A Traveler’s Tale: How to Survive the Many Modes of Transportation in Morocco: Part II

So I thought it was about time that I write part two of my adventures in traveling around Morocco. I left with the grand taxis which are each so fun and different and honestly there is even more to them than I said. Like certain areas of the country have certain color grand taxis… but anyways I could go on and on.

2. Souk Buses

These are one of the cheapest ways to ride in style. Souk buses are comparable to Greyhound, Peoria Charter Buses, and Megabus… but! the cheap version. Imagine a school bus, but with individual seats, an awesome paint job (chipped blue paint with logo), windows that don’t always open, and a number of objects tied down to the roof. They are cheaper than grand taxis and can end up getting incredibly packed. People sit in the aisle, hang in the door ways, and I can’t remember if I’ve seen it yet, but there could be the occasional person on top of a souk bus.

One interesting thing is that they act like grand taxis. They can go from larger town to even bigger town and can pass through a number of smaller villages or towns on the way. So they will stop anywhere along the destination picking up people and letting people off. Souk buses can feel like they take forever. A three hour drive ends up almost five with the amount of stops and water breaks.

That’s the worst a souk bus can be and honestly most times they aren’t so bad. Sometimes they’re an old nice bus or sometimes they’re not packed. Sometimes you get two seats to yourself next to the window. Sometimes you may be so lucky as to be on a souk bus with a working AC (that usually just blows air around, but better than nothing.)

There are also more expensive bus companies to use in Morocco like CTM, Supratours. They always leave on time, almost always AC, lots of leg room, but of course they are also a bit more expensive than souk buses. Although it’s worth shelling out an extra 20 diharms for the AC in the summer or if you’re going through the rough Marrakech to Ouarzazate pass when it’s hard for even the people with an iron stomach not to get a little queasy. But YAY souk buses, they are most often the way to go.

3. Transit

Are you wondering what the heck a transit is? Transit… is a big box like van and they get there name from the actual name of a model of van called Transit. So not all transits have to be “a Transit”, but any big boxy like van or shuttle looking thing is considered a transit. These vans don’t hold 8 people though, but usually around 15 or more? Depends on how creative the passengers are with the positioning of their selves and how close they want to get.

How is it possible to fit that many people in? Well they rip out the seats and replace them with bus seats kinda. Long bus benches I like to call them. So yeah at least three people fit on a bench, usually there are 3 benches. Two people in the front seat and all the people who get stuck standing along the door or sitting on the floor, that’s how you get all those people in a tiny van, but I can’t forget all the stuff that gets put on the roof, similar to a souk bus.

Transits are usually used in smaller villages going to a bigger village. This is especially true if a town doesn’t have a souk (market) in their town, then they usually have transits that make frequent trips to their souk town. It all depends on the size of the village and the distance they have to drive to reach the nearest big town. For example: My friend lives in Errichidia province and is up on a mountain. Her site is small enough that they don’t have a taxi stand and the terrain can be too difficult for taxis, so the only way to get in and out of her site is by transit. There are only two transits and they leave around 4-5am in the morning to drive 2.5 hours to the nearest big town. The transit drivers will usually have a set time that they leave and either your on the transit or you get stuck in that town. It can be quite tricky for some volunteers.

My town is big enough that there are no transits that go from my town to the next. Although some of the outlying villages do use transits to come into my site. I’ve got it relatively easy having a taxi stand in site.

4. Back of the truck or camio

This is huge near me. It almost seems that transits are used less and people ride in the back of trucks more often. These trucks almost always have a metal frame on the back that goes up high (used for trucks who transport livestock) and as many people as possible will back into the back all standing up and leaning on the frame. The frames are solid and seem safe, but it’s crazy seeing a truck full of people standing up going fast through the mountain roads. I see this a lot on souk day for people heading back to the outlying villages. This form of transportation is definitely prohibited by Peace Corps, so don’t worry. We leave this form of transportation solely for Moroccans.

5. Donkey, horse, foot…

These are all relatively self explanatory, but in the rural areas people do still ride their donkeys, horses, and walk a lot.

Of course there are more than these modes of transportation, but these are the most common we use or see often. Occasionally a person has their own person vehicle, bike, scooter, but I think the five I listed are some of the more exciting in Morocco. I mean who knows which taxi driver you’ll end up with, who you’ll get stuck next to on the souk bus, or what sort of mood your transit driver is in. Whether you’re flying through the mountains or passing a horse and cart by going into the oncoming traffic lane… it’s all part of the adventure and the rush of traveling in Morocco.

I must request that you don’t fret or worry about traveling here. I have yet to hear about a grand taxi accident or transit accident. These drivers have been doing this their whole lives and I trust them. Sometimes we drive down the middle of the road in both lanes, pass in no passing zones, and don’t get me started on petit taxis in the big cities (act just like what we think of as regular taxis, stay in the city and don’t go on long trips), but I mean in the states we have our fair share of crazies on the road. Anywho… I hope this is enlightening on the modes of transport in Morocco. Whichever is chosen, it’s usually an adventure.

