We had some breakfast at a patisserie and boulangerie in Chefchaouen. The honey covered cakes had bees crawling all over then which is really off-putting but obviously completely normal in Morocco as one else gave it a second glance.

The roads south are sometimes dual carriage ways but they are often single track with dirt shoulders to allow for over-taking and passing. We didn’t follow the main routes and instead allowed the satnav to take us off the beaten track and through an amazing landscape of small holdings. Every inch of the gentle rolling hills are cultivated but there is little in the way of mechanisation, horses are still used and much of the harvesting can be seen being still done by hand. We stopped off and chatted to some locals out threshing. They were splitting the dried beans from the husks using the horses hooves. The locals allowed us to take pictures and smiled with great pride. One chap came along on horse back just as we were leaving and shouted – “no photos!!!!” He proceeded to walk up to us and asked if we wanted to buy some beers. Always a deal to be done from the Moroccan man’s perspective!

We arrived at Volubilis near Moulay Idriss a little later than expected and rather too hot to explore. During the hottest part of the day the air-conditioning isn’t really up to the job and its better to travel with the windows down, must get it looked at once we get home. There isn’t a camp site near the Roman ruins so we opted for a farmstead. We stayed at Walilaand it was fantastic! It reminded us of a similar place we stayed at in Casablanca in 2010. Not only is it a small working farm but it is run by a Land Rover owning Moroccan called Azzeddine Zayr. Once married but before his children came along he drove from the Netherlands to Cape Town and back up to Morocco. We had the most amazing, simple 3 course meal accompanied by home made bread. Geri found a treasure trove at the back of the house. A  raft of wild animals that consisted of  - 2 geese, 4 doves, 3 cockerels, 1 hen and 8 baby chickens, 2 African peacocks, 4 ducks, 2 donkeys, 3 dogs and 1 cat.  The goose was entertaining to watch. She was sitting on about 8 eggs but being escorted in and out of the shed for food by the gander. Unlike Holly and Belle our hens the hen and cockerels were pretty inhospitable. The doves were snow white and we for very close to them, again, they were more interested in preening and looking good than humouring us. The cat lost half his paw in a trap set in the field beyond the house and had one eye closed due to an infection. We reckoned he was on his way out either that or was overdoing the weight watchers shakes to fit back in that furry coat he once owned.

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• What the Romans left in Morocco: Volubilis (chrystal-clear.com)
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• Volubilis (moncurdg.wordpress.com)
• Pianist Pnina Becher, A Classical Morocco Tour, 4 Imperial Cities, 4 Wine Tasting Events, 4 SonatasPianist Pnina Becher, A Classical Morocco Tour, 4 Imperial Cities, 4 Wine Tasting Events, 4 Sonatas (moroccotravelblog.com)