On from Morocco

We were able to stay in Morocco for almost two weeks, and it was time for us to head south to the Canary Islands, the next stop for us. The situation of the marina in Rabat is a very narrow entrance from the ocean, and it has a sort of criss-cross of sand bars that are very shallow at low tide, and with any sort of wind pushing a ‘swell’ eastward, makes the entrance difficult or even dangerous to enter or leave. Often, the marina will close the entrance and boats are not permitted to enter or leave.

So, with this scenario, there were a lot of boats, like us, wanting to head to the Canaries.  So, when the weather finally showed a window that was OK to leave, they ended up with 22 boats all scheduled to leave the same day!  The customs office, and passport control people, etc., had a very busy day checking everyone out of the marina and the country.  They wound up going from boat to boat throughout the marina and checking us all out one by one instead of everyone going to the office and overwhelming them.  It worked out pretty smoothly for a country and for officials who don’t normally like to bend the rules, and of course LOVE stamping papers and things.  So, they brought the ‘drug dog’ around and he climbed on everyone’s boat, sniffing for illegal stuff, while the officers were clambering around, sorting out the documents.  All in all, it struck me as a pretty funny sight. These guys did not look at all natural in their suits and ties trying to climb over scruffy boaters, all waiting on their decks and just wanting to leave. 

The whole process took about 3 hours and we were off, at around 4:00 in the afternoon, and although the swell had “died down” from an off-shore storm a few days earlier, there was still a pretty large roll waiting for us as soon as we headed through the entrance. I could understand why the marina was cautious about letting people leave, as we plowed over some big waves and having to time it just right so they wouldn’t crash on our decks. Once we were past, by several hundred yards, the sea calmed down a bit and although the swell was still 3+ meters, it was a more gentle roll and not breaking.

So………we were off for our longest passage yet, just over 500 miles, and our first real introduction to the Atlantic Ocean. We’d heard from a lot of other boaters,

Lost and Found in Fez

Despite our better judgement, Maggie, Levi, Emma and I made a venture into Fez for a long day-trip, taking the earliest train (7:20) and planning on coming back on the last train, whenver that was. Fez is closer to Rabat, where the boat is, and is only a 3 hour train ride. We were “experienced” (HA!) travelers now, so no problem.  We got to Fez, and headed out of the train station, and saw a huge line of Taxis. One quickly offered to take us to the 'medina' (downtown) for only 70 Dirhams. We knew that was wrong...... and after walking down the street 100 feet, we found one for less than half, 30 Dirhams. That’s more like it.

First off, Fez has a much different vibe than Marrakesh. It’s more of a music, hippie, earthy place. As we arrived in the medina, our taxi driver was so excited to be speaking English and using hand gestures, he HIT a pedestrian walking across the street who wasn’t watching where he was going either. No harm done, a lot of Arabic yelling back and forth, and we were there…..almost. As we got out, Emma spotted some puppies on a blanket near the wall, and as she approached, the mom of the litter, not pleased at all, ran after Emma, biting at her ankles. OK, two for two. We went into the medina, parked at a café, and had some breakfast. Cheese omelettes, chocolate crepes, mint tea and coffee for 4 people for $12. Not bad.

Fez is known for a lot of handicrafts and leather goods. There are also huge family owned tanneries in part of the city and we were able to tour those, even though the free tour came with a high pressure pitch to buy leather goods. The workmanship was absolutely beautiful, and I was very tempted with a large leather duffel bag, made of camel. But, the boat and the sea is no place for leather goods and I didn’t dwell on it too long. Maybe in another life.

All the guide books say Fez is a circular city and sloped to the middle. Going downhill takes you toward the center, walking uphill supposedly takes you out. Well, we managed to get fairly lost and wound up going down streets that were progressively darker and narrower. All of the sudden, no one we met could speak English. Most Morrocoans speak some English, but now we couldn’t find anyone speaking English, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, nothing but Arabic. Rut ro. We finally found a school boy who took us back into the main part of town, and started the process of getting out. He didn´t speak English either, but with enough hand gestures, he got the idea we were pretty lost!

We were fairly famished by this point, and made a pit stop for some dinner before heading back to the train station. We had ‘tagines’, a Moroccan dish which are clay plates with clay cones that are baked with meat, potatoes, veggies, and rice, olives, and spices inside. All four of us had a fantastic dinner and Cokes for $22. From there, it was a taxi ride back to the train station and wait in the rain for our train.

