Day 12 - Wednesday, 11/20/24 - Casablanca, Morocco
What a day! You may want to enjoy a favorite beverage or some of one of the two basic food groups: popcorn as you read today's account. It's going to be a bit long.
I was awakened around 6am by the sound and vibrations emanating from the twin propellers working their magic in the harbor area of Casablanca. Captain van der Wal was making his last port entry as we were to receive back our regular Captain Paul Adams. For me, getting up is a slow process as I'm more of a night owl. So by 7am I was up and showered as we had a private all cay excursion planned with a meeting time of 8:15am.
After breakfast in the LIDO (congi has been my breakfast of choice this cruise), we met up with our group and checked off the ship with the customary scan of our keycards at the gangway on deck A. We finally had set foot on our last continent which has taken about 12 years to accomplish. It was still twilight and we had about a 2.5 ship length to the "terminal" to get our passports "examined". There were absolutely no shuttles to take passengers with mobility issues to the "terminal". An old ferry, Marrakesh, was moored behind us and immediately adjoining the terminal building. Our cruise director calls it the SS Pigeon Poop as there are hundreds if not thousands of pigeons adorning the decks and railings. The ship has been moored there at least 10 years and for some of that was partially submerged. When I looked up the ship's history, I noted that it was once the ship that carried a former King Hassan II. In its current state, it's hardly a ship for royalty but relegated to pigeon roosting duty.
As far as the passport check was concerned, we just had to wave our passports at the guard and passed through without so much as a glance at their details. The inside of the terminal building is quite spartan with lots of heavy duty railings strong enough to hold a cow or buffalo, or more probably a camel. There was also a lingering animal smell in the terminal so the building was probably once if not currently used for livestock movement.
Outside on the other side of the terminal we met our driver, Yousef, and a very nice Mercedes van that easily held our 10 passengers with room to spare. The interior of the van was trimmed out in red leather with black leather seats. While there were USB ports, they didn't work and the air conditioning was marginal. But the seats were comfortable. After we left the port area, we picked up our guide for the day, Mohammed, (he didn't have authorization to enter the port area). He introduced himself and gave us an overview of the our day together. We'd first stop by the large mosque and purchase entry tickets for 10am ($17.50US each) and then do some shopping for vegetable items for our cooking class, do some sightseeing from the van, and then return to the Hassan II mosque which is the 7th largest in the world and largest in Africa before going to Mohammed's home for the cooking class.
We ended up at a small local market where we purchased the vegetables for our cooking class. It was not unlike markets we've seen around the world except for a few things. This one had live chickens for sale and the smells were of Arabian spices. Of course everything was priced in the local currency. People were particularly sensitive about having their pictures taken but two individuals encouraged it: the chicken wrangler and the fish merchant. The latter was emphatic that I photograph him downing a slimy piece of raw fish. But most strange was the presence of the scavenger birds that we most commonly see in the wild, but not in urban areas. The produce comes primarily from farms roughly 12-20 miles away. We observed them being delivered in small trucks and motorcycle tricycles, And everything is up for a good haggle and pretty inexpensive. Our haul of cilantro, zucchini, parsley, carrots, squash, radish, beans, tomatoes, & onions totaled under $10 for a quantity enough to feed 12 people. Mohammed and his wife pre-purchased the meat items before our arrival.
After the sightseeing drive and market trip, we returned to the mosque and Mohammed let us on a tour of the interior. It's a long walk across the patio to the mosque entrance. Golf carts are available for those with mobility issues. King Hassan II built the mosque completing it in 1993 on the seashore and it holds some 20,000 worshippers and features a retractable roof. The interior is quite spartan by western standards with no interior seating. Women are segregated on the second level while men pray on the main level. There's a lower "absolution" level below the main floor when worshippers wash their feet before the prayer times. We didn't go down there, but could see it through holes in the floor. Mohammed explained the worship process as we toured the inside of the mosque. Part of our group didn't do the tour but enjoyed the free museum. The geometric patterns and sheer expanse and use of polished granite and stucco were impressive and elegant.
