So when we were in Moulay Yacoub, I had a posted a picture of the sunset. One thing we have enjoyed being here is that with the extreme amount of dust, there is a long while the sun is viewable with the naked eye as it's setting. This time when we were watching it, we noticed a faint dark spot on the lower hemisphere that we sort of assumed was a sunspot, but we were also in disbelief since we did not think one could be so big that we'd notice it just with our naked eye. Since it wasn't moving through the atmosphere and continued to be in the same place on the sun as it was moving down, we couldn't imagine it'd be anything else. Finally last night we looked up the latest space weather to see if anything had been occurring, and sure enough, we found out that July 11-12 was sunspot 1520 (and minor spots 1519 and 1521) and it was indeed what we had witnessed.

My camera/lens was too weak to capture it, but Jake's pictures are definitely evidence:

It certainly seems to be a peak in activity lately for flares and sunspots, though I keep reading that the height is still expected in 2013. I am even more excited about our planned Alaskan cruise for some spectacular Aurorae pictures! Maybe I'll even be lucky enough to have a telescope by then to take awesome sunspot pictures or planetary nebulae and the like. One can dream... 

So we finally figured out our next leg of the trip and booked our tickets until then. We still have about 3-5 days to play with, but it goes like this:

We're slowly working our way toward the Mediterranean, there are two other towns after Chefchaouen we would like to see - Tetouen and Tangier. We have been spending 2-4 days in each place, but because we have some time to kill, we may spend 4-5 days in each of those towns (they sound way cooler anyway). We also extended our time in Chef a day (as well as got here a day later than we wanted due to our bus from Fes selling out before we got tickets that day). It's very easy to spend a ton of time here though, I could probably even live here the town is that adorable.

Then we'll cross the Gibraltar and see what Spain has to offer. We originally had about 2 weeks to prolong, so decided to fly to Barcelona for one of those weeks and couch surf. Then when we get back to Gibraltar, we head back down to Casablanca since that airport had the cheapest fares to other places.

Next we spend 3 weeks in Tunisia, hopefully spending the entire time tanning on the beach. This puts us at the end of August when we'll fly to Egypt from there. We didn't want to spend a lot of time in Egypt since we heard it's so harsh there with tourists and getting ripped off left and right and trying to get you to buy shit - basically Marrakech x1000. Otherwise, all the people we have talked to who came to Morocco from there said it was a pretty awesome place with lots to see. We're going to try to see the usual: pyramids, Luxor, sphinxes, etc etc, but I don't know if I can handle the people that long. I hate haggling for every little thing and still overpaying because we're not from there. It's quite tiring.

Then September 5th is our flight booked to Johannesburg, South Africa. We wanted to wait until September to go due to weather, which is why our timing is a bit weird and we even have "days to kill." There's not much else we want to do in Morocco, we can't go across Algeria and Lybia, and Europe is expensive as shit, but Tunisia looked pretty sweet, and while we didn't intend on 3 weeks there, it was that or Egypt, and I've said how I felt about that, so....

It looks like I'll be spending my birthday in Egypt this year, and though I'm apprehensive about dealing with hagglers the whole time, I'm hoping for some birthday luck and to see some cool shit that day.  

I woke up craving this song, though video wise, I'm partial to the song Islands.

The night of the restaurant in Fes, we called Peace Corps John about seeing his village, Moulay Yacoub the next day. He said we were still invited and gave us directions on how to get a taxi there. So the next morning was a mission in itself trying to get a taxi at the right price, but with the Arabic word for 10 that John told us, it was done eventually.

We show up, John meets us and we're taken through a quaint town that's nothing but a maze-work of stairs and switchbacks. We're brought inside his host family's house where he spent weeks first training with Peace Corps to set our stuff down and meet some of his host brothers and sisters. They know very little English and we rely on John to do some translating, but desperately wanted to speak ourselves. Even with the huge communication barrier, it's so easy to see how much of a joy they are to be around and we loved giggling and trying to pick up on what little we could (failing miserably of course).

Then we're shown around town a bit and soon decide on lunch. I told myself small meals only, as Moroccan food seems to surprise you with how ridiculously over-filling it is, but make the mistake of ordering a full meal anyway. I actually ate more than I expected, but it turned out to be a good idea since afterward we were rewarded with two pretty healthy hikes up their somewhat steep hills. The afternoon was spent enjoying the scenery, taking pictures of the town from a good perch, and taking advantage of the good weather and new company.

