Gnauwa
All I can say right now is WOW.
What a weekend.
Lets start at the very beginning. Please excuse any typos, because they are probably due to the awful excuse for a Moroccan keyboard.
Im now sitting next to Rafael in a Cyber in Agadir. I havent showered since Friday afternoon. But lets start with Thursday.
I felt semi sick to my stomach all day long. I didnt eat anything but a few noodles, but that night, it finally hit me and I got violently ill. After almost 2 months in Morocco, I get sick the night before a long bus trip to Essaouira. It happened in the middle of a semi important conversation I was having on gchat too, but what can you do.
I got some sleep and then next morning I woke up feeling ok. Kate and I left to catch our bus, and as we were boarding, I started feeling sick again. We made it to Casablanca, and I took a nap on a bench for the 2 hour layover we had there. Finally, I felt kind of better, so I ate a croissant and a packet of M&Ms and got on the bus to Essaouira. Half the way there I had a guy sitting next to me who spoke so quietly that I had to lean in to understand what he was saying. I think that was his reason for doing so. He got off and an older man got on and sat next to me. About an hour and a half from Essaouira, we got off for dinner. I decided it was a good idea to eat tajine. It wasnt. I struggled for the rest of the trip and when we finally arrived, we went up to the house and saw that it was filled with the coolest rastafarians I have ever seen - all Soufianes friends. I wanted to stay up and party with them but I went to sleep. Lindsay and Hicham made sure I was ok before they went to bed which was nice.
Saturday we got up at 130 - meaning I got 15 hours of sleep - and we spent the day exploring the medina. I went on a huge shopping spree and bought a Moroccan shirt, some souvenirs for friends, among other things. At one point we ended up in the back of a shop with a couple guys who served us tea and pretty much wouldnt let us leave until we bought something - I got a head scarf to make a turban out of. nnnnWnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmmn>
On Sunday I got up a little earlier - at 11 - and went to the medina for breakfast again. I bought a few things that Id been eyeing the day before but hadnt bought. The festival had essentially ended and people were starting to head out, so Essaouira was slightly less touristy and that much more enjoyable. Kate bought a bus ticket for that night back to Rabat, but later on decided to stay with me, Hicham, Lindsay, and Rafael. Since the place we were staying with the rastas was so expensive (100 dirham a night!) we looked for another place for a measly 50 dirham a night, which was a lot nicer. Rafael and I explored the beach, which was beautiful, but ended up going back to the house and hanging out with everyone soon after. Note that by this time, I had eaten at the gelado place about 5 times. A few days before, Liz had gotten a few dreads underneath her hair, so you can see them if she puts her hair up but not if she wears is down. Lindsay and I decided this was a good idea for us too. Lindsay got 3 dreads, and I got one. You cant see it at all when I wear my hair down, but it adds a nice touch when my hair is half up or in a bun. I love it. (Sorry mom). Hicham, Lindsay and I got some delicious fish and a traditional Moroccan soup for dinner, and then we all went for a walk around Essaouira to see the end of the festival and the nightlife. After stopping at a hotel, we walked back through the medina. By this time, I was so exhausted that I went straight to sleep once we returned.
Monday, me and Rafael got up at 5:30am to catch our 6:00 bus to Agadir. We arrived around 8:30 or 9 in a city about 13 km south of Agadir - we had forgotten that it said in the guidebook that the buses sometimes dont stop in Agadir due to space contstraints. Naturally, a man came up and started talking to us about an 80 dirham grand taxi ride to Agadir that would be "quite a deal". Yeah fucking right. He did help us find the local bus for 3 dh, but asked for payment and we gave him 10dh. We picked a random spot to get off of, which was conveniently right next to the beach, where we spent the next half hour collecting our thoughts and relaxing. We decided to basically play the day by ear.
I ended up liking Agadir a lot...but in the same way I like Florida. Agadir is like no other city I've seen in Morocco. Its actually more like the south of France. The city gets 300 days of sun a year - although, we were lucky enough to be there on one of the cloudy days. The restaurants are expensive (25 dh for a milkshake? EXCUSE ME?) and there are people standing outside of them trying to persuade you to enter. The becahes are beautiful though. Europeans everywhere. We went to the fish stalls for lunch, which was refeshingly Moroccan - meaning the fish was delicious and relatively cheap. We went up to the ruined Kasbah. Basically, Agadir used to be a trading post on top of a hill. On Feb 29 1960 (what are the odds), there was this ginormous earthquake and pretty much everyone in the Kasbah died. So, they filled in the Kasbah with sand and now its this massive grave. So, when you go up there, you're pretty much standing on dead people. We didnt stay up there too long...the place kinda creeped me out. Rafael and I did a great job of killing time, photo shooting, and conversating until our 1030pm bus ride back to Rabat.
The bus ride was awful. We had seats in the very back of the bus, which was heated due to the engine being directly beneath us. I got whiplash from my head nodding down and snapping back up when I fell asleep. I dozed but didnt really sleep, and arrived back in Rabat not a moment too soon. Rachid, after all of his calling about how much he missed me, was conveniently at University taking an exam so I went back to my house and went straight to sleep.
So thats the weekend of my life, folks. I have lots more to blog about but Im way too lazy right now. Expect more soon.
