Where did all this NOISE come from? I've been traveling through Morocco for six freakin' weeks, and it's only now, as I've reached the end of my African road and I can literally see Spain from my hotel room, that I notice the symphonic crush of the developed world. And I have to ask myself, "When did it get so fuckin' loud around here?!"
I don't think I'd really thought about this constant aural assault until yesterday, when I was sitting at a café overlooking Tangier's Petite Socco. This was actually the same café that William S. Burroughs used to visit during his Moroccan sojourn to pick up prostitutes. Male prostitutes. I'm sure he did some writing here as well but probably only while waiting for a good time.
Today though, at the same café, it's almost impossible to muster any kind of creative impulse without something crashing through and upending even the shortest train of thought (I don't know what it's like for picking up male prostitutes). The roar of a passing motorcycle, a power saw grinding away at a nearby construction site, and those fucking HORNS! I don't mean car horns either. I mean the f***ing horns blaring away every second at the World Cup tournament. The matches are on all day at every café and bar in most of the world, Morocco included, and you can unfailingly hunt down a match wherever it's playing by following the sound of those stupid plastic horns. I'm really digging the World Cup, but I'm starting to prefer watching it without sound.
But I'm getting away from myself. I'm writing this sitting in the Café de Paris, the famous literary salon that attracted the likes of Burroughs, Bowles, and Truman Capote. (The cultural history of this city just seems to ooze out of every alleyway and windowpane. Tangier hosted the Beats as well as the Beatles and artists such as Matisse and Delacroix to boot.) But I find it hard enough to think, let alone speak, with the noise from passing cars, the traffic cop's whistle, some crappy electronica being blasted from God knows where, and those damn, blasted HORNS!
When did we in the developed world lose our appreciation for peace, for serenity? Think about the last time you felt truly calm. I bet it didn't include a nearby traffic circle. Now think of yourself alone in the forest. Imagine it snowing. Remember the words of Robert Frost. His horse
"Gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake."
You know why this is peaceful? Because there weren't any snowmobiles back then! Frost's narrator wasn't in a car buzzing down the highway, he was driving a sleigh. He didn't have iPod earbuds in or the radio going. Maybe he was humming quietly to himself; at most, he was singing lustily. The point is that there was nothing to keep him from hearing the silence.
Living in a rural African village for two years, the loudest sound I was regularly exposed to was the occasional braying donkey (I'm purposefully ignoring the eight-hour period in which my village hooked up a loudspeaker to the mosque next to my house). In that two years, I had a lot of time to think. Now that I've returned from the desert, I fin all this sound, the noise of machinery and modernity, has disrupted my ability to reflect on life and on myself. And I can't help thinking that I can't be the only one. This aural/psychological assault robs us of our existential potential, and that's exactly the root of my gripe: most people would prefer not to think existentially for fear of what they may uncover. In their case, noise is salvation.
Maybe I'm becoming a bit too didactic. I apologize. This whole line of thought began as a diatribe against motorized traffic in the medina, the old walled part of most Moroccan cities. I greatly prefer Fes's medina over any of the others because its streets are too narrow, too winding, and too steep for anything other than foot and mule traffic. And I'm fine with that. I'm convinced the Moroccan Tourist Board's next move to maximize tourist revenue is to make the city medinas open only to pedestrian traffic from 6 am to midnight. That would take care of my greatest complaint. But for the rest, help me out by turning down your music, taking it easy on the old klaxon, or, better yet, walk or bike instead of driving, oh, and most important: turn down the World Cup coverage so I don't have to listen to those @#%$&^ HORNS!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
West Africa Redux
Whenever I meet new people on the road, I try not to mention the fact that I've been traveling by myself for over six months, if only to avoid the inevitable ten-minute repetition of my past two years. (I continually mention my two years in West Africa here both because anyone who reads this can look back and get the whole story in one long afternoon and because you can't ask any follow-up questions!) But for those who are really curious, those whose eyes widen a little bit whenever I mention Mali, Ghana, or Sierra Leone, the inevitable question is usually, "What was your favorite place?"
And my usual gut reaction is "Are you kidding me?" Ask a student of literature for her favorite book. Ask a film historian to name his favorite flick. Ask my friend Patrick for his favorite paranoid, evil personality from 1928 - 1957. Maybe you could help him out by asking him only to focus on Europe, but really, there are just too many from which to choose. Asking me to choose my favorite place in West Africa is about like asking me to choose my favorite digit. My first inclination, I think I'd have to go with right-hand thumb, but that doesn't mean I'd be fine losing any of the rest.
