Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 12

Day 9. 28thJan (Tuesday) Last night we went to the on-site bar! It had a pool table and football on screens, just like home! Quite strange really over here. Eventually we settled on a bottle of red wine from the Meknes area (to the North, near Fez) which we drank after a game of pool which Mike won. Were given a large plate of fritters, olives & cold chick peas and another plate of salted popcorn. The only downside was the loud local music which we found annoying and had to shout over. Most others in the bar seemed local Moroccans. When I went to pay it was not the 70Dhs we had expected but 150Dhs (£14)! We left at midnight feeling merry… Got up late and had a good hot shower and washed 2 t-shirts, ... read more

Day 7. 26thJan We got up at around 9, a good lie-in for us recently. Michael said he preferred a walk before breakfast so we went half a mile, towards the Bahia Palace to the South East of our Hotel and had a pancake with cream cheese and jam (on the menu as butter & honey, but near enough). Then into Bahia Palace (70Dh) (10Dh in my guide book!) which was quite spectacular and extensive. Fantastically intricate mosaics on walls and ceilings, nice gardens in large courtyards, amazing painted ceilings, small stained glass windows in many colours – larger ones in just a few colours. We spent about an hour there admiring the detail. Quite a few parties were being guided around but we managed to avoid having our own, which was good. In the Grand ... read more

Day 5. 24thJan (continued) We did go out last night at around 8pm, after an hours siesta. Walked up past the Grand Socco looking for a mobile shop that was shown on Google but didn’t exist! We both needed them as neither could get a signal out here. As we were returning it started raining, raining heavy, very heavy. We took shelter under shop awnings, only moving on when it eased off. Still got soaked literally to the skin. Found a mobile shop much nearer to our hotel and bought sim cards. Michael had no trouble with his (€8) although it took some time setting up in the shop. I just bought one with no data on it (€3), thinking I would sort it out when we returned to the Hotel (where my phone was). The ... read more

Departure 1 When making a to-do list for an upcoming trip, I work backward. I imagine my return. Cats alive? (Buy cat food.) Electricity on? (Pay bills.) At least a pot's-worth of coffee? (Buy beans.) The hardest part of making travel arrangements is getting to and from airports. It's easier to get from San Francisco to Fes than getting from home to SFO. Jennifer, my travel companion, spent an evening searching through options to get from Newark to her connecting flight from JFK to Austin. In the end, it was cheaper to simply abandon the JFK ticket and buy a new ticket from Newark to Austin. Also, the friendly skies aren't so friendly anymore. I used to look at my itinerary with a sense of satisfaction, a completed jigsaw puzzle with every piece neatly locked into ... read more

22.01.2020 FES After spending a free day exploring Chefchaouen, we moved on to Fes yesterday, and we are here for 2 nights. On the way we stopped at the ancient city of Volubilis, which covers a 42 hectare area. The then capital was founded in the 3rd century BC!!! The city was extremely well preserved until the Lisbon earthquake in 1755, when it was pretty much flattened. We stopped in Meknes for lunch. Shane has developed more than a liking for moroccon tacos. Hamid now asks every day, " Shane (pronounced Shine) my friend, what would you like for your lunch today? More tacos?" . " Sounds good", says Shine.? Then its a whirlwind tour of the city, including the granery which used to hold up to 20 years worth of grain, and the royal stables ... read more