June 4th - 5th: Lazy days, and fresh plans

June 4th - I woke up when the sun shone through the window and the birds sang their songs. Bright and early, refreshed after a proper nights’ sleep in a familiar bed. A shower; a long, hot, shower. That was the order of the day; wash the desert sand out of my hair, the saltwater from Legzira off my feet, and the grime of Agadir from my body. But the shower ran cold … the gas tank needed to be replaced! I had seen men driving carts full of gas tanks all over the medina, but hadn't questioned from where our hot water came! Aziz, my aunt’s handyman, was called; gas tank exchanged, two clean females vaguely resembling human beings emerged. Now for our clothes … I couldn't face the task of hand washing the collective grime from my clothes, and my shoes were in desperate need of a good machine wash - with the hottest water possible, bleach, extra detergent, any and all measures to return them to a wearable state. My items were going to the laundry, no matter the expense!

Over breakfast my aunt casually asked if I could access a train or bus schedule to Fes. My computer has not been fixed, but I have the world at my fingertips on my phone… Why, yes, there is a bus from Essaouira to Marakesh which conveniently connects to the train to Fes. Yes. In the abstract, the trip is do-able.

My aunt does not have a smart phone. I am sure she thinks I spend too much time on my phone: journaling in a word doc then uploading to my blog; captioning photos; creating photo albums;  keeping up with floodplain management and disaster risk management articles, news, and conferences; posting collages of our day and keeping track of friends on FB; writing reviews on Trip Advisor; following colleagues on LinkedIn; making notes of the the things I want to do and see … but I think she's also a little envious of all I seem to accomplish.

We took our laundry to the “pressing” in the medina. They provide a 1-hour rush service, or a 3-hour regular service, and charge by the kg. They wash, dry, and, if so desired, iron your items. They took our clothes, raised an eyebrow at my shoes, and told us they’d be ready that afternoon for the princely sum of $11.00. I felt there wasn't enough soap in the world to scrub the dirt acquired from lunching on building steps and endless waiting in the Agadir bus station. Perhaps not enough soap, perhaps fire was best. $11.00? Done deal.

We marched onwards to the Supratours office. Supratours is a coach, or bus, service. Their website is useless, but their schedules seem to be covered by the ONCF site. ONCF is the national rail service. I had deduced that we could journey to both Fes and Meknes, and back, without too much hastle. The Supratours agents confirmed this, took our money and gave us tickets in return. I guess we're going to Fes!

Coming back through the souk I decided to break ranks with my aunt. We continually pass the street vendors who appear shortly before 7.30pm - they have assorted breads on display, sticky gooey pastries,heavenly smelling fish … none of which I have been able to try! I am one of those people who simply has to sample every food around. I want to know the ingredients, how they are made, how they taste, are they traditional … family members would be amused, given that I was such a fussy eater when I was young; the bain of the adults’ lives as one was always assigned to me to make me chew ten times and swallow… the first accomplished, the second seldom so! Today I bought the fish;  fried sardines, stuffed with herbs, 1 piece for 3 Dirham (30 cents). Delicious!

June 5th - The laziest day imaginable. My aunt had business which seemed as though it would take her back and forth between the bank and the lawyer. She is still dealing with the fallout of relatively recent widowhood. My services were unnecessary … besides, my book called, and tomorrow would be an early start.