Take Nothing For Granted
Trip Start
Apr 14, 2006
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4
10
Trip End
May 14, 2006
Rabat, Morocco
Friday, April 21, 2006
My first full day in Rabat I set out to explore the medina, looking in particular for the Andalusian garden and its charming outdoor tea room. I follow the map I printed from the hotel's web site, and confidently navigate in the direction of the Atlantic.
I hire a knowledgeable (but expensive) guide to lead me through the ruins of a Roman city I come upon, although I'm puzzled to not find it on my map. Even when I return to the hotel and my guide book, I can't find the impressive and expansive Chella Necropolis.
I take the guide book to lunch with me. I pore over the map. I read the legends, I check the fine print. I refer again to the hotel's map. And that's when it hits me: the hotel map is not only not drawn remotely to scale - it is printed with North on the bottom. I had walked half the full length of the city, following the right road, but in exactly the wrong direction. No wonder I couldn't find the Kasbah!
Here's hoping the tour (it starts in an hour) will take us to the fort and its fabled medina, 'cuz I no longer have time to try to find it on my own.
Don't come with ME to the Kasbah,
Sheila
P.S. My skin still feels fantastic from the hamman. But my hair? Picture a red haired Brillo pad ....
