Over the mountains and down to the sea

Tuesday we left Fes and headed north. Over the mountains. Again. To be fair, these were different mountains – the Rif Mountains. Still a great ride. Snaking roads curving endlessly up, down and around several mountains as we traversed the range, which wasn’t nearly as high or as cold as the High or Middle Atlas mountains. Our goal was the Mediterranean coastline.

We made it as far as Targuist and decided to stop for gas and food. Turns out in this part of Morocco many adults don’t speak French, but we were able to get the 11 yr old kid who pumped our gas to recommend a restaurant for us. What a find! This location served authentic Moroccan food, according to the owner, and whether he was right or not, it was a fabulous meal! We had a bean soup, a dish of lentils and a vegetable stew, along with Moroccan salad and of course bread. Definitely one of the best restaurant experiences on the whole trip.

Back on the road, we continued north until at long last we glimpsed the Mediterranean. Ah! You know what a pirate’s favourite letter is? No, it’s the C (get it, sea?)!

Our routing had to be modified a little as the day wore on, but we ended up in the fishing village of El Jebha, where we found a pretty sketchy hotel. As the good rooms were all taken, we were shown a second tier room. There was a toilet, toilet paper, hot water and clean sheets on the bed, so although the building itself was old and tired and in need of a Notre Dame reno (too soon?), we popped down our 160 Dh (Cdn$23) and made a quick run for breakfast food. Most of this small town was packed into restaurants within a few blocks of our hotel watching what appeared to be a very engaging soccer match. It was funny to observe the entire town erupt in cheers when one of the teams scored. I mean that literally! As we packed it in for the night, apparently the same team scored again. Hopefully the game ends soon!