FES: Part 4 of My Trip to Morocco

The fourth day of my trip, which had begun in Meknes, turned out to be the roughest day of the entire trip. I got to the train station in Meknes to catch my train to Fes about half an hour early and decided to get some money out of the ATM so I wouldn’t have to find one once I got to Fes. Unfortunately, the ATM took my card and wouldn’t give it back. I’d only brought two debit cards on the trip, so I wasn’t in a position to leave it behind since I still had a week and a half ahead of me before heading home. I took the receipt it gave me and frantically showed it to the person at the ticket counter since I couldn’t read any of it, and was told that I needed to go to the bank location on the bottom of the receipt. Not knowing how far away the bank was, I took a cab, only to find out it was easily within walking distance. I showed them the receipt and was informed that the person with the key was working out of town that day and they wouldn’t be able to open the ATM for another two days. I explained that I was trying to leave the city and I couldn’t wait two days as I wouldn’t be coming back to Meknes. They finally managed to get in touch with the person who had they key and said that he’d be there in about two to three hours. I didn’t have any other choice but to wait, so I wandered around the neighborhood for a while and got something to drink, then went back to the bank to see what was going on and the woman I’d spoken to earlier told me to go to train station and the man with the key would be there shortly. After 15–20 minutes he appeared, opened the ATM (which happened to be full of cards, so apparently this happens quite often), checked that my passport had the same name as the card, and returned it to me.

I’d obviously missed my 9am train by a lot at this point, but as I’d learned several days before, Moroccans aren’t sticklers for using your train tickets at the correct time that’s printed on them, so I was able to just hop on the next train to Fes using the same ticket. It only took at 45 minutes to get Fes, but then trying to leave the train station was a little difficult. I couldn’t get a cab for a decent price, but a Swedish tourist I’d been sitting with on the train from Meknes knew which bus to take to get to the area that we were both staying in, so I went with her.

We got off the bus and I followed the signs to Riad Rcif, where I was staying. By the time I got there it was around 2pm and I was hungry and frustrated. I tried to check in, but the Australian woman who runs the hotel was out running errands and I couldn’t communicate with the other few workers who were there so I had to wait. They gave me some mint tea while I waited, and eventually I got checked in and pre-ordered dinner for that night. I used my bank’s app to chat with a customer service person to find out why my card had been confiscated by the ATM earlier in the day, but all they could tell me was that there wasn’t any issue on their end. By then it was around 3pm and I rushed out to try to see something before everything closed for the day. I tried using my debit card at another ATM because I had to get money to pay for the hotel, and thankfully it worked without any more issues.

01 | Bab Rcif Gate

I set off to find a museum and quickly got lost trying to find my way through the maze of the medina’s streets. While walking a man grabbed the side of my sweater and went through the pocket trying to steal anything that might be inside, but unfortunately for him it was empty. Several touts came up to offer to “guide” me to where I was going, but knowing that they usually just ripped people off I tried to avoid them, and instead tried to figure out where I was going using the map that I’d gotten at the hotel. A boy who was probably around 12–13 saw me looking at my map and insisted on “helping” me get to where I was going by grabbing my map and demanding that I follow him. Not having much of a choice at that time, I complied, while protesting repeatedly every few steps that I wasn’t going to pay him anything. We eventually got to the Nejjarine Museum of Wood Arts and Crafts (Musée Nejjarine des Arts et Métiers du Bois), and I was at least relieved that maybe I’d finally get to see something after what had been a mostly wasted day so far. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as they were closing a bit early that day. I turned around and left again, and the boy who guided me insisted that I pay him. I refused, but he kept following me around so I finally gave him some money just so he’d leave me alone.

Luckily, I did manage to stumble across the Medersa el Attarine (Al-Attarine Madrasa) on the way back to the riad, so I was able to see one thing that day. The madrasa was getting ready to close for the day soon, so it was mostly empty and I was able to enjoy it without any crowds.

02 | Central courtyard of Medersa el Attarine (click for more)

03 | Medersa El Attarine (click for more)

04 | Place Seffarine

I found my way back to the hotel and had dinner which was served on the roof. I had chicken tagine which was incredible, and one of the best things I ate on the trip. After finishing eating I went back to my room and cried in the bathtub for about half an hour before wearing myself out and going to bed, telling myself that the next day had to be better. Thankfully, the next few days were indeed better, which is good, because if they hadn’t been I honestly might have considered just flying back early.