Thursday, October 28, 2010

Ghost Town Canyon Flood






We took a trip to Aouli Gorge.  It is an old French mining town in the river canyon.  We took two cabs down for the day.  Quite a trip.  Took lunch with us to eat at some remote spot.  The canyon was the nicest spot I have seen yet.  Reminded me of Utah.  The town probably supported a few thousand people in the good times.  Many old buildings and mines dot the canyon walls.  Some people still live in the town, free and mine the area illegally for fossils and gems.  A lot of Azurite, feldspar, quartz crystals, geods, etc.  similar to what came out of Telluride.  They mined silver, copper and lead.  It started to rain so seeing how the river rises quickly in canyons, we left.  On the way out you could see debris in the trees 6-8 feet above the road.  Faster Faster, get out of here.  We made in out of the canyon and stopped at a remote spot for lunch.  Within 15-20 minutes 5-6 guys walked over to us out of no where and wanted to sell us minerals they mined.  Where do these guys come from.  We Were In The Middle Of the Desert.  Looked at the minerals, packed up and left  Took a tour of a very rural old mining town with people still living there.  Nothing to do but sell minerals.  On the way back the river had risen to the point that we could not continue.  We waited for two hours till the rain in the mountains slowed down and the river dropped.  Quite the adventure.  We thought we may need to sleep with local family back in the mining town.  Glad we didn't.  We might have had to marry someone.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Moroccan scrub a dub

I visited a Hummam, public bath house this past weekend.  It was an experience.  There are separate Baths for men and women, of course.  It starts with stripping down to your shorts and going to the sweat room with your water bucket.  The floor is really hot so you need to have sandals.  You stand in the room until sweating profusely then lather up with a special black soap that looks like cat poop.  After you are good and soapy you go into room two.  Here it is not quite as hot but still very humid.  There are no seats.  You wash a place on the floor, all tile, walls too.  You lay down and for 20 Dh, about 2.50 US have the Ksaal (Scrubber man) Do his thing.  They take a special glove like brillo pad and scrub your body very hard.  Ouch.  This gets all the dead skin off you, feels like some of the live skin too.  They get everywhere, legs, arms, back front, face, except the family jewels.  "Hey watch where your going there."  Laying on the hot floor is relaxing but you will not fall asleep, that is for sure.  They flip you over and do both sides.  Then comes the wash down with water.  It is HOT.  OWW-Owww.  I paid for this?  Next comes the second scrub down where they remove all the dead skin from the first scrub.  Then comes the second wash down. The process ends with a bucket bath you do yourself.  It was definitely part of the cultural experience.  I tried to take pictures for you but everyone was yelling at me.  I guess they did not want those on the Internet.  lol.  Well worth the experience.  You feel really good after it is all over.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Life at the lake

Been using the bike to see the area.  Took a cab trip to the Hassan II reservoir and had lunch.  It was very windy but hot.  The dam was built 50 years or so ago and provides irrigation water.  There is a pipe going in to take water to Itzer.  All the Grand taxis here(for out of town travel) are old Mercedes.  They do not leave till they have six passengers, four crammed in the back and two with the driver in the front.  We got dropped off at the lake and told him to return to pick us up at 3:00.  He made it back at four.  Morocco time.  You can swim in the lake in the summer, but the water was too cold when we were there.  Looked like a great place for wind surfing.Jamal our language teacher cooked a great meal over the propane cooker.  We shared it with a local kid who hung around watching us for over an hour till the food was done.  There was plenty so it was good to share.  Seems there is always someone around to help you eat, no matter how desolate the location.

Met some friends at a park on the way back from Azrou.  Better looking than me.  This guy had a couple girls in the trees waiting for him to finish lunch.  On the way back we passed over the mountains and the road had numerous snow fences.  Must get pretty windy and cold in the winter.  Hope I do not get stationed up there.  Along the road you see a lone donkey hanging out waiting for it's owner to come home from the big city and ride back to a tent house back off the road.  Shepherds can be seen out in the plains walking with maybe a hundred sheep.  


Here is our town's main attraction, the big apple.  Look out New York, you got nothing on us.  The town is a major apple growing region.  They used to have festival to bring people in but for some reason it has fallen through this year.  


These are some of the products the artisans in the coop we are working with make.  They are producing embroidery, rugs, stone carvings for a craft fair out of town.  A very talented group.  The key here is going to be focusing on long term goals as opposed to short term payout.  Taking risk is not a part of the culture.
Above is a photo of town from the road South.  Rode the bike out about 40 minutes to a reservoir.  Will continue out the road sometime in the future.  Need to take water.
Went to lunch at some PCV's house in town and had a great Mexican fiesta.  Homemade tortillas.  Just like Mamasita used to make.  Everyone had a great time and we appreciated the time spent with the newbies.  One volunteer is done in November.  The team closing out their service this year are taking a cruise back to the states, Puerto Rico.  The cruise ships leave the Mediterranean summer season for the Caribbean winter season.



Sunday, October 3, 2010

Goats in the belfrey

The other night I heard something in my room early in the morning (2:30).  It sounded like the cat was running around in my room.  I used the light from my phone to see what it was.  No luck.  Saw nothing.  Kept up for an hour or so then got quiet.  Not hearing out of one ear helps you to sleep.  Handy.  The next night it happened again.  No cat.  Started thinking it might be mice or god forbid rats.  Now I couldn't sleep thinking something was going to be running over me in the middle of the night.  How can I catch this rodent.  Come to find out that it was not the cat or rodents.  My host family got two live goats for an upcoming holiday and they have them living in the room above me.  In the early morning they wake up and start jumping around.  Case solved.  I can sleep again.
Thursday I got a treat when the family asked if I wanted to take a hot Doosh (bath).  Absolutely, I have been taking cold bucket baths and my hair looked something out of "Grease".  I went upstairs to the unfinished roof level and there was a wood burning water heater in a tiled room with a floor in the drain.  LET ME IN THERE.  They showed me how to siphon the hot water into a bath bucket, add cold water so I did not burn my butt and I was on my own.  I spent a while in there.  It was like a steam room.  I washed my hair twice.  AAAHHHHH.  They have been holding out on me, or maybe they thought these smelly Americans do not bathe.


Some food shots.  This is what we eat at the Training School (CBT).  We have a cook that makes lunch and two snacks.  I am not lacking for food here.  Have had goat and chicken.  Sheep is not suppose to be as tastey.  Goat is like pot roast.  Most of the meat dishes are cooked in a pressure cooker.  You eat bread of some sort with every meal and snack.  Lots of carbos.
Talk to you again soon.