Friday May 9
On Thursday we got the train to Algeciras, where we bought our ferry tickets to Tangiers. We went back to town for lunch at a very nice local restaurant and found we had missed the 1:30 boat. We got the 3 p.m. one instead. As expected, we were bothered by touts in Tangiers. One persisted in following us around as we checked hotels, which, of course, bumped up all the prices. He was quite rude when we insisted he leave us alone, saying things like ¡§Go back to Spain¡¨ and saying Yoong must be Jewish.
We headed for the tourist office and made it before closing time. We managed to get brochures about some of the places we were going to as well as Tangiers. Most is flowery prose with little useful information but there are some maps, which is handy. We had a reasonable meal and a long walk. This morning we explored the medina, including the kasbah and had a spicy pea-soup for breakfast. It¡¦s nice to be back with reasonable prices ¡V about Australian or cheaper, perhaps a fifth of European prices. We are able to leave a bag at the pension we stayed in, which will make travelling easier. Now, off to Tetuan.
Saturday May 10
Yesterday was declared a national holiday ¡V not so much because of our arrival. It was rather to celebrate the birth of the Crown prince on Thursday. On our walk through the medina we had seen a huge banquet hall being prepared and now know it was part of the celebrations. There are flags on display everywhere.
The one-hour bus trip to Tetuan was comfortable and very scenic. After shaking off the touts we found a spacious room in a pension overlooking the main pedestrian street. There is a shower in the room ¡V cold water only as in most places here ¡V but great value at A$10. We¡¦re almost back to Asian prices here. After a few attempts, we found the tourist office open, a big nicely decorated room with almost no information. There was a lady sitting chewing gum, who eventually attended to us. We asked for a map of the city, and, after a phone call, said she¡¦ll have one for us tomorrow. We did find a couple of brochures we didn¡¦t yet have about places we are going to, but it¡¦s the usual poetry and pretty photos rather than anything of real use. We had a good lunch in a pizza and shawarma place and then had a coffee in one of the many French-style cafes where the chairs are on the pavement facing the passing crowds. Coffee here is about three quarters milk. They bring a glass with a little coffee in it and then tip hot milk from a jug to fill it up. It is served with a glass of water. As it is obviously from the tap we have already got used to the idea of drinking tap-water. Everyone here says it is potable. We had a long walk through the maze of the old town, buying up a few tomatoes and olives for dinner. A guide attached himself to us and took us to a touristy pharmacy where we had all the traditional uses of each spice explained to us. We eventually found our way out, on the wrong side, so we had a long walk around the perimeter back to the hotel. This is a beautiful town, with the Rif mountains as a backdrop. The old city is on the UNESCO world heritage list.
We wandered through other parts of town, sampling local food and drinks, including an avocado juice ¡V not quite up to Indonesia¡¦s standard. We did internet and followed a tour group for a while around the king¡¦s palace.
Today was sunny but windy ¡V a strange mixture of hot and cold. Went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Yoong had four small fish with chips and salad ¡V she said the fish was not fresh despite the waiter¡¦s assurance that it was today¡¦s catch. I had very nice lamb couscous. Yoong always thinks it is like eating air and prefers rice. We had a half-size bottle of Moroccan wine. I was starting to miss it after Spain. Plenty of tea and coffee shops around here but not much alcohol, as one would expect in a Muslim country. The street outside is packed with people at night. We joined them after dinner to see what was going on. People were walking in both directions, but didn¡¦t seem to have any real destination. Similar to what we remember of Italy.
Sunday May 11
Today we visited four beach resorts along the Meditteranean coast, using a combination of buses and taxis ¡V Martil, a big beach with a lot of activity, where the ordinary people congregate, Cabo Negro and Restinga Smir, where the big hotels and resorts like Club Med are ¡V pretty deserted at this time of the year ¡V and M¡¦Dig, a fisherman¡¦s town, where we had lunch. Before lunchtime we walked along the beach and saw a man setting up tables for his little caf? ready for the afternoon. He invited us to sit down and relax. We had a conversation (in French) and found he lived alone in his little beach restaurant. We were the first Australians he had ever met. Yoong offered him some almonds but he declined as he had no teeth. We find friendly and welcoming people everywhere here. The weather was hotter than yesterday, but not enough for us to want to swim in the cold sea. The chilly wind of yesterday has subsided. We were out the whole day from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Yoong has discovered a street food she likes ¡V a little bowl of chick-peas at Martil. We joined the crowds in the street and went to a popular caf? for dinner. Excellent soup and salad for starters but we found the tajine and chicken too oily. The tajine was basically meat in oil. Tasty, but surely not healthy.
We found that our hotel is the first one listed in Guide Routarde (French Guidebook) ¡V with good reason: it¡¦s cheap and the staff speak good French and English.
Monday May 12
We had a very scenic bus ride through the Rif mountains to the lovely town of Chefchaouen, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. While waiting for the bus we had a boccadillo for the first time. It is a baguette packed with a big serving of several types of salads, then covered with hot chips ¡V very filling, economical and healthy - apart from the chips.
The CTM buses are very comfortable and modern but there is always confusion about seat numbers, which are posted on the back of the seat. Many passengers think the number in front of them is the seat number, which results in a lot of disputes. We had to ask a young lady to move out of one of our seats, but that was more because the number 43 on her ticket looked like a 45. (She was quite cute too!) I left Yoong at a coffee-shop while I looked for a hotel, the best way to avoid touts, who buzz round like flies when they see tourists with baggage. I saw some reasonable places in the kasbah, where all the action is, but we settled on Hotel Ibisa, across the road from where I left Yoong as it is more convenient to the bus station and very cheap. We negotiated 150 DH for three nights, including our first hot shower. You couldn¡¦t get one night anywhere in France or Spain for that price.
We walked all over the old town, full of beautiful blue and white buildings, all very photogenic. It¡¦s a pity we don¡¦t have a camera. There are crowds of people, especially at night. A man invited us in for a cup of tea and it was interesting to talk to him and to see the inside of a Moroccan house. He travels a lot to Europe and is visiting a friend in Queensland next year. As we suspected, there were some hints about buying carpets or other souvenirs, but he was not pushy and it was a pleasant way to spend an hour. We found a local soup restaurant, specialising in delicious pea soup with a round of wholemeal bread. It was very filling, but we went to a little restaurant for a small mixed salad and a chicken couscous, which was also very good. This town is small and we¡¦ll probably see the same things again tomorrow and the next day, but it¡¦s a great place to be. There are a lot more tourists here than in Tetouan. It must really be over-run in the high season. We are really lucky to be here at this time of the year. Everyone says it all gets more expensive in July and August and also very hot.
