The first real day of my adventure begins. I landed in Casablanca and the airliners lost my bag. If you thought I was traveling with little gear, now all I have is a pair of shorts and long sleeve shirt and an extra pair of socks... A really good start, and by the way, it is no where near "shorts weather." I have met up with a good friend of a friend named Youseff, who is from Morocco and spent the the better part of 10 years growing up in the United States, primarily Myrtle Beach. Southern Charm is alive. He has gone above and beyond to show me a great time and made sure that I not feel like a guest but like I am at home. Hoping that this was how I would be treated, I surprised him with a good amount of Quaker grits to take him back to his days in The South.
In the early day, we traveled via train to his girlfriend's apartment in the heart of Casablanca. The way in was a very rural train ride. Farms and half built apartments followed us the entire way in. The traffic in the city is absolutely awful. There is no such thing as lanes and crosswalk signs might as well not exist. I think of myself as "on my toes"... I almost walked in front of a car and almost got ran over by a kid on a bicycle.
We then traveled to where Youseff works and lives, Dar Bouazza, about a 20 minute slow ride outside of Casablanca. I had the opportunity to watch him and his team at Kat Shapes build surf boards. Afterwards, I walked by myself into the small town where the docks are the central area. Youseff and I bought 30 Large sardines for around $2 and had someone right on the beach cook them for us with a Moroccan salad. The sardines were the best things I had ever had. Afterwards, we had some left over, so Youseff invited a man that looked very hungry to help us finish. I cannot tell you how thankful he was.
When we returned to the city, we walked through Old Medina, which is exactly what I was expecting Morocco to be like. Very narrow street, packed with people, and lined with shops.
Found some very neat old Moroccan items, an old middle eastern flint lock rifle really peaked my interests!
On our walk back home, we came accross some interesting dressed men that were pouring water into golden looking cups. Usaf informed me that this was how water used to be distributed to the locals.
After we left, we rented a car for the days ahead; tomorrow we set off on a multi-day toad trip through Marrakech, Agadir, Essaouira, and Taghazout.
In the early day, we traveled via train to his girlfriend's apartment in the heart of Casablanca. The way in was a very rural train ride. Farms and half built apartments followed us the entire way in. The traffic in the city is absolutely awful. There is no such thing as lanes and crosswalk signs might as well not exist. I think of myself as "on my toes"... I almost walked in front of a car and almost got ran over by a kid on a bicycle.
We then traveled to where Youseff works and lives, Dar Bouazza, about a 20 minute slow ride outside of Casablanca. I had the opportunity to watch him and his team at Kat Shapes build surf boards. Afterwards, I walked by myself into the small town where the docks are the central area. Youseff and I bought 30 Large sardines for around $2 and had someone right on the beach cook them for us with a Moroccan salad. The sardines were the best things I had ever had. Afterwards, we had some left over, so Youseff invited a man that looked very hungry to help us finish. I cannot tell you how thankful he was.
When we returned to the city, we walked through Old Medina, which is exactly what I was expecting Morocco to be like. Very narrow street, packed with people, and lined with shops.
Found some very neat old Moroccan items, an old middle eastern flint lock rifle really peaked my interests!
On our walk back home, we came accross some interesting dressed men that were pouring water into golden looking cups. Usaf informed me that this was how water used to be distributed to the locals.
After we left, we rented a car for the days ahead; tomorrow we set off on a multi-day toad trip through Marrakech, Agadir, Essaouira, and Taghazout.
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