The Continuation....

So, last we left off we were sleeping in a Berber tent in Morocco, hoping that the gas wouldn't erupt into a ball of fire, killing most and scaring the rest beyond recognition....well, there were no problems and we all made it through the night alive. We woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise over the desert and eat breakfast. We spent most of the time just enjoying the sandy dunes that surrounded the camp and taking in the fresh morning air. We then hopped back on the camels and started the long journey home. Once again, we passed through some truly amazing countryside....forests, mountains, deserts and so on...it was really great. We arrived back in Marrakech with daylight still to spare and caught a taxi (this time with better haggeling skills and a stubburn disposition, each of which got us a reasonable rate)and arrived at a hostel in the Ville Nouvelle, on the new side of town as it was closer to the bus station. It was a completely different world on this side, we had gone from the chaos of the Medina area to what seemed like a normal city...I even asked the driver if we were still in Marrakech. It was actually nice to be able to relax and rest up before catching the bus the next day. Our next destination was Essaouria, a beach town on the Atlantic coast. Jimmy Hendrix actually spent a year in this town and got his inspiration for the song "Castles of Sand" from the surrounding beaches...just a fun fact, in case they ever ask it on Jeopardy or something. Upon arriving to the town it appears fairly weathered and battered by the sun and sea...an old lazy fishing town. We caught a glimpse of the beach and sea and our spirits were ready for the ocean. We found a place in the heart of the Medina...clean bathrooms, friendly staff, and cheap rates...our lodging, two full meals at small restaurants and transportation from Marrekesh to Essaouria was cheaper, much cheaper, than a single train ride in the UK....ahhhh, that is nice. We spent the next few days lazing around the beach, walking the town and getting a few infections...a little ria and Urinary infection...but it was still good. G spent the day trying to find some diarrhia medication for me and by the end of the trip the locals walking around town were asking if we were feeling better cause they knew G was looking for medication, nice people. It only lasted about a day, so that was a big plus. We found antibiotics for G, but they didn't do the trick and the infection seemed to have become a kidney infection, atleast from what I could gather on webMD, unless you speak French or Arabic, a lot of self diagnosis has to take place. There is nothing quite like taking pills from a box written in Arabic and hoping it's the right stuff...it's not a language you can really sound out if you don't know the script. After four days at the beach, we decided to head to the city of Fez a couple days before our flight. We ended up catching the bus back to Marrakech, spending one more night in the city and taking the train the next morning to Fez. On the bus ride back to town, I decided to relax and listen to some music...it was then that the opening jam to Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" came pouring into my head while my eyes watched a woman in traditional, conservative Muslim garments sitting across from....the complete clash between the audio stimulation and the visual stimulation was wild...two worlds meeting head...it was a cool experience. The train ride to Fez the next day was seven hours long and consisted of a constant flow of people coming and going at every stop...you kind of just pick a compartment to sit in and cram in together. At one point I had gotten up and a huge group of people got on the train, at one point there were something like 4 kids and 6 adults cramming into the compartment with G trying to explain that I was sitting next to her. One women was Moroccan but seemed to thave the spirit of a full blooded New Yorker, very outspoken to say the least. She came in like a hurrican and was kicking people out of the compartment, telling them to take their luggage down, I couldn't understand a word, but tone and volume got the point across...all we could do was laugh. She ended up being really friendly as the trip went on, just very intense. We made it to fez and found our lodging for the night without a snag. Simple, cheap and friendly staff...always a winning combination. Well...we will have to continue this story again..we are in Rome and back on the Euro, so these computer sessions tend to be a little pricey...more to come though, we are planning on heading to Albania, Greece and, if the money lasts, Turkey next!