October 23, 2006 - Last day of Ramadan
Woke up to cool breezes, cloudy skies and gull cries. Had a French breakfast of toast with butter and marmalade and coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. Went down to the room and rolled one then took a solo stroll down to the port. Tomorrow the country will shut down and La Fete will begin. The Moroccans will spend the day with their families, some will drink, most will smoke, everybody will eat. It is and has been a long, hard and impressive fast, a holy and wholly purification. There were a few surfers and kitesurfers out. Children made boats out of sticks and old chunks of styrofoam. I walked past veiled women doing Henna - it felt nice to walk barefoot on the bumpy concrete boardwalk. Laid my flops down and sat and smoked and thought about various things. It is beautiful here, a really nice vibe...
This poor guy limped by covering one side of his face. His right foot was twisted permanently inward at a forty-five degree angle. It was a hard thing to see and I just sat there hoping he wouldn't come over, but then guilt got the better of me so I walked over and gave him a few cigarettes. He was young, maybe 25, and one side of his face was pulled down. He continued to protect his bad eye from the wind and slipped the smokes into his pocket. I walked away and felt like crying.
Later a little British girl ran by happy. I studied the kite-surfers and went for a swim. These things kind of helped balance things out in my head. I am stoned and tired.
Stopped for tea at Yassine's shoe/spice boutique on my way back. I'm thinking about buying a silver tea pot from him for my mom. He recommended a place for dinner. I had a Moroccan salad of tomatos, onions and green peppers and the grilled sole, The Kat had a green salad and chicken Tagine with apricots. We chatted with a trio of travellers at the table beside us: Nicky from Australia and Ben and Kate from England. Nicky Bomba was the drummer of a funk-reggae band called Bomba, a good friend of Xavier Rudds and Jon Butler's (of the Jon Butler Trio) brother-in-law.
This poor guy limped by covering one side of his face. His right foot was twisted permanently inward at a forty-five degree angle. It was a hard thing to see and I just sat there hoping he wouldn't come over, but then guilt got the better of me so I walked over and gave him a few cigarettes. He was young, maybe 25, and one side of his face was pulled down. He continued to protect his bad eye from the wind and slipped the smokes into his pocket. I walked away and felt like crying.
Later a little British girl ran by happy. I studied the kite-surfers and went for a swim. These things kind of helped balance things out in my head. I am stoned and tired.
Stopped for tea at Yassine's shoe/spice boutique on my way back. I'm thinking about buying a silver tea pot from him for my mom. He recommended a place for dinner. I had a Moroccan salad of tomatos, onions and green peppers and the grilled sole, The Kat had a green salad and chicken Tagine with apricots. We chatted with a trio of travellers at the table beside us: Nicky from Australia and Ben and Kate from England. Nicky Bomba was the drummer of a funk-reggae band called Bomba, a good friend of Xavier Rudds and Jon Butler's (of the Jon Butler Trio) brother-in-law.
posted by C. A. Jackson at 12:33 PM
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