Instead of launching into this diatribe, however, I usually cock my head and ask, "Of which country?" The truth is, I've seen and done a lot in my two and a half years in West Africa. I can't really give a definitive answer, but I can give you my list of my top travel descriptions. Apologies for continuing to neglect Morocco, but hopefully this Cliff's notes version of my trip can help guide any future questions for whenever I return home. Thus, in chronological order, I give you Sterling's Personal Guide to West Africa.
Abomey, Benin - the old seat of the Dahomey Empire, Abomey is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but its red-earth palaces, symbols of a kingdom built on slavery, is slowly crumbling back unto whence they. This is one of the best places, though, to look onto the sadistic side of the African slave trade and examine how this bloody, black institution set tribe against tribe to tear one another apart.
Boukoumbé, Benin - a hike deep into the hills reveals the land of the Betammaribé tribe, who resisted slavery by living independently as family units protected by their small, fortress-like houses. Spend a night with a family in a tata house surrounded by rolling green hills and towering baobob trees and you'll feel like you're in the Shire. Just try not to hit any old hobbit women with your slingshot (or blame it on a kid if you do).
Klouto, Togo - deep in the hills and jungle of southern Togo, Klouto is filled with coffee plantations that you can hike through while on the search for beautiful butterflies. If you don't have an inner lepidopterist, you can always check out the abandoned European castle hidden in the trees...
Green Turtle Lodge, Ghana - an ecolodge working on community development along one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in West Africa. A sure place to meet Peace Corps types and to get crunched by some seriously awesome waves.
Kumasi, Ghana - home of the Ashanti, one of the most well-known West African ethnies, famous for their colorful and highly-prized kente and adinkra cloth.
N'guigmi, Niger - not much there but pure white sand. Too bad the nearest ocean is thousands of kilometers away. Go and you'll feel like you're at the end of the earth, or at least the end of your travels. With genocide to the east, a batshit crazy dictator to the north, religo-ethnic conflict to the south, and general famine all around, you'll definitely start to rethink your privileged status as a developed country national.
Banfora to Sindou Peaks, Burkina Faso - I rented a motorbike and took it the 100km there and back all in one day, and what a day it was. The dirt piste is lined with trees the entire way, and hiking around the peaks is a bit like stepping into the scenery from Fraggle Rock. Those who remember that reference get bonus points for having a great childhood.
Dogon Country, Mali - take the road up from Ouaghiya to the Falaise de Bandiagara and get into some real hiking. This is one of the most unique cultural areas in all of Africa, but due to its location in rural West Africa has remained relatively untouched by mass tourism. And the stars...if only you knew.
Sunset Beers on the Niger - whether it's in Niamey, Mopti, Gao, or Gaya, a cold Flag on a hot desert night is pretty unbeatable with those beautiful African sunsets. And with fresh fish brought in that hour by colorful characters in even more colorful pirogues, you're sure of a good meal to go with your beer.
Festival du Desert, Mali - one of the greatest concerts I've ever been to, bar none. A celebration of Tuareg culture, and a great revenue resourse for a severely impoverished people, the Festival du Desert brings together some of the greatest acts in West African music alongside musicians from all over the world. But the focus is definitely the desert, and you won't ever forget that when you're freezing your ass off on your third night in the Saharan winter.
Yamoussoukro, Côté d'Ivoire - check out the previous post on this one from sometime in January. The city was built to glorify former president Houphouet-Boigny's ancestors, but from the looks of it, the only thing the city glorifies is how much money one man can dump into a swamp.
Monrovia, Liberia - maybe less of a tourist hotspot than a fascinating look into a community still trying to rebuild itself after nearly two decades of civil war. Let's examine the amenities: no electricity, no running water, unsafe tap water, and streets that most embassies have put off limits after 9 pm. But if you dare to brave them (carrying no more than $20 at any time) you can have a great night drinking with awesome people on the streets of this awesome town.
Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone - home to eleven different species of primate, including the rare Diana monkey, all on one easy-to-trek island in the middle of the Moa River. Go looking for rare pygmy hippos (good luck), walk through dense jungle, take a river swim (just watch out for the oyster shells), and finish it all up with a fresh-grilled fish caught that morning by your boat guide.
Freetown Beaches, Sierra Leone - by far the best beaches in all of West Africa, and there's something for everyone. Choose any color of powdery sand from pure white to yellow ochre, even sand that turns your feet black. Your food choices may be limited to lobster, oysters, barracuda, and mango, but who needs anything else? And while all the beaches may be beautiful, only a few have phosphorescent water...
