Parallel Play in Fes

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We arrived out of our desert tour tired and weary. After battling 3-4 days of illness, I (CJ) heard myself mutter in a feeble voice, "no ... more ... tagine." Words I never thought I would hear. Yes that's right. The novelty of Moroccan food had worn off. Gone were the days of lamb skewers for breakfast and multiple lunches. Now it was about survival and digestive health.

As the sickliest of the bunch, I took point on finding a safe Western escape from the chaos of the Fes streets. I barricaded myself inside the Palais Faraj, a five star hotel with prices of around $400 a night. I spent seven hours indulging in all of the luxuries our $37 a night AirBnB was lacking. Logan and Jake joined for a refreshing Caesar salad lunch in a wonderfully air conditioned restaurant. We savored every bite of (hopefully) clean crisp lettuce. Vegetables are few and far between these days.


After Jake and Logan split off, I situated myself in the courtyard and journaled for the next four hours.

Logan found himself a quiet cafe to similarly plop down in. More energized, Jake set off to explore on his own to great success.


After an expensive detour Jake was able to eventually find the University of Al-Karaouine, the oldest university in the world (established in 859 AD). He managed to take a peek inside.

Eventually Jake joined Logan at his cafe and the two of them enjoyed dinner together. I found a second and perhaps even nicer restaurant in my beautiful compound and enjoyed a burger and some fries. The air conditioning and Western food was truly doing wonders for my mental and physical health.

Over the course of the day I spent around $30 on fancy cooled glass bottled water, and I've never felt happier.

Today we took a taxi to Chefchaouen, Morocco's famous "Blue City." More photos and content to come!



Comments

  1. the mikkSeptember 19, 2025 at 5:33 PM

    Ugh. My stomach hurts for you. That’s a lot of sickness and nausea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CJ WheelanSeptember 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM

      Things are better now! We shall see what Pakistan has in store for us...

      Delete

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