TwoLefts_ThenaRight: A-Trekking I Will Go!

Meknes, Fes and Ifrane

Hey guys! My trip’s over so I’ve come back into your company with stories to share and a joke or two here and there. If you’ve been following twoleftsthenaright and you’ve ACTUALLY been reading my posts, you would have known that I was out exploring this past weekend.

As you may have guessed, Meknes, Fes and Ifrane are the Moroccan cities I visited this weekend - along with two big buses full of other students with whom I already share enough of my living quarters in Rabat. Anyway, as is the usual, these trips have good and bad sides and I’ve been contemplating which version I should give, but then I decided to mix it up and just tell you how it went as it went. Good? Good.

Now, my story goes a little like this:

Day 1

Rabat

All smiles :)... before we knew how long we would be standing in the same spot before getting on the bus :S

Would you believe the nerve of these people who planned this trip! They have me wake up at 6 something in the morning because, according to them, the buses were going to be here at 7 and everyone had to be downstairs at that time inorder to get the trip starting on time. Well, at 7, there were no buses in sight and after they arrived some thirty minutes to an hour later, everyone going on this trip had to stand up for about another two hours, just staring at the buses. Imagine, cold weather, heavy bag (I’m one of those annoying girls who never packs light even for a two day trip) and feeling sleep deprived and the warmth of a bus just steps away from you but you still had to stand in the cold. Fun right? Well, the reason for this was this; the planners of this trip, without giving prior notice to the bus company, decided to add three extra bodies to the group and the bus drivers were refusing to add these bodies to their quota. I guess they eventually came to an agreement because we were finally on the buses just as the rain started. Finally some movement!

Ten minutes or so into the trip, we make our first “pit stop” at this place… not quite sure how to describe it. Just a string of little shops on the side of the road. Anyway, it is there that we meet him↓

Isn't he just charming?

Our toothless violinist was quite entertaining for the 10dirhams that he got from me (compliments Kim’s coin purse). He smiled his heart out as he played God-knows-what on his music machnie, which by the way, seemed to also have a void. This time, it wasn't teeth but it was missing a few strings which were replaced by what looked like thread. Now the man’s got his right to do what he has to inorder to make a buck or two BUT when he started to play a tune that took my mind to the Beverly Hillbillies, it made me start to wonder to what demographic he tought he was providing "entertainment". I was very much into it though, so don’t let my tone fool you :)

The best bus buddy!!! That is until he decided to ditch me :(

Hitting the road again, I didn’t see much of anything but wide, vacant land, and roads that were equally so. That gave me a minute or two to doze off as the 6 am alarm got me off balance. That didn’t last very long and I ended up staring out the window a lot. Then after what felt like forever, we finally got to Meknes :D

Meknes

For me, the visit to Meknes was the highlight of this trip –believe it or not! I was all giddy and what not about the idea of seeing and touching snow for the first time and we may have all thought that it would have done it for me but you’ll later find out about what went on there.

In Meknes, we got to visit Volubilis - the site of the ancient ruins of the Roman empire in Morocco. I did mention in my last post that the little spanish girl living inside me named Dora was all too excited to do some exploring but I had no idea what I was out for. A ~~little~~ lot too dressed up for the occasion, but enthused all the same, I hit the muddy, stony track leading to the top of the hill upon which stood the remains of the beautiful structures which once were the signals of great power and which, today, still hold much significance in the story of a formerly great empire.

Volubilis

It had been raining cats and dogs that day and my boots were very much bought for style as opposed to utility. I must say however, they braved the trek much better than I had expected. Yet another great purchase!

Everywhere pretty much looked like this! Yeah me! :S

So up the hill I went and although I was covered in mud on the way back to the bus, I was so glad I made the journey. To use the words of my friend Janene –whom I dragged up the hill with me - it felt really awesome to be touching a piece of international history. I should have written what she said because it sounded much better than that, but you get the idea.

It’s a feeling much too great for me to explain. Unlike some of my “cultured” friends (Kim and Janene) I didn’t know a thing about this place before I got there and I’m glad I didn’t. It made the experience all the more amazing for me and I really got to awe at what I was stading on. I wished I could have shared the moment with my loved ones who weren’t there but maybe one day I will be able to do just that. Then back to the bus we went; onward to Fes! But first... a few bits of Meknes!