is pretty exciting, it's almost like looking into the future. Of course it's rather hazy, so I can't read anything.
Money worked out perfectly.
I will leave with three Dirhams after paying for my hotel, and ferry ticket. No need to carry around a currency not widely excepted in Europe during my travels. Maybe 1 dirham for souvineer, but that is the maximum.
I was calling it funny money, but considering our new money in the U.S., and taking into consideration all the various currencies I have used around the world, there isn't much out there that isn't funny money any more - in fact, monopoly money may be the last traditional form of money remaining, just the number and a small graphic, like older stuff from the Mint.
Time for skype.
Goodnight friends, and goodbye Africa.
What a scam.
It was the worst couscous, our camping couscous from the white mountains blew this stuff out of the water. Very overpriced, poor service. some music players who just mumbled most of the words to songs. The only nice part was the setting. Unfortunately, my camera was safe in my hotel room.
The medina is small, and much easier to navigate. Not much more to say there.
At least the hotel has wifi.
I went to purchase a ticket for the ferry, I walked all the way down the hill to find out that you need the physical passport, numbers are not enough. So I walked back up the hill, got the passport, came back.
Oh, we can't sell you a ticket until the day of.
That sealed tangiers fate for me. I don't like to write things off, but I still have not encountered anything redeeming in this city. It is more helpful that people speak spanish, but that is about it. English fluency is also higher than the southern parts of Morocco that I visited. All in all, my best experiences in North Africa, Morocco specifically, were outside of the entry cities - casablanca and tangiers.
The cool part is that I while I was told my room has a sea view, which it does just barely, I have to open the window, lean all the way out, and inhale the smoke from a truck parking lot below me, I can see spain across the strait of gibralter. That is pretty exciting, it's almost like looking into the future. Of course it's rather hazy, so I can't read anything.
Money worked out perfectly.
I will leave with three Dirhams after paying for my hotel, and ferry ticket. No need to carry around a currency not widely excepted in Europe during my travels. Maybe 1 dirham for souvineer, but that is the maximum.
I was calling it funny money, but considering our new money in the U.S., and taking into consideration all the various currencies I have used around the world, there isn't much out there that isn't funny money any more - in fact, monopoly money may be the last traditional form of money remaining, just the number and a small graphic, like older stuff from the Mint.
Time for skype.
Goodnight friends, and goodbye Africa.
Hotel continental
But:
no ac
Smells bad
Loud
Broken glass in my room
No hot water
Not cool for the price, but is close to port.
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GPS
According to my gps on my blackberry, I am still in jamaica station queens - is this all a dream?
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Train to Tanja
What you can't see is the heat. It's like hamam all over again, but fully clothed. Like wearing a suit on a humid day in hong kong (how it has been described to me). I am sweating fluids by the liter. Hopefully there are no more delays. That would be very unfortunate.
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Thank You Susannah
Susannah has been a wonderful host and both her and Genna great partners in these travels and exploration. Susannah seems to know everyone in Morocco, even the taxi driver we happened to have yesterday. The shopkeepers come out and greet her wherever we go, and we often see people on the street who recognize her. It become a far more powerful experience to have this connection to the community. It was also incredible to have someone who speaks arabic fluently. Everywhere we went we were taken care of like family, completely different from my Marrakech experience where I was objectified into a customer and only seen as a source of income by the souks.
Last night when they put me in a cab back to my hotel, I made a huge mental stickie note to call and let her know I arrived safely. Instead, I reached my hotel, and closed my eyes for a moment - make that many moments, about 7 hours worth.
My messages this morning included one from Charlotte, her sister. Susannah had even called the states to ask her sister to help make sure I was ok. The guy at the Hotel as I was checking out seemed to indicate she called looking for me as well.
I felt terrible about worrying her, and tried to call or send a text message. Argh. Phone dead. I then grabbed my bags and ran to Cafe Clock. Argh. Not open.
Then I saw the owner who I remember from the day before, and greeted him. He graciously opened up the cafe early for me, gave me some coffee and invited me to use the internet. I got online, emailed her while charging my phone, emailed her sister, and then when I had the minimum necessary power, sent a text message.
It's wonderful to know that in a place so far from home there is a safety net to catch me, even if I haven't stumbled, and one that is not just local. Watchful eyes and ears have kept a shroud of protection over me from D.C. to East Hampton, which has made this trip psychologically infinitely easier.
Thanks for support everyone.