Tuesday May 13
We went up to the kasbah this morning, hoping to find the harira stall someone had shown us last night after we had the pea soup. It was closed, so we went back to the same stall as last night and had another filling meal of the pea soup and bread. We talked (in French) to a policeman who was eating there. He said the harira stall was only open at night and that the pea soup was made from ¡§Foule¡¨ and asked the owner to show us some. It is actually a kind of brown bean. Yoong asks for hers without oil or spices. We did a bit of shopping at the market, then went back to the hotel and slept for a couple of hours. Maybeit¡¦s something to do with the soup.
On the way to the medina I tripped over a step and fell. I didn¡¦t hurt myself but it¡¦s a bit worrying ¡V I must be getting old. Two days ago I spilt Yoong¡¦s coffee at Martil. (The waiter kindly replaced it.) I¡¦m getting clumsier than ever.
We have running water in our room ¡V whether we want it or not. It can¡¦t be turned off! At least it¡¦s a small silent stream rather than a dripping tap. I pointed it out to the hotel manager when I first saw the room his answer was ¡§No problem.¡¨ And it really isn¡¦t. He also showed me two identical bathrooms and told me one was the toilet and the other was the shower. The reason soon became clear. The hot water only worked in one shower and the toilet flushed properly in the other one. Actually it¡¦s the best room we¡¦ve had so far in Morocco, with a good big bed (that doesn¡¦t sag), with blankets that fit properly and two stained-glass windows that open to let in a lot of light. There are tables and chairs outside the room where we can eat our bread and cheese and olives, etc.
We just went out to find the harira stall. Very tasty, but not as healthy as the morning ¡§pea¡¨ soup. It is eaten with a sweet biscuit, which Yoong declined. The surprise was when we paid ¡V only five dirhams for two bowls, including the sweet. Good to find a real local eating place so close to the touristy kasbah.
Thursday May 15
Yesterday was another holiday, for the birth of the prophet, Mahomad. When we walked through the medina there was a four-man band, the men dressed in green jackets, two playing drums and two playing a tune over and over on trumpet-like instruments. A small group of was following them. We met up with them a couple of times. We walked to the cascades behind the medina and up a mountain to the ruins of a small castle, past herds of goats and sheep. We climbed up the narrow stairs of the tower to get a spectacular view all over Chefchaouen. In the evening we started from the cascades and went in a different direction to the highest part of the city wall. There were some rather violent children up there who looked like they might attack us with sticks and stones. We also came across a group of youths drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, not a common sight here, but they were well hidden from the town. You don¡¦t see much alcohol around anywhere. We miss having wine with our meals. Instead of bars, the men sip coffee and mint tea as they sit in the cafes.
On the way up the hill we saw a small snake on the path in front of us. After a few threatening hisses it slithered away into the bushes.
We just went out for a final breakfast of pisara, the broad-bean soup cooked over a slow flame. A fellow diner told told us it was the best breakfast in Morocco. He was Spanish, but has lived here for many years. You can¡¦t help getting into conversations when you sit down to eat at local places like this.
At night we joined the celebration at the medina, which was packed with people, like New Year¡¦s Eve in the west. There was a stage show, Arabic music alternating with Berber music (the town is about 50% of each). For the price of a coffee and a hot milk we had seats near the music, but didn¡¦t get much of a view through the standing crowds. As the night went on people got more and more excited by the music. Young men were thrown up in the air and caught by their friends. Others sat or stood on their friends¡¦ shoulders. It was all good fun, no drunkenness as in the west, so we never felt threatened. After a clear hot day the night was cold and Yoong had to wrap the table-cloth around herself. We got back well after midnight and had to wake up the hotel manager to let us in. He hadn¡¦t joined the rest of the town at the kasbah.
Before the show tonight a tout succeeded in getting us into his shop, which, of course, he called a ¡§factory¡¨. At first it was just ¡§shop with your eyeses (sic)¡¨ but soon became a fairly aggressive attempt to sell. On the way, partly trying to shake him off, we stopped at the harira place, hoping for a bowl of hot soup. Unfortunately it was finished, as there were so many people out celebrating. Instead, we bought four of the little cakes, which we knew were one dirham each. The tout tried to bump up the price so he could get his share, but the seller accepted four dirham with a shrug.
Friday May 16
It was a very scenic bus ride to Fez. We met a couple of young men who had a spare Lonely Planet guide so they very kindly gave it to us. It is an older edition, but not much has changed here. If anything prices have gone down! It will make a difference to our holiday. The bus stopped for lunch at a restaurant where you order the meat raw and it is cooked for you in another section. The mincemeat may have been okay ¡V it¡¦s what the young men had ¡V but Yoong was given pieces of meat full of fat and difficult to eat. We complained about it and paid half the price. We paid for our friends¡¦ drinks though. We arrived in the new town of Fez and walked to Fez El J¡¦did, the section before the old town. The rain came at the most inconvenient time, just as we were checking hotels. Hotel du Commerce was the best of a bad bunch. At least we have a hot shower (outside) and a washbasin in the room ¡V and the place doesn¡¦t smell. The cost is 80 dirham (about A$16). Today we explored the old medina ¡V one of the four great surviving medieval cities, the others being Marrakesh, Cairo and Damascus. To avoid being constantly pestered by touts we accepted the offers of a young ¡§student¡¨ to show us around. Apart from glimpses through the gates of the big mosque, only possible because it is Friday, he mainly took us to souvenir shops ¡V bronze art, carpets, spices, and, of course, the tannery, quite a spectacular sight. It was also very smelly, but they told us it was less smelly because it was Friday. Mohammad also took us to his home for a m int tea, quite an interesting experience. The last place he took us was for lunch at a very grand tourist rip-off restaurant. We decided to stay just for the experience and also because our two friends, Jim and Alex, were there, having been told by their guide (an official one) that this was where they were to have lunch.
