My flight itinerary to Accra, Ghana included 4 flights with 2 short layovers in the US and one 15 hour layover in Casablanca, Morocco. By the time I arrived at the Casablanca Airport it was late morning in Morocco. I was pleased to discover that my layover came with a complimentary hotel room and a couple of meals! I was also thrilled to find that almost everyone spoke perfect French! I immediately went to my room and relaxed. After lunch I went to Casablanca. It took me a couple of tries to catch the airport shuttle (I was late) but once I did, I headed to the train and went into the city!
I met a girl named Daiyah on the train who appeared to be in her early 20's. She and I shared a taxi to a spot nearby the coast where we walked a little ways before she sent me off on my own. Daiyah told me (in French) about Ramadan, the religious ceremony that lasts for a month where no one is allowed to eat or drink anything, smoke or gamble while the sun is up. Then, when the sun sets everyone breaks their fast together. She pointed out "downtown Casablanca" and the large spire of the Mosque I wanted to see. She also gave me advice about how to tell the taxi driver to take me back to the airport and what would be a good price for a taxi.
I made it to my coastal destination and as I walked up to the Mosque Mohammad V I noticed a whole bunch of people (mainly children) were playing in the ocean water by the rocks. It looked like 100 people were enjoying the temperate water of the Mediterranean Sea! I enjoyed the exquisite craftsmanship and architecture of The Mosque so much that I didn't realize I was the only woman walking into the front door! I was stopped and told to stand aside where I could look in to my heart's content. The Mosque was made of intricately carved stone, wood and metal along with complex tile patterns. There were humongous metal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings all throughout the building and the ceilings of the courtyard structures were inlaid with a brown tile to match the light brown stone that they were made from. Some of the largest metal doors I have ever seen were placed on each side of the mosque. They were so thick that they could withstand anything I can think of - natural disaster, bomb, you name it! Although, I hope they never see anything like that.
Next I stopped a taxi driver and asked him (in French) to take me to the Old Medina - a marketplace where I could buy souvenirs. He took me to the center of town and when we stopped at a light he said that I might enjoy the market across the street more than the Medina because it was less "tourist-y" and I could probably find better bargains there. I thanked him and left the taxi. The driver was right. I haggled and searched for some of the souvenirs I had in mind and I found them! It was a terrific experience with little pressure and the marketplace, though crowded, didn't seem as dangerous as some. All of the vendors were polite and pleasant, even when trying to drive a hard bargain.
All of my goals seemed to be met. I got to see Casablanca and do some touristy stuff, I found souvenirs and the last thing was to get out of the city before it got dark. The sun sets at 7:30 - I had looked that up before I came. It wasn't quite 7pm.
I did what Daiyah had shown me and I got away from all the taxi drivers competing for my business. I walked along the street and waived down a taxi. He hesitated when I asked if he'd take me to the train station. But then he agreed, as if he were relenting (I simply asked 'train station?' - I wasn't being pushy). He started driving to the station and chatting first in French, then in English. I felt like he was trying to distract me. I remembered that Daiyah said I wouldn't need to negotiate a rate because there should be a meter counting the miles at the front of the car (just like taxis at home). She said if it was flashing I should ask what was wrong and be suspicious.
After about 1/4 mile I looked down at the box which was completely dead and looked like it hadn't worked for a while. The driver said it was broken - duh. I asked how much he was gonna charge to take me to the station and he said 20 Durham. Daiyah had paid 15 to go twice as far so I knew he was scamming me. When I told him I wouldn't pay that much he said "ok then get out". Tons of cabs passed every minute so after initial shock wore off I straightened my back and got out of the cab. I started walking and within a couple of minutes found another taxi with a meter that worked and I payed him 6 Durham to take me to the station.
I bought a train ticket and found that I'd only need to wait 10 minutes for the 7:00 train! Of course, it was 25 min late but at least I was out of the city by dark. I sat in a train car with a slightly annoying American family but I felt safe being around others from the same culture in a confined space.
We arrived at the airport just as the sun fully set and I went to catch the airport shuttle back to my hotel which, of course, was an hour late. I remembered that upon arrival I saw something about checking out at 8:30 and began to worry that someone might decide to check me out early and do something to (ok steal) my stuff. As I sat waiting for the shuttle I met others who had just arrived from Singapore and Vietnam who spoke English. The man from Singapore (Mohammad Ali) distributed cookies (homemade) which the man from Vietnam and I politely refused. Mohammad insisted that we eat one because he and his friends just "broke fast" (see earlier Ramadan information) and they could not eat alone. Then he said "now we are all family" and proceeded to ask us where we were from and where we were going, etc. the time passed quickly and he took my mind off of my hotel room.
We arrived at the hotel and I grabbed my bag (perfectly in tact - yes, call me paranoid but the balcony door had a broken lock and housekeeping had walked in on me napping earlier that day). I had promised Gavin and my mom that I'd email them before I left for the airport so they knew I had returned from Casablanca. The only place I found WiFi in Morocco was at the hotel lobby (not the room) so by the time 9:00 rolled around and it was thoroughly dark I had received several worried emails from Gavin. I sent a one sentence email saying I was on my way to the airport and caught the shuttle back. Gavin had told me I should plan to return to the airport by 9:30 and I had gone through customs and was at the gate by 9:20!
The flight wasn't till 12:45 am so I grabbed my bag, curled myself around it on a chair near the gate and took a much needed 2 hour nap. Morocco was delightful and I fully recommend it to anyone looking for a pleasant, welcoming exotic trip. Now on to Ghana!
