Today is a short trip, but my boss is on a shopping spree at a store and we haven’t set off until sundown.
I kept thinking about the expression of the French female boss in the old castle. It was a complex expression of sympathy and puzzlement. She didn’t know why I, as a photographer, would accompany this crazy lady.
I told her that the boss just fired the accompanying assistant the day before, so now I am both the photographer and the translator.
Since this is work, I can only show my professionalism as much as possible. But while she was obsessed with picking out the various wares, I sneaked into a small teahouse next door.
It was a small teahouse like home, with a simple long low table and people sitting on the bench against the wall. Various musical instruments and early black and white photos were hung on the wall. When I walked in, Several old men are playing with emotion.
I was immediately attracted by this atmosphere, consciously found a place to sit down, and immersed myself in it within a minute.
The musical instrument played by the old man is very similar to Xinjiang’s Rewapu. Since he has lived in Xinjiang for a long time, he immediately developed a good impression of this musical instrument. After chatting, I learned that this instrument is called the oud, which is a traditional musical instrument in North Africa and is also known as the ancestor of the guitar. The sound of the piano has a distant and lively feeling, as if walking in the endless desert, and as if visiting a lively market in person.
I let go of the tiredness of the day following the music, and my mood is infinitely beautiful. He whispered unconsciously: This is travel.
Only then did one of the grandpas notice me, asked me with his eyes if I wanted mint tea, nodded his thanks, put down his instrument, got up and walked to the stove to make a cup of mint tea for me.
All of this is naturally like visiting someone’s house, and I feel unprecedented relaxation along the way.
Before leaving, I bought a CD in the store, and only then did I know that these grandpas used to be musicians. Music brought them happiness and grew old with them. Many people chanted slogans saying that music is their life, and how many people, like these grandpas, have truly felt the charm of music and never gave up from the beginning to the end.
I finally finished shopping. There are all kinds of clothes and bags around me. Fortunately, there is still a small space in my seat.
We set off in the dark, and today’s destination is Chefchaouen, the legendary blue city that is expected.
I rolled down the car window and watched the city lights recede little by little, and then disappear little by little. After a while, we entered the mountains.
Our car zigzags forward on the winding mountain road, and the place illuminated by the headlights flickers. Perhaps at this time, for other planets in the universe, our lights are like the stars in their night sky. Twinkle.
I like the occasional night drive, which also makes me feel like traveling, until a phone rings and we face a new test.
The boss and the assistant did not break up peacefully. After the assistant was fired, he returned to Casablanca angrily, and planned to take the next day’s flight back to Chengdu. But when she rented a car and suppressed the assistant’s passport, she couldn’t get her own passport due to communication problems, and had conflicts with the car rental company. The rental car company called and said he was concerned about the safety of his car and asked to see his car by 8 am tomorrow morning or call the police.
The three of us who had never encountered such a situation were stunned. I explained all kinds of things to the car rental company, but the other party didn’t leave any room for it, and finally hung up the phone and stopped answering.
In the end, there was really no other way. The boss decided to send me to Chefchaouen first and then drive back to Casablanca with her boyfriend to deal with the car rental.
The return journey is 500 kilometers, at night, I am worried about their safety. Fortunately, they are all people who play outdoors, and driving is not bad. I usually have a similar experience in the mountainous areas around Chengdu. I just agreed to their plan.
It was early morning when I arrived in Chefchaouen, and this small blue city appeared in front of me under the illumination of street lamps. I have no appreciation for it, and I am exhausted to the extreme. The boss booked a homestay online, but the roads in this small town are complicated, and we couldn’t find the place at all according to the navigation.
Appeared in a strange place in the middle of the night, couldn’t find a place to live, saw a small shop that was still open, so I got out of the car to ask for directions, the boss and her boyfriend were waiting for me in the car.
It may be related to the tourist attraction. As soon as the car stopped, a group of men gathered around and asked the boss if he needed a place to stay. It’s a pity that both the boss and her boyfriend can’t speak English, so they closed the car window expressionlessly.
After I asked for the way, the owner told me enthusiastically that the owner of this store was in the queue watching our car. He called the owner and told him that we were his customers.
The owner of the homestay is a young man in his 20s with slightly curly hair, wearing a comfortable sweatshirt and full of beard. I hastily smiled and told him sorry we were late. Unexpectedly, he gave me a cold expression back. I said impatiently, I have been waiting for you.
Then the boss and the others returned to Casa, and I followed the homestay owner to the place where I lived. His face was full of displeasure, which also made me nervous.
I walked into an alley with him, and the waiter helped me carry my luggage up to the second floor. I stood in front of the cash register and registered my passport with the boss. Expensive room, but to be honest I don’t want to host you guys.
I ask him why?
He said, although you Chinese are relatively rich, you are very rude.
I was still confused and asked him why.
He went on to say, I saw your car coming in just now, and I was worried that you were my guests and couldn’t find my house, so I went up to ask, but when your friends saw us, they looked very scared, as if we were all bad people Also closed the windows.
I hasten to explain that they don’t speak English so they don’t understand what you are talking about.
He replied to me again: Can’t you smile if you don’t understand English?
I finally understood the reason for his anger, that our attitude towards strangers made him feel uncomfortable.
Maybe we have met liars before, so we will be cautious when we meet other people’s enthusiasm, maybe we have seen robbers before, so we will unconsciously protect our bags, maybe we have heard of criminals committing crimes, so we dare not Go out at night.
Our self-protection that we think is normal will actually reject the kindness of many enthusiastic people, we will not be able to make local friends, and we will lose the most important experience in travel.
I unconsciously lowered my head and said sorry in embarrassment.
At this time, the boss’s girlfriend came in and saw me standing there frustrated, so she came to chat with me. After chatting, I found out that she is from Taiwan and had gone to school in the United States. I was very excited to be able to communicate in my mother tongue. She seemed to be very interested in my experience, so we sat on the sofa and chatted all the time. She also asked the homestay owner to get me something to eat and said I must be starving. So we talked until late at night. I saw that it was getting late, so I proposed to take a rest.
The next morning, I woke up in the morning light. Although I experienced some unhappiness yesterday, seeing a brand-new town under the sunshine was as joyful as the first blooming flowers, and everything seemed to have a new beauty .
I was just about to go out for breakfast when I met the owner of the homestay who was about to knock on my door. He gave me an embarrassed look and said to me with an attitude of admitting his mistake: My girlfriend told me about your experience. I have a bad attitude, I misunderstood you, and to express my apologies, I will serve you breakfast for free.
So he took me to the roof, told the chef to prepare breakfast for me, and wished me a happy day.
The blue town is like a dream. When you are in it, you will have the illusion of walking in a fairy tale.
Traveling is one experience after another. No matter whether those experiences are good or not, when you look back, they are indispensable memories in the travel.
Aren’t we just walking on the road with joy in order to gain these experiences?