The first course was a huge range of salads, served in separate bowls, many of them very good. For main course we ordered a lamb tajine with prunes and almonds. Jim and Alex had a chicken and almond tajine. The last course was a plate of orange and banana slices with some spices. We were offered tea or Turkish coffee and were not very pleased that the coffee was not included (whereas tea was). They could have told us in advance! The bill was nearly 200 dirhams, more than our usual spending for a whole day here, but still no more than a cheap meal in France. Jim and Alex paid considerably more as they were drinking soft drinks. There was some pressure to order the over-priced drinks and Yoong did have an orange juice, which was good, but not as good as the ones at the market for a fifth of the price. I managed to get away with drinking tap-water. After lunch our little guide didn¡¦t seem too happy. We suspect his commission from the restaurant was not up to his expectations. When we declined his offer to take us to a ceramics shop (sorry, factory!) he said goodbye and we paid him his fee, plus a little extra. Jim and Alex¡¦s official guide seemed to have taken them to pretty much the same places at a much higher price. Ours disappeared at one stage, apparently avoiding police, who are everywhere today.
On our way back to the ¡§blue gate¡¨ we saw barriers set up and a small crowd gathered. We asked what was going on and found that the king was coming to pray at the mosque. We waited right at the barrier for about an hour and watched all the action on the narrow road. People were arguing with the police to let them into the mosque or through the barriers for various reasons. It sometimes became quite heated, but the police did their duty with a lot of patience and showing respect especially to their elders. Little Moroccan flags were handed out to us and some of us were lucky enough to get big photos of the king. Yoong got one of each of the two, with greetings of ¡§Konichiwa¡¨. At last the king¡¦s arrival was announced by a spray of rose-water over the crowd. He shook hands with a couple of nougat-sellers who had no business for an hour as their shops were separated from the crowd by the barriers. It was a bit of a squeeze as people pushed forward to get a glimpse of the king, who soon disappeared up the carpeted lane to the mosque. Quite a fascinating experience, not least in observing the behaviour of the crowds. We gave our flags away to little children but kept the photos as souvenirs. We went back to our hotel through some pleasant gardens, where we had a few encounters with curious children.
We went back to the Blue Gate area for dinner. It was one of the open-air touristy sort of places that appear at night. We had pretty ordinary chicken couscous and lamb tajine. For some reason they thought we ordered two coffees at the start of the meal. At the end I asked for a coffee and they brought one of the same ones back ¡V cold of course. We refused it and they eventually brought a hot one. Much better than the meal was the company sharing our table ¡V a French couple with a three-year-old boy. We compared notes on Moroccan cities and restaurants. The wife, Melissa, had been one of the translators into French of the Lonely Planet Guide to Myanmar. Walking back at night was very pleasant; all the ramparts and minarets were lit up. Our hotel overlooks the palace grounds, not our room, but we can go out to the balcony through the rooms on the other side. Fes is a very charming city.
Saturday May 17
We went for a morning walk in the medina. We met up with our little guide from yesterday, who seemed happy to see us and accepted that he wasn¡¦t going to make any more money from us. We asked him about the commission from the restaurant yesterday and he said only the official guide was given commission. He did get a free lunch though. A man at the mosque gate offered to take us to a vantage point over the city. Mohammed had hurried us away from such an offer yesterday but the man assured us we would not have to pay any money. Sure enough the rooftop visit was via a carpet shop. Up the top he pointed out several items of interest and was rather more informative than Mohammed had been. We felt obliged to see some carpets on the way down, but we made them hurry through their spiel a bit as we had to get back and check out of our hotel. We did manage to have a quick shower before leaving the hotel. Who knows what awaits us in Meknes?
We walked back to the new town and had lunch at Restaurant Marocain, near Plaza de Florence. I had the set menu ¡V mixed salad, couscous and yoghurt, and Yoong had a beef brochette. It was a very good meal, far better than last night¡¦s in the medina. It looks like staying and eating in the new town is generally the best way to ensure that we eat and sleep well. We are now in the train station waiting for the train to Meknes. No more buses for a while now as the next few places are accessible by train.
Meknes is a very modern town ¡V at least the section we are in. Hotel Toubkal is a decent budget place, a bit more expensive than the others we have stayed in, but better. We went to a cheap restaurant that claims to be recommended by Guide Routard. It had good harira, so-so salad and tasty but oily chicken tajine, covered in chips. There was lots of liver included, which Yoong liked, but it was nothing special and they charged 14% service, which I doubt the locals pay. (Lots of them were there for the harira.) There is plenty of alcohol available in Meknes. We got a bottle of superior quality Moroccan wine. It is not quite up to French standards.
Sunday May 18
We spent the day exploring the Imperial city and medina. Best was Jamai Palace, which is having a big exhibition of carpets, but the building itself is the main thing to see. We went for lunch at Riad, which was recommended by the young French couple, but it was not as good as the meal in Fez. It was full of French tour groups. We shared a menu, as we did last time. There was more than enough food, but the salads were nothing special and the beef tajine was just average ¡V no better than the ones we¡¦ve eaten at a fraction of the cost. We were a bit annoyed when they gave us an extra mint tea and then charged fifteen dirham for it. Yoong doesn¡¦t even drink it. When asked why we refused to tip, I gave this as the reason. Actually the service was not very good. The waiters paid a lot more attention to the couple at the next table who ordered a full meal each and left more than half of it behind. Such a waste.
We met a young couple from the Philippines. They were very pleased to hear us speaking English. It was the first time they had found anyone who did. They told us about the suicide bombings in Casablanca last Friday. Apparently the king cut short his visit to Fes because of it. There were five separate bombings and forty-one killed, mainly Moroccans. As usual these things make no sense.
Late in the afternoon we did a long walk around the outside of the king¡¦s palace (you can¡¦t go in). We stopped by a lake and talked to a couple of young men who could converse intelligently in English as well as French. We got back very late after a long day.
Monday May 19
We did a day trip to Moulay Idriss and Volubilis. We managed to get to the former by grand taxi, which is the same price as the bus and more frequent. We avoided the guides and explored the maze of streets on our own. We saw the tomb of Moulay Ismail from the barrier, which non-Muslims must not pass. A lady invited us in to her house, but wanted to sell us embroidery. When we declined she asked for money. It is a bit disappointing when hospitality turns out to be inspired by greed.
We got a lift down to the main road with the bus to Meknes and walked forty minutes in the hot sun to Volubilis. It was worth the effort and the entrance price. There were very well-preserved Roman ruins and mosaics. We met a couple of guys from Melbourne who had paid 300 dirham (A$60) for a taxi to both places, ten times what we paid. They gave us a lift back to Moulay Idriss where we had a nice lunch of brochettes, salad and a pot of tea, then got a grand taxi back to Meknes.
