Day 2: Let’s go! We are in Morocco, we are touring, we are having fun!
My alarm went off at 6:30 am and it was still pitch black outside in Casablanca. I got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. I ran into Barb and Graehm again (this would become a thing, we basically became breakfast buddies as the earliest ones to get ready on the tour). I ate yogurt and some bread, juice, coffee. Nothing too exciting. I brought my bags down at 8 and then we headed out soon after.
This was the day we started traveling on our minibus, really, our home away from home for the next 10 days. I brought my backpack on board the first day, but just to let you know: I started just bringing my purse and a few things in a tote after that as the space wasn’t that big. I do wish I had brought a smaller zip up tote or something on this tour as I just used a disposable tote from a store (they give you these weird cloth feeling bags instead of plastic) for the whole tour. It worked fine though.
But the first day I had my backpack, and my suitcase (my glorious suitcase! how I love thee) was in the back of the van/minibus.
Our first destination was the Hassan II Mosque. I had seen the outside the day before, but this morning we would be going inside. It was still early so it wasn’t too crowded, just us and a few other small groups.
We had to take off our shoes to enter the mosque and they gave us a little (cloth feeling) bag to put our shoes in and carry them around. What an amazing place! The detail in the decor is phenomenal, and the designers and builders spared no expense. The guide was excellent and we learned a lot…and I’ve forgotten a lot of it by now, but that’s the nature of the beast. We had a woman guide as well, which was quite rare for this trip.
On the way out we used the bathroom which was very clean squat toilets. It turned out there might have a been a “western style” toilet as well, as I saw a line after I left, but it was nice not to wait in line, when the restroom was clean. Then we got back on the bus and headed to Rabat, after a quick stop at Rick’s Cafe, which is a replica from the movie Casablanca, which I have not seen (yet.)
Things I noticed on the drive: old buildings with so many satellite dishes on top. SO MANY. And lots of clothes hanging out the windows. I was just watching the world go by out the window and loving it.
We got to Rabat in about an hour and met a local guide there. Intrepid likes to use local guides to stimulate the economy and to provide the most authentic information.
We visited the Kasbah first. The guide had trouble keeping our group together–it was like herding cats. We were all overstimulated and didn’t want to walk around learning history, I think.
A sampling of doors, so many glorious and unique doors.
Then we got back on the bus and rode to the ruins of a mosque that was unfinished, the Hassan Tower, built near the end of the 12th century. There was also a mausoleum there for Mohammad V, who died is 1961. You could take pictures of and with the guards, which was sort of fun.
I did feel like the guide was mostly just rushing us around for no real reason. He was nice and very knowledgeable, but there was a lot of hurry up and then wait…I might have preferred just a bit of free time and meeting up somewhere.
Lunch was at a restaurant by the river/estuary. One thing on the tour was there were some meals you had to paid for, but you would be taken somewhere for the meal. It made sense, but something to keep in mind. We ordered from a menu: I was going to order fish pastille but then they didn’t have that so I panic ordered fish tagine. It was not nearly so flavorful as the tagine the night before. It was…fine. A bit bland. And cost more than the tagine the night before. Oh well, you pay for the view.
We drove to Meknes next, stopping at a grocery store along the way. I love grocery stores in foreign countries, so I got a few things to snack on (lunch had been VERY late) as well as some sunscreen that I love.
We pulled up at the hotel, and I think we were all a bit disappointed by this one, the Hotel Swani. It was a bit outside of town in a grungy looking area, and while the hotel was perfectly safe and clean, it wasn’t too exciting. My room smelled of smoke and a hint of sewer, but I got the fan going and that helped. I did have a balcony, which was nice, though it was cold so I only popped out. Aman recommended we eat at the hotel restaurant and just rest, so I did that. You had to order the food first and then go up to the rooftop restaurant later. I wasn’t terribly hungry so I ordered soup and an appetizer, running into a few other tourmates when I did. We met up at the restaurant a little later and enjoyed a really tasty meal, so that was good. And then I went to bed: I was exhausted from the day and still recovering from jet lag.
Not a bad view!