We made it on the last train, and after riding back for 3 hours, we were trying to figure out which stop was ours. We thought we’d arrived, and all got off. After looking around, we didn’t realized it was NOT the right stop and were climbing back on the train, when it lurched into motion, heading away. Maggie, Levi and I jumped into the open doorway, while Emma was trying to catch up. Levi saw she wasn’t catching up, jumped off to get Emma on and then as the train was speeding up, Levi was running to catch the train car behind us. He jumped on, trying to find a handle, and FELL off the train, sprawling out on the platform! We were going too fast now, and Maggie was hysterically looking for the red handle to stop the train!! We were all in shock, trying to figure out what we do now as Levi was already far in the distance, with no money, no Arabic, in pain, and at 11:30 at night. As we calmed down, we realized as we crossed over the river, that he WAS at the right stop and we were off to the wrong one. No problem. That was the least of our worries. I knew Levi would figure it out and probably walk the ½ mile back to the boat, while we figured out where we were and took a city tram that would take us backwards towards the boat.

All in all, everyone was back safe, just after midnight, with a few bruises, and we were really glad to be together on our little boat, having a late coffee, and telling Rachel about the day’s adventures and mis-adventures!

Thanks Morocco, for an amazing, unforgettable, experience!    

  

Berber Village and Family

While we were in Marrakesh and the Atlas mountains, we went to a Berber house to have breakfast (which was actually bread and tea). The Berber people are the native people of Morocco. There was a little girl there, and as soon as we got there, my dad picked her up for a picture and then put her down and then she was reaching for me! 

So I picked her up and when I tried to put her down she wouldn't let go of me. So we went upstairs and she sat down with me and as I was drinking my tea she was reaching for the bread and tea so I gave her some of mine. 

We walked around her house and she showed me where she plays and we played there for a little while. When I had to leave, she wanted me to stay. She grabbed my hand and was pulling me but I had to go so I waved goodbye and she let me go and waved goodbye too. She was SO cute!!

~Emma

Marrakesh pt.2

Marrakesh pt.2

Moroccan Shoes.....Shops like this were everywhere!

So we wandered into the downtown, right at late afternoon, which is when the main square and streets come to life. As we walked in, we were hit right between the eyes with a huge plaza bustling with street vendors, selling everything from fresh squeezed orange juice to silver tea pots, Morrocan drum bands, people carrying monkeys, motorcycles weaving around, basically chaos.

It was quite a bit to take in and right as we came in, a man wanting to show us his snakes, threw one around Levi’s shoulders and then put it on Miles’ lap in his stroller where Miles naturally grabbed the snake’s head. Rachel screamed right as a bicycle rode by with about 25-30 dead chickens hanging off the sides, and while Emma was trying to get me to look at that bizarre sight, a woman was starting to paint Henna tattoos on Lily and Zoe, assuming we’d pay as soon as she was done. It was full immersion!

We huddled together to re-group and make a plan to pick a direction and see about a youth hostel in the old city we’d found online before we’d come. We decided to make our way there, drop off our bags and find some dinner. Easy enough, right? After asking 6 people for directions and getting 8 different answers, we found someone who offered to walk us “directly” there. Without him, we would probably still be looking for the place, as it was located in a narrow street, off of another narrow street, off of another narrow street…..…you get the idea. Is there something wrong with a street sign or two?

This is the door to our Hostel....Pretty small opening
from the street view...but great place!

The youth hostel was an oasis. The owner Mustafa, had a big pot of mint tea on for us as we arrived and was extrememly proud to show us around the rooms he’d arranged for us up through the 2 floors and roof terrace of the hostel. It was very quaint and felt like we were sealed off from the chaos outside. 

Our dinner: Chicken Kebaps and Lemon Olives
plus other yummy stuff

We rested a bit and then headed of again into the madness, and found a great street café, set up for serious volume with bench seating, and stacks of skewers of chicken, beef and lamb. We had plates of cous-cous, lots of grilled meat and veg, loads of fresh round Moroccan bread and were pretty spent after dinner. We did OK the second time finding our way back, and drug the extremely tired kids back to the hostel, had some hot showers, and crashed into our bunks, while the lobby in the courtyard below was filled with conversations and music. We had a tour planned early the next morning, so we didn't stay up late, the kids were asleep in about 2 seconds, and we weren't far behind………..:)   

