| Málaga – the beginning | |||||
| Day 1 - Leaving Spain | Day 2 - Chefchaouen | Day 3 - Fes | Day 4 - Er Rachidia | Day 5 - Merzouga | Day 6 - Tinghir |
| Day 7 - Aït Benhaddou | Day 8 - Marrakesh | Day 9 - More Marrakesh | Day 10 - Cascades (Ouzoud) | Day 11 - Ifrane | Day 12 - Tarifa |
| Day 13 - Málaga | Day 14 - Torremolinos | Day 15 - Torremolinos-1 | Day 16 - Torremolinos-2 | Day 17 - Caminito del Rei |
May 7th – Tuesday
Map Link – 206 km
Chefchaouen – Fes
It was a shame that we had to leave Chefchaouen already. The hotel itself was very comfortable and the area had so much to offer. But this was a tour of Morocco, and there was a lot more of Morocco to see! Today we’d see the country’s second largest city: Fes!
Hauling the bags back down the stairs
The first order of riding business was to descend from the heights of Chefchaouen and down to the valley below. It was a comfortable morning, with a departure at 9 am. This gave us time to enjoy another lovely breakfast of eggs and fruit salad – as well as the usual basics of bread and fruits and tea and orange juice. No one would ever starve on one of these tours!
As we enjoyed our breakfast I heard what to me sounded like a small gang of dirt bikes BRAAAAPPPING their way through the area. I thought that this was an odd thing to happen here, but then I listened closer: It wasn’t dirt bike exhaust, but instead the call to prayer! “Oops.” When are the calls done? Who does them? What are they saying? Even the cadence of the call itself varied from town to town. The call to prayer would be a constant companion and the source of much discussion.
Fueling up in the morning
Once down in the valley it was a relaxing morning of easy country roads and tiny towns. The road were good, although I don’t think that anyone would want to take them too fast, as the surface was something I could only describe as “lumpy”. There wasn’t much traffic, which seemed to be the case anywhere in Morocco, unless you were in a city. The towns that we passed through weren’t very prosperous; they appeared to exist only to serve the people who lived there, but any major industry that would be supported by exporting wasn’t obvious.
Our route crossed through the Rif mountains, a nice change from the faster valley roads we had been on. It didn’t take us long to cut through, although we did have a short stop at a view point.
As usual, we stopped a couple of hours into the morning for a coffee stop. Today’s stop was a rather large place that was in the middle of nowhere. How is a place like this viable? Who comes here? Anyway, it was a very nice stop, with cheerful decorations and a couple of small shops off to one side.
Coffee stop – I loved all of the plants!
Donkeys across the road
I was surprised at the number of donkeys I saw being used for transportation. Often times I would see them tied up at the side of the road, wearing their packsaddle and rigging in the hot sun. Those that weren’t waiting for their next job were actually doing it: hauling materials from one place to another, or carrying a rider that sat awkwardly on their small backs. I understand that they are truly “beasts of burden”, but it seemed like a very tough life.
DONKEY!
The afternoon’s sights were constant and engaging. The sheer number of tiny, hand planted (and hand-harvested!) wheat fields was incredible to see. To know that someone needed to spend their days with a scythe to cut and gather the stalks, then stack them up, and then transport them to the roadside where they would be picked up by truck (or donkey!) for threshing – it was something that seemed to be from another time.
And speaking of harvesting: I soon noticed a plethora of red fields. They were poppies, and would eventually be harvested for their opium. But to me, they were just another beautiful part of the landscape.
Like the church steeple in Christian countries, Morocco was full of mosques with their towering square Minarets standing tall above the surrounding buildings. I found the huge variety of decorations to be interesting. Some were barely even built, while others had a very simple, singular color. It was the rare tower that had additional decorations added to it.
Minarets under construction
The wearing of a traditional hat; see? they aren’t just for tourists!
I’m still surprised that this is “Morocco”
One of the bigger towns we passed through was the epitome of peak chaos! There were people everywhere, walking on the streets, across the streets, on the (what passed for) sidewalks. In addition to this was a cement truck, donkeys, scooters, goats, carts, 3-wheel scooters…all of them moving to their own beat but somehow avoiding everyone else. Naturally I wanted both hands on the bars for this so there are no photos. It was the first of many such towns.
A much quieter, more organized town
While I marvelled at the old-school agricultural methods in the north, the modern wonders of mechanization came into sight as we approached Fes. Acres upon acres of smooth fields were carved out in massive rectangles to allow the use of tractors. It really does make one appreciate how much work it takes to feed the world.
But the donkeys didn’t escape
We were very close to Fes now. It was early afternoon and there were kids just getting out of school. Or going to school. Or just standing around. I never did understand what their schedules were, as it seemed like no matter what time of day, or where we were, there were kids cheering us on from the side of the road. Most of them were super excited to see us ride by, waving or in some cases, holding out their hands and hoping for a “high five”. But there was also a surprising number of kids who just stood there and gave us the middle finger. Clearly they were not happy about something, although I don’t really understand what it would be.
Beautiful Morocco
Poppies!
Fes!
We were staying in the Fes Heritage Boutique Hotel, just outside of the walls of the ancient Medina. It was a new hotel and very nice inside. While we waited for our rooms to get organized at the front desk I stepped outside and watched the traffic navigate the roundabout that fronted the building. More chaos, which in this case I called “slotting”. Cars (or donkey carts, or scooters) that want to enter the roundabout don’t really wait for an opening, but instead make their own, essentially “slotting” themselves into the circulation.
Even in Fes the streets are mix use
Front door of the Fes Heritage Boutique Hotel
Inside the front door of the hotel
Our room was small, but nicely appointed
And had a view of the pool (which was a tad chilly, like every pool on this trip)
After some pool-side relaxation, we all gathered for walk through the old Medina and then to dinner. The walk was initially surprising in how “uninteresting” it was: we were walking along a narrow lane with tall, unadorned walls on each side. But then we soon reached a junction that led to more interesting lanes: some markets but also other businesses, like this Riad
More Moroccan kitties – can I just take them all home?
A quick stop at The Hidden Garden gave us a chance to have a drink before dinner
Garden kitties at our table
When I pictured a “medina” before making this trip, I didn’t really have a clear image in my head. Something like an open plaza with market stalls set up in rows, colorful awnings shading the wares set out in front on thick blankets. Ok, so I really had no idea. But what I saw here was nothing like what was in my head. It was different, and it was much more interesting.
After a quick drink (fresh squeezed orange juice for the win!), we went back into the lanes of the Medina and made our way to our restaurant for tonight’s meal. I didn’t catch the name of it, but it was a rather exclusive place with the seating set up on the rooftop for optimal views.
Fes Medina
This guy was friendly and asked me if I was Dutch – as if I didn’t hear this enough in Basel!
We entered the restaurant building through a rather nondescript door, walked through a lush courtyard, and then made our way up three flights of steps. I’ve never seen such tall steps before, and I have long legs!
iPhone for scale!
Looking down into the courtyard from our rooftop seating
The details of the buildings here were easy to overlook, but worth looking for
View of Fes
Two days previously David gave us a menu and asked us to choose what we wanted to eat. This was now the meal that we had chosen, and it was worth the wait. My only regret was that I didn’t have an appetite. Remember that root canal just before leaving home? Well, my dentist was concerned enough about the infection that she put me on antibiotics. Those antibiotics killed anything useful in my gut, and the pre-dinner orange juice (or something) attacked me while my defenses were down. I managed to “clear things out” easily enough, but the thought of eating anything at that time was out of the question. It was a shame, but everyone else really enjoyed their meals.
Dinner sunset