Throughout the city there were a number of large murals and many are frequently repainted or painted over as part of commissioned works of art. Here's a few examples.
At Mohammed's apartment, we were welcomed by his wife Fouzia, exchanged our shoes for slippers, and were escorted downstairs to what in the USA we would call a family room about 30' by 30'. We were instructed to wash our hands as a gesture of cleansing for the meal and preparation and were seated on adorned couches along the walls. In front of us was a table of snacks of crackers, cookies, various nuts, dates along with bottled water and sparkling water. On another table were spices and beginnings of the meal we were about to be helping prepare.
Mohammed brought down the veggies we had purchased at the market, and Fouzia instructed us in Arabic and demonstrated what she needed done. Mohammed did the translation. Items were peeled, sliced, diced, and Angela and I shelled the beans. The first dish that we helped prepare was a lamb dish which was to be cooked in a double boiler stainless steel pot. Lamb was on the bottom and the prepared veggies were added on top of the meat. The top portion of the boiler was reserved for the couscous to be added late in the cooking process. That double boiler was then taken upstairs to the small kitchen and placed on an open gas burner to simmer for about 1.5 hours. We then went back downstairs to prepare the second dish.
Cut pieces of a couple of chickens were in the bottom of a typical Moroccan cooking device called a tagine. The official Moroccan tagine is a two piece pottery object. The bottom piece is a bowl with thick walls to hold and keep the heat even. The top piece, also made of pottery, is shaped like an upside down funnel with the end plugged. With the chicken in the bowl, chopped cilantro & parsley, sliced onions, olive oil, raisins and spices were added to the top of the chicken. The cover was replaced along with a spoon to allow for a small place for steam to escape. That dish was also taken to the kitchen to simmer for 1.5 hours. The couscous was also prepared and it was to be added late in the cooking process.
Rather than just sitting around waiting for the food to cook, our van took us back to the Medina or old city area where we did some quick shopping. Along the way we stopped at the Pigeon Square in the former French quarter. I snapped a picture of Angela with a fellow dressed in typical Berber attire (quite colorful). Of course, a tip was required and we gladly paid it.
We made it back to the apartment and the smells of the cooed food permeated the interior. Downstairs we were seated and first presented with the chicken dish. It was delectable!!
Following the chicken dish, the couscous dish was served along with a yoghurt type drink. It again was delectable.
A fruit plate was served for dessert. I personally really liked the pomegranates.
We wrapped up dinner around 4pm and had some discussion about how the rest of the day would play out. Given the heavy traffic we had experienced going out for the short visit to the Medina, we eventually decided that the best course of action was to head back to the ship. The other option was to head the opposite direction to the new Medina, but doing that would put us likely back at the ship just after dark.
It took about an hour to drive back to the ship primarily using back roads. Traffic was very heavy throughout the journey. Mohammed got out just before the port entrance and Yousef drove us into the port and to the terminal. At the entrance we were required to show our ship card. We walked through the totally vacant terminal, vacant only for the two guards checking ship boarding ID's. We then began the long walk down the dock back to the front gangway. Near the ship we were greeted by our new Captain Paul Adams, who had been on leave for the past 10 days. He had been with the ship during the dry dock, but had to return to England for other matters. He was super personable and easy to converse with. We spent about 15-20 minutes conversing with him before he walked off to inspect the aft exterior part of the ship.
Angela and Captain Paul Adams
We quickly re-boarded the ship and spent some time relaxing in our stateroom where I dowloaded pictures from my large camera to my iPhone and Angela rested her leg. It's slowly getting better and she's been a real trooper with all of the walking we have been doing.
Our route for the day
With such a large and late lunch, we skipped dinner except for some ice cream and carrot cake. A movie in the Main Stage, The Gladiator, finished up our evening and while the movie was playing, the ship left port and began its voyage to our next port of call of Livorno, Italy which we'll reach in two days time.
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