Just returned home from a trip to the hanut. The hanuts here are like small corner/country stores that seem to stock everything. Well....most everything. Thereص actually 3 hanuts in tiny Al Aouinat and my favorite one is Omarصs which is only about a 5 minute walk. This particular hanut is also a cafe/coffee shop and seems to be the favorite gathering spot for the men of the community. On this visit I noticed that there on the hanut counter was an espresso machine, the remnants of a butchered chicken, and parts from a motorcycle carburetor sitting out. The best was that nobody but me thought this odd nor humorous. I guess you can add motorcycle repair shop to that previous list?
So I recently discovered these little sour apple candies that you can buy 10 for a dirham (about 1.5 cents). I thought it would be the ridiculously sweet tea (forced upon me 10 times a day) that would be the source of my tooth decay but I guess itصs gonna be the sour apple sweets. Note: Add toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss to that wish list.
Just spent the last weekend on Fes. Amazing! Other than the taxi driver who tried to rip me off (Oh-Ho!) I love that city. The old Medina (old part of the city) is incredible. Thereصs supposedly 9,000 different alleys and passageways there. Some are so narrow that I felt like I was in a slot canyon in Utah. All matter of humanity is navigating these passageways. From donkeys, to tourists, to Moroccans just going about there everyday business. Really, really cool and like a 1,000 years old. Many of the buildings have these braces between them keeping them from falling into each other. Not the place Iصd want to be in an earthquake but a great place to wander and get lost. Picked up a pretty sweet leather briefcase (aka man purse) there.
The highlight though may have been the Sushi. Donصt get me wrong, tagine and couscous are great but everyday gets a little repetitive. At the hotel we met 4 current Peace Corps volunteers from Gambia who are in Morocco on vacation and decided to treat ourselves. I probably blew a week of my PC stipend but it was well worth it. At one point one of the Gambia volunteers was just giggling uncontrollably. زAnother dragon roll, Afek.س