A Traveler’s Tale: How to Survive the Many Modes of Transportation in Morocco

I haven’t written anything on exactly how PCV’s travel around this relatively tiny country and it’s a topic that is quite important to a PCV’s sanity or lack there of… why you ask?...

Well to preface all the information I’ll talk about, let me first tell you about my travels the weekend before last. I decided to meet up with a PCV in the capital of our province which is only about 80 km away from my site. If I could hop into a car and drive at a normal speed, it would take almost two hours to arrive in Azilal. Well… since as PCV’s we are not allowed to drive in country (and where in the world would I get a car anyway), we use modes of transportation that more often than not require lots of waiting and scheduling for waiting time. What should have been a two hour trip ended up being a little over 7 hours. I got into town around 7 pm and was hoping to leave the next morning around 10 am. Almost not worth the trip right? I’d say yes, but to make up for it I stayed in Azilal til the afternoon. The trip back... was 8 hours and a required a little light bending of PCV travel rules… oops. So I hope this little short story sums up the wonderful frustrations one can have while traveling in Morocco. Now let me tell you exactly why my trips were so long…

To have a car in Morocco is a wonderful luxury and in a lot of the small towns and villages that PCV’s live, it’s usually safe to say that most families don’t own a car. But it’s not like these towns are isolated, so how do they get around? Here are the top five ways to travel: 1.Grand Taxi 2.Souk Bus 3.Transit 4.The Back of a Truck 5.Donkey, Horse, On foot even. The preferred and Peace Corps approved means of travel are Grand Taxi and Bus (also train, but that’s only between major cities).

What do I mean by grand taxi? Grand taxis are usually old Mercedis Benz or other big boat like cars. A grand taxi does trips between towns, major cities, basicly anywhere. A lot of waiting can be involved when using a grand taxi, because a grand taxi fits 6 passengers and a driver won’t leave until the car is full or all the seats have been paid for. So if you’re lucky enough to be the 6th passenger as soon as you walk to the taxi stand, then off you go, but if you are the first person wanting to go to a destination (depending on the destination of course) then get ready to wait.

It’s incredible the number of factors that go into the estimation of wait time for a taxi to leave… you have to consider if it’s a place people travel to a lot (say big town like Beni Mellal), what time of day it is (anytime near lunch time… no good), what day of week it is (travel when a souk is going on is usually easier), and yeah all sorts of factors. To give a few more examples… the weekend I went to Azilal as I waited in Oui (the town in between Tag and Azilal) for almost 2 and half hours. During that time I watched as 5 (and yes that’s a lot) taxis went to Beni Mellal. But just last weekend when traveling with David, as soon as we got into Oui from Beni Mellal, we were the last 2 to fill a taxi and off we went. No wait time. I like to call it traveler’s luck. You either got it or you don’t, and it’s a cruel thing that comes and goes. I’ve had the worst luck this past month.

Of course if you had the money to pay for extra seats a taxi will leave sooner, but I tend to use it as a last resort. This is where the rule bending comes in… PCV’s are not allowed to travel when it’s dark. I honestly think it’s a good rule considering the roads have no streetlights in the mountains and yeah sometimes grand taxis are scary enough during the day let alone at night. So the weekend I was stuck in Azilal, I finally got to Oui and was stuck there. I was pushing the last 15 minute window I knew I could leave and get back before dark. Thankfully another person in the taxi couldn’t wait and so we split 3 seats between us. It was a hit to my wallet and the latest I’ve ever traveled in Morocco.

Grand taxis deserve their own blog posting and so I’ll talk just a little about the drivers and then pick up this blog later. I like to think that there are two kinds of grand taxi drivers… the ones who drive like bats outta hell and the lil old grandpa’s with their hands at 11 and 2. I’ve grown to love the crazy drivers, because while at times you think they just might drive right off the cliff, they do save you time. Heck I was a fast driver in the States and I’m still a speed demon here, because when you’re driving with grandpa in a super crowded, hot, stinky, taxi up a mountain and he’s going 10 mph… that’s the worst and takes me to the brink of my sanity. So yes, safety aside I want the guy gunning it up the hills and blaring his horn around the corners so he doesn’t have to slow down. Don’t let my perceived craziness of the driving here worry you, dear reader. Every good story needs a little exaggeration.

And while traveling in Morocco can be frustrating at times, its one of those things that Im getting used to and beginning to enjoy. One time I read 4 magazines while waiting for a taxi. Gotta look for the bright side and my reading and people watching is greatly benefiting from long waits. I will continue this blog soon. These are very important aspects of life that need to be addressed and after that, my wedding and other celebration stories thus far. Believe me there are some quirky customs here.