We went to a modern dance show at the French Institute. It was a short performance ¡V only 45 minutes, but very well done. The group of two males and two females had performed one night in Casablanca, one in Marrakesh and this was their final performance. There was good use of silence as well as lively folk and pop music, mainly African. I found it very exciting.
Tuesday May 20
I¡¦m a bit sun-struck today after exploring Roman ruins in the hot sun. the train trip to Rabat was comfortable and we shared the apartment with a young girl who is leaving Morocco in a few days to live in Italy where her future husband is working. She spoke good English and French and was studying Italian as she travelled. She laughed when we expressed concern about visiting Casablanca, where she lives. She said it will be safer than ever with the heightened security now.
Rabat is a relaxed modern city. Our hotel is well-located on the edge of the medina. So far we haven¡¦t paid more than 90 dirham a night for a hotel, a little below my budget of 100 per night average. Food is well below the 200 I allowed because we are finding that, even more than in Asia, the best food is in the street stalls frequented by locals. Today we spent 54, snacking on grilled fish, stuffed sardine cakes, croquettes, little spicy sausages and a sandwich of mixed aubergines, green peppers, fish and salad. We ended the day with coffee and cakes at a more up-market patisserie. We also had our usual 3 dirham orange juice. There is a stall right outside our hotel that squeezes a big glass on the spot. At night it turns into a snails stall, very popular with the locals, but we have given this a miss so far. We have already seen most of the local sights and plan to go to Sale tomorrow, just across the river.
Wednesday May 21
We went to Sale by rowboat and explored the souks, snacking on local delicacies on the way. Yoong had a pair of babouche (Moroccan slippers) made for her with Spanish leather. (40 dirhams) There was a lot of activity on the Sale side of the river, with fisherman selling their catch.
In the afternoon we walked to the Hassan Tower, a great unfinished monument, abandoned on Hassan¡¦s death. In the same area we saw the amazing mausoleum of Mohammed V, one of the few non-Muslims have access to. It had very intricate and beautiful tile-work. In the evening we went to a concert in the park, along with thousands of other people. It was (black) African pop music at its best, firmly rooted in traditional music. The lead singer began by coming out and singing a couple of songs with guitar. He was then joined by at least ten musicians and backing vocalists, including two girls who did a lot of dancing as well as singing. It was a great show, and people told us it is currently on every night. Maybe it is different performers for each show. We didn¡¦t inquire too far or we might be tempted to stay longer to see more. This performance (free) beats any we have seen so far, including the excellent modern-dance show.
I went out to buy a baguette to eat with our tomatoes, lettuce and olives, and also brought up a glass of orange juice from the stall outside the hotel. We changed some money for the first time since we started the Moroccan trip, in the unlikely event that we can¡¦t find any banks later.
Friday May 22
We only stayed one night in Casablanca, in the excellent and well-located Youth Hostel. At 120 dirham it is our most expensive accommodation so far, but it included a simple breakfast. The manager was a very interesting and helpful man. He gave us lots of advice about places to visit and good hotels and hostels. We discussed the bombings at length. He said it was nothing to do with Al Queda and was not targeting tourists. It is disaffected youth led astray by false religious teachers and aimed at the rich Moroccans and the government. Security was tight at places like the railway station.
The main site to see here is the ultra-modern Hassan II Mosque, the third biggest religious building in the world (after Mecca and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia) and with the world¡¦s tallest minaret. Built at a cost of $600 million, it was all subscribed by local people. It is no wonder that they charge 100 dirham per person to enter, ten times what we usually pay for entrances. We had a 45-minute tour, in English, worth it to see this amazing building. We managed to find the tourist office and learnt there were no shows on which would make it worth our while staying longer. The festival in Rabat is indeed a different show each night. We probably should have stayed on to see more, but we are hearing about more and more things worth doing in Morocco.
Dinner last night was also a great experience. We went to a restaurant, not far from the tourist office, called simply Fish and Chip¡¦s. There was no sign of any chips, but the fish dishes (and everything else) were a fraction of the cost of a restaurant a few doors away. We had a delicious meal of Nicoise salad (huge, for only 10 dirham), plates of crevettes, sole and merlan, with chilli dip and mayonnaise, then a cr?me caramel and a coffee. The most amazing thing was that the man at the next table asked the waiter to bring us a good bottle of Moroccan wine on him ¡V actually on the house, as it turned out he was the owner of the restaurant. We¡¦ve seen such gestures in films, but this is the first time we¡¦ve ever experienced it. The whole meal cost about A$20. The wine alone was worth A$16. We were also offered a glass each of their very best wine, which they were drinking themselves. For a big cosmopolitan city this is an extremely friendly place. We are now at the station waiting for the train to El-Jadid. Yoong had a shawarma sandwich while waiting, but I only had a bite. Too much good wine last night.
Saturday May 24
We arrived in El-Jadid to find the train station was way out of town. It was such a welcome sight to see a local bus pulling up within a few minutes of our arrival, which took us straight to the centre of town. This is a lovely seaside town, overcrowded in peak season but now very relaxed. We are in the Hotel Bordeaux, clean, comfortable and cheap (half the price of the Youth Hostel. There is plenty of fresh seafood around, but this morning Yoong came across a local restaurant preparing tajine dishes for lunch, so we went there for a delicious lamb and vegetable tajine. We have explored the Portuguese walled city, including walking around the ramparts and sampled the local markets. Not a lot to do here. There is a famous cistern, which Orson Welles used in his film, Othello, but we didn¡¦t visit it as we have seen one even more spectacular in Istanbul. We both had haircuts and did some internet, and caught up on some sleep. We enjoyed a cheap dinner of mixed seafood ¡V sole, merlan, calamari and prawns dipped in delicious chilli and tomato sauce.
Sunday May 25
We decided to try taking the local bus to Safi. It was much cheaper than CTM and they gave us the front seats. The only drawback is that it stops everywhere to pick up and set down passengers. CTM is more or less an express, so it may be worth paying double the price to save time.
Safi is okay but not as nice as El-Jadid. The medina is rather dirty. Once again, we had seafood for dinner. I had skipped lunch as my stomach was a bit upset. We watched Gaby, a film dubbed into French, in the TV lounge of our hotel, The Majestic.
Monday May 26
A day of rest. Apart from going out to eat more fish, we spent most of the time in the hotel. We tried to see the Portuguese fort (Qasr al-Bahr), but visitors are no longer allowed inside as parts of the wall have fallen into the sea.
