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Published: October 5th 2010
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The train ride up to Casablanca from Marrakech was wonderful. The AC was so high that I actually got cold for the 1st time in over 2 weeks. It was marvelous. This is mainly because I purchased a 1st class ticket for about $20. If I spent around $12, I could have ended up with livestock. In my little cozy car, there were 4 other people. One of these people was a Moroccan girl who spoke English beautifully. She was a former Au Pair in France. She spent so much time in France that she decided to go to university there. It also helped as she had a French boyfriend (who we talked about for 10 minutes as he didn’t speak a word of English).
Arriving in Casablanca was a tad strange. It was a city… some of which was very modern. My Berber driver invited me to break fast with his family. I politely declined as I had NO idea what time I was meeting my tour group. The driver said because of Ramadan, everything was closed until 4pm. I started my walk to the medina as I can always ‘window’ shop. Of course I got lost on my way
there - it took about 1.5 hours until I found it. As Casablanca is on the coast, there is a pretty nice breeze. It is probably in the high 80’s if I had to guess. The medina wasn’t too exciting. In Marrakech, everything is hand made and or unique to Morocco. In Casablanca, there were knock offs of name brands and clothes that you could find anywhere. I headed back to my hotel for some water (as I am feeling guilty drinking in front of all the Moroccans because of Ramadan - it’s like I am waving candy in front of a diabetic).
Nightfall came and apparently no one from my tour has checked in. I headed to dinner (which didn’t start until 9pm) and read my book. I woke up in the morning and waited for my tour bus to pick me up. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought my tour was going to be around 15 people as the itinerary matched another tour I was looking into (so I just made an assumption it’s all the same company)… My lobby is filled with about 20+ Italians. None of them spoke English. I was hoping I
wasn’t with this whole group as I would have crossed my eyes for a week. Their guide showed up in a bus for 40 people. He called all the names… mine wasn’t one of them. I waited some more and a small van pulls up - it’s my tour! I am probably the luckiest gal - as it turns out there are only 4 of us! This is like having your favorite cake when it’s not your birthday. My new family (as our guide would state) is a couple from Belgium who are both teachers in their late 40’s. Their English is almost perfect. The other gentleman is my adopted grandpa (a retired teacher). I would guess he is in his late 70’s and he has traveled the world! He lived somewhere in the Sahara for a year, taught in Thailand, slept in Central Park for a few weeks back when he was in his 20’s… He has the most marvelous stories to share. He asks a million and two questions as he wants to understand everything there is to know about Moroccan culture and of course, religion. Being with such a small group gives us so much flexibility. I
am so happy!
Day 1 of the tour was long, but we saw a lot. We spent the morning getting a tour of Casablanca. The highlight was Hassan II Mosque. We paid the entrance fee and it was worth it! I was mesmerized by the beauty in the floors, walls, ceilings, fixtures. This is the 3rd largest mosque in the world following 2 in Saudi Arabia. This mosque was built in the 1980’s. There are hundreds of people who come to see the mosque everyday. Each one is given a plastic bag, as everyone had to take their shoes off before entering. My pictures will probably give a good idea of what it looks like… 57 ish(?) chandeliers that electronically can be lowered to be cleaned, the ceilings open up when it gets too hot. The hamman in the downstairs has never been used by a woman (one of the coolest things I have ever seen!).
I didn’t realize, but there are also a ton of beach resorts. We passed many of them with tons of people swimming and lounging. There are notes on many of the cafes in Casablanca as they are closed for the month because
of Ramadan.
After Casablanca, we headed to Rabat. I haven’t read up on Rabat, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was surprised to find such a beautiful city. The highlight for me was the Oudaya Kasbah. Within these old walls, there were homes, cafes and some shops. Besides having pretty ocean views, there were some Moroccan hippies. There were gaggles of people playing guitar and sitting in the shade. I wish we had more time in the Kasbah as I would have liked to chill there for a bit. Our local tour guide’s favorite thing was the Mohamed V mausoleum which was beautiful; however it freaked me out a bit.
The only downside to this tour is that my new family is not experiencing real Moroccan food! We stay at hotels - so everything is westernized. So far, it has been so-so food that I can easily get in the states. No tagine or couscous yet! I am crossing my fingers that we get some good eats in Meknes or Fez where we are heading next.
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