We find that we are both a little apprehensive about how we will get along here - the seemingly incomprehensible maze of streets poses a real challenge.
The riad itself is good -a nice big room with high ceilings and a huge shower cubicle - about 2m x 1.5m. There is hot water and the water is not only potable but tastes good too.
We elected to have breakfast on the terrace (fresh-squeezed at orange juice, coffee, bread and jam), but were not warmly enough dressed but it was not cold, just cooler than in our room. Not much to see except several of the mosque towers. House rules state that you may not look into neighbours' terraces - not that there was anything to see.
After kitting up for the day we asked a young woman of the house to direct us to us to the Medersa Ben Youssef. Her directions were good (only two turns) and we were there within five minutes. We got tickets to the three attractions there - the museum, the mederssa and an archaeological site. The museum had a very good central hall with rooms off to the side via twisty passages. Mainly stonework and painted wood. Nice, but not up to the standard of Indian craftsmen. Perhaps the quality of the available stone was a factor. The mederssa was also good but with many small rooms for the students.
We had followed a tout who was trying to lure us to see the leather tannery apparently only open on Wednesdays. After a trailing behind him for close to a kilometer with no indication of arriving at the destination we quietly abandoned him and turned back. I'm becoming less nice perhaps.
Then the real challenge, part 1, of the day began - finding our way to the main square, Jemma el Fna. As advised by the LP, we asked shopkeepers along the way and their directions were mercifully correct. We arrived just before noon and the square (not a square at all, quite irregular in fact) and after a quick glance around we started looking for lunch opportunities. We found one that seemed suitable almost immediately. We shared a tajine for two - only one bowl, no plates. Acceptable but that's all.
Our next task was get Internet and a SIM. We found a Cyber place on the square, but Windows would not connect to it, i.e. no IP address - bummer! We did manage to buy a SIM right next door. There was a choice of three different SIM cards from the same network - Maroc Telecom - but the blokes could not explain the difference. Naturally we chose the most expensive one and also got a recharge to give us about 100 DH of calls at 4 / 6 DH per min night/day on the same network.
From there we walked through the square, all the while, just like on the way through the passages, avoiding bicycles, motorcycles, hand carts and cars. Avoiding this traffic, especially that coming from behind, was something that made Joan very nervous. It required some attention in the laneways, but on the square I tended to just emulate the locals - walk with purpose and you will be avoided.
We thought we wanted to get money from a bank but thought better of it. At least we know where the ATMs are. We also got prices on a tour to the waterfall that was significantly cheaper than what our host was pushing, albeit in a group rather than individually.
Across the square was the Koutoubia mosque with the prominent tall tower. Crossing the main drag - Blvd Mahomed V - was reminiscent of Saigon conditions (who dares wins). Joan has a lot of trouble with this, but left to her own devices it might take a while. When we cross, even though she is holding my arm, she tries to tug me back if she imagines danger from approaching vehicles, the ensuing hesitation putting us both at risk (in my opinion).
After walking around the mosque (westerners are not allowed into any mosque in Morocco) we had coffee in a café opposite - very good for the feet. Studying the map, we noticed that the Cyber Park was only several hundred metres away. We imagined this to mean free wifi. There did appear to be a hotspot but again we could not connect. I'm beginning to think that I need to be on mains to do this successfully, even though the battery was fully charged in today's attempts.
Not a total loss though, as this was a very well-kept and beautiful park - many orange trees. The bonus was a collection of many large photos on display, by the same photographer, Yann Arthus Bertrand, whose work we had seen in Miraflores (Lima) two years ago. Terrific stuff.
We did another sweep around the square. We had intended to go back to the riad to freshen up before returning to the square for dinner. Due to the late hour - 5:30 - we thought better of it, deciding to have a drink on the terrace of one the buildings fronting the square. I desperately wanted a beer but they did not serve alcohol. Nice view, but the sun was opposite making photography less rewarding.
Joan had read about the nightly open air dining in the square. Indeed, as described by the LP, they had already started setting up before we went for our drink and now they were in full swing. The touts at each kiosk are reasonably persistent but not offensive. They simply step in front of you to keep you from getting away. The first one (at kiosk # 1) was very young but most charming and we promised to come back after doing a tour. Joan had a chicken tajine and I had a lamb kebab. Her serving was much larger than mine, so I ate most of a plate of olives to bulk up. Bread (round, flatish small loaves) is automatically part of the meal, it seems. The meat was tough so I was not impressed, but at $15 for two I couldn't complain too much.
We had worried about the walk home, as we couldn't remember the way. However after asking again several times we made it back without incident. This bodes well for the remaining days. However, as we had been out all day, our legs, feet and back were collectively sore and tired.
Felt better after a short rest and shower though. Then on to do the photo, budget and journal tasks.
Off to bed at 10pm.
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