10 December, Meknes - Fes (65 klm,1h ), Fes - Midelt (200klm, 3.5h)

 After a really big breakfast, off we go to visit Fes and it's famous tanneries!

It's a rainy morning we are afraid that we will see Fes in the rain, but it stopped when we arrived.

We go to the parking and there are guys that offer to take you on a tour in the tanneries. We are ok, we know that we have to pay for the parking, pay for the visit and buy something at the end of the visit.  

We follow the guy that explains they still use ammonia and pigeon shit (??) to clean the skins. They also use curcuma, safran, and other natural colours to colour leather. The rain has dimisished the hiddeous smells of the tannery. There are so many people that work here, at the labyrith of this ancient factory... 

After paying the guy for the visit, buying some stuff in the shop, paying the parking guy and paying another guy who just told us where the parking is and came with us to be sure he will get a little something for doing nothing, off we went to see the medina, the Fes market. 

Fes has 16 different gates and it is absolutely sure that you will get lost.

After paying the guy in the second parking, he came with us to show us the way to the market. We only had to keep in mind the name of the gate so we could take a taxi back if we got out from another gate.

More spices, more fruit and vegetables, more clothes, more of everything. 

Everytime you make a turn, the product changes, from meat, to vegetable, to fruit, to clothes, to souvenirs, to wood, to metal, to leather.... There is an organisation in the chaos.   

We came out of this wonderful gate and it was a 15 minute walk to get to our gate. Instead of getting a taxi, we decided to walk on the outside of the gates. It was a wonderful decision because from a distance we saw the vastness of the city of Fes. The sun came out so it was really a nice walk. 

Here is asmall video I made of the tannery and the medina in Fes.

After this lovely visit in Fes, it's time to take the road to Midelt. Crazy morrocan driving, befoore we hit the road in the mountains. World cup obliged, everyone in Morocco is football crazy. So there are flags everywhere. Another thing that strikes me is that even the red lights are in arabesque mode. 

The rain starts again and there is fog around the area of Ifrane, a western city in the Atlas mountains that is the Mont Blanc of Morocco. The buildings are like in the North of France, we feel like being in Europe. Here is the biggest Cedar forest in Morocco. It is eerie and out of this world. 

At some point we are driving and K. tells me "I saw a monkey!" Whaaat? A monkey? In the cedar woods? Yes we saw them! Too scared to get out of the car, we photograph them from a distance. They are so cute and fluffy and they just look at you! I don't think I ever saw a monkey before! Especially in its natural habitat... The photos are really really bad, but they are my photos and they will always be in my heart and in my memory.

This is a video I made on the road to Midelt. Hope you enjoy it.

We arrived at Midelt late in the afternoon. I searched for the hotel in the application maps.me but I did not find it. I found another one 3 hours from Midelt. We start looking around but we cannot find it. We try the traditional way of finding things: ASKING! 

There is this guy on our car window. He is dressed as a Berber, head piece and cloak. Yes he knows where the hotel is but he does not want to say where, unless 

a. we give him money

b. we go at his house because he supposedly has an artisan association and he needs some publicity.

We are really tired from the road and we don't want to go at this place. He is clinging on our open window and does not want to let us go. K. is very polite and I don't understand why he does not move the car to leave this guy. I try to make signs to make him start the car. He finally starts the car.

It is not over. 

Morocco just won a very important football match and EVERYBODY starts going out and sceaming with joy for their victory. 

We drive around but don't find everything.

Tears start building up in my head.

We are lost, we are tired, nobody wants to help us, the streets are clogging up with people, I don't have any internet. I regret deeply not having bought a sim card yesterday. 

Tears start running down my cheeks. I am in total panic.

K. keeps his calm and tries to take me out of my crisis and tells me I need to be an adult.

We are in front of the police house and the roundabout in front of us has an giant apple in the middle. 

We call the hotel. The guy tells us we are just there, we just need to go around the roundabaout and turn left.

Meanwhile the crowd starts thickening. All the Midelt poeple with all their cars are out and they are screaming, honking, running, being happy.

I gather myself and we start going around in circles. The night is coming. Streets are either closed by the police to help the crowd celebrate, or clogged by people who want to celebrate their victory.

My sense of orientation is exellent, always, so I give K. directions. After driving in the parallel, less crowded streets, I see it in front of me. I had seen pictures and I recognise the hotel. WE ARE SAVED.

We leave the car, take our luggage, congradulate the Moroccan guy in the reception. 

He offers us mint moroccan tea to welcome us.

The room door closes behind me and I break down in tears in the arms of my K.

I am mad with rage and panic. WHY DID I FUCKING NOT BUY THIS FUCKING SIM CARD? Why did I let myself get lost? How could I not anticipate? 

This moment of total dispair.

He calmly explains to me that not only we were lost, not only he was driving in a crazy country for hours, not only he was tired, he also had someone at this side who was losing her shit and crying. 

I have this conversation with him, but I am really having a conversation with myself. 

Rather screaming than conversing...

At first I said it was he who made me not buy this sim. We are in an unknown country, we don't speak the language, whenever we ask a question at somebody they try to scam us... The least I could have is a bloody sim card to be able to speak with my friend google. 

Slowly I turn things towards myself. Am I really not capable of getting lost? Am I really unable to ask for directions? Am I really that dependent of this google shit? 

No. I'll rise above the situation, stop crying and screaming and be an adult. 

I never got this sim card. 

The rest of the trip was a conscient decision to be prepared in advance. 

From now on we checked that the next hotel was included in maps.me. 

This was one of the strongest emotoinal moments of the trip. 

My man always stays calm when I have moments like that. He lets me have my crisis an talks to me. I really can count on him when I lose my shit and I can count on myself to quickly analyse my emotions and my situation and calm myself down. We are a very strong team.

After this rollercoaster of emotions, we need to eat.

The guy from the hotel sends us at the restaurant called Merzouga Restaurant (no he didn't ask for a tip, ouf) just down the street.

Midelt is at a 1500 altitude so it's cold! 

This restaurant is really typical with a very atypical guy! He is called Cherif, and he stole our hearts. I was "the gazelle" K. was "le roi". We ate tajuine made by his wife and sweets made by his mother. When we asked to pay, he said he wanted 15 euros for the meal. We gave him a lot more of course and finished this weird amazing day with a smile. Tomorrow is a brand new day!