Morocco Day 2 - The Bus Ride to Fes

So, you are probably wandering why a bus ride requires a full post. You'll see...

We left our hostel at 8:00am so we could get the earliest ride to Fes. We hoped to get to the train station, but were mislead to the bus station.

This is our not-so-luxury coach. It was 130 dirhams (about $20) and was supposed to take 8 hours, getting us to Fes at 4:30pm.

The bus stopped in nearly every town, city, or village on the way from Marrakech to Fes. The idea is to pick up as many passengers as possible. And this wasn't the nice touristy bus. It was the down-home Moroccan bus filled to the gills with locals. One such local must have suffered from a bit of car-sickness because he vomited on the bus while we were stopped in one the towns. He played it cool though - looked around to make sure no one saw (WE SAW), then casually moved to another, less barfy seat in the front of the bus. Nice! Bitonti, you would've DIED!!!

First McDonald's sighting - The Moroccans Lovin' It!

After we left the bustling town areas, the road to Meknes (on the way to Fes) was really green and fertile. They actually grow grapes here and make some decent wine.

At this point in the ride, the bus pulled over to fix some mechanical problems; the bus had been making some funny putt-putt-putter sounds on the way down the last hill. If gave us a chance to get out and stretch our legs, until tragedy struck. An old Muslim woman crossed the highway to relieve herself. As she came back across, she was hit by a car, going who knows how fast (it is a highway)! She was lying next to bus on the highway, people were screaming, I was crying, and the driver of the car that struck, plus his 6 passengers (two of which were young children), were awe-struck and very upset. We waited while the police showed up, along with medical assistance; the woman was alive, but undoubtedly injured and in a lot of pain. Then we ventured to the nearest police station, where we were parked for nearly an hour while the bus driver gave a statement about what happened. Mind you, we didn't really know what was going on - most of the passengers spoke only Arabic or French. And it was getting dark. This was a scary night, but honestly, it was the only time I felt nervous or scared on this whole adventure.

We FINALLY made it to Fes el Bali - The Old City. We had spent the entire day, 8:00am-9:00pm, on that god forsaken bus, eating only a few Pringles, one pastry, and a tangerine and several dates that other passengers gave me.

We were more than thrilled to get to sit down and enjoy a MEAL! Here I had ground beef medallions, rice and french fries. Oh, and an Arabic Diet Coke (see below!)