I am in Fes right now, sitting in the Cyber Cafe of the Sheraton Hotel. Zen and
I noticed it yesterday, and we could not resist the urge to sit down, have an
espresso, compose a few emails, and do a little on line banking (what everyone
does in Fes, right?).
The whole technology thing has been working really well for me so far. While
waiting for the ferry to Morocco, I decided that I should pay a few of my bills.
I found a pay phone around the corner, called up the BofA pay by phone number,
and used a tone generator to pay off my credit card bills (which I have been
tracking through Quicken on my Palmtop). After arriving in Morocco, I went to
one of the nearby ATM machines, and withdrew Moroccan Dirhams. I have done
everything electronically, and have yet to need to enter a bank, or go to a
money changer. The "piece de resistance" will be to balance my bank
account by accessing the web from a cyber cafe in Fes, Morocco.
The combination within Fes of old traditions along with the introduced European
influences makes for an interesting fusion. Fes has a new city that was built by
the French and is very European (including great French pastries and coffee).
However, the heart of Fes is the old town (known as a Medina) which is pretty
much a fully functional medieval city.
Our plans are to hang out in Fes for a few more days, and then head into
Southern Morocco to see a bit of the Sahara. We will probably spend a week or so
along the Sahara (maybe even trying a camel safari), and then will head to the
High Atlas Mountains and work our way back up through western Morocco. I will
type a more detailed message that I will send out in a few weeks when I get back
into Spain (or from the next Moroccan cyber cafe :-)
Ron and Zen
p.s. Do not reply to this message. Instead, please continue to send messages to
rmiller@bigfoot.com
p.p.s. I have not had a chance to reply to any messages sent to me over the last
few weeks, and will not likely get a chance to for a few weeks when I get back
into Spain and I can connect my palmtop. My apologies.
p.p.p.s. Here is the trip report that I wrote for the last week in Spain:
...
For a break from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, we have spent the last
three days relaxing in Toledo. We've resisted the urge to see the main tourist
attractions, but instead our hours have been spent getting lost in all of the
little alleyways, refining the art of people watching, enjoying the medieval
architecture, and discovering the great panoramas that Toledo has to offer. It
has been very refreshing to take a break and simply enjoy being in Spain.
While wandering around the core of the city, we noticed some ruins that were
being excavated. Given the history that Toledo has, they may even be a village
from pre-Roman times. The history of places in Europe is one of my favourite
things about being here. Having grown up in Canada where they are proud of the
fact that they are now over 100 years old, it is hard to comprehend the
magnitude of the history in Europe.
Only this morning, Zen and I were talking about how it would be interesting if
we were to run into someone that we knew. Well, this afternoon it happened.I ran
into Oz Levia wandering around the streets of Toledo. For those of you that
don't know Oz, he is a former Synopsys employee that know works in Cadence's
Alta group. It turns out that there is a conference in Toledo going on (CHDL). I
don't think that Oz comprehended the freak chance of running into each other, as
he simply expected that I was attending the conference. I've been with friends
before when they've experienced the "its a small world" phenomenon,
but this is my first. Hopefully it won't be my last.
...
On route to Morocco, we took the high speed train to Seville where we spent a
couple of nights. We followed the advice of the Rough Guide, and stayed at a
very interesting, "eccentric" pension. The owner of the place was a
real character who fit right in to the environment of the stuffed leather
chairs, religious icons, numerous pianos, and a little frisky dog named Tomi. In
his fluorescent green pants and toothless grin, he informed us that his house
was over 400 years old!
The highlight of Seville has been seeing the largest Cathedral in the world and
an old Moorish Palace. I especially liked the Moorish palace, and learning about
the Moorish influence in Spain has provided great background to prepare for the
journey into Morocco. One of the strongest impressions that the palace leaves
you with is the self contained paradise that the palace must have been (in
contrast with the more austere interior of typical European castles). The palace
was complete with gardens, fruit trees, fountains, statues, waterfalls, and fish
ponds. No expense seemed to have been spared building the palace. It was not
hard to imagine the chatter, activity, and rustle of silk from the 800 wives
that were a part of the royal harem.
One of the treats that we had in Seville was finding a place that served fresh
"chocolate con churros". Churros are a type of deep fried doughnut
that is long and thin (almost like a large pretzel). You dip them in a rich and
thick chocolate sauce (kind of like a thin version of chocolate pudding). They
are very delicious, completely calorie and cholesterol free, and we were told
that eating them once a day reduces the risk of heart disease :=)
