Casablanca, Marakesh Not to be Forgotten

How many of you have seen the movie Casablanca and felt those strong urges to someday visit and take in the romance and ambiance that Ricks Cafe provided.  It has been on my bucket list and then knowing we were coming to Africa and we saw that from a Casablanca you could get to Marakesh it became one of the tours we signed up with from Tours Across Africa.  As I may have said before we have NO tours with Holland. They are extremely overpriced.  If any of you would like me to send you the link to their tours for this trip let me know.  Typically we have gotten this printed package by mail.  We did not.  Then we usually could pick it all up on board or it was in our cabin.  That didn’t happen.  Grand Cruises typically gave us stationary with Grand whatever on it and a nice pen.  Didn’t happen.  The front of the ship was painted Grand Asia or Grand Africa… didn’t happen.  Carpets and mats said Grand Asia or Grand Africa.  Didn’t happen.   So many things have changed.  I still tell you although people have scolded me for it that many areas on the ship are too warm.  The Lido can be very warm. When the theater fills it’s too warm.   Anyway our thermostat is still on the lowest setting and we are never cold. 

But on to our story.  Casablanca is the largest city in the county and the most import port.  It is the economic and cultural hub but not the capital. History was made here well before Roman settlements came. In the 1920’s it came into its’ own.  An unusual fact is that the town was laid out by an aerial survey.  The massans mosque is a distinctive trajectory and more modern.  Art deco is found here in the old Messina along with new architecture.  Coastline is full of beaches … you could easily spend a week here and not see it all.   Small cafes are down every nook and cranny.  

A major commercial port is where we dock. It requires a shuttle to get to downtown which is free of charge.  Drop off is at the United Nations square. The largest  Mosque here can hold up to 25,000 worshippers.  It demonstrates the Best of Moroccan architecture.  Along with being stunning it is the tallest of its kind and tallest in Morocco.   A laser beam at night lights up the area and signifies the light always overcomes the dark.   Maximum of 125,000 worshippers can gather at the Mosque using inside and outside areas.

It took 6 years to build this beautiful mosque whic was completed in 1993.   6000 master craftsman worked on this.  It is open to non Muslims to visit.  There is a dress code which means you are decently and respectfully dressed.  No t shirts or pants above the knee.  Head scarves are not required.   Local tours are about 45 minutes.  

Rick’s cafe is famous for the movie Casablanca and still operates.  French/ Moroccan influence is felt here. As time goes by is played on the piano continually and the movie plays in the background.  It is located in a grand mansion.  It’s open only from 12-3.  Then 6:30 till midnight.  It is well priced.  

The only museum devoted to Judaism in the world is here, Museum of Moroccan Judaism.   Simon Levy was an activist and champion of human rights.  He helped to get this established. 

To get to Marakesh is at least 2 -3 hours by bus along desolate poor areas. The road is in good repair but there are not many places to get off or get fuel.  Narrow alleyways are within Marakesh as were in 100’s of years ago. Olive oils, shoes, spices, and antiques are found here but you have to barter or negotiate.   You will stroll by numerous outdoor cafes.  Notre Dame Lourdes Church is here and holds 20,000 parishioners.

Palace is extravagant and  the gem of Morocco.  Not open to public without pre arranged visit.   

New Medina has lots of merchants.  They say they are v ery friendly.  Streets are lined with Eateries and Moroccan treats.  

Lots of landmark square areas.  Lots of preservation going on.  French influence tried to make their presence known.   There is an are known for the pigeons or pigeon square.  It even shows up on Google maps!!

The largest mosque and so exquisite.  

The Medina which has everything you could want 

The kings palace heavily guarded 

Pigeon square found in google maps!


Marakesh at night in all it’s glory. 