Kamakwie, Sierra Leone - So why does Sierra Leone rank so highly? Well, when you have savannah, mountains, beaches, and jungle, it's kind of hard to choose just one place. Kamakwie wins out because it's close to Outamba-Kilimi National Park, but it's really only a good place to sleep if you've got awesome friends who work for a local NGO. Try camping in the park instead.
Doucki, Guinea - it's more than just a great name. Doucki is a village perched on the edge of a cliff in the Fouta Djalon region of Guinea, the ancestral home of the Fula people. This would only be mildly interesting without the incomparable Hassan Ba, who leads some of the most fun trekking I've ever done in this part of the world. Gorges, waterfalls, and more animals hiding in the rocks than you could ever imagine. What more could you want?
Kedougou, Senegal - I have to admit, some of these are brilliant only because of the people I met there. I spent a week laid up in Kedougou after I hurt my foot. It's a laid-back, chill town: the perfect place to see Senegalese/Fula culture on the everyday level. But there's enough nature about (including the nearby national park) to keep you busy even if you don't have the Peace Corps connections.
Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau - a unique culture hidden amongst the dangerous currents of the turquoise seas surrounding the islands. White powdery beaches and a Portugese influence makes this country unlike any other in West Africa.
Chinguetti, Mauritania - stuck right in the middle of the desert, and one of the holiest cities in all of Islam, Chinguetti is a great place to start your camel trek, be it two days, four, or fifty (if you're keen to take it all the way to Timbuktu). If nothing else, a trek into the desert will provide one of the most beautiful sleeping experiences you'll ever have, especially with a full moon.
Chôum to Nouadhibou Express - the ultimate travel experience. Sixteen hours on top of an iron ore hopper through the desert. It doesn't get much hardcore than that. If you're brave, you can hop off for bathroom breaks whenever the train stops, but make them quick, because this train don't wait!
So there you have it. It may be a bit cheap to do a "best of" list, but the well of ideas was pretty dry there for a while. I think the rains may have come, however, with my first full day in Tangier. I'll have a really good post again soon. I promise.
And my usual gut reaction is "Are you kidding me?" Ask a student of literature for her favorite book. Ask a film historian to name his favorite flick. Ask my friend Patrick for his favorite paranoid, evil personality from 1928 - 1957. Maybe you could help him out by asking him only to focus on Europe, but really, there are just too many from which to choose. Asking me to choose my favorite place in West Africa is about like asking me to choose my favorite digit. My first inclination, I think I'd have to go with right-hand thumb, but that doesn't mean I'd be fine losing any of the rest.
Instead of launching into this diatribe, however, I usually cock my head and ask, "Of which country?" The truth is, I've seen and done a lot in my two and a half years in West Africa. I can't really give a definitive answer, but I can give you my list of my top travel descriptions. Apologies for continuing to neglect Morocco, but hopefully this Cliff's notes version of my trip can help guide any future questions for whenever I return home. Thus, in chronological order, I give you Sterling's Personal Guide to West Africa.
Abomey, Benin - the old seat of the Dahomey Empire, Abomey is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but its red-earth palaces, symbols of a kingdom built on slavery, is slowly crumbling back unto whence they. This is one of the best places, though, to look onto the sadistic side of the African slave trade and examine how this bloody, black institution set tribe against tribe to tear one another apart.
Boukoumbé, Benin - a hike deep into the hills reveals the land of the Betammaribé tribe, who resisted slavery by living independently as family units protected by their small, fortress-like houses. Spend a night with a family in a tata house surrounded by rolling green hills and towering baobob trees and you'll feel like you're in the Shire. Just try not to hit any old hobbit women with your slingshot (or blame it on a kid if you do).
Klouto, Togo - deep in the hills and jungle of southern Togo, Klouto is filled with coffee plantations that you can hike through while on the search for beautiful butterflies. If you don't have an inner lepidopterist, you can always check out the abandoned European castle hidden in the trees...
Green Turtle Lodge, Ghana - an ecolodge working on community development along one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in West Africa. A sure place to meet Peace Corps types and to get crunched by some seriously awesome waves.
Kumasi, Ghana - home of the Ashanti, one of the most well-known West African ethnies, famous for their colorful and highly-prized kente and adinkra cloth.
N'guigmi, Niger - not much there but pure white sand. Too bad the nearest ocean is thousands of kilometers away. Go and you'll feel like you're at the end of the earth, or at least the end of your travels. With genocide to the east, a batshit crazy dictator to the north, religo-ethnic conflict to the south, and general famine all around, you'll definitely start to rethink your privileged status as a developed country national.
Banfora to Sindou Peaks, Burkina Faso - I rented a motorbike and took it the 100km there and back all in one day, and what a day it was. The dirt piste is lined with trees the entire way, and hiking around the peaks is a bit like stepping into the scenery from Fraggle Rock. Those who remember that reference get bonus points for having a great childhood.
