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‹ Previous (17/01/2007) MONTH Next (2007-03-18)› ‹ Previous (2010-06-01 - US) COUNTRY Next (2010-06-15 - US)› Spain Alhambra (see on map) 09/03/2007:
it has already been three days since, me and Alexandra started this new adventure. We have been living for the last three months in the house my parents, in Vic, resting a little after the first part of the journey: Europe, and preparing this second stage, which surely will be much more thrilling: Africa, Asia and Australia, that will last for 2 or 3 years and will be endured also by our autocaravan. We have been going towards the south of the Iberian peninsula, Alexandra with a lot of diverse emotions but me not so much, as if this traveling is becoming a routine or as if i assume that this is my way of life; a life that passes calmly along many countries and vicissitudes; a life that I have chosen and that makes me happy, very happy. We have arrived to Granada in two days, without haste, since for another hand we have had to stop a few times: in Sant Sadurní D'anoia, where we loaded the material of CC ONG that we will distribute in Mauritania; in Vendrell, where we saw off a friend; and in Calp, where a sponsor inserted into the wheels a liquid that avoids the pricks. i had not visited Alhambra again since i had half of the years that I have now. Then it had impressed me and now has amazed again me, and also Alex . The visit has been a good way to keep on taking contact with the Muslim culture. Anyway, I do not believe that we will see often these incredible details of the Islamic art again in Morocco or in black Africa. Morroco Tetouan (see on map) 10/03/2007: its surprising the amount of agencies that sell boat tickets from Aljeciras to Ceuta or to Tanger. There are along many kilòmetres on the motorway and also in the boarding terminal. It is also surprising that the prices are so different from agency to agency.Anyway, all the offers are in general just for a return ticket: - I do not return ticket - i told them. - Oh! Dont worry, the ticket is valid for one year. - i agree, but really I do not come back to Morocco, I go through Egypt. Then they were turning their face from me as if i offended them with a cheap excuse. Finally, after comparing all prices, I have bought the most economic ticket, direction Tanger, that was 72€ for two persons and the autocaravan. Only after sailing through the waters of Gibraltar we realised why the price was so cheap in comparison to the other offers: the boat was quite old, even though they were giving a new look by painting it, and the journey instead of it being of one hour, as they announced the other agencies, has lasted three hours. After the disembark we have had to cross the border, where they have retained us a little checking out all papers and arguing about policy. It happens that in the lateral sides of the autocaravan, together with the logos of the sponsors, I have harnessed a map of all the world with the approximate itinerary that we are carrying out. i had downloaded this map one and a half years ago from Internet and then it seemed that there was a border between Marroc and Sahara Occidental. I had forgotten about it completely, because of that it has surprised me that an officer has made me come out of the autocaravan and look at the map . There were two more more border officers watching it. one of them asked me: - What is this? - It is the itinerary that we are making. - And this? - He asked again pointing exactly at the line that was separating Morocco in two. - This... oups, sorry, I know that this is an offence but i did not know , the map is from Internet and i had downloaded it some time ago... The apologies have been accepted but then the work of rectification came. They have scraped the sticker with the key, until the black border that according to them it did not exist dissapeared and afterwards painted it with a white paint so that the country came off visible without any division. on the other side of the autocaravan I had another identical map, but laziness didnt let me to comment that they to repeat all the process. We spent the night in Tetouan, in a gas station. We have watched a film from the computer and while we saw it we have listened a pair of shouts of goal coming from a big crowd. After finishing the film I have gone out and have discovered a bar with a hundred men sitting in front of a television prepared for seeing the second part of the game Barcelona - Madrid. They were at 2-2 and in the second part has marked Madrid and few minutes before the end Barcelona has tied, moment in wich everybody has stood up screaming and celebrating it. of course so did i. The thing that has surprised me is that they were so cheerful without any beer. Chefchaouen (see on map) 11/03/2007:
Chefchaouen is a charming town inserted into the slope of one of the mountains of the Atlases. It is quite visited, by local tourists but also by foreigners, and really it is worthwhile. The medina (or ancient helmet) it is very beautiful. The streets wind among the homes painted in white , sky blue or blue intense. The floor is paved, clean and sometimes painted also of the same clear colours, so that walking there you get the sensation of floating in the sky. There are boutiques all over, very neat, and in the low part small places handed with a few restaurants and many more boutiques. There were quite a lot of people havinf peacefull walks, probably because it was Sunday, and a lot more in the evening, when the streets have burst forth of the crowd. i already knew that a lot of marihuana is sold in Chefchaoen, because of that it has been easy to avoid the boys that from time to time came over whispering to me that they had drugs saying just a simple "no,thank s" . Fez (see on map) 14/03/2007:
