Tafroute, Two weeks in Limbo
Out of town now and bumbling around, here, there, everywhere and nowhere at all. Weather wild, snow to sun, rain to wind, many walks and many smokes. Photo calls and Marquis cigarettes. Hills, rocks and mountain views, mosques and the beat of birds wings.
Room 8 The Tanger Hotel, Mo round, Moira round, Surfers round; Sunnindale cellar in the sky incarnate. The nemesis of Interesting Steve haunts us still, "will we never be set free"
Trying to track down Tahib, Tahib turning up, Happy Birthday, 24 today. Get smashed go for a walk, Hasta la Vista baby, view to Agard Ouad, Tazagha, Tafroute & the Boulders all in the lee of Coca Cola mountain. Photo sessions, waffle guff burble belch and it's crossword time.
But, reality check, time to go soon, money and budget time, 72 hours on the bus and the rest , skint already but time to eat. Tagine and couscous, "Bon Appetits" bouncing around like ping-pong balls. Sky TV has come to the Tanger, Selina Scott and Brad Pitt, Humping Monkeys and Virtual Reality.
Reality starting to drift with visits from the Stash eating Mice. The Mezzuzin's calling the faithful to prayer- Spliff time, Cheers Alan, he's the bloke from the Mosque. Cold floors and hot showers, more veggie tagine and more Cafe au lait, that's "zoosh cower halib" to you mate.
More tea, more bumbles and more chats. Buy pressies, leaving town soon, Shit. Bus Looming. 23 when I got here and 24 when I leave but can't stop now; leave out friendly Ali the psycho carpet salesman, C'mon Dan, how much your last price, the Jacket and Mickey?", more TV and ever more Bon Appetits. Weather forecasts and Sumo Wrestling. News in French and adverts in Arabic, more coffee and more coffee.
Days flying by and weather falling apart again. Morning sessions with Mo and washing still wet, but the coffee's still hot and Hussein's shop's not to far.
Late breakfasts and late lunch, afternoon out the window. Take a walk and find the spot. Wind blown fire lighting, smeg soup and cafe au sauvage. Hurricane Dan's fault lets rip, "blow all you want". Try to build a fire and fail so build a smoke instead and the fucker who said there's no smoke without fire can stick that in his pipe and smoke it.
Night falls and wind climbs. Find a cave, burrow down, Hob Goblins and Hobbits share a smoke. The Legendary Pink Dots and Les Sentinels in a strip of starlit sky. Midnight walks up to the castle gate, Bentley parked outside. Painted boulders photo time. Take the inflatable purple guitar back to it's plastic roots - Si posing up and down risking life and limb like throwing a donkey for a strawberry.
Tahib tours; short walk, long smoke, great view and a monster lunch somewhere along the way. Manuel of the mountains, Chimney smoking, photo taking and story telling. Lost the dope but with leetle beetle good chance, "Tu a compris or non?"
In no time at all the shift from M.M.T.(Mickey Mouse Time) to T.S.T. (Tafroute Some Time) has been made. The days have slipped through in groups of 2 and 3, uncounted and unrecorded and well, what of them?
A deep breath, try to grab hold of my head as it floats by and off we go; A round of drinking tea, Husseins shop, Absalom at the Hotel, round at Mo's gaff for midnight Tagines & tea with ginger and cloves, Arshech music and too much dope. Comedia buiscuts, eat the shop dry, Henrys Yoco bar, it's out of date, and there goes Tom Selleck again driving his brand new Donkey.
Over to Tahib's house for the Africa Cup, can't miss second half. Music swaps, change old for new, walkmans running overtime. Market day, teapots and oranges, time flies by, Market day again and the washing's still out.
"Manage to smoke the weather out, hot sun and blue skies, out basking like sharks soaking up the sun out on yet more pootles taking yet more photos of yet more rocks. Back again to smoke some more, local hooch in the house, Psychedelic surfin nativity syndrome, chess board floors and is this water safe to shave in? Mo strolling the boulevards of Taf, then hunkering down against the growing storm, building up and burning down.
Take Hanging gardens and mountain plateaus, photo calls and cigarette breaks. Blend in gently with coffee and conversation, add a more than generous pinch of best local herbage and smoke the mixture for a while in a storm. Turn out for plenty of walks and adventures in a boulder balanced Star Trek playground in about 70 degrees of sun, not forgetting, of course the essential touch of inflatable purple electric guitar.
