Day 2
We woke up to a bright morning, and a lovely view of the mountains from the riad’s balcony. But despite having a restaurant, ‘their’ breakfast was served in a restaurant at the medina. Hisham joined us for a heavy fare that included hung curd, homemade butter, olives, and their version of peanut butter (but of thinner consistency, and made with almonds and olive oil) called amlou. During the meal, a gust of wind almost dropped a patio umbrella on me. I escaped, and the panicking restaurant owner rushed to thank the local gods by splashing some ‘holy water’ from the top of the umbrella on to me! 😐
The landscape was again at its wonderful best, as we drove towards Volubilis. Once we reached the plains, we stopped for coffee at a gas station (almost all of them have an adjoining coffee shop) in the midst of a whole lot of nothingness. This vast landscape with no habitation was something I was yet to get used to! We noticed that Hisham’s coffee was different from ours – it seemed to have a few layers. Apparently it was nus nus, (“half half”) which had more coffee per coffee. Unrelated random observation – Moroccans also use Indian – style squat toilets.
As we drove along, Hisham mentioned that this was an area famous for oranges, and sure enough – we began seeing them – on trees as well as roadside stalls. Huge oranges! We paused to take pictures, and my camera found a guy who seemed to have had some previous encounters with ‘paparazzi’. Cultural lesson – in Morocco, due to lower temperatures, your camera’s optical zoom creates an illusion that you’re shooting the person, and not the oranges in his stall! So it is good to ask his permission anyway. Thankfully, the distance between us and the car continued to be lesser than the distance between us and him, so he didn’t get a chance to reset that camera feature for me. We zoomed away, listening to Izenzaren, of whom Hisham was a huge fan.
The way to Volubilis, a detour from Fez – which was our final destination for the day – is another fantastic series of sights – undulating hills in varied shades. While the place has been maintained well, it was less informative than the other ruins we have visited. Continuing my cultural camaraderie, I think I managed to piss off the loo attendant by not giving him a tip. In my defense, I thought the tip D gave the (other) attendant covered both our activities!
The next stop was Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, less than 10 minutes away, where Moulay Idriss 1 founded the first dynasty of Morocco and began its Islamisation. A small town with his mausoleum being the main attraction. It is not open to non Muslims, and a young Moroccan was deprived of his tip when we decided not to walk up several flights of stairs to get an aerial view of it.
An elderly man at the parking lot, whom Hisham seemed to know from before or immediately befriended, led us to our lunch spot. Thanks to it being Friday, we tasted Couscous for the first time, and quite liked it! It took us an hour and a half after lunch to finally reach Fez. On the way, we saw a fantastic shade of blue – apparently it was a dam. Set among mountains, some of which were green, and others that had started sporting a sandy colour, it was quite a visual treat.
Before you reach the Fes Le Palais d’Hotes, you must pass through a maze! Actually the Bab Ziat nearby is a good enough landmark. We were welcomed by an elderly man who must know many languages, but none of them in English. The riad was large-hearted and proudly displayed the WiFi password in the courtyard. We smiled until it gave way to frowns, twisting mouths and finally hopelessness, as we figured that our preferred way to navigate the city was no longer an option. Apparently, they had exhausted their plan quota! We then asked if we could get a map, we now hope to get it soon by post! Here too, the way to the room was quite a treasure hunt, and we got lost at least once. D successfully lost herself a second time too. But we would discover in a bit that the biggest impediment to enter the damn room was its door lock. This was especially so when you had the key! The room itself was grand in an old traditional way, the bathroom even had a bidet!
The one landmark from which I thought I could navigate us was the Blue Gate. After we freshened up, I was about to invoke my deadly Dumb C skills to try and communicate this landmark to the elderly manager, when Hisham came back, and showed us the way to the Blue Gate. On the way, we saw the lane to Le Chameau Blue, which was one of our dining options, but Hisham said the area was dangerous at night. Gulp! He said that if we got lost on the way back, we should tip the kids and ask them to show the way. But given this, I took pics of the places we passed. Ha!
The Blue Gate is an entrance to the medina, and we wandered about. We decided to try and find Cafe Clock, one of the places the internet highly recommended, and gave up in 15 minutes. Thankfully, a lovely perfume shop lady gave us the directions. D wouldn’t even buy a small bottle to show our appreciation. Cheap tourists, I tell you! Despite external appearances, the cafe is very lively, and a fun ambiance to be in. After trying the terrace, we decided that my shorts weren’t enough protection against the wind, and chose a table on the upper floor with a view to the central space. The cafe has regular events in the evenings, though we missed them. With Bollywood music in the background, I ordered what I had come for – the camel burger! D chickened out – I think my chewing style brought to her mind the image of a camel – and had a very good salad! Try the almond milk and the Spiced Coffee too.
We walked back slowly. I’d reasoned that Fez would be warmer because we were in the plains, but my legs were doing their own Prabhudeva stunts thanks to the damn cold! Our elderly hotel manager opened the door for us, and asked us to check out the terrace. We said we’d definitely do it the next day. I felt a little sad for him. He was always dressed immaculately in a suit and a welcoming smile, really wanted us to enjoy our time there, and was doing whatever he could. But he just couldn’t find the words to communicate.
Thanks to an old LG TV in the room, D immersed herself in Fashion TV, and I slept off, still carrying a WTF expression on my face!