The evening we were invited to stay the night and were lucky enough to have a supper with John's host-father and the few siblings that wanted to join us. We ate homemade bread that was the most delicious we had with jam and olives and of course, sweet mint tea. Conversation flowed easily enough picking up on various body language and broken English with translations from John where needed. Muhammed, John's host-father, was one of the most enjoyable people to spend time with. He's very intelligent with experience in a lot of different fields. He had a superb sense of humor with his knowledge-base, and smoked hash nonstop the entire night. John helped us with a few key words and phrases to remember for future reference and combined with the siblings few English words, we had a really great time hanging out and exchanging.

We felt so fortunate to take up John's invite and most of all I hope to have many more similar experiences along our trip.

Of course I wait a few days to write and forget everything. This place is such an assault on the senses, it's overwhelming most times.

I have been loving Morocco so far, but Fes was a rough spot on me. We reluctantly left our beloved Marrakech Rouge hostel in the morning to catch a 7-hour train ride to Fes the morning I was feeling better from my dehydration hangover. Ali wished us luck on our travels and we hugged everyone we met, hoping to one day cross paths agian.

After killing some time at one of the cafes at the station (addding to my relentless love for espresso) we board and as we were looking for a seat, are asked behind us if we happen to be American. Since the accent of the asking was American, we said yes (otherwise we're Canadian from here on out!!) and we all agreed to sit with eachother for company on a very long ride.

Queue John, a peace corps volunteer from Austin, Texas. Super cool guy, we definitely enjoyed sitting next to him and striking up conversation throughout the journey. I'm always curious to know more about the peace corps, feeling like I'lll allways keep it an option, but most of me realizes it's not the most viable for me. However, that doesn't stop me from asking a million and one questions, to which John didn't seem to perturbed to answer.

Before deboarding, we're invited to his village he's on his way to as well as the possibility of a party on Friday. I was pretty excited to have more genuine conversation with people out and about as well as more Moroccans, and was therefore looking forward to time spent in Fes, hoping it would draw us in to stay as late as Friday. Things didn't work out so well, and we didn't so much enjoy our two-night stay there as it was. The hostel was okay, called Funky Fes, but the whole mood of the town and hostel was a bit... Dreary I guess. Our walk from the cab ride felt like walking on an empty movie set, and once inside the hostel, nobody was really around and the guy checking us in spoke so quiet, it only added to the desolate feeling of the place. We got to our room and too tired to be our normal social selves with our dorm-mates, and decided to go see the town a bit before crashing (the train didn't get in till close to 9pm, which is early, but after a long ride, I was a bit wrecked). 

Our time on the street was no more inviting and after an irritating encounter with a drunk asshole who seemed to hate on Americans with an equally jeering crowd, I was ready to call it a night and write off Fes completely.

The next day, I was hesitant to go out at all and as we lied around trying to figure out the best way to kill time, two friends from Marrakech Rouge popped in. Sofia the Swede and another American came and was looking at the rooms deciding to stay there or not. I was overjoyed to have more people, and especially from le Rouge since everyone who passes through there are so awesome!! So we invited them on a mission to look for dinner and they accepted, allowing me to feel a little less awkward with more of an entourage in the souqs. 

Finding the restaurant area in the Medina was a task, but it was fun trucking around in some generalized direction until we finally stumbled upon it. In the square, we were immediately bombarded by every single restaurant in the area shoving menus in our faces "Eat here! Eat here!" even though the menus were identical and prices as well. So we told them their prices were too high and finally one of them agreed to a price we were thinking of. We ended up being very happy with oour decision as the little English he knew, he used very humorously, and the four of us had one of the best dinners in a long time. 

We decided to walk back a different way, since the other two were taxied around a bit and figured a more direct route back to our hostel. Our journey sort of turned dark, however, not only because it was night, but because we're foreigners lost in neighborhoods down some cramped alley ways that were not lined with street lamps. We kept pursuing, though, and though it was a little nerve-wrecking, I didn't mind since we were four-strong, and Jake and I alone probably could have handled quite a bit ourselves. When we finally emerged after a long while holding our breath, we were emptied onto a street without any idea where. We were rewarded seconds later when we turned a corner and realized we were just steps from our hostel! Oh the luck.

The next morning was our last, and after a shitty breakfast that solely consisted of bread, I was happy to high tail it out of there and change my mood around.