Wednesday May 28
I spent yesterday starving as my stomach problems got worse. We got the CTM bus to Essaouira, where we were welcomed by touts wanting to take us to rooms. We succumbed because the room is in the area where we wanted to stay ¡V at the far end of the medina, not far from the bus station. Ar 70 Dm it¡¦s cheaper than the hotels and we have a kitchen with a view of the sea, and a hot shower. We met up with the Phillipino couple again. They have been to the places we are heading for as they have to travel faster, so they were able to give some advice. We walked around the port area with them, then explored the ramparts on our way back through the medina. We found a decent local restaurant for a lunch of tajine and a pot of mint tea. We will go back there tonight for the chicken and olives dish that is already cooking. The lady who does the cooking is very friendly and welcomed us into the kitchen to show us what she was preparing.
Last night we went to a production of Don Quixote, all in French so it was a bit hard to follow. The man sitting next to us was a writer and talked to us, in French, about French literature and philosophy.
The chicken was not quite to my taste, but the harira soup was the best we¡¦ve ever had. The little restaurant had satellite TV so we saw BBC World for the first time in Morocco.
Thursday May 29
Just when I thought I had recovered, my stomach played up again, so I went without breakfast and lunch today. The bus trip to Marrakesh went through a remote and arid landscape, but people still seemed to get on and off everywhere. There was no CTM available. We are at Ali¡¦s hotel, which is very expensive at 170 Dm, but that includes breakfast, hot showers (bathroom and toilet are ensuited) and free internet ¡V so we¡¦ve caught up with all our e-mail, updating the address-book, etc. We also got a discount on the evening buffet on the terrace overlooking the square. This is worth doing once, but we will probably eat in the square, as the food is cheap and looks very good.
I read a lot of information on Morocco on the internet and can fairly confidently point to the culprit causing my tummy problems. A lot of people say not to eat the melons as they are grown in unhygienic conditions. We ate one before each bout of stomach problems. It didn¡¦t seem to affect Yoong though.
The Djem al-Fna square is very close by. During the day it is a huge empty space ringed by identical orange-juice stands, the cheapest we have found, at 2.50 (officially) or 2 Dm if you like. At night it becomes a huge open-air circus, with acrobats, snake-charmers, monkeys, hundreds of musicians and story-tellers. And foodstalls selling the usual Moroccan fare, including sheep¡¦s heads and snails. The whole city is ochre in colour, like the soil ¡V a very impressive place.
Friday May 30
We checked out of Ali¡¦s to Hotel de France, which is just as well located ¡V right on the square ¡V with hot showers and clean rooms with double bed and washbasin for 75 Dm. Breakfast at Ali¡¦s was okay, and included an omelette. I was even offered a second, which I declined. We did another lot of e-mail before checking out.
We explored the old town, including the Medersa of the Ali ben Youssof mosque. We shared a small tajine for lunch, then found a place with poulet au citron and lentils, so we had a second course. We bought tickets for tomorrow¡¦s bus and walked around the ville nouvelle. We had a look at the biggest mosque (Koutoubia) and the touristy arts and crafts place, then had an orange juice each on the square and went back for a shower.
In the evening we went to a concert of Arabic popular music. Several singers performed, about two-thirds of them female, each doing only one song, but Arabic songs tend to be very long. There were about twenty musicians supporting them, including four backing vocalists. All the performers were excellent, some very dramatic, others quite humorous. The show was supposed to be by invitation only, but we managed to get in without an actual printed invitation. As with most shows here, there was a lot of waiting around before it started. They told us 8 pm, but it was after 10 pm before the musicians came on stage. However the Theatre Royale, where it was held, was a nice building to wait in and there was an art exhibition to see and interesting displays by one of the sponsors ¡V home entertainment centres. Not a word of French was spoken the whole evening. Even the posters were in Arabic only and we were the only tourists there, though we had first heard of it through the tourist office. It all ended about a quarter past midnight with a final audience-participation song that went on for about half an hour. It was a very exciting evening of wonderful music ¡V popular, but almost operatic in style and something like Indian music, with a lot of emphasis on rhythm.
Saturday May 31
We went to the Bahai Palace at opening time. By the time we had seen it all the place was full of tour groups. It must be incredible during peak season. After a local lunch of tajine and poulet citron we took a taxi to the Menara gardens to see the famous pavilion behind the large pool. Now it¡¦s time to get the bus to Ait Ben Haddou.
Well, despite CTM¡¦s promises the bus did not stop in Ait Ben Haddou. They wanted to drop us at the turn-off, 10 km from town. A taxi would have cost 50 Dm. So we went to Oazazate instead and will try to do a day trip from there tomorrow. It was a spectacular drive over the Atlas mountains, at least until it got dark. CTM is good, but their buses run at some odd hours. The only bus to Zagora is at 4.30 am, so we¡¦ll look into local buses or maybe a grand taxi.
Sunday June 1
We did a trip to Ait Ben Haddou, using a combination of buses and taxis. It is a well-preserve kasbah, used in over twenty films, such as Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator. There was some film-making going on while we were there.
At the turn-off to Ait Ben Haddou a man helped us get a taxi. We found out later that we paid double the correct price. He invited us into his house, which, as we suspected, turned out to be the usual carpet-selling routine, but we did get two nice glasses of refreshing mint tea, which made up for the extra 10 Dm we paid for transport.
In the late afternoon we visited the local kasbah, about the only site of interest to tourists in Oazazate itself. We had a few problems losing guides and the usual invitation to see the view from the terrace, with all kinds of handicrafts along the way and the corresponding pressure to buy. Actually it was an interesting old synagogue and the Tuareg man that showed us around was pleasant and polite right to the end, even when we showed no interest in buying anything.
We had lunch and dinner at the same place as last night, where we had met a chef from another restaurant eating. I had very nice lemon chicken and delicious lemon-flavoured yoghurt. Yoong had brochettes with rice. Servings were small and the bread wasn¡¦t fresh, but it was quite good value. We¡¦ve been buying hot bread from a nearby bakery anyway.
Monday June 2
We had breakfast at our usual restaurant. Not bad, with orange juice and omelette. We then got the bus all the way to M¡¦Hamid and got talked into an overnight jeep excursion to the desert. This was 650 Dm that we did not expect to spend and Yoong¡¦s watch, my shorts and several other items of clothing. The starting price was 850 Dm per person, which some people really do pay. They have three customers already so they are doing okay.