Last night when they put me in a cab back to my hotel, I made a huge mental stickie note to call and let her know I arrived safely. Instead, I reached my hotel, and closed my eyes for a moment - make that many moments, about 7 hours worth.
My messages this morning included one from Charlotte, her sister. Susannah had even called the states to ask her sister to help make sure I was ok. The guy at the Hotel as I was checking out seemed to indicate she called looking for me as well.
I felt terrible about worrying her, and tried to call or send a text message. Argh. Phone dead. I then grabbed my bags and ran to Cafe Clock. Argh. Not open.
Then I saw the owner who I remember from the day before, and greeted him. He graciously opened up the cafe early for me, gave me some coffee and invited me to use the internet. I got online, emailed her while charging my phone, emailed her sister, and then when I had the minimum necessary power, sent a text message.
It's wonderful to know that in a place so far from home there is a safety net to catch me, even if I haven't stumbled, and one that is not just local. Watchful eyes and ears have kept a shroud of protection over me from D.C. to East Hampton, which has made this trip psychologically infinitely easier.
Thanks for support everyone.
Fez(s), hiking, Hamam
Susannah's host family's house is amazing, and you would never know from the outside which is a simple and elegant door. Or how large it is. But it is still nothing compared to how wonderful and kind her host family are, sharing their home and feeding me, even lending me things for the Hamam.
Overlooking Fez from the hike.
Genna and I went to a fabric factory with Susannah, hidden in the back alley of a medina. Actually, it seems all roads in the Medina are back alleys.__
(Written 12:16 AM June 30th 2009)
One of the unique features of the architecture here in Morocco is that the beauty is inner beauty. Susannah shared her family with Genna and I for meals and place to go, a home away from home, while in Fez. From the outside of the building, one would never imagine the splendid beauty of the house. The door is ornate, but there are no windows.
My hotel is not like this, and the windows overlooking the street let in a cool breeze, and the noise. So, I didn't sleep that well before our hike up the mountain (if you are reading this susannah, please comment with the name of the mountain!) Susannah, Genna and Brian (Bryan?) met me just as I was coming out of the hotel. She helped me negotiate things, and then we were off. We walked from the Medina into the foothills, and up the mountain - until we ran out of water. There was a tremendous amount of loose gravel that our shoes did not get along well with. A few slips, falls, and we settled for the great views of the false peak.
I didn't have breakfast so I was very hugnry when we returned 4 hours later for lunch. A camelburger seemed like the perfect filler. It's flavor was suprisingly not surprising, it sort of fit my expectations - or at least didn't stray far. It had the smell of camel minus all the bad smells that I have previously associated with camels. I am not sure I would have it again, but it was a good experience. Susannah also had one and Genna had the Couscous. Apparently, Couscous is traditionally only made on fridays. The restaurant we ate at is a little joint hidden down a dark alley. It's neat in that it has a diverse following. Lots of expatriots, lots of Moroccans, lots of mixes. It's a really comfortable cafe, and reminded me of some of my favorite places in Peru. I hope to get breakfast there in the morning.
But that wasn't the highlight of the day.
No, the highlight was the Hamam. The world knows of the turkish bath, and other cultural bathhouses. The moroccan bath house however is one that is unfortunately overlooked, or perhaps, fortunately, a well guarded secret. Hamam's are traditionally the opportunity for women to leave their house and meet with other women... while washing.
It's not your every day bath though.
We arrived, and the girls went to the right. I went left, and was told to strip to my boxers. A masseuse then led me down to the Hamam. It was a beautifully tiled room with marble slabs (they actually reminded me of an autopsy room) to lay on while being bathed, cold baths, and a large steam room. I was told to shower, then I was covered in Gausson, and other stuff, steamed for a while. After which I was rubbed down with a coarse glove called a K'iss to exfoliate.
Forget about personal space. I was then rinsed, and sent back into the steam room. More washing while I sat there and just enjoyed as I was scrubbed from head to foot. During the process, he would stretch my body in ways I didn't realize was previously possible. He cracked many of my bones, like a chiropractor, and massaged my leg and torso muscles. more showering, soaping, shampoo. At the end, I was led to a cold bath, and then a quiet room to nap. It was luxurious, my 1 hour and 45 minutes at the costly price of about 12 dollars. Less luxurious Hamam's, which I read about, sans masseuse, are about 10 dirhams, which is about 1 dollar and some change.
