(To follow the full Morocco trip, start at TRAVEL: Morocco 1)
Snippets from the second day of our trip to Morocco. Another thrilling day on the African continent!
Tym, Emily and I started the day with a run. It was hard to know what Emily should wear considering the conservative nature of the culture. We ended up with one of my baggie shirts and her leggings with her shorts on top of that. The run was short, a little over two miles, and around a high-wall compound that we're 90% sure was a golf course/club. Guards dotted the perimeter. We worried when passing the first one, but after a quick "Bonjour" exchange we figured we were in the clear. The birds had chipped out holes in the walls and they flitted in and out of them, chirping happily. There was a cow lazing under an orange tree.
Afterwords I showered in the riad and since it had no shower curtain and I didn't have my glasses I sorta flooded the bathroom. Not a huge deal but we ended up having to use all of our towels to sop it up. After the shower incident, we got breakfast on the roof of our riad. The roof was perched at level with all the other rooftops, laying out the whole city for our eyes to feast upon, with mountain ranges in the distance. The breakfast was delicious, with sweet peppermint tea, bread, cheese, chocolate croissants, yogurt, a fried cake, a cornbread thing called Harcha and the best orange juice I ever tasted. Satiated, we got in the car and headed to the ruins of the ancient roman city of Volubilis. On the drive we saw sheep in the road, children chasing cows and fields of olive trees. In many places the farms were naturally fenced in by huge rows of prickly pear cacti and massive agaves.
Once at Volubilis, we walked through intricate mosaics, columns and even a few gates still standing. Truly awe-inspiring. From there we drove through a town perched atop a hill. Equally terrifying as yesterday's drive through the city but with the added horror of steep inclines. We survived and returned to Meknas. We had lunch in a makeshift restaurant in the center of the medina. While we sat, we saw peacocks and an ostrich and even friggin' snake charmers (we didn't stop to watch because it wasn't clear how we were supposed to pay them). The food at the restaurant was good (I got a vegetable tajine). They lunch would have been more pleasant if there weren't a small gang of bees harassing us through most of the meal. There were also stray cats begging underfoot. When we finished, we went wandering.
We were trying to find a few landmarks of interest, but we struggled without a guide and a general mistrust of anyone giving us directions. The few we met who did know English keep trying to push us into shops and restaurants. At the scariest moment, we got lost in a maze of alleys and thought we wouldn't be able to find our way out. But miraculously, we got through the labyrinth. Unfortunately we didn't manage to find much of anything and decided to chill at a cafe and have a tea. We planned tomorrow, went back to the riad and watched the sunset on the roof. The night ended with a game and snacks!
Week 36
Snippets from the second day of our trip to Morocco. Another thrilling day on the African continent!
Tym, Emily and I started the day with a run. It was hard to know what Emily should wear considering the conservative nature of the culture. We ended up with one of my baggie shirts and her leggings with her shorts on top of that. The run was short, a little over two miles, and around a high-wall compound that we're 90% sure was a golf course/club. Guards dotted the perimeter. We worried when passing the first one, but after a quick "Bonjour" exchange we figured we were in the clear. The birds had chipped out holes in the walls and they flitted in and out of them, chirping happily. There was a cow lazing under an orange tree.
Afterwords I showered in the riad and since it had no shower curtain and I didn't have my glasses I sorta flooded the bathroom. Not a huge deal but we ended up having to use all of our towels to sop it up. After the shower incident, we got breakfast on the roof of our riad. The roof was perched at level with all the other rooftops, laying out the whole city for our eyes to feast upon, with mountain ranges in the distance. The breakfast was delicious, with sweet peppermint tea, bread, cheese, chocolate croissants, yogurt, a fried cake, a cornbread thing called Harcha and the best orange juice I ever tasted. Satiated, we got in the car and headed to the ruins of the ancient roman city of Volubilis. On the drive we saw sheep in the road, children chasing cows and fields of olive trees. In many places the farms were naturally fenced in by huge rows of prickly pear cacti and massive agaves.
Once at Volubilis, we walked through intricate mosaics, columns and even a few gates still standing. Truly awe-inspiring. From there we drove through a town perched atop a hill. Equally terrifying as yesterday's drive through the city but with the added horror of steep inclines. We survived and returned to Meknas. We had lunch in a makeshift restaurant in the center of the medina. While we sat, we saw peacocks and an ostrich and even friggin' snake charmers (we didn't stop to watch because it wasn't clear how we were supposed to pay them). The food at the restaurant was good (I got a vegetable tajine). They lunch would have been more pleasant if there weren't a small gang of bees harassing us through most of the meal. There were also stray cats begging underfoot. When we finished, we went wandering.
We were trying to find a few landmarks of interest, but we struggled without a guide and a general mistrust of anyone giving us directions. The few we met who did know English keep trying to push us into shops and restaurants. At the scariest moment, we got lost in a maze of alleys and thought we wouldn't be able to find our way out. But miraculously, we got through the labyrinth. Unfortunately we didn't manage to find much of anything and decided to chill at a cafe and have a tea. We planned tomorrow, went back to the riad and watched the sunset on the roof. The night ended with a game and snacks!
Week 36
Stats:
Running Mileage: 699.88/1,000
Drinks: 275/365
Vegan: 39/100
Books Completed: 19/25
Words Written: 259,249/350,000
Fasts (Days without)
Internet: 117/171
TV: 91/120
Gaming: 115/141
Booze: 115/163
Coffee: 113/150
Junk (Savory): 74/100
Junk (Sweet): 125/100
Eat Out: 177/100
Junk (Sweet): 125/100
Eat Out: 177/100
Today's Haiku
Ancient stone pillars
radiating history
shamelessly selfied
Today's Workoutradiating history
shamelessly selfied
Running (Whoa!): 2.4 miles
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