Now for the rest of the story …. There were four vans of us going.  Town got ahead of us and the two stayed together.  It’s a long drive as stated before.  The van ahead of us lost their AC.  We both pulled over and after a few minutes they seemed to get it working again.  Then about another 19 miles down the road it completely quit.  It was ghastly hot outside and no shade around.  Only one of our guides spoke English.  He began calling for more vans or taxis but the toll road to Marakesh has far and few places between that can provide assistance.  We were at a nice shady gas station with snacks and clean restrooms.  About 12 of us talked about our dilemma and decided at this late date we wanted to return to the ship and avoid another breakdown which might mean we wouldn’t see Marakesh or we might not make it back to the ship.  6 people wanted to go on.  The held on to their seats in the van and spoke in an uncivil vile tongue to our guides.  They pointed fingers and called them liars.   They yelled and were the worst example of rude and uncontrollable passengers I’ve ever seen.   Honestly I was mortified.  I went up to one guide and hugged him.  I told him we are not all like that from the US and Canada.  Many of us tipped them.  It was decided since they wouldn’t budge that all 17 would ride in a 15 passenger van with the guides.  Several had to stand.  The roads had few to no exits where we. Hold turn around and meet the next van.  So to sum it up we never made it to Marakesh.   We rode for almost 8 hours in a van with little more than a bottle of water and any snacks we brought.  We write to our Across Africa Tour arranger Megan and profusely apologized.  We also told our tour operator Mary Anne Moore how embarrassed and ashamed we were if those passengers.  I told her I would not ride on another tour with them.  It was a bit of excitement we could certainly have done without but the rest of our civil group have bonded and we have a good story to share now !!

Our last stop before getting to the ship was the huge mosque which holds over 1,000,000 people between the inside and outside areas.  All faiths are welcome. 

How people live along the road to Marakesh.  See the donkey to the right.  

.  The donkey under the tree in a very rocky rough dry environment. 

Travel is more than the seeing of sights. It is a change that goes on, deep and permanent , in the ideas of living. Miriam Beard Agadir

Today is October 29th and the four of us spoke about the fact that we boarded October 10th and have been calling this sailing ship our comfortable home for 18 days.   The time has gone by like balloons floating to the sky.  We see them lift and marvel at the currents that swirl and carry them and then with longing and appreciation for their unique beauty we watch them disappear.  Yes today I worked for over two hours putting together in my blog for Agadir.  I always feel a sense of completion like you do when you clean house or mow the yard; you know what I mean.  You complete tasks and then step back and admire the effort.  Well as I have done many times I closed my phone with the app open.  Then I went to the jewelry making class.  Side note to that we often have 135 folks attending including men.  It’s called Arts and Crafts but Betsy and I only do the jewelry which has been a challenge for us both with united effort for each other!!  After the class we were headed to the Ocean Bar to meet a few new friends for Happy Hour.  I decided why not go ahead and publish the blog.  It probably only needed a concluding sentience.  You guessed it….. it was gone!!! I searched for hours going to every form of google help I could find and tried reloading you name it.  I slept poorly last night but had to resign myself to the fact that I would be starting over.  So I may miss a few things I wanted to share but I’m behind having too much fun with old and new friends so here it goes .

I attended the port history talk which is excellent on this ship.  It’s Jeremy and he is well traveled and has a good sense of humor.  Here are some snippets I found interesting. 

A Mosque is a place to meet each other and get information about ones religion it is also a social gathering.  Moslems pray up to 5 times per day. Those who  believe on Mohammad, have a period during the year where they fast during day time for 30 days ; they believe in helping poor people.  Most Muslims make once in their life  going to Mecca.  The  Mecca is in Saudi Arabia.   It is very expensive like 8-10,000 dollars per person to travel their.    Mosques are open all day but open and close doors at certain times of the day.  Doors are made of beautiful cedar wood.  Marble and granite along with Mosaic wood is typical in the construction. Our first stop on our tour this day was the Mohamed V Mosque.  We could not go in but we’re able to admire the beautiful architected from many angles. 

 Next we moved on to an argan oil store. This tree is only found in Morocco.  Goats go under tree and eat the grass which makes it easier for women and children to find the nuts and gather them. The women and children break the husk but not the nut.  Two kinds of oil olive are produced on the island along with olive oil. and argan.

A pressed for paste  of the oils can be used for cooking and for skin. Pressing coldly 

gives us product more vitamins and minerals. No chemicals are used here.  Everything is organic.  Trees grown here are endemic to southern Morocco.  Every other year the tree produces fruit.  Women pick the fruit after it drops off trees. They congregate and work together making it a social time of sharing.   The berbers have been making it since the 1500s.  Kernels are ground with a stone mill.   It takes a day to make 1 liter of oil.  There is No smell to pure argan oil.  If it’s oily it’s not pure.

Our guide on our van rides a while with us then transfers to another van.  He doesn’t use a microphone so it is hard to hear.  The country is very poor and trying to restore things is almost at a standstill.  The worst part of our tour was the horrific amount to garbage everywhere.  In fields, around homes, piled high along roadways. We asked about it and he said the hover is aware but can’t find a way to get people to pay for the service so the throw garbage everywhere.   All the holy areas are littered too.  

