My Rabat-Casablanca Days

After my Weekend Train Trip with Alice, Val and Tiff, I spent a solitary night in Rabat without the lights. A good Sunday night's rest means my laptop is off, no electricity in the flat and my phone is on a dead battery mode.

I woke up Rabat-Monday morning around 630 and went straight to take a bath and clean up. The heater wasn't working so I did a "kachupoy bath method". It simply means my usual 30 minute bath becomes a 5 minute ritual. Damn! The water is cold!

After this I had breakfast from the TGI Friday's dinner leftover. I had three slices of chicken wrapped with something and it tasted good, heavy and healthy. Cleaned up the room and fixed my one-week-travel-anywhere 3-bag-system. This 3-bag system I call works well for an Internet dependent traveler like me. My duffel/duffle bag (thanks Alicia!) contains all my clothes, the other is my laptop bag which of course contains my computer and all the peripherals needed for my mobile Internet services The third one? Oh it's an excess! LOL!

Then paid my dues to the owner of the flat by cleaning up the place. And here comes the ugly face of my stupid relationship with directions and instructions. My flat owner told me the thrash bags go in the first door from the entrance door. I opened the first door but someone said something in Darija (Moroccan Arabic) so I closed it immediately. Then went on to open the next door twice which was a flat. The second time I did this, the owner came out and never let go of me until I gave him the room number where I stay. O shit!

Of course I had to express "Hey I'm sorry to do this but I don't care about you or your place" in a universal language: hand on my left chest and saying "par-doh(n)".

With my laptop bag hanging on my neck, I went out of the building not knowing where to go. All I know was I needed to charge my laptop and phone while I get my dose of caffeine-filled glass and "milawi" with "kiri". Kiri is a dairy product more popularly known as cheese and milawi is like a Pinoy hotcake but thinner and has a squared shape.

I saw an avenue and got the urge to walk into it. From where I stood I saw the vastness of Atlantic Ocean and this gave me the "feelings of country home". I thought I'd walk towards it but was detoured by coffee shops.

Sip here, sip there, pay then give a tip off I went to the sea!



How I love the serenity the waves bring! I went as close as I could to the shoreline and just like someone surprising a long lost friend, there was a big wave that splashed on the rock I was standing on. Whew thanks for the bonjour and ciao my dear friends!

After the greetings and high fives, I decided to go back to the flat, got my bags and took a cab. As I stepped out of the apartment, I just had to make sure I read the notes Val gave me. It was the most important paper I had that day which said "Francis, these are the things you need to say to the taxi driver to reach Kuya S's".

Then the fix: Waahhhhh! Val forgot the important name of the place: "HAY RIYAD" and so the driver was lost, I mean I was lost.

The rescue: If all else fail, ask Alice to call back and let her do the talking! Thanks dudette!

Arrived at Kuya S's place around 9 in the morning. Noemie was there and so was Kelay. Finally found a place to have my batteries charged and powered.

Lunch was served and sightings of Pinoy food on the table. Wowow! The aroma and the texture, Pinoy food to the max! Enjoy in the joys of eating!

Thanks! thanks! thanks!

Kuya S arrived and first thing I told him was I needed a relaxing Thai massage. So off we went to the parlor. An hour and a half of pure deep tissue massage coupled with cartilage-stretching, bone-breaking maneuvers sent me to R-E-M land! Don't try it at home!

Night time was Pinoy socialization called videoke night! Yahoo! I got to, err, got to scream to my heart's content and listener's dismay! My standard Each Day with You, Be My Lady, YMCA and Crazy Little Thing Called Love just won't fail me. Of course this happens after I've downed a couple of bottle of vodka's. LOL!

Then the snoring came and gone!

I woke up at 530 in the morning and went Skype with my loving wife and kids. Had coffee with Ate Len too during this time. Oh! Ate was just sweet and well, very ate! Stories of the kingdom, years away from the Philippines and life ahead.

Then around 9 I asked Ate if it was a great time to go to the Medina and I got a surprise from Ate "I'll go with you!"

First stop: Hassan Tower. This monumental incomplete mosque is a must for travelers. Check out my photos and the photos from the links.







After the photo shoot, we hopped into a cab and went straight to Medina and did some shopping of fruits and more fruits!

Then back to Hay Riyad.

Another Pinoy lunch and Pinoy merienda. Online moments then my trip to Marjane Hay Riyad. Marjane is a shopping mall and this is near the auto route where my ride will come from. At 6 PM Ms. Karen showed up and off we drove to Casablanca. An hour away. By the way, I saw two burly guys speaking in Filipino so I called out "Kabayan!" Gladly they replied back. Interestingly, I got the feeling that I was talking to a fellow Pinoy who would rather not talk to me. Oh! Some men you just can't reach and there are those who refuses to be reached! Well, what can I do? I left in a huff!

Casablanca now.

Arrived and met some Pinoys:



Then snoring.

Woke up and it's Casablanca morning. It's a city morning and JR Cenis and I went the fish port first thing and bought a 58 Dirhams worth of fish. I was surprised at how much 58 Dirhams can buy. I wanted to bring out my PhP 2,500.00 small time point and shoot digital camera to take photos of the fish port scenario. A lively, smelly and wonderful place to take pictures of but I dared not as I might offend this sleep-deprived fishermen who only wants to empty their fish baskets and go home for a nice sleep. I found it annoying though that these merchants' initial reactions, when they see and hear us ask for the prices of their goods, were to raise the prices up in the sky. We were laughing each time they'd do that to us.

JR is 7 months better than me when it comes French and Arabic speaking so he does the haggling all the time.

After the errand, we went to the coffee shop and had a good croissant with choc'late in it. My ole' did the finishing kick to my sleepiness and tummy tremors. Then we did another round of photo shoots:



Then we went to a place they call "Little Paris" but Alice said the name and I forgot it. More photos:



It must be lovely to be there at night but I was told these pigeons also have time offs for work, LOL!

I flew with them:



JR fed them too:



I like this one:



If you plan to visit this Little Paris, it's is a few blocks away from the fish port and you won't miss it with people and pigeons crowding the park.

We then went back home by hopping again in a cab.

Clean up time, lunch time ala Pinoy! Fried fish, tomato and vinegar with "siling Labuyo!" Yohoo! Pinoy food! Pinoy food!

Leo arrived and off we go again. Next stop is the seaside!



I wasn't surprised at all to see the beach crowded on a weekday, in the middle of the day. Life here in Morocco is simple and easy. Football happy nation is Morocco:



At least I saw 4 made up beach football field in the beach for 11 a side matches. That is big!!!

Well, I didn't need to consult the chieftain about my decision to go beach walking:



Been wanting to join the waves since Monday in Rabat! I am featuring in the next few photos reAdi, ma' all-terrain rubby!







Along the way, reAdi, me and the rest of the crew saw a big black cat abandoned by one of the football guys:



Good thing reAdi wanted to race:



Well so far so good but I realized it's 214 AM now. This post has taken much longer wot write than I expected. I started writing at 7PM last night!

After the water works, JR and I went to Hassan II Mosque, the biggest Mosque outside of Mecca.

Our version of our captured moments of the enormous structure before us:

















So far so good is my travel week here in Morocco! I have to sleep now, I'll be going out again today with JR!


By the way, here are my gracious hosts here in Casablanca:




Readers from Morocco, specially, Pinoys in Morocco, do you know them?

Travel time means seeing news things and learning lots about the place you go to! Bye and thanks for reading!

Do chime in the comment section if you want to add info's about the places I go to.