Morocco: Rabat

We awoke the next morning and went downstairs for the breakfast in the hotel dining room.

The food was interesting. Not a lot of protein. They had hard boiled eggs and 2 different kinds of crepes/pancakes. Lots of croissants, butter and jams, tolerable coffee and reconstitued juices.

We chatted with some folks that went for the “Moroccan dinner”. They were taken to an Italian restaurant. . They had some traditional Moroccan items on the menu, or you could order pizza or pasta. $20US. People were starting to grumble.

Today’s adventure was supposed to be a bus trip to Rabat and then Tangiers. A total of about 7 hours on the bus and about 7 hours in the 2 cities. We had decided we were going to take the “free” bus ride to Rabat and bail out there while the rest got back on the bus and drove 3 hours to get to Tangiers to spend 2 hours and turn around and come back. We would take the train back.
Somebody talked sense into someone, and the plan was changed to go to Rabat and spend the day there.

Oh, and the “free” bus ride was going to cost US$10. Again in dollars. hmmm.

We took the bus to Rabat. The bus stopped in the outskirts of Rabat to pick up the tour guide. We got a GREAT (ahem) tour of the new part of Rabat with all the new houses and gated communities and shopping centers while we drove from where the guide lived to where we wanted to go.

Where we wanted to go was the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum. We spend about an hour there. We were unable to enter the Mausoleum because the king was visiting and pay his respects to his Father. Apparently, the day we went is the traditional day for this to occur.

From there we went to the Casbah, which is the old fort/barracks overlooking the river. It is a walled portion of the city with lots of twisty passages and alleys. Most of them are brightly painted. My pictures of the Casbah start here.

We walked through the Casbah with the guide. He brought us to a tea/coffee shop overlooking the river. Where, mysteriously, people popped out of nowhere to hawk crap. What a coincidence.

Then we strolled to the “gallery of traditional arts and crafts”. Apparently “traditional” arts and crafts are postcards and mass produced posters. Those Rabat-ians are so clever and advanced!

Then it was back to the bus for a trip somewhere to look at something and another “traditional” moroccan meal. At this point, we said khallas! (“Enough” usually said with great force and implying frustration). We told the tour guide and our organizers that we were bailing on the tour bus.

The suddenly became very concerned for my safety and told me to not walk through the medina without a guide because it wasn’t safe and I would never find the train station so I would have to take a taxi etc etc. I informed him that:

• We were not getting on the bus
• I have read the train schedule.
• I can sit in a comfortable train, with a bathroom, for a faster trip back to Casablanca for less money than he was charging me for a cramped bus, with no bathroom.
• I didn’t want a “traditional” moroccan dinner, paid for in US$ at an Italian restaurant.

He shrugged and said “ok”

It felt like a great weight had been lift. It felt like one of Jack And Kaddee’s grand adventures again, instead of a chore.

We strolled down to the medina, which is the center of the city. We wandered through the alleys. Most of the shops were closed due to the holiday, but we got to wander through unmolested.

Well except for one tweaker who was offering to “guide” us through “all the crowds”. There were maybe a dozen people visible at any one time. I laughed.

He continued to walk in front of us making weird motions with his hands as is to ward off “the crowds”. I stopped walking and just let him walk on with out us. About 2 blocks further down he realized we weren’t behind him any more and stopped looking very confused.

We came upon him later and he was, with great care and concern, sorting little plastic baggies from his pockets. Mmm. Might explain the tweaker-ness.

Onward. We wondered around, took some photos and enjoyed the breathing room of not being with 30 other people. (4 photos starting here are from the medina).

We then found a little coffee shop that was open just outside the medina walls. The coffee shops sell coffee, tea, water and maybe juice. No food. We needed food. I walked across the street, through one of the gates of the medina where there was a food vendor. He was grilling little sausages. I suspect they were a mixture of beef and mutton, which some paprika and other spices. Served in a “pita” bread with a little sauce. Lunch for 2 for about the equivalent of $2. Brought em back to the coffee shop and we ate and people watched.

People were out in the holiday best. Today is the equivalent of New Years Day: Everybody was out in their finest clothing. Shiney,pointy yellow babouches, their finest gallabayas.

Suitably refreshed, we dove back into the medina that was now starting to wake up. We witnessed the aftermath of what appeared to be a collision of 2 food vendor carts. Most likely a turf war. There were lots of people standing around yelling and the cops were already there. It was an ugly scene. The ground was littered with sausages and bread. Someone lost quite a bit of inventory that day. It was going to hurt.

We finished our tour with a leisurely stroll through the city to the train station. You know, that part of town that wasn’t safe to walk through, according to our guide? We boarded the train and were in Casablanca within an hour. We walked the 5 minutes to our hotel. Dumped off the camera and took a small rest.

It was a good day.