Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: American Double 2014
Casablanca by tram
As there was no pressing need to be up early today, it made sense to use the opportunity to get a good night's rest. After all, there would be no comfortable beds to sleep in tonight, and Sunday was set to be a very long day! In due course we had a French breakfast at a little café close to the hotel, where the outdoor seats all faced the roadway, Parisian-style, for people-watching purposes. It was perfectly adequate and cost an absolute pittance.
Following a brief return to the room to get organised, we were ready to begin our explorations. I should point out that both Bruce and I were well aware that Casablanca, despite being Morocco's largest city, is not one of the country's tourist hotspots. Fez, Marrakech and the capital, Rabat, all ranked above our present location as far as sightseeing potential was concerned. Our primary reason for being in Casablanca was very simple: to take advantage of a particular airfare. Having said that, we fully intended to sample what was on offer in the limited amount of time at our disposal.
We started by visiting the nearby Central
Market - OK then, Marché Central - where traders were
already selling fish, meat and vegetables. I thought it brought an
authentic touch of local life to proceedings, to say nothing of
authentic local smells!
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LEFT: Post Office building |
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| RIGHT: Central Market, a short distance from the Sheraton |
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| ABOVE: Casablanca's shiny new tram line | |
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| ABOVE: On the beach | |
Thinking that it might be a good idea to take one of the shiny new trams out to the Corniche, we bought tickets for MAD6 (about 40p) each. It turned out to be a great decision: we ended up sitting beside a Libyan woman who was obviously very well educated and gave us a guided tour of the route in perfect English! Towards the end of the line, we passed through the extensive grounds of Casablanca's old airport, where work had started on a huge redevelopment project. Clearly they had managed to get the public transport links incorporated into the scheme from outset. The beach itself was nothing special, but it was interesting to see the Moroccan interpretation of a seaside resort.
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| ABOVE: Royal Palace and Courthouse | |||
On the way back, we got off the tram a little bit earlier in order to ensure that we could have a good look at the Royal Palace and the Palais de Justice. These buildings, together with the immediate surroundings, looked most impressive in the strong, late-morning sunshine.
Following the tram tracks on foot soon brought us to the Medina, where we spent some time looking around a busy market located in a relatively open corner of the district. With a good selection of photos collected at this location, we decided not to venture back into the crowded, narrow streets that we had seen the previous day.
| RIGHT and BELOW: Approaching the Medina district, and market trading in one of its more open spaces |
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| RIGHT: Approaching our lunch stop |
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Following a short stroll along the Avenue des Forces Armées Royales, we found ourselves outside the Royal Mansour hotel - the one we had originally booked for this brief visit. With our sightseeing almost over at this point, we decided to have a midday refreshment before returning to the Sheraton. Campari & Soda was the drink of choice, which went down very nicely with some generous helpings of olives, cheese and nibbles, in suitably plush surroundings.
A search for a more conventional (but light) lunch proved unsuccessful - where are M&S sandwiches when you really need them?! - and we soon went off the idea. Our car to the airport had a faster run than on arrival, and exit formalities were much less trying. The Royal Air Maroc lounge wasn't up to much, being crowded and fairly basic, and offering a meagre selection of food. It was something of a relief when the time came for our Qatar Airways extravaganza to begin in earnest!
(Link to flight log in side panel)