I should probably give Fes another chance sometime, as I think this trip was a mixtuure of timing issues. I had taken the malaria pill that day, and the day of those pills I tend to be worse off than usual, causing me to feel anxious and generally irritated which isn't helped by a usual lack of sleep as well. I also haven't been doing as well as I thought I would with the constant moving around every few days, but at the same time, I was already expressing that attitude back in the states with my latest Cali trip taking all the fun out of day tripping for short bursts. I guess I'm just not about short adventures anymore, at least for a long while. I thought maybe internationally I would be like my old self in that area, but apparently not, and this leaving where we are every 2-4 days has been taking its toll on my stress levels. I think I keep crossing my fingers we'll find a fun, cheap place that makes us want to hang out for a few weeks.... Maybe Tunisia?

We stayed in Essaouira for 3 nights, and the day we left to go back to Marrakech, dehydration hit me! I didn't realize I lost so much water since I felt pretty fine up until our last morning when it came very quickly and I spent most of the day puking and laying around. We missed earlier busses due to filling up and couldn't get on until 6pm, which was probably for the better since it gave me most of the day to recover. I still managed to hurl on the bus ride though, but we were only a few minutes from the rest stop and apparently nobody noticed even though I'm pretty sure a gallon of fluids came out of me.

We got back to Marrakech Rouge with some of our new Canouk friends successfully and I was able to feel at home again, passing out in the shisha room while everyone got reacquainted in the common room. I slept throughout the night and come morn was right as rain, though my stomach has felt tight from a lack of food and my back continues to ache when I do anything other than sitting still or laying flat. Because of that, and to plan our few weeks ahead, we decided to stay an extra night and head to Fez tomorrow.

Here are some Essaouira pics from my phone that need editing, but I'm way too lazy for that, plus Jake doesn't stop hovering...

We travelled via bus to Essaouira late yesterday evening and was pleasantly surprised with our decision to come here. Where Marrakech is very in your face and tiring from being defensive, Essaouria is calm and welcoming. I have become even more lax about planning things out and failed to even look for an address or directions to our booked hostel here. However, we were lucky to get on board with some Aussies who were at the same place and all helped navigate the way there. 

Upon arrival, the mood was similar to Marrakech Rouge and we were asked to set our stuff down and relax while they served us tea and welcomed us to the place. The setting was a little more dark and a little more loud than le Rouge, and I feel Hostel Essaouria is le Rouge's dubious brother.

The building is also similar in style, with stairs leading up several floors and indoor balconies where rooms lie on the outskirts and the center is open with no roof. The colors are more muted than in Marrakech but it is very fitting for being on the beach. We're assaulted with whites, tans, deep indigos, and teals. The place adds its own Rastafarian flaire as it is known as a hash-friendly place who have welcomed Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Cat Stevens many years ago.

We hang out with our new Aussi and Irish friends as we drink local beer, tea, and exchange travel tales and laughs.

This morning we're greeted with a standard Moroccan breakfast, eggs and pastries, and decide to walk about the tiny beach town. More pictures are certainly to come, but I decided to snap a few today as we browsed shops and food and contemplated things to buy for the following days.

Walking around is nice, and eventually I'd like to buy some stuff here. We're thinking of sitting in a cafe with gelato and espresso, however, sometimes I don't really know what to do with myself. What do you tend to do when you visit places far from home? Do you always have a purpose? I find it hard to lounge and relax and feel the need to be productive in some way, but how is that accomplished on a glorified vacation? Hmm...

We walked the town today and it was really nice even though it was 110F outside. I was interested in buying stuff but I didn't really see much that I was interested in bartering over, so I passed. Tomorrow we go to Essaouira and supposedly it's a lot more laid back with less people in your face making you buy things. I hope to find souvenirs for Erin there. If not there, possibly Fes.

We popped in and out of the hostel for free tea, water, and cool rooms to rest in. One of the couples we met wanted to go out for tapas and being night time, the city becomes a different atmosphere, so even though we were full from our ridiculously delicious food at Earth Cafe, we decided to go with them to check out the town. But as we were about to leave, Ali comes in and whisks us into the kitchen for a special surprise. A girl and her boyfriend (husband?) came in that day and it happened to be her birthday. So Ali had a cake ready and we were given sparklers to light and sing happy birthday to her. How sweet is that?! The cake was more of a mouse and very chocolatey and delicious and we started a hookah, tea, and a celebration.

So then we go out on the town and enjoyed the night time scene, even though the selling in your face was no less forceful. Food was good and afterward we decided to walk around and take pictures. Now we're back at the hostel, taking more pictures, playing cards, and drinking delicious tea and smoking shisha. The terrace is calling to us, so we may end our night there =)