Woke up after a very good sleep in what may be the most comfortable bed we’ve had on this trip. Google Maps told me that a nearby coffee shop would be open at 7:30am, but when we met the Driedgers to go for breakfast at 8:00 it turned out that Google was wrong. No restaurant was open for breakfast at 8:00. It’s Ramadan and these people take it seriously. If no one can eat between sunrise and sunset, there’s no point in opening up your restaurant during daylight hours. We wandered around for a few minutes and finally opted to go to a nearby small grocery store and pick up stuff to take back to our hotel for breakfast. The last baguette, some cheese and yogurt and fruit, and a small box of Nespresso coffee pods. Thank goodness that we’d salvaged our peanut butter and Nutella from our apartment in Agadir! The four of us had a nice little breakfast in the Driedgers’ hotel room.
After breakfast Naomi went for a long walk. She was hoping to find a few souvenirs in the Casablanca Medina, which is about a mile from our hotel. I stayed back in the room and read all the news and watched all the late night talk shows. Around noon I was starting to get hungry so I texted Naomi — she was already on her way back. When she came in the door she looked defeated. Shopping had been a bust. All she had found in the Medina was stinky food and soccer jerseys. Frustrated and disappointed. We went out to pick up some sandwich fixings. Along the way we stopped in at a bakery and found some delicious baked goods. Google said there was a liquor store just a little farther up the road, but when we got there it was all closed up — again, because of Ramadan. Good thing I’d hauled a dozen cans of beer that I bought in Agadir with me in my backpack!
Happy hour was at 3:00 back at the Driedger’s apartment, one floor below us. Chips, cheese, and beer. We arranged that we’d meet again at 7:00 and go out for dinner together.
When I got back to the room I lay down on the couch and settled in to watch a 60 Minutes report on my computer. Didn’t get much out of it because I fell asleep almost right away. I had a nice nap, and when I woke up it was almost time to go out for supper.
The Driedgers were waiting for us downstairs in the lobby. Cool and a light rain. We headed down the road, checking a few restaurants, some of which were closed, or empty, or serving only the ‘special Moroccan Ramadan’ meal. Even the “Gourmet Burger” place was serving the Ramadan dinner, and no burgers. We ended up in a Korean restaurant where the server offered to let us order from the ‘after 8:00’ menu even though it was 7:30. And the food there hit the spot.
After dinner we decided to stop in at a nearby cafe which looked like a good place to have dessert. When we entered we noticed a table full of board games near the front. So while Naomi picked a game and set it up on our table, MaryLou and I went to the pastry shelf and picked out a couple of lovely chocolatey desserts to go with our coffees. Naomi did her best to teach her unenthusiastic companions how to play “Set”. When the game was finished, so were we.
We walked back to the apartment and arranged to meet at the Driedgers again tomorrow morning at 8:30 for breakfast. Back in our room, Naomi read the news while I wrote the blog post for today. Since I’d had a little nap in the afternoon, I thought I might stay up to watch the Jets hockey game, which starts at 12:30am. So I’m not sure if I watched the game and I’m not sure who won the game. Guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. See you then.