The bed here is cheap and grubby. Not much choice. We do have a shower and toilet attached, not always a good thing. We have put some Tide in the toilet so it doesn¡¦t smell too bad. The shower is just a trickle, but then what can one expect in the desert? We had a few glasses of mint tea with Ali, our host, and shared a tajine. It¡¦s actually quite pleasant up on the terrace. Ali and Najib (the other guide, who runs the hotel) sleep out there, not in the rooms, as they are too hot. Yoong did not sleep at all, due to the tea.
Tuesday June 3
We bought hot bread straight from the oven for breakfast, with the olives we bought yesterday. We were offered four-wheel drive trips for even more than Ali¡¦s opening price. We have met the people coming with us, a French couple and a Canadian guy who we had met in Marrakesh. They do seem to have paid the full 850 Dm per person, so we have got quite a good deal. We have, of course, promised not to reveal what we are paying to the others.
Wednesday June 4
The trip to the desert was a wonderful experience. The track was almost invisible but Ali is a skilful driver who knows the desert well. He should too. He was born there and lived there for fifteen years before coming to M¡¦Hamid on the edge of the Sahara. He speaks good French and English and is an interesting conversationalist when he is not trying to sell something. We stopped for a while at an oasis and reached the large dunes in time for sunset. Yoong did not attempt the climb but I joined the others and struggled to the top to watch the sun go down. It was quite exhausting and the wind was getting stronger and blowing up a small sandstorm. But it was a beautiful view seeing the sea of dunes stretching away into the horizon. We had a delicious dinner under the stars ¡V Moroccan salad, harira soup, a big tajine and fruit. After dinner we listened to Bedouin songs accompanied by drums by various family members. We had a choice of sleeping out under the stars or in a Bedouin tent, which is actually a mud-brick structure with a canvas roof, very spacious and comfortable. We and the other couple took a tent each. The single people slept under the stars. We slept well and, after the standard breakfast, took a different route back to M¡¦Hamid. The shower at the hotel was very refreshing. It was nice to wash off the sand. We both agreed this was one of the best experiences we have ever had together. We were very pleased we were talked into doing it.
We got a grand taxi to Zagora where we are now stuck waiting for another taxi to find enough passengers to make the trip to the small town of Tazzarine, obviously not a popular destination, but halfway to Rissani. We have waited about two hours already. Maybe we should have skipped lunch as there was a taxi about to leave when we arrived here. Lunch was a chicken tajine, quite nice but it came covered with chips and with an extra plate of chips. They also included a nice salad and we had an orange juice ¡V all for 25 Dm (less than A$5).
It would have been better to spend a night in Zagora, rather than wait for the grand taxi. There seemed to be good cheap accommodation. In Tazzarine there is a bit of a monopoly on hotels. There are only two and they are both branches of Bougafer Hotel. They wanted 150 Dm for an admittedly nice room, but without en-suite or even a washbasin. We managed to persuade the manager that 100 Dm was a fair price, provided we kept it secret.
There seems to be a severe water shortage here. They had to turn it on before we could shower and the restaurant we ate at gave us water in a bucket to wash our hands. Fortunately we took 20 litres of water with us to the desert and it turned out we didn¡¦t need quite that much, so we¡¦ve still got plenty of drinking water. Normally we drink tap water but we were told not to in M¡¦Hamid and were dubious about the Ouzazate water too. We may have to buy bottled water until we get back to Fez.
Thursday June 5
We got the bus to Rissani, after an interesting morning walk through the mud-brick village in the palmeries. We also did half an hour of expensive internet, and found two important pieces of news waiting for us. Kit and Fiona have at last got engaged. Kit¡¦s last message was ¡§Don¡¦t you even care?¡¨ as we had not had access to internet for a while. The other news is that our friend Shamim, in Brunei, is very sick with some kind of pneumonia. It is very worrying, given the state of Brunei¡¦s health system, as it sounds quite serious.
In Rissani we were approached by someone who told us a grand taxi was about to leave for Merzouga. We thought we might as well get there rather than spend a night in Rissani, so we followed him. He took us to a caf? where he said to wait while he got the taxi. He then showed up with a photocopied page of Lonely Planet and said we could go to Hamada, which was given a good review in the book. We agreed to see it. There seemed to be another man involved who was recommending another place. Eventually the first man introduced us to Ali, who would take us to his share taxi. It was quite a long walk from the caf? to the taxi stand, and I did wonder why he couldn¡¦t have picked us up from there. The taxi left before filling up, which was also a bit suspicious. On the way, Ali showed us a card with his family auberge and suggested we have a look at it. If we didn¡¦t like it we were ¡§free as a bird¡¨ to go elsewhere. We agreed to look at it as well as others, assuming we were also headed for Hammada. When the taxi went past the turnoff to Hamada, I should have started asking questions. We eventually arrived at Ali¡¦s place, Auberge Soleil Bleu. When the driver started unloading our bags from the boot we insisted he leave them there as we just wanted to look at the place and then go elsewhere. We saw a room, which was cheap, and the menu, which was expensive, as we expected it would be at all these places. In the meantime we realised the taxi had unloaded our bags and driven away, leaving us stranded there. Ali feigned surprise, running out as if to call it back. He told us the driver was just delivering another passenger to his home and would come back. In the meantime he gave us the usual mint tea. We told him we wanted to see Hammada, which was where we thought the taxi was going to take us. Eventually he told us Hammada was too far and that it was only accessible by four-wheel drive. By now it was quite obvious that there had never been any intention of taking us to Hammada. We insisted on at least seeing some other places ¡V maybe in the village, where he had told us his auberge was. Despite his assurance that the taxi was coming back and offers of discounts, free transport back in the morning, etc., we had had enough of his tricks, so we started walking out to the village, which he said was very close. Another man ran up and told us the village was four or five kilometres away ¡V too far to walk. We then thought the best idea was to head for another nearby auberge and work things out from there. Ali followed, offering even better prices and telling us the other place was very expensive, but we continued on to the Kasbah Tsiri where we eventually decided to stay. We ended up with a basic room on the terrace, and negotiated a meal for 50 Dm, which turned out to be very good ¡V a delicious (cooked) regional salad and kalia, a local alternative to tajine and couscous. We managed to ¡§share¡¨ a menu, and not take dessert (orange and melon). We have learnt that a shared menu is always enough for both of us and probably not very different from the amount we would get if we both paid for a meal each. You will never be served an insufficient amount of food in Morocco.
