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p rs ‘e BY JONATHAN VAN BILSE! Che Road to Morocco There is no shortage of destinations in the world to visit, but for some reason | continue to be drawn to Africa. | have been to a dozen countries and am planning on heading there again in a few months. Interestingly enough | have always favoured the desert lands, and thoroughly enjoyed Egypt, Namibia and one of my favourites, Morocco. A small country in the north-west, Morocco is relatively safe and culturally Arabic enough to enjoy different and unique traditions. On my last trip to this home of Sheiks and Berbers | did something | very seldom do: | drove a rental vehicle, | would never anyone. | crossed into Morocco from Spain along the beautiful Rock of Gibraltar. The ferry ride was incredible with whales and dolphins swimming alongside the ship. Tangiers is a good four hours from Spain and coming back | took the much shorter route leaving from Ceuta. | should not criticize the concept of self-drive trips, but there are definite challenges to heading forth aimlessly with no real strategy. My plan was to see the country and stop when | was tired, eat when | was hungry and visit ev- erything | could. | decided to stay to the north and not head down to the Casablanca-Marrakesh area. | had been told, from several sources that it was an industrial region and totally different from the western picture painted in films. | would not see Humphrey Bogart or Rick's Café, and there would be no Ingrid Bergman to meet me at any airport. | decided to start my adventure in the capital city of Rabat, a truly wonderful and interesting metropolis, with a population of 600,000. The old, walled city is the place to go and finding a small B&B or hotel is relatively easy, unless you leave it too late in the day and the prices soar. My next stop and certainly my favourite was Fes, located in the central north. | bit the bullet and stayed in a renovated palace with a luxurious swimming pool, swaying palm trees and excellent service. The Palais Jamai once belonged to a The old town in Fes. 30 FOCUS - AUGUST 2015