Morocco 2007

Meknes

A roadside cafe

After an early start (8am!) we had our first real taste of the convoy system. It took a bit of getting used to, but worked quite well. Ray, in the Unimog, lead the way and we followed along behind, not nose-to-tail, that wasn't necessary - providing that each of us hung back until we could see the motorhome behind, at any junction where there could be a doubt about the right route, there was (hopefully!) little chance of getting lost.

This first whole day set the pattern for the tour, an earlyish start, a three quarter of an hour break mid morning, an hour and a half or so for lunch (often at a roadside cafe or restaurant) and a mid afternoon arrival at the day's destination.

Today's destination was Meknes, a distance of about 260km. We arrived at about 4pm, the arrival at the campsite is spectacular, through stone archways in the old city walls, only just big enough for the 2 RVs to get through! The campsite, International d’Agdal, is conveniently situated only about a mile from the centre of the old city, however it was pretty run down, with no electricity available. We heard later that it is due to be closed for development.

Meknes campsite

Meknes medina - food market

The bread man

As we had the whole of the next day to visit the city we decided to chill out with a glass of wine and get to know some of our fellow travellers.

The next morning we were woken bright and early by the sound of the Moroccan Army Marching Band, who were barracked right next to the campsite!

Riad restaurant

Meknes is fairly close to the Roman site of Volubilis and some of our party decided to share a minibus to go and visit. We aimed to visit it on our way back, so walked into the city - eventually - having got lost on the way (the campsite had no city maps available so we were relying on the map in the Lonely Planet Morocco guide). Meknes is actually a good introduction to Morocco, it is less of a tourist destination than Fes or Marrakesh so consequently you encounter very little hassling, and the souk is relatively small and manageable.

In the evening we, and most of the rest of the group, went into town for a meal at a restaurant converted from a riad (Riads are traditional Moroccan houses or palaces with an interior garden). Entered through a nondescript doorway in a back street, inside the place was amazing - a large covered open space with a fountain in the centre and surrounded by a gallery on columns, everywhere decorated with with traditional tiles and plasterwork. We had a superb meal comprising a huge Moroccan salad followed by brochettes and veal tajine and a big bowl of fresh fruit. Again we were allowed to bring our own wine and were even given additional glasses for it. An excellent evening, total cost for the two of us was 363Dh including taxis & tips.

Cedar forest - Middle Atlas

Only a short trip today, about 65km up to the cedar forest in the Middle Atlas mountains. We left Meknes at around 9am and after a coffee break on the way, drove through Azrou and turned off onto a dirt track around 10km south of the town. Our stopping place was a wild camping spot in clearing on the edge of the forest, a beautiful location, surrounded by huge cedars, and as if on cue, out came a group of wild barbary apes. A mix of adults and young ones, it was great to see them foraging in the forest not far away.

Despite being at around 2000m the afternoon was quite warm - certainly warm enough to sit out in a T shirt. We were lucky, at this time of year it's quite possible for this area to be snowbound! We had lunch sitting outside then set about collecting wood for a campfire, which was lit after supper. We certainly needed the fire - the temperature dropped quickly after the sun went down - it kept us warm while we sat around chatting into the evening. The next morning we awoke to a hard frost!

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