Many people left the area after the earthquake happened se real years ago and never returned. The government tried to provide free apartments but that was t too successful either.  Currently there are about 380,000 inhabits.  Agriculture ,fishing and tourism are their livelihoods.  These are their riches.  

At the Mohamed Mosque V which is being restored inside so we are only allowed outside to view. It’s high atop the city of course for protecting the port.  

It’s massive.  Camel owners try to sell you a ride or a photo 

It’s a hot humid day here. 

Dan sure loved this guy.  We paid him a dollar for the photo and handling!! 

If you know Dan he is in his element. 

The country is dry flat rocky and lacks much shade

More mosques which are operational but at this time we can not enter only marvel at the our side beauty and architecture 



Our fellow farmers and workers bring fresh crops to market and send off a cheery wave liking to be noticed on camera. 

The Argan oil store visit was brief and strictly for purchasing. We tried a few things but no purchases. 


Most cafes saw only men sitting, drinking and smoking. No women.   Although our diode said women here have freedoms religiously and politically. They can divorce, choose their dress and are not criticized. 

Honey Rum 6 Euros a Bottle!

Our stop on October 19th was in Lanzarote, Canary Islands.  This island is a moonscape with 320 volcanic cones. It’s white adobe type homes resemble Santorini.  The influence came from Cesar Manrique a German artist and architect.   They say blue front doors are painted on homes by the sea, green doors are paired by homes around the city and brown doors are painted by homes in the country.  Grapes that are grown here are grown in a circle where they are wrapped around and the water puddles.  A large unique cactus garden is here with over 4500 species from over four countries.  Another product garbed here is aloe for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.  The island of Lanzarote is 35 miles long.  The climate seems almost perfect.  Power is produced by wind turbines, solar and then diesel generators.  Desalination plants provide water but people are extremely conservative.  Many still collect what little rain water that falls.  From this port we are 150 miles to Morocco.  

The word Lanzarote means “reef”.  The town most definitely has a Mediterranean feel to it; surrounded by a lagoon or Charco as they call it. A lovely waterfront allows one to stroll and take in the serenity and beauty.  The pedestrian walkway is the Calle Leon y Castillo or Main Street.  Often you will hear tourists refer to this destination as the Venice of the Atlantic.  A Unesco geological area is situated here with the longest volcanic tunnel in the world!  It is slightly longer than 4 miles long.  (Cuerva de Los Verdes). Another attraction to visitors is the Timanfaya National Park which is  part of the biosphere park being 20 sq miles.    The Fire Mountains can  bubble with temperatures up to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. Another major resort area is Playa  Grande along the southern coastline whic boasts of more amenities.  As might be expected the 

main employment here is tourism.   

Plans for this port stop were Snorkling with the Lanzarote Dive Center.  Our tour leader was Ruth Macy but she tested positive for COVID and therefore had miss the tour and choose another leader.  The information we received said we would snorkel from a boat and have a beach available to us plus a buffet lunch.  Note to self: really investigate what is promised.  Our good traveling companions Chuck and Betsy bowed out on this trip as they weren’t feeling well.  So we had about 12 people.  The pickup point was outside the direct port area.  It was a bit confusing.  Eight people went in taxis and then four of us in a smaller van with the instructor.  She was a very nice German lady who trained as an interpreter and taught previously at the college level.  She told us she raised her two children here on the island as a single mother coming 30 years ago.  She had owned a scuba company but recently sold it and now just helps out. As we drove with her the moonscape of the area was stark.  Very few trees or plants were to be found.  The area was very clean and well taken care of. Our instructor told us the people are very progressive and broad minded and that fit a single woman it was the perfect place to live and a paradise for raising children.  

We were able to pull right in to the dive center but the taxis left the others about half a mile away.  We soon realized we would all have to wear wet suits because the water is not warm.  This is not the place to dive in our estimation.  Imagine 12 older folks struggling into wetsuits!  Not a pretty picture at all. Further more there was no boat to take us out on.  And no beach! We walked a half mile to a rocky rough area with no and, just boulders and gravel.  Many folks were challenged to get into the water.  Dan helped me and with our full face masks we did fine.  We stayed together and saw a few fish but the waters were murky.   We were never to far from the shore and stayed within the suggested barrier. 

