Tea in the Sahara

By sipping tea in the Sahara, haggling in a souq over the cost of dates, lingering in a cafe in Casa, exploring kasbahs in the Dades Valley, or riding a camel past the shifting sand dunes of Erg Chebbi at sunset, I was able to experience all facets of Morocco. I stayed at various types of hotels in the medina (old part of the city) as well as the ville nouvelle of the cities. In Fes, I even stayed in a riad which is a converted old townhouse.

I am now able to make broad stereotyped comments that are probably completely off base. Casa, as the Casablancians call their city, is cosmopolitan and the people are all very beautiful. Rabat is also cosmopolitan but is like the DC to Casa's NYC although both resemble cities in Provence. Tangier has a 1950´s air to it as all the beatniks like William Burroughs and Paul Bowles made their home here at one point or another. Marrakesh is very touristy but also for the Moroccans - it's a real freakshow in the main square (Djeema el Fna) so of course I hung out a lot there. While an imperial city, Meknes is seen a bit as a kind of the ugly stepsister to its beautiful sisters Fes and Marrakesh but that also means there's lot less hassle in the souqs. Fes is amazing in its meandering ways wending their way through the old medina, meaning you get hopelessly lost only to discover some riad or palace tucked in amongst the cramped, filthy streets.

For me, the highlight of my visit to this country was a 3-day trip from Marrakesh that was packed with so many hihghlights: visiting kasbahs, stops in Ouazazate, Boumalne-de-Dades and lots of scenic viewpoints, beautiful valleys (Dades, Roses), crossing the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains as the rain turned to sleet, exploring gorges, sleeping in a little hotel perched above a river in a gorge, desert driving, walking through farming communities and other Berber villages, watching the weather change from cold icy rain to beautiful sunny skies, camel rides at sunset and sunrise through the classic windswept sand dunes of the Sahara, sleeping under the stars in a tent in the Sahara, singing to songs and listening to Arabic and Berber songs as our Berber guide tapped out the rhythms on his drum, and met some great other travelers.

Food is dominated by couscous and various kinds of tajine plus lots of mint tea. Other foods are lemon chicken and pastilla, plus the Moroccans have a sweet tooth and enjoy their pastries and dried fruit. The fresh fruit is amazing and everywhere you go, there are little stands selling freshly squeezed orange juice. The language here is Arabic of course, but French is a very close second. As many Moroccans do not speak English, I don't know how people without a basic grasp of French get around here. With the French influence, I've enjoyed many croissants, good breads, crepes, and cafe au lait.

There is a sense of deja vu when you travel to places like the Heri es-Souani in Meknes, the Erg Chebbi in the Sahara, or Ait Benhaddou. Those names may not mean anything to you, but the places would be instantly recognizable from classic films like Lawrence of Arabia and Jesus of Nazareth, as well as more recent films like Gladiator and The Mummy. One to look out for will be Alexander the Great, although the war has affected filming.

Today, I left the Muslim Arab world for a country that is a member of the Coalition of the Willing (who thinks up these names? It´s like the Justice League versus the Legion of Doom) - Spain. My original ferry from Tangier was cancelled and so aimed to take a slightly later one. However, the ferry ended up leaving nearly two hours later than I expected. Then, I found out it would take 2 hours longer than the original one. Finally, I found out that there was a 2 hour time difference between Morocco and Spain. All in all, I arrived in Spain 8 hours later than expected. After walking completely by the bus station and wasting another 45 minutes needlessly, I finally found the station by my mangled ¨Sprenchglais¨ = Spanish-French-English. ¨Excuse me, ou est l´estacion de bus por favor gracias?¨ was what I asked. I missed the direct bus to Malaga and Granada by 5 minutes so decided to stay the night in this port city rather than arrive in Malaga at 9:30 and having no idea where to stay (I don´t have a Spain travel guide). So, now, I will skip Malaga completely and arrive in Granada tomorrow.