Story of an adventure
[ITA] Come dice il titolo, questo fine settimana ho avuto l'opportunità di vivere un'avventura alla National Geographic grazie ad un club dell'università chiamato Explorers Club (il nome dice già tutto mi pare). Eravamo un gruppo di 12 persone, tre exchange students e nove ragazzi marocchini.
Da una parte vedevamo il mare, dall'altra la montagna, e ad un certo punto, dopo aver fatto salire la nostra guida che ci stava aspettando in strada, abbiamo lasciato la strada asfaltata per percorrere una (pericolissima) stradina incredibilmente a doppio senso. Il mare aveva lasciato il posto a dei precipizi a strapiombo, ma il nostro autista ci ha fatti arrivare sani e salvi al punto di partenza per l'escursione.
Prima di metterci in marcia, pausa bagno obbligatoria. Siamo entrati nella casa di una signora che era lì con le sue figlie. Ci hanno lasciato usare il bagno e ci hanno dato un sacco di baci, come vuole la tradizione marocchina. Devo ancora abituarmi a questa incredibile ospitalità.
Zaino in spalla, macchina fotografica a tracolla, ed eccoci in mezzo al nulla, sperduti nelle montagne, felici di poter assaporare dell'aria fresca e dei paesaggi ancora incontaminati.
Da dove eravamo abbiamo cominciato a scendere per la montagna seguendo la guida e siamo passati attraverso ulivi, fichi d'india, ma soprattutto marijuana. Eravamo un po' sconvolti perchè vi asscuro che era davvero tanta, ma nella regione di Chefchauen è legale coltivarla e il re si è arreso a lasciare le cose così, perchè le persone della zona vivono di questo. Così adesso sapete da dove arriva l'hashish che vi fumate a Valencia (o in altre città europee, ma l'esportazione è diretta principalmente verso la Spagna). Passata la sorpresa iniziale, abbiamo cominciato a camminare lungo il fiume, con il figlio della guida come ulteriore supporto. Ci è venuto incontro e ha stretto la mano e baciato tutti quanti, e durante l'escursione è stato veramente di grande aiuto nel dirci dove mettere i piedi e nel sorreggerci.
Abbiamo dovuto attraversare il fiume parecchie volte e nel punto più profondo ci siamo direttamente immersi del tutto. Inutile dire che si stava benissimo. Abbiamo continuato fino ad un certo punto, tra oleandri, rocce, guadi e tronchi, però la scalata non era proprio semplicissima e io avevo il terrore di cadere e rompere la fotocamera, quindi in generale abbiamo camminato abbastanza lentamente e non siamo arrivati fino in fondo perchè dovevamo tornare al pulmino prima che facesse scuro (non c'erano lampioni nei paraggi). Dopo aver mangiato in mezzo al fiume, siamo tornati indietro. Eravamo stanchi, infreddoliti e avremmo voluto che qualcuno venisse a prenderci. L'idea di bagnarsi di nuovo non mi ispirava per niente e cominciavo a sentire tutta la stanchezza nelle gambe. Mi sono incamminata per prima perchè il sole cominciava a calare e avevo freddo. Con noi c'era il figlio della guida, che agile come una scimmia, ci faceva strada con il suo passo leggero.
Una volta arrivato il resto del gruppo, abbiamo camminato fino a dove eravamo partiti, apprezzando il cielo che si stava tingendo di rosa. Arrivati alla moschea che era in cima, è cominciata la chiamata alla preghiera, e un gruppo giovani in abito tradizionale si stava approcciando per entrare. Quando siamo risaliti sul pulmino era ormai scuro e siamo tornati all'hotel in Chefchauen accompagnati da una bellissima luna piena che si rifletteva sul mare e non ci permetteva di vedere le stelle, tanto intensa era la sua luce.
Qualche altra foto:
Il giorno dopo abbiamo visitato Asilah. Appena arrivati abbiamo mangiato una buonissima fritura de pescado (al prezzo di 8 euro) in riva al mare e poi abbiamo visitato la medina, rinunciando alla spiaggia per questa volta. Asilah mi ha ricordato Valencia per la miriade di murales che si possono ammirare sui muri della città. Dopo aver fatto un sacco di foto, ascoltato la musica tipica della città (gnawa), aver comprato un braccialetto e dell'olio alla marijuana per i capelli, siamo tornati al pulmino, direzione Meknès per la cena. Vorrei raccontarvi di una tipica cena marocchina nella medina di Meknès, ma in realtà ci siamo fermati velocemente da McDonald per essere a casa prima del coprifuoco.
Che dire, il Marocco ha dei paesaggi naturali da togliere il fiato e non so come descrivere la bellezza dei posti che ho visto. Così come è indescrivibile l'ospitalità marocchina. La camminata è stata davvero stancante, ma sono contenta di aver avuto la possibilità di vedere un posto così poco turistico e caratteristico.
Alla prossima avventura!
[ENG] As the title says, last weekend I had the chance to live a sort of National Geographic adventure thanks to the Explorers Club at university (the name says it all I guess). We were a group of 12 students, 3 exchange students and 9 Moroccans.
We left at 4 am on Saturday and after a quick breakfast with msemmen in Ouazane, we jumped on the university’s van to go to Chefchauen, also known as “The Blue City” (because walls and houses are all blue). Moreover, Chefchauen marked the beginning of the Spanish protectorate, so in this region speak Spanish (which made me very happy). Sadly, we couldn’t visit the city because we didn’t have time, but I’ll come back for sure.
