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Published: March 6th 2016
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Day 6 - Goodbye Casablanca, hello Meknes, Volubilis, AFRA Project and Fes
Last night I shared a room with Heather from Toronto. Originally, she was upset at the prospect of sharing, but she accepted it, we actually got on well. As always, I slept like a baby!
We set our alarms for 6am, for breakfast at 7. I was well rested, and up, showered, dressed and packed by 6.30. Breakfast was good. I went for all three course: cereal and fruit, omelette with salad and bread, then a croissant and coffee.... Hmmmm, I love my breakfast more than any other meal of the day!
We set off on the tour bus at 8am. Everyone was on time and ready to go. We expect to be stopping in about 2 hours at the imperial city of Meknes.
Just for your information, the majority of tourist taxis here in Morocco, Petite Taxis, are little red Peugeot 205 cars. They are everywhere, and really easy to find as they are so distinctive, a bit like our black cabs!
We had a welcome coffee stop after 2 1/2 hours driving. I got really brave and used my limited French to
get served; felt proud! I got everything I asked for!
During the journey so far, the things that I have noticed are the use of horse ploughs in the fields, lots of olive trees and sugar beet, many shepherds and horse drawn carts. I did try to take photos, but as we are moving swiftly along, I have been unsuccessful, but will keep trying!
We arrive at Moulay Idris, then we passed through to Volubilis, where we had a local guide to guide us around the Roman Empire. It was amazing how well everything is preserved; the mosaics, the walls, the underfloor sewers and heating systems were all still in place! Unbelievable!
We got back on the bus to be taken to the G supported Planneyerra project, NAFER. We had a really good lunch there, followed by an Arabic literacy lesson. Intriguing! We all agreed it's such a good cause, teaching literacy to the people who have no access to education. That's what I love about travelling with GADV, with every tour; they always give back in a way that supports individuals work towards sustainability to aim for a better future.
Casablanca to Meknes is about
240km. Meknes is a city in northern Morocco and the sixth largest city of the kingdom. Meknès was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail, before it was relocated to Marrakesh.
We went to see inside the grain store inside the Royal city; it was so cold inside, and huge!
We then continued our visit the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, and then the final stop was at the Bab Mansour, the biggest and most beautiful gate in Morocco. He took the marble columns were taken from the Roman ruins of Volubilis and placed them here!
We are now going to Fez, where will be for the next 2 nights. The group are going for a Moroccan night tonight, I've decided to stay in the hotel as I'm not hungry. I had a huge breakfast, and a decent lunch! But also, it's been such a long day!
Im sharing with Heather again, which is fine. Heather lent me a pair of socks for my very cold feet, and I shared my 4 way use plug with get! We are both benefitting from sharing!
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