Yesterday in the morning we awakened early, according to the Spanish time (one hour less in maroc) and we went to see the zoco (market) of vegetables that is held Monday but the streets of the medina were deserted . Even though the walk was pleasant, we did not find the zoco nowhere in the medina . And we did not find it until we came out with the autocaravan to direct ourselves towards Fez. The journey towards Fez was magical, with the fantastic light of the morning illuminating the green meadows. It is incredible that on the other side of gibraltar the earth is dry until Valencia and however in the south, they do not seem to suffer problems of water. On the sides of the road there were always children greeting, men grazing herds of sheep or goats or people simply expecting that a taxi stoped, all them of Mercedes brand, ancient and full to burst. Arriving towards Fez the landscape became more arid and wagons or donkeys loaded with jerry cans of water and children who guided them started to turn up. It is inserted into a big plain in front of the snowed Atlases. It has a big medina that we visited yesterday and today, with streets of soft pending all them full of bootiques, artisans working the leather, the brass or other materials, some mosque and a madrassa (the place where they educated the youngsters and where they were teaching the islam). We visited the madrassa of Bou Inania that in only one courtyard contains an art as fine and thoughtful that it can be compared and atached to Alhambra. The streets of the medina were not as clean as in Chefchaoen, even though we observed some donkey loaded of rubbish towards the outskirts. for another hand, at the entries of the medina there are also unofficial guides that make it heavy to attempt a guided visit. But with a little patience they can be taken out of about in an educated way. Today we have also visited the semi ancient medina, where we have taken the traditional mint tea while they attempted to sell us some carpets, and we have gone to lunch in the new city, rowdy and busy like a European city although in an arab environment . For eating I have asked for a delicious tagine of chicken with plums. Alexandra, who is quite a fussy person, has tried it and also found it good, so that she has dared asking for a tagine of vegetables. In the afternoon went to walk for the outskirts of the wall where we have met some nice Argentinians who curiously lived in Barcelona, where they managed a Bar. In the evening, our neighbours (a selfcaravan with Swiss registration number) came to our door. A German and a Filipin girl that have been very happy to meet Alexandra since Romania is a country that they had visited three times and they were captivated by its charm. At night, Alexandra has cursed, for third consecutive night , the noise coming from the mosques that punctually echoed through all the city superimposing the melodies. I already accustomed myself to it in other journeys and in the end i am more bothered by the annoyance of Alex than by the recitations . Meknes (see on map) 15/03/2007:
While going out of fes, we have stopped to a gas station to ask for water for the autocaravan and the owner of the gas station has offered us some in exchange for loading gas oil. While we waited we have pioneered a conversation about the situation of Morocco. I have commented that the country seems safe and that the people worry for the tourists: I have the impression that if any thief dares to steal from a foreigner in a medina, the traders and passersby will attempt to hunt and catch him. He has asked me about our journey and I have then explained the project of taking the puls to the world that we carry out during the journey and I have proposed to interview him for the project. Yusef thought that the main problem of the world was terrorism. The states should find the solution, anyway he could collaborate to give work to the people. There are people who do not have anything and they think that the suicide for the religion is the best frontage option to life. The main problem of Morocco is social, even though they are improving with the help of the government. Anyway there should be more investment in education . for Yusef it is a stable country and he feels happy because he lives here. If everybody would be happier he would also be . The secret of happiness is to love the people arround you. We have parked in the big square of Meknes and after having lunch we have gone out to walk towards the south, for streets without any kind of interest, with closed shops and the people surprised by our presence. Finally we have noticed that we were badly positioned in the map and that the medina and interesting monuments were placed in the north. Aside of the medina there is nothing more interesting than was fes. we have also visited the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, an impressive precinct that does not have anything of envying to the very fine art of the madrassa of Bou Inania or to the same Alhambra. even though i had been in Morocco ten years ago, i did not remember these monuments with these ornamental borders, engravings and geometric paintings, that filled in each square centimetre of the walls and ceiling. ‹ Previous (17/01/2007) MONTH Next (2007-03-18)› ‹ Previous (2010-06-01 - US) COUNTRY Next (2010-06-15 - US)› |
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