Who Says One Can't Take Mini Trips During the Week

This week I took two mini trips, one in the middle of the week and one over the weekend.

It's the eve of Monday, I have a few things left to do; yet, I find myself thinking about my travels and dreaming of more. I have to constantly remind myself that I am here for school, not purely travel. Finding that balance has only been manageable because I have found the absolutely perfect group of travel buddies. We spend a lot of time in the library together in order to make it possible to travel on the weekends. However, this week I took a step toward the figurative tight rope and traveled during the middle of the week.

Azrou
Don't fret, my studies come first. My brother and sister in law decided to come visit me and travel Morocco, which is really incredible of them. I had about a six-hour gap between classes on Tuesday. Of course that would be the perfect time to go on a little adventure with my brother and sister in law; however, they had a little trouble at the Grand Taxi Station (*Side note, there are petit taxis that take you around the city and grand taxis that will take you to another city*). Long story short, the people at the station were trying to have my brother and sister in law pay 300 MAD to go to Ifrane (the city that I am in). This was preposterous because the price is usually 30 MAD per a person and you ride with strangers if you don't have six people in your party. The driver was trying to make them pay for the entire taxi. I promptly told them that was very incorrect and that they should ask to wait for the taxi to fill. By the time they arrived in Ifrane, I only had a couple of hours until class so we sat for a meal and I returned to class. The next day I had over seven-hours between classes.

The Airbnb that they were staying at was hosted by the most amazing family. The Father of the household picked me up from the University gates and dropped me back off after I spent the day with them in Azrou. This town is about a 30-minute drive from the University gates. The Airbnb apparently doubles as a really nice bed and breakfast by the name of Gite Forest Tagueroumt. If you ever find your self in Azrou, I highly recommend it, and here's why. It is a very homey place in the country side, the hospitality is better than I have ever experienced from strangers.

They gave us tea, fresh fruit (literally from the farmer who had just picked it), and water. My brother and sister in law said the meals that were prepared for them were some of the best they have tasted. Now the reason people tend to travel to Azrou is for the monkeys and the wonderful forest that they live in. There is a place, actually numerous places, that people can feed and give water to monkeys. The best part about staying at Gite Forest Tagueroumt is that you can pay about 150 MAD ($15) for a really long horse ride through the forest to where people feed the monkeys. It is the most beautiful horse ride with the most beautiful saddles. Along with this excursion, I got to use some of my Arabic skills on two separate occasions. The sons of the host walked along with us to make sure we knew the way and to make sure the horses behaved. Their father speaks English, but they do not. So I tried communicating with the little bit of Arabic that I have under my sleeve. Now, the funny part is I told them that I was learning Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic), and the son answered back that he too was learning Fus'ha. As one can imagine, our conversation was very short and my side was broken sentences. The second occasion was while we were feeding and giving water to the monkeys. This sweet elderly man came up to me and started speaking French; I promptly said I don't know French and that I know a little bit of Fus'ha. He then, excitedly, and rapidly, spoke to me in Arabic. I repeated that I only know a little bit and also said I am studying it at Al Akawayn. He then examined my level of speaking and slowed his speech for me. It was the most wonderful thing walking around feeding monkeys and conversing (very broken sentences, but still conversing) with this man. The pictures that follow do not do this place justice. It is far too majestic to be captured with an iPhone camera.

 

 

 
Fes
Over the weekend my friends and I took a day trip to Fes. We took a grand taxi like you would any other time, except this time the vehicle was much smaller than normal but they still insisted on putting six passengers in the vehicle.

The man that traveled in the same taxi as us, paid for two seats so that he would have more space. Now the four of us who traveled together had to squeeze into the back seat. If we were in the United States, this would definitely be illegal because there weren't enough seatbelts. BUT, this is not the U.S. this is Morocco and it is something I have yet to get used to, especially because they only allow two people in the back seat for petit taxis (inner city travel) which are the exact same size as the grande taxi that they squeezed us into. Anyhow, it is their law and I will have to get used to it because I am a guest in this beautiful country. Once we got to Fes, we were all relieved to have some space, even if the temperature was at least twenty degrees warmer than it was in Ifrane. We made our way to the Medina. I still find it interesting that they call it the "medina" because the translation from Arabic that I learned "city," when in fact it is a "souq" which means market.  However, I guess it is called the "city" because the residential and shopping area is melded together in this maze of narrow streets. We wandered the streets for a while until we found the cafe that we wanted to grab lunch and tea at: Cafe Clock. One thing you need to know about the Medina, is that everyone wants you to eat at their restaurants and everyone wants you to shop in their little stores. That is very normal, but be prepared to be stopped and ushered into a place that you did not intend to arrive.

 

At Cafe Clock, we got to sit on the terrace, I called it a rooftop balcony, which brought laughter around the table and the correction of what the area that we were in was called. Apparently, I have much to learn and every corner here has a new experience. I don't mind at all. Now the picture on the right is my favorite drink in Morocco: Moroccan Tea. Prewarning, if you get this drink, be prepared for one of the sweetest drinks you'll ever consume. If you aren't mentally prepared for it, you can, in fact, ask for it without sugar, but they will bring a side of sugar instead of putting it in.  The picture below shows how excited, and the sugar rush that this amazing delicacy gives me.

On that note, I do have some homework to catch up on. So until next time! 

!مع سلامة