Hotel Bilbao
I was intrigued by our first room in Tétouan, a room in a budget pension recommended in the lonely planet guide. It was first by the high ceilings, the European architecture comforting in a country seemingly filled with smaller doors built into already-small doors. Second was the color, an odd green that reminded me of my childhood dentist, or that the room I had locked us in used to be some type of insane asylum. Hopefully they've changed the beds. Our experiences with the lonely planet guide (though it is from 2009) have been hit or miss so far, so we've come to not expect too much. Free wifi in the hotel- great, no power outlet- tough. I worked until the laptop was drained.
So far our continued sporadic movements and last minute bus rides have resulted in just a couple full buses and this time some unsuccessful phone calls to try and not get an extravagantly expensive room in Tétouan, a city advertised as being much less frequently visited by tourists than many other Moroccan cities. After the one night we booked hastily just before we left our previous hostel and headed to the bus station, Pension Iberia was full for our remaining days and we were unable to stay another night. After being escorted by an extremely kind an only Arabic-speaking boy from our accommodation to three fully booked hotels there was space left in the fourth. We booked the remaning nights for our original rate and things were looking up when we found a shower and sink in the room. Showers are occasional and laundry for our few garments less frequent, so being able to have both, and for that matter not having to leave our room for them, was pretty special. My brother would certainly not find a similar comfort in these luxuries, but based on our lodging so far and lack of funds this was pretty top notch. I was even more intrigued by this space than the last- the tall door, matching windows, paint textures, colors, and viewless window that brought plenty of voices, music, cool air, and sunshine. Not pictured are the severely damaged floor blocks, noticeable only if you step on the thin rug that was laid down to conceal them. I decided to make a series of photographs in this room about this trip so far, what we've been dealing with so far, how it's affected us, and the feelings we have about the upcoming weeks and months.
So far our continued sporadic movements and last minute bus rides have resulted in just a couple full buses and this time some unsuccessful phone calls to try and not get an extravagantly expensive room in Tétouan, a city advertised as being much less frequently visited by tourists than many other Moroccan cities. After the one night we booked hastily just before we left our previous hostel and headed to the bus station, Pension Iberia was full for our remaining days and we were unable to stay another night. After being escorted by an extremely kind an only Arabic-speaking boy from our accommodation to three fully booked hotels there was space left in the fourth. We booked the remaning nights for our original rate and things were looking up when we found a shower and sink in the room. Showers are occasional and laundry for our few garments less frequent, so being able to have both, and for that matter not having to leave our room for them, was pretty special. My brother would certainly not find a similar comfort in these luxuries, but based on our lodging so far and lack of funds this was pretty top notch. I was even more intrigued by this space than the last- the tall door, matching windows, paint textures, colors, and viewless window that brought plenty of voices, music, cool air, and sunshine. Not pictured are the severely damaged floor blocks, noticeable only if you step on the thin rug that was laid down to conceal them. I decided to make a series of photographs in this room about this trip so far, what we've been dealing with so far, how it's affected us, and the feelings we have about the upcoming weeks and months.
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