After our "spa" treatment, which in the winter is the weekly bathing method, we went for fez fruit salad. Delicious. It's an avocado smoothie, with lots of nuts and other delicious things. It was so good. And Susannah's host sister came along which was fun as well.
It brought me back to the shakes I made while my mouth was wired shut, and the fond memories of putting avocado in everything that I blended to keep up my weight. In Morocco, to tell someone they look thinner or that they lost some weight does not connotate the same as it does in America. People worry that they are sick or something to that nature. So, there was a running joke about shaping thighs through eating or some form of exercise.
During afternoon snack, we decided to go for more, and we were off for pizza. Susannah's host mom offered to make a special exception and prepare couscous for Genna since we leave in the morning, and she still hadn't had proper couscous.
Needless to say, it was an amazing meal. But we aren't there yet.
After returning to the house, Susannah and I went out to make some calls to the U.S. to cancel my plane ticket for Hong Kong, she let me use her computer and I did some skyping - but the calls kept failing. I had been waiting to decide what to do with the ticket, and realized that the flight left tomorrow afternoon. I ended up having to call my mom to hold the line when I would get disconnected, which happened frequently. The conference call was somewhat effective, and gave me a chance to chat with her a bit - but it was her taking control of the situation that created the solution. In the end, she handled it and emailed me the results.
We arrived back with perfect timing, and dinner was served. Ariel and her father, Brian (Bryan?) joined us, and we all shared in the wonderful meal. There was also real coca cola, as in, made with real sugar, not aspertane - which is infinitely better.
After dinner I returned to my hotel so as not to get locked out, as the policy remains unclear at this point.
Susannah, out with the French, and an Herbalist
(Written 11:55PM June 28 2009)
Since leaving Riad Davia, I haven't had the wifi access to post full entries. A lot has happened, such that the blackberry updates will not suffice. I will try to fill in the details below, though it all is a blur already.
The morning after my adventures with the owner and her family, I woke up early. I had asked for an early breakfast, but that was before meeting them. I decided to wait, and eat with my hosts from the night before.
Breakfast was much better than the previous breakfasts, crepes, orange juice, coffee, tea, the works. The friend of the family, a girl in her twenties, who spoke no english was feeling better and joined us. After dining, they invited me to go out for the day.
I found out today that as per custom in Morocco, the person who does the inviting always pays, that men almost always pay, and that bills are never divided.
We started with some shopping in a different area of the souks, away from the main square. It was wonderful, being away from the area where they all had the same thing and they no longer tried to force you into their shop. At one point, we passed through an area of spices - I wish there was a way to share the overwhelming and quite intoxicating aromas wafting in the air. The owner had relationships with various shop owners and greeted them as we passed through. It was nice to be seen as a guest and not just an object, a financial project.
An herbalist (this is the first one, not the same as in Fez) invited us in for Tea, and for the next hour we had a wonderful experience as he showed us his stuff, told us stories (mostly in french, some they translated for me) and spent time with us. As he showed us different things to cure things, they all started to laugh. Apparently, he was trying to think of a way of curing me of being American.
He encouraged us to take some pictures, and in the end, the french girl purchased some herbs for her skin. We moved on to lunch, going to a terrasse restaurant where I had the sushi, and we shared a bottle of wine. It was actually the best sushi (morimoto excluded) I have ever had, which was rather surprising given our proximity to the sea.
As we left the restuarant, we ran into the gentleman we had been at the bar / club with the night before, and exchanged greetings. It gave Morocco a small and quaint feeling in a fleeting moment. Then, they decided to go visit a friend's pool - and I needed to catch my train.
My taxi was late.
I freaked out and tried calling Susannah. For some reason, my initial text message from my Moroccan number worked, but nothing else was going out. I later learned I had to change the automatic country dialing code in the phone settings.
Anyway, I finally found a store to use their phone, and she told me to find her roommate. Luckily, he was wearing some clothes that stood out - Nantucket red pants are not popular here.
We started walking, but couldn't find Susannah or Genna. Finally, we hit the end of the train, boarded, and started working our way back. Eventually, we found them - they had reserved seats, and we settled in for the ride.
The supposed 4 hour ride turned into 5 or 6, and we arrived late in Rabat. No time to explore, except for a jaunt to Susannah's roof. The Ocean really was a stone's throw away. Susannah had some work to do, and so I stayed in her room with Genna, who is a very light sleeper. Apparently, my heavy breathing woke her up. This is important later on.
