(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

In addition to skiing in Morocco, I also had the equally unexpected opportunity to visit Roman ruins while there.

The ruined city of Volubilis is located about 33 km from the  Moroccan city of Meknès and within an hour’s walk of the town of Moulay Idriss.  Volubilis was one of the most remote outposts of the Roman Empire and was at its prime in the second and third centuries (A.D.).

In stark contrast to most Roman ruins in Europe, Volubilis was virtually unvisited by tourists.  Perhaps it was the time of year, but we had the place almost to ourselves.  And it was big:  not quite as big as Ostia Antica perhaps, but it definitely had more of the large, ornate public buildings that we associate with the Roman Empire at its peak.

Unlike Ostia Antica (and probably Pompeii), there were very few tourist services at Volubilis.  We came prepared, however, with a picnic consisting largely of fresh bread, olives and mineral water.  We ate right in the ruins themselves:  other than prohibitions against walking on the mosaics, I don’t recall any parts being closed off to visitors.  It was quite special to eat food that the ancient Romans themselves likely ate at that very spot nearly 2,000 years ago.

As my friend and I were in a band, we took a number of pictures with a view to turning them into album covers some day.   Needless to say, these were not always sombre views reflecting on the decline of an ancient empire.  However, a few songs (notably the cult classic “I am Volubilis”) did eventually result from our visit.

I quite enjoyed the less-visited parts of Morocco.  I didn’t feel very comfortable in the big city of Casablanca (which is definitely nothing like the movie of the same name) but smaller places like Azrou and Safi were very welcoming.   I’ll dig through my archives to find some more (non-digital) photos of Morocco and share more of my recollections from this most interesting destination.

Before signing off, I just have to share something that I read this week in a rather widely-read travel magazine.  A very brief article on Martha’s Vineyard (in the New England region of the U.S.) purported to provide “some packing inspiration for a classic New England  getaway”.   Believe it or not, the packing list included Hermes shorts ($3,775), Van Cleef and Arpels earrings ($7,250), Tiffany & Co. bracelets ($36,000 and $30,000), and a Dolce & Gabbana handbag ($3,695).  All prices are in U.S. dollars.

With articles like these, no wonder people think traveling is too expensive for them!   Unfortunately, a lot of travel writing is like that.  Don’t be scared off by such recommendations:  they won’t make your trip any better…and they will likely make you more vulnerable to theft.