Monday, November 23, 2009

Quick Stop in Ouazzane

After a few days in Tinerhir I was eager to head north to Meknes. I took the only available bus at 5:30 in the morning heading through the Atlas mountains. The bus weaved through the varying rich landscapes of Morocco. We started on the edge of the desert brush into the rocky Atlas hills. We continued on until we rolled into a lush green valley. The green valleys elevated again and I saw the first glimpse of evergreen trees in Morocco. Shepherds and nomads speckled the fertile landscape as the bus rushed on stopping at random villages to fill its seats.

I arrived in Meknes the imperial city at around 3:30 in the afternoon. I was tired and eager to find a bed for the night. I wandered to the budget hotels and they were all full for the weekend. I wandered the Medina looking through the Riads but the prices were heavily inflated due to the tourists. I had lunch, regrouped and realized I had seen enough of Meknes. It was a shame to skip the ancient ruins of Volubulis but I had enough of the touristy scene. I set my sights on Chefchaouen in the rif mountains.

I waited another 2 hours at the shared taxi station for a taxi to fill up going north. In the end I could only manage to find a seat going to Ouazzane. I traveled for another 2 hours in a shared taxi of 6 people. I arrived in the darkness and wandered the streets of dusty Ouazzane until i found a bed at Hotel la Poste. After traveling for 16 hours and through hundreds of kilometers, I was happy to catch some sleep.

The next morning I took these shots at Cafe la Poste of some of the locals and the shopkeeper.




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