We had a rough night as Fi had a bit of water belly after drinking some tea made by the hotel that was only luke warm…we don’t think the water had been boiled! So we were up for a walk before our four hour bus ride to Fes.
One of the crew had done the sunset walk to the Spanish Mosque which gave a look back over Chefchaouen and told us it was not as far as had been said. So we decided to take a walk before leaving to get in a bit of exercise.
We retraced our steps from the walk the previous day and then left the Medina to walk the hillside to a mosque that was built by the Spanish and then disregarded when the regime changed (although they appear to be using it again). The walk allowed some wonderful vistas back over Chaouen (as the locals call it). We saw lots of fig trees with fruit, and even tried one or two!
After our walk - which left us lathered in sweat - our bags were collected by porters and we walked the 20 minutes to the bus that was to take us to our next stop - Fes.
We drove through some amazing countryside - very agriculturally based. There appears to have been huge growth due to the man made dams that allow irrigation - lots of olive, apricot, lemon, orange, avocado, watermelon as well as animal farming. It is full on harvest time and the paddocks are being cut and baled and the straw bales are stacked in amazing building like shapes - I was quite mesmerised to see how they did it…about 5 bales wide, and high and probably 10 long. At the top they angle the bales to make it like a pitched roof, and then cover with plastic. I would hate to see what happens if there is a fire as it looks tinder dry.
There were some extremely fertile areas which contrasted greatly with those not so fertile. The barren rocky lands with little soil coverage were sad and desperate. While those that seems to have access to water and good topsoil saw acres upon acres of plantings.
We saw donkeys in use in the fields, on the side of the road carrying bales and lots hobbled and eating wat remnants of vegetation in very rough ground at times. The little villages we passed through seemed very poor….roadside vendors, cafes trying to make money any way they could…thing Vietnam with the food shacks. In the poorer areas you also noticed the rubbish…lots of plastic bags blowing in the drains and untendered ground.
Arriving in Fes, a city of approximately 1 million, it is a stark contrast to the countryside we travelled through around the city. From where we are staying….buildings about 5 stories high line the roads, full on city style…yet a few kms away, rough rural shanty style buildings.
 |
| Looking back to Chefchaouen |
 |
| Zoom in….some famous faces |
 | ||
Long pouring of the   
|
No comments:
Post a Comment