Dogon Country, Mali - take the road up from Ouaghiya to the Falaise de Bandiagara and get into some real hiking. This is one of the most unique cultural areas in all of Africa, but due to its location in rural West Africa has remained relatively untouched by mass tourism. And the stars...if only you knew.
Sunset Beers on the Niger - whether it's in Niamey, Mopti, Gao, or Gaya, a cold Flag on a hot desert night is pretty unbeatable with those beautiful African sunsets. And with fresh fish brought in that hour by colorful characters in even more colorful pirogues, you're sure of a good meal to go with your beer.
Festival du Desert, Mali - one of the greatest concerts I've ever been to, bar none. A celebration of Tuareg culture, and a great revenue resourse for a severely impoverished people, the Festival du Desert brings together some of the greatest acts in West African music alongside musicians from all over the world. But the focus is definitely the desert, and you won't ever forget that when you're freezing your ass off on your third night in the Saharan winter.
Yamoussoukro, Côté d'Ivoire - check out the previous post on this one from sometime in January. The city was built to glorify former president Houphouet-Boigny's ancestors, but from the looks of it, the only thing the city glorifies is how much money one man can dump into a swamp.
Monrovia, Liberia - maybe less of a tourist hotspot than a fascinating look into a community still trying to rebuild itself after nearly two decades of civil war. Let's examine the amenities: no electricity, no running water, unsafe tap water, and streets that most embassies have put off limits after 9 pm. But if you dare to brave them (carrying no more than $20 at any time) you can have a great night drinking with awesome people on the streets of this awesome town.
Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone - home to eleven different species of primate, including the rare Diana monkey, all on one easy-to-trek island in the middle of the Moa River. Go looking for rare pygmy hippos (good luck), walk through dense jungle, take a river swim (just watch out for the oyster shells), and finish it all up with a fresh-grilled fish caught that morning by your boat guide.
Freetown Beaches, Sierra Leone - by far the best beaches in all of West Africa, and there's something for everyone. Choose any color of powdery sand from pure white to yellow ochre, even sand that turns your feet black. Your food choices may be limited to lobster, oysters, barracuda, and mango, but who needs anything else? And while all the beaches may be beautiful, only a few have phosphorescent water...
Kamakwie, Sierra Leone - So why does Sierra Leone rank so highly? Well, when you have savannah, mountains, beaches, and jungle, it's kind of hard to choose just one place. Kamakwie wins out because it's close to Outamba-Kilimi National Park, but it's really only a good place to sleep if you've got awesome friends who work for a local NGO. Try camping in the park instead.
Doucki, Guinea - it's more than just a great name. Doucki is a village perched on the edge of a cliff in the Fouta Djalon region of Guinea, the ancestral home of the Fula people. This would only be mildly interesting without the incomparable Hassan Ba, who leads some of the most fun trekking I've ever done in this part of the world. Gorges, waterfalls, and more animals hiding in the rocks than you could ever imagine. What more could you want?
Kedougou, Senegal - I have to admit, some of these are brilliant only because of the people I met there. I spent a week laid up in Kedougou after I hurt my foot. It's a laid-back, chill town: the perfect place to see Senegalese/Fula culture on the everyday level. But there's enough nature about (including the nearby national park) to keep you busy even if you don't have the Peace Corps connections.
Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau - a unique culture hidden amongst the dangerous currents of the turquoise seas surrounding the islands. White powdery beaches and a Portugese influence makes this country unlike any other in West Africa.
Chinguetti, Mauritania - stuck right in the middle of the desert, and one of the holiest cities in all of Islam, Chinguetti is a great place to start your camel trek, be it two days, four, or fifty (if you're keen to take it all the way to Timbuktu). If nothing else, a trek into the desert will provide one of the most beautiful sleeping experiences you'll ever have, especially with a full moon.
Chôum to Nouadhibou Express - the ultimate travel experience. Sixteen hours on top of an iron ore hopper through the desert. It doesn't get much hardcore than that. If you're brave, you can hop off for bathroom breaks whenever the train stops, but make them quick, because this train don't wait!
So there you have it. It may be a bit cheap to do a "best of" list, but the well of ideas was pretty dry there for a while. I think the rains may have come, however, with my first full day in Tangier. I'll have a really good post again soon. I promise.
The Failures of Documentation
An inexcusable lack of updates from Morocco. If you follow this blog at all, you may have wondered, "Did he fall off the continent? Kidnapped by Berbers? Lost in some haze of a hash dream?"
