More Morocco

Hey everyone,

The time is sure flying by over here... I registered for winter quarter classes back home and went to a Christmas Cabaret show--signs that my time here is running out.

It is now officially freakishly cold here. Last night I just glanced out my window and noticed the snow coming down. There were still patches left around throughout the day today as it really didn't get above freezing. Not the best weather when you're riding a bike, but I will make do, as it appears to not stop anyone else.

The main problem when riding your bike in extremely cold conditions is this: 90% of the time you will either be sweating or far too cold. Even when taking into careful calculations beforehand of how far you need to go, how cold it is, how fast/hard you will be biking, etc. and choose your clothes and bike speed accordingly, one has to be quite lucky to not suffer from one of the above problems...

Now for a bit more of Morocco:

After my first night in Fes I spent the next morning exploring the Medina for my first time. Because it was still a holiday, it was not that packed, so while missing out on some things I'm sure, it was definitely still a lot for me to take in. Thankfully with my guide book it was navigable and after an hour or so of just exploring a small area of it I felt moderately confident in that tiny area (once again it is HUGE--I heard 500 mosques just inside the Medina).

In the afternoon I headed to the train station (by way of taxi most of the way, slowly getting used to the no-seatbelt thing) to travel to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco located on the coast. This was my first train ride through Morocco and an interesting one.

The train itself was quite full, thankfully when I got on there was still space in one of the compartments where I could sit down and have my own spot. The trains in Morocco were the exact same and in similar condition to those I road with Donnie and Dad on our trip in Europe, so no problems there.

Riding through the Moroccan countryside I could really tell for the first time that I was in a fairly poor, African country. Lots of things to notice: Very little water at all, garbage all along the sides of the train and just a general countryside in including fields which looked like they were previously used for crops just filled with empty plastic bags and more garbage.

There were often goats, and sometimes cows being lead by a shepherd--half surviving on whatever "grass" there was to eat and I think the rest must have been the trash... We also passed by many shanty-towns where the houses looked like they were made out of cardboard or plywood, around 6 feet high or so, and used stones so their roofs would not blow off in the wind...

But beyond these aspects there were also just normal towns we passed through, beautiful fields of crops, cactuses, waving kids, and rolling desert hills.

As we went on (I think around a 3 to 4 hour ride), the train started getting fuller and fuller. Soon there were people standing in the aisles for the long trip and it started getting very very hot.

After I calculated that we were getting close or so I asked at a bigger station if this was "Rabat". The people in the cabin shook their heads. After 15 more minutes or so we stopped at a big station. No one said anything, so I asked again and they said "yes"! I was a bit surprised that they didn't say anything to me earlier knowing that I wanted Rabat, and by the time I got out into the hall people were already boarding the train. The aisles were extremely cramped because of all the people already on and I could not move as soon as I got outside my compartment.

Now I'm generally not one to push--but there was absolutely no other way to get through. To be honest I have never pushed harder in my life to get off of that train. It made it nearly impossible with my huge backpack on to get by the people, and the flow was going in the opposite direction since I started so late. Once I got close to the door it was a complete standstill. With people coming on there was really nothing I could do except wait... but, when I heard the whistle from outside signifying the train would be taking off very soon I basically just pushed as hard as I could through.

Surprisingly, no one seemed to think it was odd that I was using all my force to get by them. They didn't really move out of my way, but they didn't appear upset or yell at me when I was forcing myself by. Thankfully this "trapped on the train" situation did not come up again. I was literally exhausted from going about 20 ft when I got off the train, and I definitely got very up close and personal with many Moroccans...

Once again I stayed in the Medina, arriving at night to smoky air filled with meat being cooked up. I grabbed a pita filled with some kind of it as well as roasted chickpeas and some other kind of delicious bean. Rabat was quite nice in that it was much more low-key. Vendors did not yell out to me as I passed by. When I went into the narrow touristy shop stalls they did not stand in the doorway blocking me in, etc.

The Medina was also more oriented towards families with shoes, clothes, watches, radios, detergent, rags, bootlegged DVDs, really anything imaginable being sold in the stalls or spread out on the ground for sale while everyone was out and about shopping and eating.

I saw a vendor selling some kind of fruit I had never tried before which I now realize was a prickly-pear or something of that variety which I had to try. Tasted kind of like strawberries to me, quite good...

Back at my hostel I found my bathroom to be a hole in the ground without a shower available.

Oh cheap travel, how I love thee :)

Hope everyone is doing well

Jeff