We went for a walk in the dunes while our dinner cooked and saw a caravan of tourists in the distance, gradually riding towards us. When we returned we found that three young travellers had arrived with their own car. They were sleeping on the terrace for ten dirham each. They were good company and there was the usual musical session before dinner (with real drums this time). It was a very pleasant evening so things turned out well after all. We even managed to exchange one of our books.
Friday June 6
We got up early and the auberge called a share taxi for us. They then changed their mind and said if walked to the village it would be quicker to get a taxi. Up until now they had agreed we could find transport direct to Erfoud, which would enable us to see the big dunes on the way. We ended up in a carpet shop, the real reason for taking us to the village, while we waited for a bus to Rissani (There was no transport to Erfoud) which would cost 10 Dm each.
When they were not in selling mode, our guide, Mohammad, and the shop man were fun to talk to. Mohammad has been married for a year and has one child. The other man said in ten years Mohammad will have ten children. Mohammad agreed, as he and his wife love to "make couscous" all the time. He is not interested in having more than one wife as he couldn¡¦t cope if they are all like her. The other man will only marry a local girl. Someone from Casablanca, for example, would just complain about too much sun, too many sandstorms, etc., and he had no interest in marrying a tourist as there would be no cultural or religious compatibility.
Soon after we had extricated ourselves from the carpet-selling situation, the bus was waiting for us and we had a comfortable ride to Rissani, where the driver demanded 20 Dm each. We told him we had been quoted 10 Dm and eventually compromised by giving him 30, a lot for such a short ride, but less than yesterday¡¦s taxi, which we realised had also overcharged us. We found a local bus about to leave for Erfoud ¡V standing room only. We were quoted 5 Dm each by the driver, but the young man collecting the money only charged us four dirham each, which seemed to be what the locals were all paying. From Erfoud we decided to go to Er Rachidea, as there were grand taxis ready to leave. Once again we were quoted the wrong price (20 Dm each) and refused to leave until they gave us the local price of 16 dm each. By the time we reached Er Rachidea we had had enough of the price hassles ¡V and grand taxis are not comfortable ¡V just convenient ¡V so we found a hotel. We checked the bus station for the next leg of the trip and had a cheap tajine at a nearby restaurant. It came with chips and salad and didn¡¦t look that good, but the meat was all edible and the olives were delicious. The chicken dishes people were eating also looked very good. We are now relaxing in the hotel and planning to explore in the evening when it is cooler.
Sunday June 8
On our way out on Friday we stopped at a small shop near the hotel to see if they could repair the little radio we had bought. The tuner was no longer working. The technician took it apart and adjusted it a few times and managed to get it working, at least temporarily. He told us it was ¡§zero quality¡¨. We got talking and he sent another man out to get Coke for us. He did not charge for the repair job and we had offers from both men to visit their homes. The technician was a young man, Mustapha, who was divorced and lived with his parents. The other was Mohammed, in his thirties, whose wife was a chef to the local governor before marriage, so it was soon agreed we would all have dinner at his house.
The two men showed us around the town and helped us buy a caftan at local price. We were introduced to Mohammed¡¦s wife, Fatima, and their three-year-old son Abdu¡¦Rahman. We were served fresh orange juice and other drinks and given semolina bread with cheese, jam, etc., talked, watched satellite TV and, eventually, after midnight, were served a wonderful meal of salads, olives, brochettes with green beans and potatoes, followed by fruits. Mustapha was an interesting conversationalist but had some strange ideas ¡V for example he didn¡¦t believe Bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks. He also liked to discuss philosophy, the meaning of life, etc. and his French was not quite comprehensible enough for us to follow his thoughts. We found Mohammed easier to understand and converse with. Fatima, his lovely wife, spoke only Arabic, but we felt very comfortable with her. The next morning we all went out for breakfast and we decided to accept Mohammed¡¦s offer to stay with them. We checked out of the hotel and moved the bags to his place, then took a share taxi to the only tourist site in the vicinity, the Source Bleue de Meski, a popular weekend spot with the locals, but also a stop for tour buses in the high season. It was a very pleasant excursion and a local family asked us to join their picnic. (The father was a policeman.) When we went for a walk through the palmerie a little boy followed us despite our insistence that we didn¡¦t want a guide. He made little camels for us by weaving together strands from the trees ¡V quite cleverly done. We had had enough after three ¡§cadeaux¡¨ and gave him a couple of dirham to send him away. Of course, he had asked for a Euro ¡§for his collection.¡¨
The family¡¦s hospitality was a bit overwhelming. They insisted on giving us presents of a beautiful cushion cover and a collection of fossils from the area, which will really weigh our luggage down. Another delicious meal, this time a little before midnight ¡V including rice, to cater for Yoong¡¦s needs, and almonds. As before, it was beautifully presented. The pre-dinner snack also included some bread very similar to the roti canai we get in Asia, and some cakes that we managed to buy for them. We were able to give them some money by insisting that it is Chinese tradition to give money for the child (which is true). We were pleased that they accepted it, for, although doing okay by Moroccan standards, they are by no means well off. As Lonely Planet says, for Moroccans a guest is a gift from Allah. The hospitality is overwhelming. They wanted us to stay longer, leave after lunch, etc., but we wanted to travel before it was too hot, so, after a breakfast of good home-made harira we got the bus to Midelt.
We had a disastrous stop on the way; I was cheated of 5 dm on an orange juice, not a big deal in itself, but it put Yoong in a foul mood for the day, which makes things very unpleasant. We are in Hotel Bougafer, having paid 140 for room, shower and tonight¡¦s meal, which we were asked to order in advance.
We did some e-mailing yesterday ¡V Shamim seems to be recovering okay and is out of hospital, and Kit is upset because we don¡¦t seem excited enough about his engagement. It was very much expected anyway once he had started his job. Yoong is a bit annoyed that he didn¡¦t wait for our return before getting engaged but I think it is reasonable, so long as we are there for the wedding.
Monday June 9
We are in the pleasant little town of Azrou, surrounded by trees ¡V the landscape has really changed! Yoong bought her carpet at last ¡V 130 dm for a small Berber rug. It would cost a lot more in the big cities. There was not much pressure to buy, which was a welcome change.
