The Night Bus
In theory, the night bus is a great idea. You get travel and accommodation for the price of one. But in reality, it can be quite a pain.
For one, sleeping. Not really an accomplishable task. I mean, sure, you pass out every now and then. But it's only a matter of time before you wake up with your leg asleep or a kink in your neck.
Yes, the seats recline, but the angle is a tease of what you could really have with a bed.
Leg room is next to non-existent. I don't know how anyone taller than me does it. Especially if they are long in the femurs? Forget it.
The driver isn't friendly. After all he's driving a bus full of sleepy energy through the night. His shift starting at 9, ending 8 in the morning.
Then there's the issue of having to pee. With no bathroom on board, and most places closed that time of night, you better be good at holding it. It's times like these that make me jealous of men and their outdoor plumbing. The whole world is their toilet.
The plus side of the night bus is, aside from what's mentioned, that you wake up with the sunrise. But that's about it.
Something I often wonder is, who are these strange collection of individuals that have all separately agreed to take such a trip. Why are they here? Where are they going? Is it for pleasure? Or emergency?
Cuz it's definitely one of those times it's preferable to be in your own bed.
This morning as I watched out the window, trying not to piss myself every time I coughed or sneezed or took a breath, I noticed something. There are a lot of stray dogs and abandoned buildings. Not just on the way to Fes, but in Morocco in general.
Actually, it's not something I had just noticed. At least about the buildings. There are SO many unfinished buildings in this country. It's odd, and kind of creepy. Like they got the basic structure up and just decided, fuck it, let's leave. There's like ghost suburbs that had every intention of being a thing, then the people building them just forfeit or quit.
It's a bit of an epidemic here. I've noticed it everywhere. And I wonder why it is.
Morocco is stunning though. Seeing it by bus is by far the best way to see it, I think. Not that I've seen it many other ways. But the windows are big and I don't have to drive.
The landscape is incredible. This morning there was an ethereal layer of fog over all of Fes. It made it very mysterious, and kind of inviting for some reason. Definitely less intimidating than Marrakech.
Our hostel is beautiful. Check in isn't til 3 so we're just sitting tight til then. But the breakfast looks incredible, and all the locals have been very friendly so far.
Okay. I'm going to divert now, completely.
I want to tell you about something. It's called Ecosia. It's a search engine, not unlike google, only there's a main difference. For every 45 searches, they plant a tree. Currently, there are over 25 million trees planted thanks to this site.
I'm a fan, and I want to spread the word because the world could use more trees. Seeing as we cut down so many of them for our selfish wants and needs. Wood products, paper, creating more land for grazing animals that we kill for their meat.
It's the least we can do. I think.
Ok, that's it for today.
All my love,
G