The owners of the guest house on the beach at Dahomey Plage offered us two days free, but we couldn't accept; we have only a week or so left in Morocco, so I have planned ahead and booked where we will be over the last few days here. As we waved goodbye to the loveliest of people, and thanked them for letting us use their amazing beachhouse, the first rain arrived.
This country smells. Sometimes the smells are good and sometimes the smells are bad, but there always seems to be an aroma coming from somewhere. In Marrakech it was the grilled food in the street, and sometimes the dirty streets. In Fes it was a hot dusty smell. In Essaouira it was the sea and fish from the port. But, there have been a couple of occasions where the smell of sewers in our accommodation has been really bed, and we've had to leave the windows wide open all night just to get some air in the room. I write this blog while smelling dirty damp water somewhere, but I am sat in the cleanest of guest houses. Very very odd.
We drove through the rain to Rabat, the capital of Morroco. We had planned to visit for the day throughout the previous week, but given the sunshine we kept putting it off and
decided that we'd visit on our next travelling day given that we would be passing fairly close by. Given that we hadn't packed for wet weather at all, I was a little anxious about the darkening skies and the idea of wandering through the streets in pouring rain.
Unfortunately, the skies continued to darken and when we arrived in Rabat, I could see that it wasn't going to abate so made the decision to just carry on and miss out on exploring. I am sad not to have had a chance to nose around, but I also know that I hate trying to enjoy myself in the rain when I would simply be wearing a cotton t shirt and cotton leggings.
You win some, you lose some I guess. It was absolutely the right decision though - it continued to rain and then thunderstorm throughout the rest of the day and through the night.
Taking a break from the coast, we headed inland to the north side of Meknes, a cool city not that far from Fes. We had been looking for somewhere to stop and eat for the whole drive, but hadn't found anywhere that looked worth a shot, until we drove into the suburbs of this city and saw the golden arches of Ronald McDonald. Now, we're not ones for seeking out food from home; we're more than happy to sample the local cuisine and experience the culture through food, but when you're hungry and there doesn't appear to be another option, it's easy to be swayed. So yep, we pulled into the carpark and saw that not only was there a McDonalds in this town, but it was sat next to a KFC and a Pizza Hut! Whaaaat!? lol
We've seen a few signs for McDonalds during our travels, but genuinely they aren't common in this country, or at least not where we've been. The coastal route has had a few, but still they're a novelty.
I was expecting to order some form of tagine burger or cous cous instead of fries, but nope - whilst the menu was different, it still had roughly the same things as on a UK menu. Check out the vid to see what we thought.
Full and less irritable, we made our way to a hotel on the northern outskirts of the city; Hotel Swani. Unfortunately we were given a room that someone had smoked in, but we had a large balcony, so we opened the doors and left them open the whole night which aired the room considerably. It was also nice to listen to the rain when I woke in the night.
As we settled down for a quiet evening, Gaz asked me what I wanted for my birthday (the next day), so I said cake. I love cake. Sponge cake, fruit cake, drizzled, fondant covered, fruity, chocolately it doesnt matter. If its cake, its got my vote. But we've been in Morocco for about 8 weeks and in that time I've not seen a whisper of any cake. They make pastries and they make biscuits, but cake? nope. Anyway, about an hour later Gaz says he's going out to get me cake! He had found a patisserie about 1/2 a mile away and he was going to get me some. So at 7pm he headed out and returned like a champion with fancy chocolate cake. I was so happy. What a sweet thing for him to do for me. very cool. And I could only laugh when having carried it all the way back, he dropped the box when coming into the hotel room. lol Sods law! But even if it didn't look as pretty when all smooshed, it tasted bloody lovely. :-)
The next day we had a good breakfast in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel, and then set off for a touristy day. I had wanted to visit Volubilis, which is why we had travelled over this way from the Coast. And Volubilis didn't disappoint. The sun shone and whilst rain had been forecast, it didn't arrive and we had a lovely day.
Volubilis is an ancient Roman town, the ruins of which are extensive and in some areas in great condition. Eastablished in the 3rd Century BC, it later was ruled by King Juba II (son to Antony and Cleopatra). Most of the main Capitol bulding, the Arc de Triomphe and the arches from The Labours of Hercules House still stand, and the footings and mosaics from the larger homes and bath houses are also available to walk through and clamber over. You can hands-on explore the whole site, something you'd never be able to do at an archealogical site of such significance in Europe. Well worth the trip and would definitely recommend.
Whilst I nearly died of thirst while walking in the heat (why did we forget the water???), it was a great way to spend my birthday, followed by phone calls to friends and family to round off the evening.
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