Tuesday June 10
I¡¦m sick today and will starve at least until tomorrow. We did a day trip to Ifrane, a university town that could be part of England ¡V lots of gardens, ducks on the lake, etc.
Thursday June 12
Back in Fez for the Festival of Sacred Music. Last night we heard a popular singer with the usual backing musicians and singers at Bab Bajlad, the blue gate, a huge square crowded with locals and a sprinkling of tourists. As usual it started a couple of hours after the advertised time of 5.30 p.m. At 11 p.m. we went to the Institut Francais for a female singing percussion group. The Institut is in the Dar Bathra palace, a very grand building and the show (free) included fresh juice ¡V a choice of strawberry, peach and lemon (or mixtures of these). It started half an hour late and we left at midnight as we were worried about being locked out of the hotel. Sure enough, it was locked, but we just had to knock to be let in.
Tonight we went later to the square and found there was either no music or it had finished already. We walked around Fez Eljdid and bought up a few things for dinner ¡V bread, cheese and olives and had them in a cafe, where I¡¦m writing this now.
Lunch today was a pleasant surprise. We had promised the restaurant man we would come for lunch today but turned up a couple of hours late. The tajine was one of the best we¡¦ve had anywhere, for only 25 dm, including a decent salad. Yoong¡¦s fish, chips and rice was just fair at 20 dm. The man gave us tea and sat down and talked to us. He also shouted us a couple of orange juices from the stall across the road. He has worked as a chef in Paris and Munich and is very keen to run a restaurant in Australia. He is trying to persuade us to go into business with him ¡V not something we want to do, but he is an interesting character. He persuaded us to come back tomorrow for his couscous (which is normally made on Friday). He is very proud of his cooking and also of the fact that he charges honest prices, which is very true. Most restaurants that produce a tajine of this quality will charge at least double. The gist of his argument is that it does not cost much to make and the profits are already substantial without needing to rip off the tourists.
We are still suffering from sand-fly bites several days after our visit to the Sahara, which may have lowered my resistance and contributed to my recent stomach problems. We are both a bit tired , which is another effect of sand-fly bites. We spent a lot of time sleeping and relaxing in the hotel in between eating and listening to music. We visited the tourist office today to try to get more information about the music festival but they are as useless as ever. We only know about the nightly programs at the French Institute because we stumbled across their branch in the nouvelle ville where we are staying. Our hotel is Volubilis ¡V a big, pleasant room on the ground floor with toilet and (cold) shower next door. (No smell ¡V very clean.) We negotiated 80 dm per night, which is very good value.
Friday June 13
Our little restaurant lived up to its promise with very good couscous, fish with rice, salad and an eggplant dip made especially for us (by request). Last night¡¦s show at the French Institute was another female percussion group, but the audience this time was very lively, many people getting up to dance, some in quite a frenzied manner. The show at the square this evening had started already when we arrived. First was a group from the South Sahara which got a mixed response from the huge audience. I thought the female lead singer was off-key, though it¡¦s hard to tell with this sort of music. The second group was an immensely popular male quartet, occasionally backed by a couple of female vocalists. It sounded very good to me and the audience loved it. There must have been thousands there, the biggest audience we¡¦ve seen here yet. We found the venue for the main shows, the ones you have to pay for. We hope to go tomorrow night for the anointed Jackson Sisters, a traditional gospel group from the USA. We should see at least one of the International shows. An English tourist said the Whirling Dervishes from Syria were very good. I thought what we saw in Turkey was enough, but Yoong would have liked to see them.
Sunday June 15
It was a very full day yesterday. I managed to find the Palais Juan Hotel and discovered the Ravi Shankar film was to be shown at 10 a.m. I quickly went to the train station to buy our train tickets back to Tangier, went back to our hotel to get Yoong and we arrived just as the film was being introduced. It was an excellent documentary, in English, with plenty of samples of superb sitar music. The director was present and had a question and answer session after the screening. Unless the question was asked in English, he spoke in French, as most of the audience were French-speaking. We then went for lunch at Dar Jamal palace restaurant, which was recommended to us by a Dutch tour guide we met at the Institut Francais. It was also given a reasonable write-up in the Lonely Planet. It was a bit disappointing after the wonderful meals at the little local restaurant. The food was nothing special and it cost a lot more. The one good thing was that we could have wine with the meal ¡V a good half-bottle for 70 dirhams. We were the only customers and we had trouble avoiding touts who wanted to guide us to the palace.
After a rest back at the hotel we went to the Bab Bou Jloud for yet another Arabic music concert ¡V not one of the best we¡¦ve seen ¡V then to Bab Makra for the 9 pm performance by the Anointed Jackson Sisters from North Carolina. It cost 150 dm per ticket but it was worth it for good gospel music, including some old favourites. It was amusing to see ladies in Moslem costume clapping along to songs about Jesus. Did they really know what they were supporting? It would never be allowed in Brunei! Presumably this is the upper class elite, to be able to afford the tickets. Of course there were a lot of tourists in the audience, mainly French. We still had time to catch the final show at the French Institute ¡V two groups of percussion and dance with some trumpet-like instruments as well. It was quite a wild audience, many getting really carried away. It was still in full swing when we left after 12.30 a.m.
Today we did some e-mail and took our bags to the little restaurant for a superb final Fes meal ¡V veal tajine, chicken with rice, mixed salad and two plates of the special aubergine dip that he made ¡§especially for us¡¨, and, of course, the obligatory mint tea, which we would prefer to have missed as we were worried about getting to the train, all for 45 dm ¡V excellent value. We are on the train now, heading for Tangiers. We will really miss this lovely country.
Monday June 16
Back to Pension Playa, where our bag was waiting for us. We are on the ferry waiting for it to leave, a slow ferry unfortunately.
Tuesday June 17
We arrived in Algeciras and had lunch at about 1 p.m. We found out it was actually 3 p.m. as we had forgotten about the time difference. We could not get a train to Barcelona until the next night so we stayed in Algeciras. The hotel was only seventeen euros. A small room, but with a hot shower and toilet en-suite. It was a very interesting shower as it included a fountain that shoots up to wash your nether regions. Meals were very reasonable here ¡V about six euros for a three-course meal, including wine, but Yoong has stomach problems, so isn¡¦t eating much. Algeciras was quite a nice town to spend a day in. We saw a couple of small museums and walked through pleasant gardens. The city square is quite attractive too. We are now on the train to Bobadilla, where we have to wait a few hours for the overnight train to Barcelona.