(To follow the full Morocco trip, start at TRAVEL: Morocco 1)
Keeping up the journal for the Morocco trip!
Another run in the morning. A little busier than yesterday but not bad. A solid 4 miles. Saw another huge crane with a tree branch in its craw the length of its body. There's was massive tent being built in a lot on the other side of the golf course and we had no idea what it's for. The only clue was an array of red booths under one side of the tent with different pictures of food. Without any language skills we'll probably never know. Life is full of mystery. Also we saw a truck with a giant cardboard KFC bucket on the back of it.
After the run we had another wonderful breakfast on the roof and then packed up for the road trip to Azrou, a town on the way to the Atlas Mountains. Leaving the city was easy enough, though still stressful. We got gas for the first time (there was an attendant) and came to discover that the cost of gas is four times that in the US. Yuck. Post sobering fill-up, we traveled into farm country. There were groves and groves of all kinds of crops. The terrain gradually got more rocky and we began to see these long piles of red rocks with a sort of plastic covering over the length of them. They were prevalent and through multiple viewing and keen observation, we learned they were a repository for large quantities of hay. We couldn't figure out why they did this.
Progressing farther we saw a massive Arabic greeting laid out in white rocks on the side of a hill and stork nests on rooftops (sometimes two on one roof). The farmland abruptly ended and we entered a national park full of cedars. Immediately we were transported to a whole new atmosphere. A little down the road, we entered a park with veins of small streams. The streams created waterfalls at many points and we had fun crossing them. There were cows milling about and a pack of stray dogs passed by.
Farther down the path we encountered a large campground area. There were stone picnic tables and lots of people selling things and chilling. One area contained a row of rooms, like a motel 6 sort of thing but way more makeshift. No idea what was going on there. We wandered along, ran into a dude selling horseback rides (rather aggressively while on a horse) and eventually came to the main attraction: a beautiful cascading waterfall. We took some pictures and Tym was harassed by a honey salesman. Tym had taken up the strategy of pretending to only know Polish and worked pretty well when dealing with most solicitors. After wheedling out of that one, we decided to partake in some mint tea around a picnic area that was put together by a small family. The wife tried to sell us henna tattoos using a photo album with teddy bears on it. They also kept their cooking potatoes in the stream to keep them cold. We set out after that.
We briefly drove through Ifrian, a town just near our final destination, Azrou. It was a more affluent community, with larger houses and a lack of the square stone apartment buildings we were used to seeing. Near the center of town is a large, crude stone carving of a lion, made by a World War I soldier to commemorate the last of the Barbary lions in morocco. It looked like it was carved by a solider.
A small ways up from Ifrian we went on a hike into the cedars and spent time communing with the trees. On the other side of the road was a wide red field with no vegetation and a running track labeled in meters around the perimeter. We saw some runners and had a small lunch.
We continued and when we turned a corner into a small town, the road was full of barbary macaques. The sight of them was both exhilarating and terrifying. We took tons of pictures of the primates playing and grooming and swinging from the trees. At a certain point we were taking pictures of a big macaque behind a fence and he came up and squeezed under the fence right for us. We were more weary and kept our distance after that.
Working off the blissful surge of childlike wonder, we pulled into Azruo, found parking and checked into our riad. We had a lovely conversation with the woman at the front desk and then set out into town to find some big rock Ellen had heard about. It was not hard to find as it was pretty big and had a large wire crown at the top of it. Anticipating a climb, we needed a snack and some more money so we went to the bank, got some cookies and then went after the rock! It was an easy scramble with an amazing view. You could even go into the crown if you wanted.
Once we conquered the rock, we went back to the riad and rested until dinner. When we showed up at the designated spot for the dinner at 8pm, no one was in the restaurant area. We searched through the whole riad and discovered we were the only people in the whole building. But someone eventually showed up around 8:20 (they had been fasting) and we scarfed down a cucumber and tomato salad followed by a massive dish of veggies with couscous and a tray of oranges and bananas for dessert. So worth it. But Tym and I were still a little hungry so we got a couple donuts from the bakery stand just outside our riad. A great way to end the night. We'll be off to the Atlas Mountains tomorrow!
