Today is so hot. 108 degrees.
We went to the archaeological site of Volubilis, a roman ruins that is the size of a small city. We were there from 10-1pm. There are no roofs at such archaeological sites. No trees. Just sun. Every breath was like gulping lukewarm milk.
There were some beautifully detailed mosaics. Some pretty arches. A communal toilet. but overall the heat trumped the interestingness of the site.
I took plenty of pictures even though my fingers were burning on my black camera!
After our 3 hours in the sun at Volubilis, we went to a city perched on a mountain. I have a couple pictures that don't do it justice on google plus. We got off the bus and immediately started climbing. The goal was to visit a mosque that was apparently at the top of the mountain.
Well I wasn't prepared to be hiking and I'd already been feeling a little nauseous from all of the sun and I ended up having an asthma attack and had to go back to the bus. But it turned out that there wasn't much to see because there was a wall around it and it's illegal for nonmuslims to visit mosques in Morocco. So everyone except the 3 muslims in our group was pretty upset that they had climbed all that way and they couldn't even take pictures of the exterior because of the wall.
But it was so nice, the resident director escorted me down the mountain and we stopped in the shade in front of a hanoot to wait for the bus. And the hanoot owner originally gave me a chair. Then cold water, then invited me inside and he and his wife fanned me for 15 minutes. I told them that I was fine, but his wife said "no, you are like my sister" They were so kind and generous. If there's any place that you're going to find yourself in a bit of trouble, it's best if it happens in the arab world. There's always someone around to take you in. Incredible care and hospitality from complete strangers. She was not joking about being her sister. They really took care of me.
For the moms among you: I'm fine now, I'm drinking an inordinate amount of water religiously lately. And next time I'll ask in advance so I'll know if I need to use my inhaler. And yes I was wearing a hat and lots of sunscreen. And I had eaten lunch. And now I've slept and eaten dinner and drank some more, so everything's good.
Anyway, I talked to my mom, Monia, and she said that this kind of weather is not normal until August so hopefully after next week (week and weekend expected to be in the low hundreds) things will cool off. Last night did cool down a bit. Enough to sleep. No breeze on these hot days :-/
Stay cool for me,
Holly
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