Today is the last day of our 5-day private tour and the shortest travel distance at 250km...
Day 5. Medilt Azrou - Ifrane - Meknes - Volubilis - Fez
After breakfast continue driving north towards the 1200 years old medina of Fez, on the way you pause for a while with the barbary apes at the cedar forest of Azrou, digress from the main route and head to Morocco's Switzerland Ifrane to visit the city. From there you drive to Meknes, Morocco smallest imperial city and tour the city before you head to the Roman ruin of Volubilis. Final destination for drop off, Fez.
We started the morning with some confusion over the time...last night the time changed in Morocco...but Mohamed and Ali arrived only 30 minutes late at 9:30am. First stop...the Barbary apes in the cedar forest of Azrou. As we drove north to Azrou the landscape changed once again, this time to the snow of the High Atlas Mountains. It was a beautiful, crisp morning when we arrived at the cedar forest in search of the apes who apparently like the snow. On our way into the forest we came across several horses waiting to take tourists for a ride...beautiful, but not the infamous apes.
We wandered into the forest a little further only to find out that due to all the people around...Sunday and Easter weekend brought lots of people to this area...all the apes were hiding deep in the woods. Only thing I could find were these two wondering around...
Since I was fully dressed for the snow, I thought I would try my hand at a little Moroccan "snowshoeing" as well!!
Did I say I was in Morroco??...yep, I fully expected to see and be walking in the snow!!
So without finding the Barbary apes, we headed towards Ifrane...Morocco's Little Switzerland. The drive there was quite unique with many tourists renting sleds and sliding down the small snow covered hills along the side of the road...felt a bit like it was a throwback to Christmas! The countryside here was lush and green and had a feeling of being back in Nova Scotia in the Annapolis valley, with the addition of some large peaks and valleys.
As we entered Ifrane the traffic picked up, the roads became wider and very well manicured, and the homes reflected what you'd see in Switzerland...definitely lots of money here. This town was founded in the 1930's by the French as a ski resort. It now has a prestigious university for the wealthy and sees many affluent Europeans flock to this area in the winter for skiing vacations.
We on the other hand saw tons of tourists and tour groups wandering around the center of town where we took a quick photo of the stone lion...landmark to commemorate the last wild Atlas lion....
and then sat on a hotel terrace in the sun, while enjoying a cup of coffee.
The area was a bit out of place for us and lacked any Moroccan feel, so we headed on our way towards Meknes...one of Morocco's Imperial Cities....where we planned to stop for lunch.
The entire journey was filled with lots of farm land...onions, apples, maze and olives. The contrast between the red soil and green crops was definitely a throwback to PEI. We arrived at Meknes around 1:30pm where we ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the main square...Saht Ihdim. The sun was shining, people were milling about and just below the terrace was techno music blaring out into the square...definitely what you would expect in Morocco! This country is full of contrasts and surprises to say the least.
Volubilus is the most preserved archeological site of Morroco. This Roman ruins dates back to the 3rd century BC and was one of the most remote outposts of the Roman Empire. It is situated on a hill overlooking beautiful green hills and valleys, and consists of impressive features of pillars, arches and mosaics. At every turn you saw a new perspective of beauty...
Without any issues, we were dropped off at the parking area outside the medina entrance and were met by our Riad who led us to our accommodations for the next two nights. We said our goodbyes to Mohamed...our crazy guide, also known as "maestro" throughout our trip...and Ali, our exceptional driver...thank you for keeping us safe. We will also be leaving our Morrocan names behind...Fatima and Aicha...don't even ask...and will be constantly reminded of our 5-day tour every time we hear "as you wish". It was a stress free and interesting way to travel across Morroco to the desert and then up north, but we are now looking forward to going solo for a bit and testing our sense of direction and adventure.
Thank you...Sahit (Berber)...Under the Moroccan Sun for the great memories. I highly recommend this company...and Hassan...if you ever venture to Morroco in the future.
Until tomorrow when we will explore the medina of Fes.
L & L
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