Ok and I'm going to apologize for this now...but I am on a crappy computer and the space key doesn't work very well....
I'm going back to Saturday (Nov 26) we made the long drive from Rabat to Chefchaouen which is a smallish town in the Rif Mountains. I am retyping this from my BB as I can't find any wifi connection to upload from my mobile...anyways - according to the Lonely Planet, Chefchaouen is one of the prettiest cities in Morocco and is very popular with backpackers because they sell lots of pot. It was a cute enough town. They had a small medina with a central square with lots of cafes around it. You could tell it was more tourist focused than Rabat because there were a lot of kids begging and the shop keepers weren't as hassle free as Rabat. But it was nice and full of twists and turns and winding alley-ways. I love the blue and white buildings!!
We set up camp at a campsite above the town. I din't have a very nice drive. I wasn't feeling the best and slept most off the time. I wasn't feeling great to walk around town either but it had to be done. We then walked to the Spanish Mosque, which is on another hill over-looking town. On the way we went by the place in the river where all the women wash clothes (by hand!) and then there was a gentle 2km stroll to the mosque that almost killed me!! But there was a really nice view and the weather started clearing up then so we were able to see a long way!! It was worth walking out there.
On the way we passed the local hammam!! I am dying for a trip to the hammam (bathhouse)! My Lonely Planet said it was open to women from noon until 8pm, but when we walked by it said men were from 12 to 8 :( So we just kept going. Later we learned that because it was in Arabic and they read from right to left...it really was women from 12 to 8 (men were from 8 to 12 and women from 12 to 8...very confusing!!!) But by the time we figured that out I was feeling really really like shit - so I decided to just sit and have a mint tea (very traditional Moroccan drink) and hope it would settle my stomach. Sadly it didn't. So we took a taxi back to the campsite and I was sick for the first of what I am sure will be many times on the trip. Blah!!! Which might make this a good time to explain the hygiene on the truck. Its sorely lacking! I thought I had a tough stomach...but apparently not!! And I don't know how more people haven't been ill!!
Basically - we cook in a big pot over a fire. All well and good until it comes to washing up time. First - for the cooks and everyone to wash hands there is a small bowl - this gets filled with cold water and a bit of disinfectant. There is a soap bottle nearby people are supposed to use and some scrub brushes...but most people just seem to dip their hands in and walk off. Hmmmm...not a good start!! Especially if they are cooking!! Then there are 3 bowls full of cold water for washing dishes. The first has disinfectant and a bit of dish soap, the second has just dish soap and the 3rd just water for rinsing. Now with 20 people scraping their food and "washing" their dishes in these bowls the water gets extremely dirty and gross really quickly. Most people don't feel the need to actually use the sponge to clean the dishes either. So its basically dip in the first bucket, dip in the second, a quick rinse and then set to dry. And nothing actually dries in the 10 minutes its left to sit before the cook group has to pack everything back in the boxes. So everything is just wet and dirty and just gross!!! Then the cook pans get "washed" in the water that everyone's dishes were just "washed" in. Basically, nothing is really clean. And to top it all off, food is just all slopped together in a big pan over a fire by people that generally haven't washed their hands properly...it doesn't taste to bad...because we are all starving so we'll eat anything. Anyways, dinner from Friday night was Saturday lunch and apparently my stomach didn't like it...at least we were in a campsite with proper bathrooms!!!
But I felt better after throwing up for a while - but it was too late to walk back down the mountain to the town after that - so I just went to bed. A couple of the girls made it to the hammam. Cute little Jenny and Baby Anna!! Both are the youngest on the trip...but they looked so clean after!!! I was jealous!!! I'll have to go in Fez, my Lonely Planet says there are 3 of them!! We are doing some kind of group tour of the city...but I don't think I'll join those! We have cook group tonight, otherwise I would be hotelling it in town. But we are in Fez 3 nights so I can spend at least 1 night in town (if not 2). They are also organizing a group dinner in Fez...but its quite expensive (I'm pretty sure the crew gets kickbacks or commission from selling us this crap). So maybe I'll go maybe I won't. If everyone else goes I will because the only nice thing about it would be that the whole group is together. Anyways - the rest of my time in Fez I'll spend in the hammams being cleaned and I think there are a couple of museums - otherwise walking around getting hassled in the markets gets old really fast!
I think that's it for now. We got to have a lie-in this morning...but Jo and I appear to be the only ones that took advantage of it - because when I woke up everyone else was already taking their tents down - and we still had 20 minutes before breakfast!! But it was super super cold last night!! Thank goodness I bought that robe and fleecy blanket!! Everyone may laugh at my fluffy purple bathrobe, but it keeps me warm!!
Now we are on the truck heading to Volubilis, which is some volcanic mountain area - which we'll stop at on the way to Fez! I should get some wifi access in Fez hopefully (LOL - not happening).
