Day 14 & 15 - Ramadan - the other non contact sport

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Monday 15th - day fourteen

Same, same no different!

Now that's an expensive mattress!

Heard a bit of town gossip I'd like to share with you, although during Ramadan we are not supposed to be gossiping or talking ill of others. But I heard this story in the dark and I am retelling it now in the dark.

There is a family who live in the building next door to Zak's parents. who have a son who somehow ended up living and working in Switzerland. I'm not sure how this came about weather it was done legally or not but this fact is irrelevant to my story. The son has been living there for about 6 years and like a good son makes regular trips home to see his parents and family. These visits home every few months made his family very proud to see how well he was doing in Europe as he always drove down in a big flash new car. It was obvious he was prospering in Switzerland. Always bringing gifts and goods to sell from Europe. Likewise when he returned to Switzerland he would take items from Morocco that he would sell once back home. Handicrafts and pieces of local furniture.

Well on this last trip back to Switzerland it as soon discovered why he was prospering. On this particular trip home he was transporting a Moroccan salon couch, obviously a very popular item of furniture in Switzerland, especially when the mattress is filled with 450 kilos of hashish. Yes, that's correct, perhaps the item of furniture was not the big seller, but I bet the mattress stuffing was going to make someone very rich, and I think there is going to be a sudden shortage of this drug in central Europe.

The guy was sentenced to 7 years in prison, which to me did not seem like a very harsh sentence for trying to export 450 kilos of hashish, but I also have not seen the conditions of a Moroccan prison. I would imagine it would be no holiday. And to think he had been making this similar trip back and forth maybe two or three times a year for the last 6 years.


We left the cafe at little earlier tonight, Zak went home via the bus station as we have a couple of couch surfers staying with us for the next few days. A young french couple from Mons.

Tuesday 16th - day fifteen

Stayed up all night as I wanted to go to the post office this morning. As they are keeping Ramadan hours by the time I wake in the afternoon the office is closed, so the only way to catch it open was to stay up and go in the morning, I could sleep later.
I walked to the center at about 10am and everything was closed and hardly any people in the streets. Relieved I found the post office open and I managed to purchase stamps for the 2 postcards I have been carrying around since the 3rd. I changed the dates and handed them over. The guy behind the counter took them and my money and said he would put sticker stamps on them. So I will be very surprised if they make it to their addressed destination. (LynLyn it's the card I promised you). Also I should have written Merry Christmas on them as I'm sure they will be delivered around that time of year. Now before anyone else complains they are not receiving post cards from me, I do not send postcards since I have discovered the cyber world. Everyone is just going to have to be happy with receiving blogs and photos!! Besides that, the cost of one stamp is equal to 5 glasses of coffee!! Which do you think I would rather spend it on??

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Photos

from the terrace
full moon in the morning, photo taken at 5.30 am it was already light

cactus donkey
this donkey's burden is cactus fruit - a favorite at Ramadan

still sleeping
10 am and one of the main streets of the medina is dead

golden arches
even Azrou's golden arches were deserted

Comments

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