May 18, 2005
We left about noon for a 4.5 hour sail to Smir in Morocco. We had pretty good winds so we sailed most of the way! Last year when we went to Smir, there was a huge party put on by the owners of the Marina. He had invited all the people from the Spanish marinas that he also owns. It was quite an event and things were hopping. This time, the marina was basically empty and many of the shops were still closed for the season. The armed guards that were there last year (because the King keeps his boat there and he was in town) were nowhere in sight.
We were assigned a slip along the cement cay just behind another boat that had a British flag on it. Steve drives the boat and I first throw the line to the guy on the dock to secure the stern (or do it myself if there isn't a guy to help), then run to the front and do the same. This port had big iron bollard, so I decided the only way to quickly secure the boat was to lasso it - and was successful on the first try. It turns out the 4 men in the British boat had been standing there watching me, wondering what I was going to do. They were all taking a "learn how to sail course" from the organization based in Gibraltar, so they were very impressed.
We had heard good things from Geoff and Anne-Marie, a British couple we met last summer on the north coast of France. They highly recommended we go to Chefchaouen, a town about 1.5 hours from Smir. We jointly arranged a taxi and guide with the Brits in the sailing school. They were doing an overnight sail the next evening so had time for a day trip. We decided to pack light and stay for the night.
According to the Lonely Planet, "Set on a wide valley in the Rif Mountains, charming Chefchaouen has long been a favorite with travelers. "The air is cool and clear; the medina is small and manageable; and there's more kif (marijuana) than you can poke a pipe at." No white visitors had visited the city before 1920. It started as a backpacker's delight, then was discovered by the tourists. All the buildings are painted white with French blue accent color. They say the white makes it cooler inside and the French blue color keeps the mosquitoes away.
Our guide in Chefchaouen was really unique. He was a small, older man with 2 or 3 teeth left, but had an engaging smile and told us all that he was a movie star - he had been in the Lonely Planet's video on Morocco. He gave us an enchanting walk around the town and through the souk, which is one of the UNESCO Heritage Sites. He kept telling us not to walk too fast or we would never get there - wisdom of age, no doubt.
As part of the duties of a guide, they take you to various artists workshops. We told him we had already bought a rug last time in Tetouan so we didn't need to visit another rug guy. We escaped the first rug guy, but then later in the day he insisted that we see this other place, because it really was different. So, we are now the proud owner of one more rug. This one is being shipped to us (we hope) and is pretty unique.
Later that night we went into the souk by ourselves and somehow got totally turned around. A guy offered to help us get back to our hotel, but he took us "the wrong way" so we were really getting concerned - and it was getting really dark. Fortunately, it turned out to be just another way back to the hotel.
We had a great meal included in the room rate - and it even included dessert! Can you imagine - chocolate mousse in Morocco? Well, we later decided that was not such a great idea: raw eggs made into mousse in Morocco. Steve ate all of his and got a bit sick that night. I didn't eat much and was fine.
We were so intrigued by Chefchaouen that we decided that we had to go see Fez, the cultural, religious and intellectual center of Morocco. It was only 5 hours by bus.
The bus ride to Fez was not quite as exciting as driving in China, but it had its merits! No road is really more than a lane and a half wide - and every vehicle seems to want the middle. The bus had a tape player and for 4 hours straight we heard same Morocian music. I'm sure its an acquired taste.
The Lonely Planet Guide for Morocco cautions about getting help or rides from anyone in the bus station, so we had circled about 8 hotels in the Lonely Planet and used our US phone to call for a room. Moroccans speak French as a 2nd language so we did not have to survive on my slowly improving Spanish. The first 7 hotels were booked for the night but we got a hotel right outside the souk. They were quick to arrange a guide to take us the next morning around the souk. The government only licenses a certain number of guides, and will put others in jail for pretending to be guides. We heard later that the police in Tetouan went to Fez last year to help them crack down on people who were harassing tourists by pretending to be guides. Tourism is a big business in Morocco.
The medina (souk) "is one of the largest living medieval cities in the world. Its narrow winding alleys and covered bazaars are crammed with every conceivable sort of workshop, restaurant and market ..." It dates back to about 800A.D. There are about 9400 twisting alleys, blind turns in the souk. The guide took us to the tanning pits, the embroidery shops and one last carpet shop. Yes, they were nice but NO MORE CARPETS!! We also bought some great dates and dried apricots at the same stand that the President of Morocco shopped at.
After the guide left us at lunch, we came back to the hotel, then ventured back into the souk for a few hours later that afternoon. Hotels don't seem to take credit cards here so we had to find the money card machine inside the souk that the guide had taken us to earlier in the day. We knew we were leaving the next day, but didn't have enough $$ for the 2 nights stay plus meals. Imagine a place over 1000 years old that still has the same tanning pits that have been used since in 800AD now also having a money card machine and stores that sell cell phones. When we asked several people where the money card machine was, it seemed only the younger people understood what we were talking about - a machine that gives you money?
When we arrived back to the sailboat the next day, we found the wind was in the right direction for a fast sail back to Spain so we decided to leave now. We alternated 2 or 3 hour shifts: 2 hours watching the radar for traffic and adjusting the sails, then 2 or 3 hours sleeping. We call it "hot bunking" because the bed is warm when its your turn to sleep. There was a full moon and a cloudless sky so it was a beautiful night. We have a kitchen timer that we set for 15 minutes to make sure you check the radar and the gauges (and don't fall asleep). On Steve's late night watch, there were so many container ships zipping by that he changed the timer to every 10 minutes so we could be sure and get out of the way in time.
We had wanted to get further but the wind had changed into a nasty headwind, about a force 6 so we settled into a small harbor called Adra at about 6 the next night. Its basically a fishing harbor so we had to tie off next to a Dutch boat. We did some quick shopping then came back to the boat. That night we both got very sick. We later decided it was the dates we had bought in Fez. There were lots of flies on them, and we didn't wash them. Steve ate more than I did and got a lot sicker than I did. Our one bathroom boat was a bit crowded that night. The next morning the marina wanted us to move to the commercial end of the harbor, but, while there a tug boat hit us (no damage) and we were rafted 4 deep and the wind was building.
Steve was still feeling bad, but I convinced him we had to leave the harbor and motor to Almerimar - just 8 miles up the way. I really didn't think the wind was that bad yet, but once we got out of the harbor, it was ugly. The headwinds slowed us to 3 knots at times so getting to the lighthouse took forever. We did learn an important lesson that day: We keep the line for the main sail on the floor by the wheel so it can be easily fed out. We didn't have the sail up but I was considering putting it up. Next thing I knew, a wave somehow got the line into the water and 40 feet of line was trailing behind the boat. The number one thing to be careful of is wrapping a line around the propeller and losing the engine. Without an engine on that day with both of us not feeling great would have been a big problem. Fortunately we got lucky and learned that lesson very well. Almerimar is a real marina town with real berths and was worth the trip. We're spending the day recovering from Morocco. Next time we're in the area, we want to go to Marikesh. It was an 8 hour bus trip from Fez, and we just felt that was a bit much. Next time.