Rabat inexpensive food and getting lost in the Medina

I just got back from a long walk - 4+ hours. I decided that even though I haven't been there in daylight, the Rabat Medina seemed sufficiently small that getting lost wouldn't be a big deal, and I wanted to sample some of the inexpensive street food that I so enjoyed in Marrakech. But first I wanted to walk through the Medina and up to the Kasbah. I don't know how it will look in the day, but at night it's spectacular. The Kasbah sits high on a hill, right were the river dumps out onto the Atlantic. I found my way through the Medina all the way to the far side near the Kasbah entrance, and after entering through one of the impressive arched doors I managed to find my way to the far corner, where a sort of wide dirt terrace overlooks lower ramparts as well as the estuary of the Oued Bou Regreg (the local river). It was dark and a bit hazy, but it was cool to look out on the ocean knowing that Boston is on the other side. Actually directly across is North Carolina, but you know what I mean.

I then dove back down into the Medina from a different corner and navigated my way to various food carts and stalls. I started with snails again: this one instead of offering a bowl of clean toothpicks had straightened out several safety pins and stuck them into a lemon for everyone to share, so you could pull one out already basically disinfected - 5Dh. Then I had a paper cone full of steamed and salted garbanzo beans - 1Dh.

For the main course I went for something that I had seen but not tried yet: they put an entire boiled cow head on a cart, and they take a piece of bread cut in half and stuff it with bits of meat shaved off the head. Sprinkled with salt and paprika and accompanied by a glass of mint tea, a tasty and nutritious meal for just 12Dh. And for dessert I had two prickly pears, which are very common around here this time of year: they carry a bunch on a cart (already de-prickled), and the guy picks one up and with three swift cuts peels it and unrolls it onto your hand. All that for 5Dh.

So, with 23 fewer Drhams and a nicely full tummy, I started to meander around. I got a bit carried away by venturing off the main paths, and after about an hour I realized that as much as I wanted to believe that I knew the general direction of the exit (preferably on the "right" side of town), I really had no idea where I was. I did eventually find my way out, in a pretty different spot from where I started. I asked a cop to make sure I had the right general idea of my whereabouts (wasn't too far off), and, having gotten my bearings, I dove back in for another hour or so. And I did remember to buy a small towel along the way. Now I just have to brave the $13 hotel bed, which in terms of luxury is right up there with the snails and cow head.

PS: In case anyone from "Points North" reads this, let it be know that I am sorry to miss the next meeting :-)