Continuing Morocco Story....

I realized I didn't finish my story about Morocco cause my eyes hurt. The main thing I wanted to blog about was our bus ride from Fez to Tangier (the port town). I think I'll just copy what I wrote in my journal...

After we had finished exploring the Medina in Fez, we took a taxi to the train station. By the time we got there we had NO money left and looked for a bank. All of the banks were closed and we were so hungry and must have appeared desperate enough that a kind shopkeeper accepted our mismash of euros and dirum coins in exchange for a pack of Spanish cookies and a liter of water. Once on the train, we found a car with two women and two men. The moved their stuff around and in the end we all fit comfortably. I drank a little water and from the looks on the other people's faces I could tell that they couldn't drink as well as aeat until sunset (because it was the holy month of Ramadan). So Chrissy and I waited to eat or drink, and just as the sun began to disappear on the horizon the whole compartment sprung to life. Immediately everyone offered their food to eachother and our simple dinner of bread and cookies turned out to be much more balanced. Well maybe not. The cute guy (lol I didn't know his name so Chrissy and I deemed him "cute guy") gave me cookies and the young girl dates. The woman offered us orange juice and some of her cake. It was an amazing experience to break fast with a wonderful group of Muslims during Ramadan.

After dinner I fell asleep and Chrissy read her book, when all of a sudden we stopped and the woman and cute guy asked us if we were going to Tangiers. We said we were and they beckoned for us to follow them. Mind you they spoke French and Arabic and us English and Spanish. Chrissy and I were surprised because we knew we weren't supposed o arrive in Tangiers until 11:15 and it was only 6:45. We blindly followed until they led us to a bench on another platform. The woman refused to take the only available seat and insisted I take it. We spent the next hour there until the train arrived and they found us all a compartment. We all settled in and talked a little. When I say talk I mean we communicated through body language, gestures and the small amount of English the woman knew. It turned out the man was in Fez on business and the woman was visiting a friend. the guy had a serious crush on Chrissy. When we asked the soman if she was married (she had a ring) she said yes and asked about Chrissy and I. When the guy heard Chrissy had a boyfriend whom she used gestures to say she love, he asked, "you love him a little or a lot?" unfortunately for him, the answer was a lot.

So when the guy got off at a stop before Tangiers, it was then that we realized the two weren't married to each other. The woman found that hysterical. When we commented (after he left) that the man was cute, she proudly replied, "Yes, but my husband is very very beautiful!"

We end dup having to change compartment sa few times, but we never knew why and couldn't get a straight answer out of the conductor. We tried to asks and the woman giggled. We notices she just obediently accepted the fact that we needed to change compartments without questions and I think she found our tenacity funny.

My journal ended here, but what happened was that when we finally arrived in Tangier (not a very safe city) at 12 midnight we still had no money, no idea where an ATM was, and no money to pay for a hostel. The prospect of sleeping in the train station was quickly becoming a reality. Just as we were exiting the station however, I spotted a small MAC and rushed to that little piece of technology overflowing with relief. After getting out some cash, the woman took us out to the curb and helped secure us a taxi. We hugged goodbye and with the help of providence we were fast asleep in less than half an hour.

The next day was a crazy trip back to Madrid, and in no way simple. Here's what I wrote in my journal...

We arrived in Tarifa (Spain) in only 40 minutes. There were 2 cabs waiting outside and they were immediately filled. So we tried to walk to the bus station. We asked directions every few minutes because we could only understand the first part of everyone's instructions. (We ended up spending 25 minutes walking in a complete circle!) When we finally arrived at the station just on time the attendant informed us he only excepted cash and we were short. The only ATM was back at the entrance to the train station!! The bus was due to arrive any second and the attendant said I'd never make it back in time. (However, if we didn't make this bus, we would miss our connecting train and not be able to return to Madrid until the next day, and subsequently miss class) I threw my luggage down and sprinted in my Jeans, and dirty donkey poop covered shoes a half mile to the MAC. I ran back, which was considerably harder and complete the whole run in under 7 minutes. Tash would be proud. As i approached the station I saw the bus had arrived and about to leave. I quickly begged the driver not to leave and ran into the ticket office, cash in hand, to find a very surprised attendant. He didn't think we would make it, but I was sure that if God had gotten us this far he would get us ont hat bus. All I need to do was run. Running is not a simple task for me.

We settled in on the bus and after a few local stops the passengers consisted of travelers under the age of 25, most backpacking. I felt as if I had finally been initiated into this secret society I have so longed admired. I could now boast, os so nonchalantly, of all the cool places I've traveled (not with family, school, or a tour). I felt cool. Really cool.

Well, after bask in in my coolness, I realized we had arrived in Sevilla one and half hours late. We had 20 minutes before our train ride home left, and we had to get from the bus depot to the train station. We caught a cab and while Chrissy worried I mused over the coolness of my backpack. We arrived with time to grab a snack and got on the train just before it pulled away. It turned out not to be just any ordinary train, but the exclusive, and expensive, AVE train. It was a very sweet ride, exactly what we needed.

the end