Into Flemish Belgium

Today we have experienced many forms of transport. In order: taxi, plane, bus, train, train, tram (or trolley), tram, bus, car. And feet. These all happened from 4:15 am to 3:30 pm to transport us from Madrid to Maldegem, Belgium where we will spend the next 2 weeks. The trains in Belgium were clean and fast. People speak Flemish and French. More Flemish where we are. We stored our backpacks (€3.50 for 24 hour locker) at the train station and made time for a refreshment excursion into Gent (or Gand in French).

Gent is a charming college town, hosting an annual 10-day cultural, music and theatre festival, De Gentse Feesten, which is going on now. The plaza surrounded by medieval architecture was festive with music and stands setting up to sell all types of food & beverages, clothes and hats. We heard a cello, accordian, and guitar being played on the street as we wandered by. Lots of homemade ice cream, chocolate, and sweet stands. Apparently Norah Jones and Ornette Coleman beat us here. They played at a jazz festival here just last night! Because of the festivities, the town is somewhat crowded. Still we saw an old 12th century castle, the Gravensteen, and walked the bridge over a canal.

We will be WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms - www.wwoof.org) at Hugo and Rita's farm for the next two weeks. We set this time up with them back in February. There are two other wwoofers: Darrell, a Scotsman studying conservation and Paulo a Brazilian studying in Moscow who are staying in a separate house. We are in the caravan, which is past the rabbits and horses, through a grove of blackberry trees, under grapevines and in the unfinished greenhouse. It is quite cozy and hidden from everything. It's definately the strangest place we've stayed yet, but not the smallest. The table turns into our bed. Andrew has beaten Darrell at chess already; team Stein won the first fuse ball game, too. Woohoo. Both wwoofers are super
friendly, have been here a while, and are showing us the ropes. Rita and Hugo live in an old restored farmhouse, which is attached to the hotel they run for guests. Their daughter who works in Brussels picked us up from the bus station. Their son is studying at the university in Gent. They are friendly and have offered us lots to drink but seem to be very busy. Rita runs the kitchen single-handedly while Hugo runs the farm and garden projects. Both speak very good English. Their home runs 85% on solar power. The whole operation is almost completely self-sufficient using all their fruit, vegetables, and animal products for sometimes as many as 25 guests. We saw chickens, skiddish rabbits, a horse and pony, goats and a handful of baby kittens. Oh, and apparently the rabbits aren't pets! The farm is big and all that we saw was in the immediate surroundings. Lots of trees and flowers, birds and butterflies. It is beautiful. We will
get to discover more of the farm tomorrow. We start the day at 9:00. The environment seems very laid back, yet with a satisfying sense of productivity. We are looking forward to a bit of routine to break up the feeling of perpetual movement.

Gardens and Museums

Today was another day exploring Madrid. Sunday morning lots of shops
are closed. But we found where evryone was. We went back to the park
from yesterday and found an open area with a lake where families
paddled in little boats, a boys´choir sang Spanish acapella, a
saxophone player seranaded people eating ice cream and sipping
coffees, a man made huge bubbles to the delight of squealing children,
and people walked their dogs through tall trees.

We visited the Botanical Gardens, which had a really cool exposition
of bonzai trees, and a greenhouse sectioned into desert, subtropical,
and tropical plants. Then we saw some Spanish greats at the Museo del
Prado, including El Greco, Goya, and Valesquez.

Leaving early tomorrow morning for Brussels.

Madrid

We arrived late last night to Madrid, when the soft golden lights on old detailed buildings looked magical and beautiful. Dropped off our backpacks and went out for a midnight dinner.

This morning we had breakfast at a sidewalk cafe in a big plaza, found an old bookstore (a cat dozed between stacks of books on the front desk) to trade the worn paperbacks we've finished for a couple new worn ones. Pickings were slim, but we came out okay. It doesn't seem as hot here as in Barcelona, but maybe that is because we acclimated to the heat in Moroccan.

On our way back to the hotel for lunch, we passed by a palace and a cathedral. We were almost run over by a mob of about 30 men who had been selling fake Dolce and Gabannas and other high end brands on the streets. At first we thought it was a flash mob, but then saw two policemen following behind. We didn't hang around to see what happened.