Keeping up the journal for the Morocco trip!
Another run in the morning. A little busier than yesterday but not bad. A solid 4 miles. Saw another huge crane with a tree branch in its craw the length of its body. There's was massive tent being built in a lot on the other side of the golf course and we had no idea what it's for. The only clue was an array of red booths under one side of the tent with different pictures of food. Without any language skills we'll probably never know. Life is full of mystery. Also we saw a truck with a giant cardboard KFC bucket on the back of it.
After the run we had another wonderful breakfast on the roof and then packed up for the road trip to Azrou, a town on the way to the Atlas Mountains. Leaving the city was easy enough, though still stressful. We got gas for the first time (there was an attendant) and came to discover that the cost of gas is four times that in the US. Yuck. Post sobering fill-up, we traveled into farm country. There were groves and groves of all kinds of crops. The terrain gradually got more rocky and we began to see these long piles of red rocks with a sort of plastic covering over the length of them. They were prevalent and through multiple viewing and keen observation, we learned they were a repository for large quantities of hay. We couldn't figure out why they did this.
Progressing farther we saw a massive Arabic greeting laid out in white rocks on the side of a hill and stork nests on rooftops (sometimes two on one roof). The farmland abruptly ended and we entered a national park full of cedars. Immediately we were transported to a whole new atmosphere. A little down the road, we entered a park with veins of small streams. The streams created waterfalls at many points and we had fun crossing them. There were cows milling about and a pack of stray dogs passed by.
Farther down the path we encountered a large campground area. There were stone picnic tables and lots of people selling things and chilling. One area contained a row of rooms, like a motel 6 sort of thing but way more makeshift. No idea what was going on there. We wandered along, ran into a dude selling horseback rides (rather aggressively while on a horse) and eventually came to the main attraction: a beautiful cascading waterfall. We took some pictures and Tym was harassed by a honey salesman. Tym had taken up the strategy of pretending to only know Polish and worked pretty well when dealing with most solicitors. After wheedling out of that one, we decided to partake in some mint tea around a picnic area that was put together by a small family. The wife tried to sell us henna tattoos using a photo album with teddy bears on it. They also kept their cooking potatoes in the stream to keep them cold. We set out after that.
We briefly drove through Ifrian, a town just near our final destination, Azrou. It was a more affluent community, with larger houses and a lack of the square stone apartment buildings we were used to seeing. Near the center of town is a large, crude stone carving of a lion, made by a World War I soldier to commemorate the last of the Barbary lions in morocco. It looked like it was carved by a solider.
A small ways up from Ifrian we went on a hike into the cedars and spent time communing with the trees. On the other side of the road was a wide red field with no vegetation and a running track labeled in meters around the perimeter. We saw some runners and had a small lunch.
We continued and when we turned a corner into a small town, the road was full of barbary macaques. The sight of them was both exhilarating and terrifying. We took tons of pictures of the primates playing and grooming and swinging from the trees. At a certain point we were taking pictures of a big macaque behind a fence and he came up and squeezed under the fence right for us. We were more weary and kept our distance after that.
Working off the blissful surge of childlike wonder, we pulled into Azruo, found parking and checked into our riad. We had a lovely conversation with the woman at the front desk and then set out into town to find some big rock Ellen had heard about. It was not hard to find as it was pretty big and had a large wire crown at the top of it. Anticipating a climb, we needed a snack and some more money so we went to the bank, got some cookies and then went after the rock! It was an easy scramble with an amazing view. You could even go into the crown if you wanted.
Once we conquered the rock, we went back to the riad and rested until dinner. When we showed up at the designated spot for the dinner at 8pm, no one was in the restaurant area. We searched through the whole riad and discovered we were the only people in the whole building. But someone eventually showed up around 8:20 (they had been fasting) and we scarfed down a cucumber and tomato salad followed by a massive dish of veggies with couscous and a tray of oranges and bananas for dessert. So worth it. But Tym and I were still a little hungry so we got a couple donuts from the bakery stand just outside our riad. A great way to end the night. We'll be off to the Atlas Mountains tomorrow!
Wild macaques at play
so spookily familiar
our branches are close
so spookily familiar
our branches are close
Running: 4.2 miles
