Rabat to Fez

This morning I woke up at 6:30 (slept very well) and after a quick sink rinse I ran off on another long walk. I wanted to hit the Kasbah again in the daylight and check out the coast. Pretty awesome place, though it was cloudy so the pictures don't do it justice. Several things were very cool. First, the setting itself is pretty spectacular, with the Kasbah nestled (more like encrusted) on top of a bluff, with a river on one side and the Atlantic on the other. Inside the Kasbah the houses with their blue and white paint are very cool, reminiscent of other Mediterranean islands and coastal towns. The view from the top is great.

And while I was meandering toward the Kasbah I was passed by a dude running... with a surfboard. So I figured there had to be a surfing beach, which sure enough was off the far side of the Kasbah. They even have a surfing school by the side of the lighthouse. Will post on Facebook. I also walked down to the beach, which is very flat and at low tide local youth take advantage of the smooth sand to mark off small football (the "real" football) fields and play barefoot. Once the sand is all messed up they make a new field in the next patch over and start again. In the photo you can see the Kasbah walls in the background.

 
Since I had gotten such an early start I decided to catch an earlier train than planned, around Noon. I arrived in Fez around 3:00pm, and now I understand why a couple of people told me that the Medina there is more "authentic" than the one in Marrakech. OMG! The place is enormous. Apparently some 400,000 people live there, and it is one enormous maze. Also, unlike Marrakech, the Fez Medina is set on very hilly terrain. I walked around for 2-3 hours and grabbed some cheap eats: first some sort of yogurt from a cart for 2Dh, then an egg and potato sandwich and some snails (really liking them escargot) for 10Dh, and then splurged on another 10Dh of these incredible pastries: it's a dense pastry drenched in honey and covered with sesame seeds. Actually for that amount of money I got enough pastries for 4-5 people, I still have some in a bag.

And last but not least: I can see why the Riad where I am staying (Dar Melody) is ranked #1 on Trip Advisor. Holy cow, what a beautiful place! The owners came to pick me up at the station, and presented me with fresh strawberries and orange juice when we got to the house. A drastic change from last night!