lists from (Morocco)

First list
The two most nerve-wracking experiences of my time in Morocco - and my imagined worst-case scenario reactions for each (this post is for the rents):

I. Trek up to the summit of Sfiha Telj in the Rif mountains outside of Chefchaouen. Companions were a German sea captain (sails LPG boats around the world when not travelling) and a Californian studying in Granada (really a year off before med school). First 3 hours of hike were steady scenic climb up 4WD mountain road. Last 45 minutes were scramble up steep gravelly mountainside with two short fully veritcal climbs. Fear of falling enormous.

Scenarios - to calm my nerves I convuluted most imagined falls into the following sequence of events - a) rocks give way/pine needles slide down/i lose grip of rock, b) i quickly take stock of trajectory, push off the first rock i pass while falling and lunge for nearby pine tree, c) said pine tree acts like soft velcro, cushioning my descent, as i cling to branches, d) disaster averted i climb down pine tree to find small lemonade stand at its base and a taxi waiting to return me to my hotel.

Only peer pressure compelled me forward. It was worth it though - the horizontal summit was sublime. Delicious snacks and views. Then similarly frightening descent. Breathed enormous sigh of relief when back on main road.


II. Grand Taxi (fancy term for collective taxi service between cities) ride from Ouezzane to Fez. Ouezzane was a stopover between two cities. We had to switch taxis. Busy crowded smelly carpark field. Serious language barriers. Pigeon french/english/spanish/german while trying to negotiate second leg of trip. I was convinced to place my backpack in trunk of rusting mercedes. Lots of haggling over prices. I see two others enter car. What if they just drive off?

Scenarios - as the rickety mercedes lunges forward I quickly jump on to the back clutching the roof frame from both sides. the car, constrained by the traffic, moves slowly as i pound on the windows until the bewildered driver pulls to a halt. i retrieve bag and..., hmm, I didn't imagine much beyond this part

Of course, this situation instead ended with us agreeing on a reasonable price, my boarding the taxi, and an uneventful trip to Fes. Was I a bit paranoid? I prefer to see it as prepared.


Second list
Foods that I tried for the first time. As in really actually ate on their own and not mixed in with something else or as a Jolly Rancher flavor:
Fig
Prune
Date
Apricot
Pomegranate
Olives
Sardines
Anchovies
Avocado

I enjoyed all of them. One benefit of growing up an extremely picky eater (really - I didn't eat chicken until the end of high school) is the vast number of simple and delicious foods I have yet to taste.