What a weekend.
Lets start at the very beginning. Please excuse any typos, because they are probably due to the awful excuse for a Moroccan keyboard.
Im now sitting next to Rafael in a Cyber in Agadir. I havent showered since Friday afternoon. But lets start with Thursday.
I felt semi sick to my stomach all day long. I didnt eat anything but a few noodles, but that night, it finally hit me and I got violently ill. After almost 2 months in Morocco, I get sick the night before a long bus trip to Essaouira. It happened in the middle of a semi important conversation I was having on gchat too, but what can you do.
I got some sleep and then next morning I woke up feeling ok. Kate and I left to catch our bus, and as we were boarding, I started feeling sick again. We made it to Casablanca, and I took a nap on a bench for the 2 hour layover we had there. Finally, I felt kind of better, so I ate a croissant and a packet of M&Ms and got on the bus to Essaouira. Half the way there I had a guy sitting next to me who spoke so quietly that I had to lean in to understand what he was saying. I think that was his reason for doing so. He got off and an older man got on and sat next to me. About an hour and a half from Essaouira, we got off for dinner. I decided it was a good idea to eat tajine. It wasnt. I struggled for the rest of the trip and when we finally arrived, we went up to the house and saw that it was filled with the coolest rastafarians I have ever seen - all Soufianes friends. I wanted to stay up and party with them but I went to sleep. Lindsay and Hicham made sure I was ok before they went to bed which was nice.
Saturday we got up at 130 - meaning I got 15 hours of sleep - and we spent the day exploring the medina. I went on a huge shopping spree and bought a Moroccan shirt, some souvenirs for friends, among other things. At one point we ended up in the back of a shop with a couple guys who served us tea and pretty much wouldnt let us leave until we bought something - I got a head scarf to make a turban out of. nnnnWnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmmn>
On Sunday I got up a little earlier - at 11 - and went to the medina for breakfast again. I bought a few things that Id been eyeing the day before but hadnt bought. The festival had essentially ended and people were starting to head out, so Essaouira was slightly less touristy and that much more enjoyable. Kate bought a bus ticket for that night back to Rabat, but later on decided to stay with me, Hicham, Lindsay, and Rafael. Since the place we were staying with the rastas was so expensive (100 dirham a night!) we looked for another place for a measly 50 dirham a night, which was a lot nicer. Rafael and I explored the beach, which was beautiful, but ended up going back to the house and hanging out with everyone soon after. Note that by this time, I had eaten at the gelado place about 5 times. A few days before, Liz had gotten a few dreads underneath her hair, so you can see them if she puts her hair up but not if she wears is down. Lindsay and I decided this was a good idea for us too. Lindsay got 3 dreads, and I got one. You cant see it at all when I wear my hair down, but it adds a nice touch when my hair is half up or in a bun. I love it. (Sorry mom). Hicham, Lindsay and I got some delicious fish and a traditional Moroccan soup for dinner, and then we all went for a walk around Essaouira to see the end of the festival and the nightlife. After stopping at a hotel, we walked back through the medina. By this time, I was so exhausted that I went straight to sleep once we returned.
Monday, me and Rafael got up at 5:30am to catch our 6:00 bus to Agadir. We arrived around 8:30 or 9 in a city about 13 km south of Agadir - we had forgotten that it said in the guidebook that the buses sometimes dont stop in Agadir due to space contstraints. Naturally, a man came up and started talking to us about an 80 dirham grand taxi ride to Agadir that would be "quite a deal". Yeah fucking right. He did help us find the local bus for 3 dh, but asked for payment and we gave him 10dh. We picked a random spot to get off of, which was conveniently right next to the beach, where we spent the next half hour collecting our thoughts and relaxing. We decided to basically play the day by ear.
I ended up liking Agadir a lot...but in the same way I like Florida. Agadir is like no other city I've seen in Morocco. Its actually more like the south of France. The city gets 300 days of sun a year - although, we were lucky enough to be there on one of the cloudy days. The restaurants are expensive (25 dh for a milkshake? EXCUSE ME?) and there are people standing outside of them trying to persuade you to enter. The becahes are beautiful though. Europeans everywhere. We went to the fish stalls for lunch, which was refeshingly Moroccan - meaning the fish was delicious and relatively cheap. We went up to the ruined Kasbah. Basically, Agadir used to be a trading post on top of a hill. On Feb 29 1960 (what are the odds), there was this ginormous earthquake and pretty much everyone in the Kasbah died. So, they filled in the Kasbah with sand and now its this massive grave. So, when you go up there, you're pretty much standing on dead people. We didnt stay up there too long...the place kinda creeped me out. Rafael and I did a great job of killing time, photo shooting, and conversating until our 1030pm bus ride back to Rabat.
The bus ride was awful. We had seats in the very back of the bus, which was heated due to the engine being directly beneath us. I got whiplash from my head nodding down and snapping back up when I fell asleep. I dozed but didnt really sleep, and arrived back in Rabat not a moment too soon. Rachid, after all of his calling about how much he missed me, was conveniently at University taking an exam so I went back to my house and went straight to sleep.
So thats the weekend of my life, folks. I have lots more to blog about but Im way too lazy right now. Expect more soon.
posted by caitie at
11:34 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home