Spent the afternoon bewildered and entertained at Madrid's modern art museum, the Reina Sofia. Saw the same artist's poo in the same can as we did in Paris. Many similar pieces and same artists seem to be popping up in these world class modern art museums. The main exhibit featured the New Realism movement. The pieces of this movement were first exhibited between 1957 and 1962. What is shocking to us now must have been truly mind blowing then. It was a great museum. Afterwards we strolled through Parc Retiro where people were jogging, cuddling, and playing horseshoes.

Chefchaouen

Today we traveled to Chefchaouen, a nice little town bordered by the Rif Mountains. The medina here is relaxed and beautiful, full of varying hues of blue against whitewashed walls and red-tiled roofs. It has a distinct Andalusian influence, and Spanish is spoken second after Arabic. We explored the endless alleys and shops selling decorated pottery pieces, woven striped textiles, and colorful leather goods. The alleys open into cobblestone plazas with tress and overhanging grape vines. It will be a nice place to spend our last couple of days in Morocco.

Fes

Old city Fes is an incredible maze of narrow lanes and crowded stalls with semi aggressive salesman yelling that their products are worth a look. We got lost fast, in a good way. It's part of the medina's charm.

The medina is a dream for photographers, with it's faded and muted painted doors and shutters, narrow winding steps, and cast iron creations. We also saw a school and mosque with beautiful tile work and stucco designs. We found a cafe recommended by a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco and drank some delicious iced mint tea.

We've had fun eating cheaply at the hole-in-the-wall places throughout Fes. Favorite dishes include B'sara, a white bean and garlic soup served with a dollup of olive oil and pita bread, a Moroccan soup of beans with a tomato base, makoda, which are fried spiced potato balls, and pita sandwiches made with various fillings. There's lots of Moroccan pastries to choose from or gelato for dessert. Mint tea, cafe au lait, and espressos are everywhere. A couple of times we'd follow signs to a restaurant, turning on alleys off of alleys, winding up narrow stairs, and find ourselves in someone's home.

Highlights of the medina included finding an "industrial center," where we saw the wood being cut and sanded, the leather dyed, huge weaving looms (almost always operated by men), tiles chipped, etc. It was quieter and more removed then expected, a little behind the scenes.

We joined a mass of people huddled out into the streets of a sidewalk cafe to watch the World Cup game around a small TV. Beer is not sold much or at all, so we drank orange juice and mint tea. Most fans were cheering for Spain, which made the game more fun by watching their reactions. Lots of hugging and singing and drum playing exploded afterwards.

We spent today in new Fes, which is completely different. It is more residential and affluent with wide boulevards. It is nice to be able to compare the two sides of Fes and to spend some time in a more, shall we say, relaxed, environment.

To Fes

One of the best smells in Morocco: the piles of fresh mint that permeate the air. We passed mounds of heavy watermellons and slabs of dangling meat on our walk to the bus station in Essaouria. The bus traveled through open spaces of flat arid land on its way back to Marrakech. We then boarded a stifling hot train to Fes in 2nd class.

The heat was oppressive, and everyone was sleepy. It was hard to imagine being a woman here in the heat, covered completely and in layers. We arrived to Fes at 1 in the morning and haggled the price of a taxi down over 50%. Haggling is expected and part of the culture with all unmarked prices. We are staying in a small hotel inside the old city.

We took cold showers to alleviate some heat. A large open window with decorative cast iron burglar bars looks over the flat roofs in the medina. We woke around 4:10 am as the muezzin began his haunting call to prayer. Today we will explore Fes.

Essaouria 2

Kite surfing looks really fun.  We sat by the beach watching them do wind-enhanced helicopter jumps. Essaouria has feral cats and small dogs all over the place.  Not scary dogs, but cute pet dogs.  And no one seems to own them.  They sometimes roam around in packs, their little legs moving like the cartoon Road Runner.  A couple of dogs have dreds.

At the port men sold freshly caught fish to be grilled.   There were fat fish, long fish, silver fish, red fish, blue fish...and eels, huge crabs, and a small shark!

Off to stroll through some art galleries.   Heading to Fes tomorrow.