So, Genna joined Susannah out in the apartment living room, which was amazing by the way. It was in a Casbah, and like my riad, very quiet. Not like the hotel I am at now, right over the street, rather noisy, and not very accomodating with respect to letting me out past 12, despite what I was told during the negotiations for the room. But I am ahead of myself.
We caught an 8:12 train from Rabat, and arrived in Fes(z?) three hours later, approximately. These are the trains I remember seeing in the pictures online of ONCF. Unfortunately, we arrived during the taxi change, and it was impossible to find a taxi. Finally, we were able to get one, and head to Susannah's former host family. They were incredibly sweet, making us lunch. The house was beautiful - I have some pictures to share - with a large open courtyard, and big rooms off of the main court yard. Lunch was delicious, and afterwards we stayed to talk with the family for a bit, before starting our tour.
First stop, the Jewish Quarter. We spent a little while walking around the cemetary, and then wanted to go to the synongogue. A man named Jacob offered to bring us, but he took a rather circuitious route, avoiding our requests to just see the synongogue. It was getting frustrating in hearing about things that we weren't that interested in. At the Synongogue, they wanted a huge donation, as did Jacob want a personal donation.
We settled, checked it out. There is a scroll, although, from the decay it was experiencing, I wouldn't necessarily call it a Torah. It certainly is not Kosher. There was also a Mikvah, which was pretty frightening as Mikvahs go.
We proceeded to continue our walk, past the palace of the king - one of his many, and into the Medina. Genna had some shopping to do and we looked for things for her. One of the cooler stops was where the weaving of blankets takes place, using old wooden looms. It was amazing, and then we went to the herbalist.
He's exactly what you want in your herbalist, a man of unknown years of age, wise looking, etc.
I decided to ask about my snoring problem. Like a doctor, he started to probe into many things I didn't think about - how my stomach felt, if I experience headaches. He told me (through Susannah) that the three things to consider are my blood (circulation), my nervous system and my immune system. This learned man (we were but a stone's throw from the oldest university in the world) inquired about everything, and then prescribed me a course of actions:
For 40 Days:
1. Before Breakfast, cup of tepid water with 1 spoonful of honey (pure), 2 spoonfuls of apple vinegar. Eat 7 Dates
Then have breakfast
2. at 11:30AM drink a half liter of water
3. at 5:00PM drink one and a half liters of water
4. before bed, cup of warm water, spoonful of honey, 2 spoonfuls of apple vinegar
For 2 Weeks:
Breathe herbs in hot water
Some stuff to put in the nose in small drops.
We shall have to see how non western medicine works.
Afterwards, we visited a tannery, a place where leather is made. This tannery is 800 years old (if I understood him correctly). The leather is very nice, and Genna purchased a bag. Susannah and I chatted about life plans after travel, in her case, the Fulbright.
Then it was for a cool down drink (I may be mixing the order of things up), I ordered the Avocado juice, we also had a raisin juice among other pastries and drinks. Onward to her host house, where we had a late dinner, before bringing me back to my hotel.
Traveling with them was a lot of fun. Genna and I could talk often when the conversation would switch to Arabic, and both of us were experiencing the same cultural explosion going on in that things are new. Susannah is tons of fun all around. Despite having moved to Rabat, many of the shopkeepers and people on the street would call themselves out. Having a speaker of arabic was helpful as well. It was a very different experience from my exploration of the souks alone. Certainly more enjoyable. It reminded me more and more of what my roommate sasha said about Egypt, that it was difficult to visit in a week, but magical to live for a while.
Morocco can be overwhelming, but with Susannah, I feel like I found a shortcut that is giving me a glimpse of this incredible world that doesn't exist by me in the states. What is hardest part is witnessing all the tradition, and realizing how devoid of tradition our culture has become.
It has given me extensive context however to wrap my mind around the decisions of friends and family that in other lights befuddled me to some extent.
I think that I will leave for Tangiers wednesday morning and catch an early boat on thursday, arriving in the evening thursday in Madrid. I am getting pumped for my next adventure to begin in Spain.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Where the ocean waves begin
From Susannah's roof top, morning, leaving from Rabat to Fes. Looking over the atlantic.
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
Arrived in Rabat
Met Susannah and Genna at the station, and now in Rabat. Computer can't connect, so updates forthcoming tomorrow, hopefully. And lots of pictures.
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