Marrakesh Express pt.1

Once we got settled into the marina, we wanted to make a trip inland and see some Moroccan sights. First stop was Marrakesh! We buddied along with another family boat we met in the marina, a family of four from Chicago on a boat called Begonia. The father Sebastian, is originally from Argentina, and the mom, Carla and their kids, Sophia (8) and Benji (5) are living for a year aboard. They had sailed from the Caribbean earlier this summer and have spent their time in Portugal and Spain / Gibraltar. They are on the same path we are on, though Morocco, the Canary Islands and hopefully, Senegal/Gambia and crossing the Atlantic in December also. It is always great to hook up with other families and we planned the trip to Marrakesh together.

So, after an early morning stroll to the train station, we were all aboard the early train (well, early for people travelling with 8 kids!) and took the 3 hour train ride South to Marrakesh. For starters, the train was an experience all in its own! It was clean enough (except for the bathrooms, more later) and it is basically a hallway with little cabins on one side, each seating about 6-8 people. You kind of just cram in wherever you can and with all of us we wound up spread over 3 cabins, mixed in with Moroccans off to someplace or another. The Moroccan people are just beautiful and extremely friendly. Rachel and I were in one cabin with the little girls and Miles, who of course, is just a magnet. There were 3 ladies in our cabin and they instantly had him on their laps and were feeding him something or another, doting on him. Miles just soaked it up like a sponge and was doing his little devilish grin, looking much smarter than only one year old. We were soon all passing around snacks we’d brought and one of the 3 spoke English, so we soon learned about them, and had 2 invites to come to their houses for a meal. It was a lot of fun. The bathrooms on the train, however, left something to be desired in the way of cleanliness. The bathrooms we’d seen so far, had usually been a porcelain hole in the floor, with raised places to stand over the hole, and no toilet paper, just a faucet near the hole and a bucket. I guess you need to be a little creative to make the components provided get the job done. Well, the train had a hole also, right down over the track, and let’s just say the people earlier had not been careful in the bathroom at all. It was a bit stressful for poor Lily and Zoe, but they managed, and it certainly makes you appreciate some things we usually overlook.

Arriving in Marrakesh, we were a bit disoriented as we got off the train, not knowing where the main downtown was or how to get there, and I’m sure easy prey for a tour guide. Naturally, one spotted us looking clueless and offered his services, basically a glorified taxi ride into town, stopping at some sights on the way. It was reasonable and not worth hasseling to find our own way and he called up a van “he knew” that could fit all 12 of us and we were off. Driving around the outskirts of Marrakesh was very impressive. It had a lot of upscale development and in the desert surroundings, reminded us a lot of Arizona, particularly Scottsdale! Even with a couple of golf courses, and not what we’d expected at all. Closing in on the old city, however, was a quick trip back several centuries and we could see the old city walls, with Moroccan sweeping arched entries and as the streets got increasingly crowded and chaotic, we knew we were heading into the heart of the city. Our new friend the tour guide, offered to pick us up the following morning, and take us on a trip up into the Atlas mountains, stopping at a Berber village, having tea with a Berber family, and hiking to some waterfalls. We knew we didn’t want to spend our whole time in Marrakesh just shopping and wandering, so we agreed to the trip the next day, arranging a time and place. Then we were off to wander the downtown, and headed into a truly unique experience……..pt 2: 

Rabat, Morocco

We are in Morocco, after a pause for repairs, and have arrived in Rabat, about 125 nm from the Gibralter Straight. The trip down was pretty uneventful, not a lot of wind, and a pretty relaxing 36 hours.

The only place to lay up in Rabat is in a marina, up a narrow river from the ocean. The entrance is important to enter when the tide is high, because of the chance of grounding on the sand bar. We knew we weren't probably going make the high tide in late afternoon, so that meant we were going to have to enter in the middle of the night, around 0200. I had been calling as we approached, to notify someone we were coming, but couldn't get an answer until we were almost in the river!

Finally a dinghy came out and escorted us into the marina, and even though it was the middle of the night, we had to go through the whole customs and and immigration deal. They also normally bring a dog on board and look for illegal substances, but with our life-nets, couldn't get the dog on and instead two guys came on with flashlights and looked in all the cabins, counting the kids (probably not a bad idea with our crew - Rachel and I might start doing that :) 

We got situated into a slip and very quickly went to sleep, looking forward to exploring once we'd slept!