Djellaba-hunting

National Geographic Chefchaouen
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When you've been in the same tiny Moroccan mountain town for six days and every English-speaking traveler around you does little except smoke hashish and talk about what an asshole George Bush is, you sort of have to make your own fun.  In lieu of going back to a hammam (and it would take a whole lot more boredom to willfully relive that experience), I go for a lot of hikes and little adventure walks.  The mountainsides are beautiful, and the villagers you meet along the way are really cool people, even if I don't have a clue what they're saying.

Djellaba-hunting
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More to the point, however, is the newfound and highly amusing game of djellaba-hunting.  Djellabas are these big gown-type things that men wear all day long.  They've got pointy little hoods, and between those hoods and the blue walls of the medina, it makes for some pretty good "National Geographic"-style pictures.  Either that, or it looks like members of the KKK walking around inside a Smurf.  I'll post the pics, and you can decide for yourself.  Since the men and women don't really like getting their picture taken that much, the only way to record these really cool moments of "I can't believe I'm here" is to follow them around at a distance and snap them off at the most opportune times.  It's a little game, and then we all reconvene at the cafe and show each other our pictures.  Something to do.

Djellaba-hunting again
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Other than that, I've been kind of relaxing, drinking lots of tea, and making the most of the social options here.  Meager as they are, I've made a few quality dinner buddies, which is more than I can say for the major Moroccan cities like Fes and Rabat most of the time.  I have a clean roof over my head, a hot shower waiting for me in the morning, and someone to talk to over tajine and couscous, so I should be able to ride out the last four days in Chefchaouen without a problem.

That being said, the major question these days is whether, after my week with my family, to race down to Marrakech and do a four-day camel trek in the Sahara or save myself the endless hours on public transportation there and back and just stay in Spain and Portugal for the whole six weeks?  Gonna be a gametime decision, I think.  Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar is kind of a pain, and to do it twice more and then to do the ten hours or so each way to Marrakech would be a considerable investment of my time and patience.  On the other hand, it is a camel trek through the Sahara, and nothing says, "I've found a really good use of someone else's money" like putting on a shmata and wandering around like a Bedouin for four days.  Input is appreciated.

Enjoy the pictures.  It's been like forty-five minutes since I last had tea, so I better go get on that quick...