After about 45 minutes of Snorkling we headed back to the center to strip off our suits with lots of help from others and then have a snack …. Not really a buffet :).  The highlight I think of the day was tasting the Honey Rum!!!! It is local and made in the Canaries.  It’s very smooth like tequila with no burn.  And a deal at 6 Euros a bottle!!!  I’ll be looking for that back in the states an you should too 😎.  

Starting the wetsuit challenge!

Hard to see but we are half way up with suits!

All the white homes which mostly are rentals for tourists. 

I think I’m going to make it!!

Our instructor with Dan who is loaded with our “stuff”.   

 

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. St Augustine

Funchal, Madeira  is an island belonging to Portugal.  There are mountain slopes, rain forests and very scenic areas in this island.  Madeira is known as the floating garden with so many lovely garden and park areas.  They are famous for Madeira wine.  The ship arranged for us to a have free

shuttle service at this port and all other ports where it is needed.  This is new for us because on the Grand Asia there were several ports where we had to pay for shuttle service.  When they announced this in the theater the audience clapped and cheered!  We opted for a private tour through Viator.  The tour operator told us there would be 6 of us in an open wired 4 x 4 vehicle and we would not be crowded.  To our dismay there were 

8 of us with one couple being very large and having issues with walking and getting in and out of the vehicle.  We sat on the sides of the back area so our knees touched.  Not very comfortable.  The captain had told us that we would have a little rain in the morning but it would then clear.  We kept hoping for clear sunny skies to open the top but it never happened.  Instead we experienced several downpours.  The canvas top leaked if we didn’t push it up with our hands.  As they say travelers must be flexible and not expect perfection!  Our first stop was Camara de Lobos which is named for what they call sea wolves or sea lions.  We never saw any of them but possibly in the past when the villages were settled they were present and more of a problem. 

We came into port when it was still dark. Sunrise was at 7:30!! 

The port is very commercial but the walls are covered with paintings from all the different container companies and cruiseship logos.  The workers said that people from the ships paint the logos. 

This was our open air jeep and guide. 

Beautiful bougainvillea were everywhere.

Our first stop was the Sea Wolves area with cute cafes and colorful small fishing boats.  

Winston Churchill visited this cafe hitch makes it a very unique spot!

A photo from the past in the cafe. 

  The town was a cute fishing town with quaint restaurants, outdoor eating venues and a view of the marina and the sea. Betsy and I found a small shop with many unique hand made items so of course we found items to purchase.  

After that stop we traveled on to Nuns  Valley which follows a very curvy and twisty road up to the mountainous area. To our dismay it was totally fogged in and pouring buckets of rain.  Chuck Story and I were the only who ventured out to the skywalk which is a small curved see thru area.  We ventured over to the side and were able to see the coastline below.  It’s called Nuns Valley because when the pirates would invade the island the nuns would take the gold and treasures and resort to this hide away.   Our guide took us over a few four wheel drive roads where we tended to slip and slide down the slopes.  They were really not much of anything but he did talk of the invasive eucalyptus trees, showed us chestnuts which grow in abundance and found a bit of wild mint.  

Rain totally fogged us in. 

Entrance to the sky walk. 

Chuck and I were the only fools to brave the rain shower and look over the side.  

Onward we traveled to try the Poncha, their local alcoholic beverage.  It was a cute small shop which had a bar on one side and a small grocery store in the other.  Items were very pricey but I guess if you need it you buy it. We watched the bartender make the Poncha which is always made fresh.  He pounds and juices lemons, lime, mango’s, oranges. tangerines along with sugar and rum.   After ponding and juicing he blends it in a mixer with the rum.  It is very strong to alcohol and even a small glass packs a punch!!!  Betsy and I both threw back the shots and were a lot happier for it!!

Sometimes in port they have four cruise ships.  But today only we are here. Banana plants are everywhere planted up the hillsides and in every available space.  They are exported.  Some plants produce 250 bananas which are small.  They export to Spain. 

These are napkin holders. So original!!

After the tour we took the free shuttle bus to town and saw this on a bench. 

Beautiful fountain in a roundabout…

We found the banana/pineapple fruit delicioso.  Chuck bought one and the market lady showed us how to eat it.  Very sweet and good.  

Can you see the face in the metal sculpture along one of the side streets?   

All the streets are tiled and very intricate.  Everything is very clean. 

Oldest street in Funchal. 

A snack of pizzas and a chocolate brownie… all for $7 and Chuck treated us!!