Casablanca

27 August, 2014

My tour of Morocco started with me still trying to get my head around the fact that I’m the only person on this tour! I’d chosen the company, Berber Treasures because they do small tours, the one I’m doing with a minimum of two people and a maximum of 12. (They also do personalised tours planned to suit groups of friends, family, etc.) I’m only assuming it was at the very last minute that the two other couples who’d booked the tour (separately) had cancelled.

So I set off very tentatively with Hami (Ha-me – both a and e with short

pronunciation). He dropped me at the Hassan II mosque – a huge affair with forecourt as big as goodness knows how many football fields. They were doing tours but it was a bit of a wait until the next one and it took too long so didn’t suit. I asked if I could just maybe have a peek inside the door, I’d be willing to pay. “Where are you from?” – a beaming smile at my reply – “Come with me, I’ll show you.” So off I trotted. I was led around the outside, told a few facts that could easily be found online, did I get a peek inside the door? No! But the hand came out, and grumbles at what I gave so gave a bit more. More grumbles but that was it. I felt thoroughly cheated and didn’t tell Hami I’d been conned! In hindsight, I should have simply asked my driver/guide to wait while I did the proper tour. I’m sure it would have been worth it, in more ways than one.

Hassan II mosque

I rued that I hadn’t remembered a similar experience in Tunisia a few years ago. Wary now for the rest of this trip. Not that I think I’m not being ripped off still. Tipping is just plain hard, they look at you like you’ve ripped them off, I’m no good at bargaining and I’m a woman to boot. The only thing that makes that side of the trip bearable is that compared to Australian prices, most things are cheaper.

I think Casablanca lives on as exotic in both Moroccan eyes and those elsewhere because vague memories of the Humphrey Bogart film persist. In fact it’s a large cosmopolitan city which the tour company rep in Sydney said didn’t have much going for it, as did my driver. But my driver is from the desert so a fair bit of bias. But the fact that the new Hussan II mosque, Harry’s Bar (now a restaurant) and the Corniche (an OK but not great beach) are the star attractions does say something. There is a medina and souks but with Marrakech on the agenda it was considered OK to skip them in Casablanca.

Harry's Bar

Along the Corniche

I had the afternoon to myself so walked along the beach, paddling in the Atlantic Ocean. Very crowded with family groups, boys and young men playing soccer, horse and pony rides, toddlers being introduced to the beach by mama and grandmere (in full cover-all regalia) splashing water while the child screamed in horror …. the usual hot-weather beach stuff.

La plage 1

It was past lunchtime – what to do? There was a KFC so I’m ashamed to say I went there. On the plus side, it did as I’d hoped, put the value of Moroccan Dirhams into some perspective. On the other hand, Moroccan KFC is even worse than Aussie KFC!

La plage 2

I walked back to the hotel along the street and along the way spotted a couple of decent-looking places for dinner. I went back to one later and had a pleasant meal for a reasonable price. The downside here, and all over the country …. smoking inside restaurants. A couple of young women across from me waved their cigarettes under my nose (one tapping ash on the floor in spite of the ashtray on the table!) until I coughed and glared and they swapped their ciggies to their other hands.

Goss!p cafe - where I had dinner

And that was Casablanca, a bit of an iffy start to Morocco.