Casablanca, day one, take two

This afternoon I remembered why on previous trips I wrote my blog in Notes first, rather than directly into my blog. I had spent an hour or so writing about our adventures today, and then navigated away from the blog page to find something and lost everything I’d written. So, lesson learned, but I’m afraid now you’ll get the Readers Digest version of our first day in Morocco.

I slept well last night, just not long enough. We weren’t up for too much adventure this morning, but we did want to see some of Casablanca because once we start the tour on Monday, we head immediately out of town and won’t be back again.

So, through the hotel concierge we hired a guide/driver, named Mickie, for a 3 hour tour of the highlights of Casablanca. He was very knowledgeable and answered our (OK mostly Nanci’s) many questions about life in Casablanca.

Casablanca (“White House” named for the white buildings on the hills surrounding the port) is strategically located near the entrance from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean at Gibraltar and so has been governed by many different groups over the centuries. It is a port city and so became the economic and financial centre of the country while Rabat is the capital of government. Morocco gained its independence from France and became a constitutional monarchy with a combination of a monarchy and a parliament.

There are 6 million people who call Casablanca home and the number of inhabitants swells to 7 million each day as people come into the city to conduct their business. The main industries of Morocco are agriculture, fishery, phosphates and increasingly tourism which is flourishing as a result of Morocco’s relatively stable political climate compared to others in the region. Even the Aventura penquins are vacationing here. (I clearly watch too much live tv).

After taking on provisions, (well, water) we headed from our hotel in the Jewish Quarter towards the Atlantic and the King Hassan II Mosque. We will visit the Mosque tomorrow for a tour inside but today we stopped to take pictures outside. It’s location right on the Atlantic is beautiful and has significance to the Muslim religion.

We carried on south west along a newly landscaped walkway running parallel to the ocean and along the rocky and sandy beaches. Along the beaches were bright umbrellas and chairs, surfing schools and restaurants. The main beach, which is a mile long, had lovely white sand and it was very busy. Others were rocky where there were people fishing. We made another short stop to enjoy the fresh breeze off the Atlantic, and to take some pictures.

Mickie took us through some really nice residential neighbourhoods where the large homes were surrounded by high white walls many of which were covered in beautiful bougainvillea and other flowing shrubs. There were definitely security guards in evidence in the nicer neighbourhoods but no razor wire atop the walls as I’ve seen in other cities. Mickie admitted there was petty crime, such as pick pocketing, that we needed to be aware of, but when we asked about the crime rates, he said only the police carried guns.

We had seen some advertising for Morocco Mall since arriving and after enjoying the fresh air by the ocean we stopped at the mall just to have a quick look to see the kind of stores and fashions here. Unique to this mall is that they have a huge aquarium inside the mall which was taking more of the attention of the shoppers than the stores. Not unique to this mall is that there was a busy Starbucks in it.

We made our way through the financial area where there are modern, medium rise buildings to the Hobous Quarter (also called the New Medina, as opposed to the old median) where the King’s palaces, both historical and modern are found. There we wandered through a small area of shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. The first of many areas such as this that we’ll see, I’m sure.

On our way out of the Hobous Quarter we saw a large group of people huddled around one street vendor and asked why they had so much business. Not so different than in Canada, parents were shopping to get school supplies for their kids who are starting school next week.

The city hall and court and other administrative buildings are near our hotel at Place Mohammed V, and this was our final stop (except for a quick stop at a money exchange) for some pictures.

After losing my blog, it was time for a nap or a drink and I opted for the nap. We decided to have an early night given our recent lack of sleep, and had a really nice dinner at our hotel restaurant. We started with a traditional Moroccan soup with lemon and dates and a sesame seed roll that was amazing. And the main of chicken and pasta was really nice as well. Early to bed to get ready for another big day of exploring tomorrow. Also we get to meet our tour leader and group tomorrow evening at a meeting and then dinner.