Rabat on the cheap

Here I am in Rabat, home of Icosystem's friends at Digimind. I had scoped out a decent hotel but I decided for one night by myself I did not need to spend $70. So I walked around until I found a place with WiFi (only in the lobby, but hey...) for a whopping $13 or so depending on the exchange rate. Shared bathroom, which means I'll be holding it until I get to my place in Fez late tomorrow :-).

I had read in my guidebook about a place called Chella, described as old ruins on the outskirts of town. I had less than 2 hours of daylight so I figured I'd head out there, about a 20-min walk. Along the way I snapped a few shots of the Cathedral (surprising to find one here).

Chella was amazing. The ruins themselves were fascinating, but what was unbelievable is that it is set essentially on a lush, verdant hill just outside the city walls, and it happens to be the nesting grounds for egrets and storks. There were thousands of birds all over the place, making strange sounds, flying around, messing around on tree branches... never seen anything like it. I took several pictures and even some movies, I will have to see how they turn out.

Time to head off to the Medina to look for food and a few basics, like a bottle of water and a cheap towel, because there is a sink but $13 won't get you a towel even in Morocco.