Blogs from Fès-Boulemane, Morocco, Africa
May 23rd 2012
Sensibly we chose to leave Chefchaouen for Fez at midday, so we would be en route in the hottest part of the day. Sure enough the temp gauge quickly rose to 30C and in full motorbike kit anything black attracted the full ferocity of the North African sun. It was hot and tiring work. The road out of the Rif yielded visual treats aplenty and the road snaked enough to be interesting, without being that technical. But you had to concentrate like f*ck and you certainly would have been foolhardy to corner at anything like close to the limit. You never knew what was round the corner – a suicidal truck driver trying blind overtakes with near head-on misses ahead, or homicidal maniacs cutting the corner forcing you off line. Both were commonplace. The road surface ... read more
May 9th 2012
Nador, it did not look too encouraging from the boat as we approached the harbour, a long sprawl of concrete apartment blocks and cheap hotels. The place had only been built after independence to provide Morocco with an alternative port to Spanish controlled Melilla a few kilometres to the north and the place had the look and feel of a town that had been thrown up in a hurry. After several manoeuvres the captain slotted the boat into the docking berth and powered down the engines. We felt the clunk and thud of heavy machinery and the opening of doors beneath our feet as we waiting to be allowed to return to our vehicles. This was it, we would soon be on African soil. We emerged from the bowels of the ship blinking as our eyes ... read more
Queria tanto visitar Fes, mas acabei em Essaouira
Published: May 7th 2012Africa » Morocco » Fès-Boulemane » Fes
April 30th 2012
Tinha combinado com um host de Fes de ele me pegar na estacao de onibus. Anotei o numero do celular dele tambem, caso tivesse alguma emergencia. Sao 4 horas de onibus de Chefchauoen a Fes. Chegando em Fes, liguei para o meu host que disse que estava a caminho. Neste tempo de espera, um cara que tinha contatos com hoteis veio conversar comigo. Uma hora depois de ter chegado, liguei para o meu host novamente que disse que tinha que pegar o taxi ainda. Como dependo dele, tentei manter a calma e nao baixar a "Saft". Todo mundo na estacao me dava oi e oferecia para eu ir para a sala de espera. O cara dos hoteis voltou novamente e ficou conversando um tempinho. 1h30min depois de chegar, resolvi ligar novamente para o meu host, o ... read more
April 20th 2012
The smell of a place, the first time you take it in, tells you a lot about what you will find there, even if you think you aren’t looking for anything. After managing to slip through the seams of a Spanish national general worker’s strike the day of our flight to Morocco, I stepped off the plane with the scent of warm wind, palm trees, of earth and of well, life coming to me from across the runway in Casablanca. After spending an hour and a half in the tiny, smoke-filled airport with a friendly cat, we found ourselves tumbling out of a van in the middle of Marrakech, a 45-minute flight away from Casablanca. After getting our bags out of the back, dodging a donkey cart full of dirty onions, 15 taxis and a handful ... read more
April 18th 2012
The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it. - Rudyard Kipling In a country that overwhelms your senses, Fes is a riot of colours, sounds and smells. To get lost in one of the almost 10,000 alleyways and streets of the medina is absurdly one of the biggest appeals of Morocco. Considered the medieval capital of Morocco, Fes has the best preserved "Old City" in the Arab world. It is a labrynth of narrow alleyways that take you further and further into the heart of a Medina that is bursting at the seams with people and produce. Interestingly it is the largest car-free urban zone in the world, transtportation of goods and people is by donkey, carts and motorbikes. We start our day in Fes somewhat removed from the chaos and madness. ... read more
March 16th 2012
Wednesday Day Four It was a freezing night in Camp Azilan, probably due to the higher altitude. I wore my djellaba to bed and tried to snuggle down into my sleeping bag as much as possible. We broke camp and made for Fes on what was to be our first long stretch of driving. The fields were so many shades of green but though the ground seemed fertile, Morocco received very little rain this winter, worrying a lot of people. The roads were lined with boys herding sheep and goats, sad looking donkeys and prickly pears. I sat at the back of the truck and stared out the window which meant I had my photo taken several times by people travelling in cars behind us! There was a lot of 'come here' gestures and waving and ... read more
February 7th 2012
To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive - (Robert Louis Stevenson) The real challenge of travel begins today because, after all, travel in French means adventure. We are hiring a car, heading south through the Middle Atlas Mountains and then onto the Sahara Desert. Right now The Sahara seems faraway and exotic. Firstly though, a greater challenge: the Moroccan Post. We walk in the front door and are immediately escorted to the back. The gentleman were incredibly official and speak perfect French (which was not to our advantage). Kathy is mailing some excess baggage so to speak. The package is weighed, scribbled on, searched, written about, spoken about and finally paid for. We have booked a car on the internet this morning over breakfast, we were told it was important to do this ... read more
February 6th 2012
The alarm went again at 5.40am something you have to get used to I guess. Those damn prayers. Have decided it is essential that we do some shopping this morning because we are freezing our proverbial you know what off. Even the locals tell us it is cold. We purchase scarves, 40 dirham, socks 10 dirham, and coats for 200 dirham. I have bought an authentic Berber caftan and look quite the part if I do say so myself. After a quick hit of coffee and mint tea we head out the blue gate(which is the main entrance to the medina) and out into the real world or Fes as it is. We walk along an old wall ,everywhere is walls, to the kings palace which is not very exciting because we are not allowed in ... read more
Natarsha 's Ponderings On The Fes Medina
Published: February 6th 2012Africa » Morocco » Fès-Boulemane » Fes
February 6th 2012
Fes – The Medina (Tarsh) Lonely Planet describes the Medina of Fes as being an attack on the senses, and this is no exaggeration. Its intricacies of its layout are unfathomable. The source of its mystery and charm. The streets are dizzying with narrow, empty lanes dissolving into boulevards lined with markets bursting with colours and smells. Mosaic fountains introduce hidden mosques; stalls selling cashmere scarves or fine pottery are nestled in between butchers displaying heads of camels or bulls; decadent restaurants neighbour dingy coffee shops accommodating leering men lost among the clouds of smoke. Our attitudes towards tackling this maze of towering, honey-coloured walls fluctuate continuously throughout the day. We begin perhaps a little arrogant (considering ourselves seasoned travellers and all) but this arrogance quickly dissipates and we become completely overwhelmed. W... read more
February 4th 2012
Fes to Casablanca We woke late after a good night’s sleep, excluding the call for prayers which seems to happen every hour after 4am. The sun is rising rather late although it is the middle of winter. We have dramatically underestimated the amount of clothing needed for this trip, some judicious shopping will be necessary – 6 degrees in Fes this morning maximum 10. Our hotel, The Moroccan House, very comfortable at $95. We are travelling by train to Fes today, always an adventure in itself. We catch a Petit Taxi (small taxi) to the train station, the usual crazy ride although a touch more civil than Asia. The train station is reasonably small and sedate; tickets were easily purchased for 165 dirham’s (9 to 1 conversion). The main language spoken seems to be French, which ... read more