When the rest of the group arrived, we walked to where we had left, admiring the pink sky while sun was setting. When we reached the mosque that was on top, the call to prayer started and a handful of young men in traditional clothes was approaching the mosque’s entrance. When we got back on the van, it was dark already and came back to the hotel in Chefchauen with the company of the moonlight, which was so bright we couldn’t see the stars.
Alla prossima avventura!
[ENG] As the title says, last weekend I had the chance to live a sort of National Geographic adventure thanks to the Explorers Club at university (the name says it all I guess). We were a group of 12 students, 3 exchange students and 9 Moroccans.
We left at 4 am on Saturday and after a quick breakfast with msemmen in Ouazane, we jumped on the university’s van to go to Chefchauen, also known as “The Blue City” (because walls and houses are all blue). Moreover, Chefchauen marked the beginning of the Spanish protectorate, so in this region speak Spanish (which made me very happy). Sadly, we couldn’t visit the city because we didn’t have time, but I’ll come back for sure.
After
buying sandwiches and water for lunch, we headed to Oued (river) El Kennar. In
Chefchaouen many stores were still closed because 10 in the morning is still
early here. However, while we were in a small bar waiting for our sandwiches to
be made, I noticed that on the news they were talking about the situation in
Yemen, while in our countries (Italy in my case) people don’t even know where
it is or that there’s a civil war there, in which the “West” is not behaving
very well. In other words, we don’t hear about it because our governments are
on the side of the bad guys and in the case of Italy, sending weapons over
there goes against our Constitution. There are lots of articles about it in the
World Wide Web and this blog is not the place to talk about it right now.
The
trip to Oued El Kennar took quite a lot of time, but the landscapes were
breathtaking. We could see the sea on one side and the mountains on the other,
and at a certain point, after picking up our guide, who was waiting for us on
the street; we left the paved road and took a (dangerous) mountain trail. The
sea had left its place to some pretty high cliffs, but our driver took us
safely to where we had to be to start the hike. Before setting off, we needed a
toilette. We entered one of the few houses that were there and met a gentle
lady and her daughters. They let us use the bathroom and gave a lot of kisses,
as the Moroccan tradition wants. I still haven’t got used to all this
incredible hospitality!
Backpack,
camera and there we were in the middle of the mountains, happy to breath fresh
air and admire uncontaminated landscapes. We started hiking down the mountain
at the beginning actually, following our guide, and we went through olive
trees, cactuses, but most of all marijuana. We were a little bit shocked because
there was A LOT of it everywhere, but in the region of Chechauen hashish is
legally grown and the king has given up about it, because it’s what people
there rely on to live. So now you know where the weed you smoke in Valenia
comes from (or in other European cities, but the export heads mainly to Spain).
After the initial surprise, we walked along the river, with the guide’s son as more support. He came to us, shook our hands and kissed all of us, and during the hike he was very helpful in telling us where to put our feet and in holding us. We had to cross the river several times and in the deepest part we just went for it and swam in the river. Needless to say it was amazing. We kept on walking up to a certain point among trees, rocks and branches, but the hike wasn’t that easy and I was terrified of falling or accidentally dropping my camera, so in general we walked pretty slowly and we didn’t make it to the end of the river because we had to go back to the van before it became dark (there were no lampposts in the area).
After
we had lunch in the middle of the river (literally), we headed back. We were
tired, cold and wishing that someone would come to pick us up. The idea of
getting back into the water Was making me sick and I was starting to feel tired
in my legs. I went to the head of the group because the sun was going down and
I was getting cold. The guide’s son was with us and, walking lightly, he showed
us the way. Suddenly a man that was around there talked to the kid in Arabic
and instead of going back through the river, we hike the mountain and tried not
to look down. I was scared of falling and dying against the rocks but this mysterious
man wanted my bag and the one of another girl so we could move more freely. In
this way we walked swiftly and came back to the fields of marijuana in the
blink of an eye, also thanks to the friendly Spanish words he was telling us to
make us proceed faster (but safely).
We
waited for the others that had decided to go back following the river with the
guide. The mysterious man of the mountain that was speaking Spanish showed me
pictures of his daughters and wife and then, just like that, he left and
disappeared among the star-shaped leaves of marijuana. When the rest of the group arrived, we walked to where we had left, admiring the pink sky while sun was setting. When we reached the mosque that was on top, the call to prayer started and a handful of young men in traditional clothes was approaching the mosque’s entrance. When we got back on the van, it was dark already and came back to the hotel in Chefchauen with the company of the moonlight, which was so bright we couldn’t see the stars.
Some of the pictures I took during the hike:
The following day we visited Asilah. As
soon as we arrived we had a delicious fritura de pescado (price: 8 euros), and
afterwards we went to the medina, giving up on the beach this time. Asilah
reminded me a lot of Valencia due to the thousands painting on the walls of the
city. After we took a bunch pf pictures, listened to the city’s traditional
music (gnawa), bought a bracelet and hashish oil for our hair, we went back to
the van, heading to Meknès for dinner. I wish I could describe a wonderful Moroccan
dinner, we just ate at McDonald’s to be back on time before the curfew.
What else to say, Morocco has breathtaking
landscapes and I can’t describe the beauty of the places I saw. And the
hospitality of Moroccans is indescribable as well. The hike was very tiring but
definitely worth it and I’m happy I had the chance to see something not
touristy and so typical.
Waiting for the next adventure now!
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