No. The real answer to "Where have you been?" is probably just "Around." I don't know how to describe my lack of any creativity in the six weeks I've been in Morocco. I've had unprecedented access to the Internet (well, unprecedented for someone who's spent the last two years in rural, sub-Saharan Africa.) Perhaps one of the best explanations is my inability to find the time to write is this: for the previous six months, I've traveled in places where bedtime is around 8:30 pm. If you have a headlamp, that can get extended to about 9:30 or whenever you feel like you can't function solely by the light of an LED anymore. In Morocco, I've regularly been up until midnight or later. The biggest difference is Daylight Savings Time, which Moroccans hate and which, frankly, makes little sense in a Muslim country dominated by prayer calls attuned to the sun. Well, that and I've noticed that Moroccans don't really get going until about 9 in the morning. For someone who's used to getting up at 7, this leaves me with about two hours of boredom and wandering around deserted streets. (It just occurred to me that maybe I should use that time to write, and this thought has now destroyed my attempted apology regarding a lack of communication. Well...damn.)
I think I'll use the time I have today on the train to Tangier to pound out a couple of blog posts that I can hopefully post in the next few days. For those of you who know your geography, you know Tangier as the "Gateway to Africa." It sits just right across the Strait of Gibralter from Spain and has been known as a seedy, character-filled transit town for generations. Think of the cantina scene in Star Wars. Now replace Obi-Wan with a grizzled, heroine-addicted William S. Burroughs, Greedo with Paul Bowles, and the alien band with the Rolling Stones. Oh, and while we're at it, the bartender is Truman Capote. Why not. I haven't been there yet, but that just sounds fun.
And it's only by writing some of this out that memories come back to me from some of the other famous Moroccan cities I've visited already: Fes, Meknes, Rabat, and, of course, Marrakesh. I've been running around so much lately, as well as looking to a return to America in the next few months, that I haven't seen the places I've been. I don't mean I've been sleepwalking through these places. That's almost impossible to do when you're traveling by yourself and you have to manage all of your own meals and accomodation. But, the time has come for some serious reflection, which means finding a low-impact city and taking some time for myself in a cafe. Not sure if I'll be able to find that in Tangier. My bet is no. However, for now, I have a train to catch and pages and pages to write. Watch this space: there will be new mind-expanding entries here shortly. 'Til then.
No. The real answer to "Where have you been?" is probably just "Around." I don't know how to describe my lack of any creativity in the six weeks I've been in Morocco. I've had unprecedented access to the Internet (well, unprecedented for someone who's spent the last two years in rural, sub-Saharan Africa.) Perhaps one of the best explanations is my inability to find the time to write is this: for the previous six months, I've traveled in places where bedtime is around 8:30 pm. If you have a headlamp, that can get extended to about 9:30 or whenever you feel like you can't function solely by the light of an LED anymore. In Morocco, I've regularly been up until midnight or later. The biggest difference is Daylight Savings Time, which Moroccans hate and which, frankly, makes little sense in a Muslim country dominated by prayer calls attuned to the sun. Well, that and I've noticed that Moroccans don't really get going until about 9 in the morning. For someone who's used to getting up at 7, this leaves me with about two hours of boredom and wandering around deserted streets. (It just occurred to me that maybe I should use that time to write, and this thought has now destroyed my attempted apology regarding a lack of communication. Well...damn.)
I think I'll use the time I have today on the train to Tangier to pound out a couple of blog posts that I can hopefully post in the next few days. For those of you who know your geography, you know Tangier as the "Gateway to Africa." It sits just right across the Strait of Gibralter from Spain and has been known as a seedy, character-filled transit town for generations. Think of the cantina scene in Star Wars. Now replace Obi-Wan with a grizzled, heroine-addicted William S. Burroughs, Greedo with Paul Bowles, and the alien band with the Rolling Stones. Oh, and while we're at it, the bartender is Truman Capote. Why not. I haven't been there yet, but that just sounds fun.
And it's only by writing some of this out that memories come back to me from some of the other famous Moroccan cities I've visited already: Fes, Meknes, Rabat, and, of course, Marrakesh. I've been running around so much lately, as well as looking to a return to America in the next few months, that I haven't seen the places I've been. I don't mean I've been sleepwalking through these places. That's almost impossible to do when you're traveling by yourself and you have to manage all of your own meals and accomodation. But, the time has come for some serious reflection, which means finding a low-impact city and taking some time for myself in a cafe. Not sure if I'll be able to find that in Tangier. My bet is no. However, for now, I have a train to catch and pages and pages to write. Watch this space: there will be new mind-expanding entries here shortly. 'Til then.
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