So - just as a not - that Volubilis place isn't a volcanic mountain! OOPS!! Its actually ruins of an ancient Roman city!! LOL - I guess I just made up the mountain thing earlier! Anyways - we just had a wander through at sunset and it was lovely!! There are some pretty cool mosaics and lots of ruins! And you can walk right in among everything! Very nice! I'll try to upload pictures but my phone doesn't work properly (or I can't figure it out) so I have to copy and paste when I get to a wifi area and its too hard to attach photos...so we'll see how things work in Fez (side note - they don't work so no pics) If there's photos I figured it out - if not I've wasted 20 quid on a mobile plan that doesn't work with my mobile :P
I'm going back to Saturday (Nov 26) we made the long drive from Rabat to Chefchaouen which is a smallish town in the Rif Mountains. I am retyping this from my BB as I can't find any wifi connection to upload from my mobile...anyways - according to the Lonely Planet, Chefchaouen is one of the prettiest cities in Morocco and is very popular with backpackers because they sell lots of pot. It was a cute enough town. They had a small medina with a central square with lots of cafes around it. You could tell it was more tourist focused than Rabat because there were a lot of kids begging and the shop keepers weren't as hassle free as Rabat. But it was nice and full of twists and turns and winding alley-ways. I love the blue and white buildings!!
We set up camp at a campsite above the town. I din't have a very nice drive. I wasn't feeling the best and slept most off the time. I wasn't feeling great to walk around town either but it had to be done. We then walked to the Spanish Mosque, which is on another hill over-looking town. On the way we went by the place in the river where all the women wash clothes (by hand!) and then there was a gentle 2km stroll to the mosque that almost killed me!! But there was a really nice view and the weather started clearing up then so we were able to see a long way!! It was worth walking out there.
On the way we passed the local hammam!! I am dying for a trip to the hammam (bathhouse)! My Lonely Planet said it was open to women from noon until 8pm, but when we walked by it said men were from 12 to 8 :( So we just kept going. Later we learned that because it was in Arabic and they read from right to left...it really was women from 12 to 8 (men were from 8 to 12 and women from 12 to 8...very confusing!!!) But by the time we figured that out I was feeling really really like shit - so I decided to just sit and have a mint tea (very traditional Moroccan drink) and hope it would settle my stomach. Sadly it didn't. So we took a taxi back to the campsite and I was sick for the first of what I am sure will be many times on the trip. Blah!!! Which might make this a good time to explain the hygiene on the truck. Its sorely lacking! I thought I had a tough stomach...but apparently not!! And I don't know how more people haven't been ill!!
Basically - we cook in a big pot over a fire. All well and good until it comes to washing up time. First - for the cooks and everyone to wash hands there is a small bowl - this gets filled with cold water and a bit of disinfectant. There is a soap bottle nearby people are supposed to use and some scrub brushes...but most people just seem to dip their hands in and walk off. Hmmmm...not a good start!! Especially if they are cooking!! Then there are 3 bowls full of cold water for washing dishes. The first has disinfectant and a bit of dish soap, the second has just dish soap and the 3rd just water for rinsing. Now with 20 people scraping their food and "washing" their dishes in these bowls the water gets extremely dirty and gross really quickly. Most people don't feel the need to actually use the sponge to clean the dishes either. So its basically dip in the first bucket, dip in the second, a quick rinse and then set to dry. And nothing actually dries in the 10 minutes its left to sit before the cook group has to pack everything back in the boxes. So everything is just wet and dirty and just gross!!! Then the cook pans get "washed" in the water that everyone's dishes were just "washed" in. Basically, nothing is really clean. And to top it all off, food is just all slopped together in a big pan over a fire by people that generally haven't washed their hands properly...it doesn't taste to bad...because we are all starving so we'll eat anything. Anyways, dinner from Friday night was Saturday lunch and apparently my stomach didn't like it...at least we were in a campsite with proper bathrooms!!!
But I felt better after throwing up for a while - but it was too late to walk back down the mountain to the town after that - so I just went to bed. A couple of the girls made it to the hammam. Cute little Jenny and Baby Anna!! Both are the youngest on the trip...but they looked so clean after!!! I was jealous!!! I'll have to go in Fez, my Lonely Planet says there are 3 of them!! We are doing some kind of group tour of the city...but I don't think I'll join those! We have cook group tonight, otherwise I would be hotelling it in town. But we are in Fez 3 nights so I can spend at least 1 night in town (if not 2). They are also organizing a group dinner in Fez...but its quite expensive (I'm pretty sure the crew gets kickbacks or commission from selling us this crap). So maybe I'll go maybe I won't. If everyone else goes I will because the only nice thing about it would be that the whole group is together. Anyways - the rest of my time in Fez I'll spend in the hammams being cleaned and I think there are a couple of museums - otherwise walking around getting hassled in the markets gets old really fast!
I think that's it for now. We got to have a lie-in this morning...but Jo and I appear to be the only ones that took advantage of it - because when I woke up everyone else was already taking their tents down - and we still had 20 minutes before breakfast!! But it was super super cold last night!! Thank goodness I bought that robe and fleecy blanket!! Everyone may laugh at my fluffy purple bathrobe, but it keeps me warm!!
Now we are on the truck heading to Volubilis, which is some volcanic mountain area - which we'll stop at on the way to Fez! I should get some wifi access in Fez hopefully (LOL - not happening).
So - just as a not - that Volubilis place isn't a volcanic mountain! OOPS!! Its actually ruins of an ancient Roman city!! LOL - I guess I just made up the mountain thing earlier! Anyways - we just had a wander through at sunset and it was lovely!! There are some pretty cool mosaics and lots of ruins! And you can walk right in among everything! Very nice! I'll try to upload pictures but my phone doesn't work properly (or I can't figure it out) so I have to copy and paste when I get to a wifi area and its too hard to attach photos...so we'll see how things work in Fez (side note - they don't work so no pics) If there's photos I figured it out - if not I've wasted 20 quid on a mobile plan that doesn't work with my mobile :P
wow jacquie - an adventure as always!! hope you are feeling better now!
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