Maison Arabesque Tangier

... 8217;t
mind showing off her henna designs on her hands and feet so Nick could take a
photo. We were then joined by another woman who looked like an older version of
my Friend Charlene (who has a Seychelles background so I guess it sort of makes
a bit of sense) so was also very friendly and another couple who sort of kept
to themselves. Then we stopped
for about 2 hours. It seemed everyone had finally given up any hope of arriving
in Fes that day and disembarked the ...

... He said he would be glad to see him, so maybe a partnership could be developed at some point! :) We also visited the Brodex company that does embroidery, as well as Dari, a company that makes couscous. Both were very interesting, and then we had a dinner and rotary meeting to end the day. Leer factor in Rabat: 9.5 Rafi asked me to not post any pics of our hotel, so I will respect his wishes. :)

... with guns, wire corrals....I don´t imagine many borders are what one would call pretty, but I sure as heck don´t remember those wire fences when I crossed into Portugal nor when crossing into France. lol Our passports were stamped and then a Moroccan border patrolman entered our bus, very stern, very loud and warning us not to take pictures of videos of the border. We were checked and then our guide for the weekend named Abduhl, who ...

... medina and taking in the spicy smells wafting around our nostrils and changing scent at every turn we took. I like Morocco alot. The stores sell wonderful Moroccan goods like leather feet seat poofs, hookahs, Alladin lamps, genie shoes that curl up at the ends, rugs, instruments and glass lanterns. Of course we want to bring it all home with us. It is mainly men who hang out in the streets doing business deals, drinking mint tea and playing cards whilst ...

... in the women, in their features and eyes, but also in how they dress and walk. Alison is at he end of the Moroccan part of her trip so I drop her off and say goodbye at Casablanca airport, then drive past an enormous smoking rubbish dump with lots of people and cows fossicking about into the crowded and chaotic city. Th name Casablanca conjures up visions of the famous film of that name starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, but the current reality is a far cry from ...

... a une marque brûlée sur ma peau qui m'identifie comme Romi, dans la langue des romis, avec l'argent des romis. La surprise n'est pas l'existence de ça, mais la puissance du truc. IMPOSSIBLE de faire autre chose : tout est planifier pour que je sois là d'une certaine façon, mes gestes sont déjà calculés, tant que je serai à Tanger, je serai Blanc, et suivrai Salah comme un aveugle qui demande l'aide pour traverser la rue. La ligne de classe nord/sud me passe sur le corps: je ...

That line from Josh Ritter's lovely folk song 'Idaho' seemed to be on continuous repeat along route to the city of Tangier. I showed up 15 minutes early at the train station anxious to put some distance between me and the city of Fes. It had been weeks since I'd been out of town, and was starting to feel it. Kyle and Emily appeared right on time, dragging their baggage behind them and after a brief scare with a missing passport. I found myself on a train ...

... a bank to find the exchange rate and then stopped by an atm. Turns out the DH was something like 8 to the euro. It was particularly distressing, not knowing even how to say "how much is this or that?" We bumbled along, stared at by people: for my long shorts? For Sneeze's halter top? For our whiteness? Probably for all of these things. We passed a group of schoolchildren, and a little boy kicked my leg. Why? Nobody knows! After ...

... We had been served coffee while talking to the guy, and we paid for the coffee before we left. He got kind of angry about this, saying we shouldn't ever pay with him, he never has to pay at these places. Tai use the Internet while I cleaned up. We met our friend who said the guide had pushed the our back because verything would have stopped for lunch. We took is suggestion to try the chicken place up the street- roasted chicken, rice, sauce, and a baguette for 15dH- it was ...

... tour. Tomorrow, however, we move on again to Rabat, and from there down (or up, depending on your perspective) to the High Atlas Mountains. More later.  Barbie & Ken ************************** No warm beer; No cricket; No BBC World Service No Carlisle United; No KNIGHTON OUT No Dairy Milk; No Crunchy Nut Cornflakes;No absinthe (it was closed); No Spanish (or at least, not enough) No Dirty Three ...Having a good time regardless! **************************