Good evening blog followers. I don't have anything particularly veterinary-related to report today but since we did have ourselves an exciting outing this afternoon, I thought I'd tell you a little about it. Because Dr. Frappier seems to know everyone who's anyone here in Morocco, with a single phone call, he was able to arrange for us to get inside the National Stud Farm. Even better, he agreed to drive us there himself. This government-run facility in Meknes (about a 45 minute drive from Fez) is home to about 40 Arab and Arab-Barb stallions in addition to at least 60 broodmares and youngsters. The studs were magnificent and the dichotomy between these well-kept horses versus the ones we treat during the week just seemed unfair. We learned that during the breeding season, the stallions are brought into the cities to breed (ie, they go to the mares) which is precisely the opposite of how it works in the United States. Interestingly, even though this is a government-run farm, Dr. Frappier still battles the management in trying to get the horses properly dewormed even though they are valuable animals and their bloodlines are highly sought after.
After our stop in Meknes, we continued on to Volubilis which, although it might sound like a communicable disease, is actually an ancient Roman ruins site. We had to stop and ask directions multiple times because maps don't really help you out in Morocco and I haven't seen anyone use a GPS. Apparently, city maps don't include street names because the names of the streets change periodically as new political and powerful families move into the neighborhood. You can imagine how difficult this makes navigation. We drove for another 45 minutes, winding our way up some frighteningly narrow roads. We passed pack mules carrying so much shrubbery that all you could see were explosions of green branches with four spindly legs beneath. Volubilis lies on a hillside atop a very lush valley. This is an area known for its olives groves and we passed thousands of rows of olive trees, methodically planted in perfectly even increments. I don't like olives under any circumstance, but we did learn that the olives that you eat are different from the olives that go into olive oil. Apparently the olive oil here is delicious, but I'll have to get back to you on that one.
When we finally arrived at Volubilis, the first thing that I was struck by was how silent the area was. Yes, we were there in the off-season, but there was almost no one at the ruins. Other than the occasional chirp of an insect, our footsteps were the only sound. Dr. Frappier conferred with the man whose job it is to direct the non-existent traffic. He asked whether we'd be able to get a cab back to Meknes since he was leaving us to go back to the Fondouk. The man assured him that yes, he could call us a cab and that it would cost 150 dirhams (roughly $18). Dr. Frappier bade us farewell and we were on our own. After a quick bite to eat at their mildly shady "restaurant" we got a good tour of the ruins (in English!). Volubilis was built in 3rd century BC and served as an important administrative center for the Roman presence in Africa. There has been extensive excavations over the last 100 years and it is still an active archaeological site. The mosaic floors were beautifully detailed and it was pretty darn cool to walk on stones that had been there for thousands of years.
When it was time to go, we found our parking guy who told us he was going to call us a taxi. I think he was hoping that we didn't notice that the "taxi" driver was really just his buddy. We really had no alternative (the ruins were smack dab in the middle of nowhere) so we took the guy on faith that he could get us to the train station. Thankfully he could and he did. A 45 minute train ride from Meknes to Fez was uneventful, other than the fact that there were no announcements made on the train. Therefore, we had no idea when we were nearing Fez or when we were supposed to get off the train. It's just dumb luck that I happened to inquire about this dilemma 2 minutes before we pulled into the train station in Fez. Our Swedish friend Emmy wasn't so lucky a few weeks back when she made the same trip. She completely missed the stop in Fez and wound up in Tangier at 3 AM by herself.
For our evening activity, Anna read our guide book for restaurant recommendations and we decided to try one that we knew was relatively close to the Fondouk. Jeremy, Anne, and Emmy joined us and the 5 of us spent a really long time trying to figure out where the restaurant was. Finally, with just an inkling of where this restaurant was located, we got in the car and started driving. I find the street parking process in Fez to be rather remarkable. There's a company that Jeremy calls "Mr. Dirham" and I can't tell whether that's a legitimate company or whether that's just his funny name for it. Anyway, when you find street parking, a man in a reflector vest helps you parallel park. When you get back to your car at the end of the evening, you pay him him 2 dirhams (roughly 25 cents) as a courtesy for making sure your car didn't get stolen. I asked Dr. Frappier whether you still have to pay the 2 dirhams if your car isn't there when you get back, but I never did get an answer.
The five of us had a lovely dinner out where I ate the best pigeon I've ever had. Sure, it may be the only pigeon I've ever had, but baked in a "pastilla" with some other vague meat and cinnamon, it was pretty darn tasty. The hubcaps were still on Jeremy's car when we returned so it was a successful evening all around. Anna and are working on a game plan for tomorrow, but we're hoping it involves monkeys.
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