Travel in the US is something that most people see as a minor inconvenience and occasionally a serious undertaking, but things are a little bit different here in Morocco. This weekend I will be travelling to a training session in a site north of mine so it seems appropriate to talk a little bit about travel. There are several different modes of travel available to PCVs in Morocco. There are trains, which are very limited in usefulness as they only run between a few of the largest cities. CTM buses are next up, these are government run tour buses that run at prescribed times along prescribed routes, they only stop at designated stops and are really nice. A step down from this are the souq buses, these run at prescribed times as well but are not as reliable because they'll stop for anyone with a thumb out as long as they have room for another passenger. After that you have the transit, which plays a large role in my life, these are converted Mercedes vans of various vintages and occasionally run according to a schedule but mostly just go when they are full. After that are the ever present taxis, these fit six, are occasionally terrifying (depending on the drive), and leave when they are full not a minute earlier. Some people hitch, but this is against Peace Corps policy and occasionally gets people in trouble when they ride with strangers. Most people who do hitch do so from site only and with people they recognize.
The first thing to know about Moroccan travel is that things are rarely, if ever, on time. However they will occasionally be early and will not wait for you. Waiting, therefore, is a big part of getting around here. If I had a dollar for every hour I waited on transportation I could probably fly home for a bar-b-que sandwich right now. The other thing to remember is that things usually run in one direction in the morning and the other direction at night. It is important to keep this in mind when planning routes and travel times. Take, for example, the transit run from Imilchil to Beni Milal. This run leaves in the morning from Imilchil and will get you to Aghbala in under three hours. You switch transits there and it's just about two more hours to Beni. Seems easy right, it is, but only on the way to Beni from Imilchil. The return trip doesn't work quite that way, because the transit back to Imilchil leaves from Beni in the afternoon and gets to Aghbala in the early evening. The catch is that the transit that takes you the rest of the way leaves from Aghbala to Imilchil in the morning. Thusly you have to either spend the night in Aghbala and budget two days for the trip or take another route. As you can probably tell things get convoluted quickly.
Another interesting wrinkle is that not all forms of transportation are available in all places. My site, for example has only transits. Thus, if you want to get out you have to plan on being ready at certain times. This is not negotiable, the transit will not wait, and it may not show up when you expect. Flexibility is key here. In some sites there is no set transportation schedule and "resident" transport. In these places you have to stand next to the road and wait for something to pass that has room in it. Very few people in these sites have cars; so hitching, if you are willing to risk it, usually isn't a reliable answer either.
The final, and worst, situation is the walk in site. In these sites there isn't even a road to stand next to. You have to hike out to the road to get to the point of waiting for something to pass. I met a young lady the other day that lives in a town eight kilometers from the nearest road. If her luck isn't running, and nothing passes, she walks sixteen K roundtrip for nothing and loses a day. There, but for the grace of god, go I.
On the other end of the spectrum are the sites in large cities. These sites almost always have active and available transportation. All of them have taxies that run throughout the city and to many other places. They usually have CTM stations, souq bus stations, transit stations, and a few have trains. You can literally get wherever you want to go at almost any hour of the day. Hopefully the city where I will be going for my training will have this kind of transportation. A decent Mexican restaurant wouldn't hurt either, but you can't have everything ;-P. Till next time ya'll, take it from me transportation is a luxury not a right. Enjoy yours while you have it, and think of those of us who don't occasionally. Peace.
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