Hotel Bab el Ain Chefchaouen

... his food, and pulls out his 'travel buddy' to take a picture with. It's a little bear that he keeps in its box on its bed. I knew he was a bit strange. Anyway, he pays for my lunch which was nice and we go our separate ways. I hail a cab and go to the bus station. Since I took out money from the ATM, my smallest bill was 100dirham (about 5€). The taxi ride was only 6dirham. When I went to hand the taxi driver my 100, he got really mad and drove off without me paying. I ...

We are back in the third world again. What that exactly means, we're still not sure. Are second world and developing countries the same thing? How does a country move from one world to another over time? Are countries stuck with their category for a set period or until the indicators change? And are there nations that are not developing? And what are they called? And who is it that makes all these determinations anyway? These were questions for us to ponder ...

... the opposite. If it keeps continuing like this I think my grand weight loss plans might be out the window! As we weren't due to leave Chefchaouen until the following afternoon we spent the rest of the day just chilling around the camp site. Indulged in a hot shower, washed some clothes, jumped on the internet to sus out the Foreign Office advice for Mauritania, updated this here blog, which once again appears to be taking up more ...

... so Gabrielle parked inside a nearby internet cafe with the bags while Dan went scouting for our intended hostel.  Dan soon returned, very soggy, to retrieve Gabrielle and the bags and we were soon safely ensconced in a little white walled room in the airy Pension Cordoba.  Dropping our bags we pulled ourselves together and headed out to find food. According to our guidebook, Chefchaouen is a beautiful blue washed town (which it is) with a laid ...

... up all night eating and praying for Ramadan. We were starting to get into the Ramadan vibe too because it is difficult to sneak food during the day and it is noisy to sleep at night because everyone is up. Chefchaouen is everything you dream a Morrocan town to be. Enchanting and beautiful. The architecture is wonderful with houses and buildings rendered and painted in crispy shades of blues and white making it a photogenic place. The blue rinse ...

... but between traffic and the roads you really can't go very fast. Half way to Chefchaouen the car starts heating up (uh,oh). We've got the temperature almost on the red so we have to take the air conditioning off and I must say it's pretty hot outside. We get to Chefchaouen and go directly to the hotel (one of the friends that's with us has already stayed there). The hotel is OK, clean. Chefchaouen is a very beautiful town. When ...

... everything is overpriced and people try to take advantage of you. Other than that, we soaked up the sun, took some nice walks and enjoyed each other's company. The cab ride back was a lot better as well. Sorry not to write a lot, I just don't feel in the long winded mood right now. The pictures should speak for themselves.

... than expected, I settled down on the sidewalk and took out a book. Wishfull thinking! I was soon approached by some locals with offers of help to cross the border, sales of hash and mariage. The most interesting thing was when one of the guys asked me if South Africa was an Island! Just after 2 the truck finally cleared customs and I was free to board. I was extatic! The group was friendly and welcoming ...

... no problem finding a prestigious job, yet here, they live in extreme poverty. Anyhow, thank god for my guidebook! without it I would be lost. There are no nice tourist offices here to welcome you, like I had in Spain. No maps to be passed out, and no suggestions on how to get where and what to see. Its truely trial by error, in the hopes that you get to your destination. I exited the ferry and made a beeline for the bus station which was just outside the ...

... a stroll along the chic ocean boulevarde home, where another middle aged expat sat with her Murph and the Magic Tones synthesiser and proceeded to destroy all your favourite songs from the 1850s and 60s. Pierpaolo is under strict instruction that at any point, should I ever call this entertainment, he is to take me out into the back paddock and shoot me. May 7th KM START = 12,408 (Trip = 2,038 ) KM END = 12,809 (Trip = 2,439) Route: Benidorm > Alicante > Vera &gt ...