Wanderung 27

Bob:

We docked in Casablanca's harbor just before dawn and saw the lights of both the container port and several working boats besides the tugboats that for once actually helped us ease into our berth at the pier. Shortly thereafter, a much larger cruise ship, the MSC Divina, floated majestically by, all lit up like a Christmas Tree in the dark, and they pulled in just around the corner from us. At breakfast we met Len and Mary Ellen, with whom we had done our "Voyage of the Vikings" across the North Atlantic from Denmark to New York (Wanderung 18). Right at the beginning of that cruise their luggage had been lost and so they had to "make do" for things to wear for two weeks, which they had managed with great aplomb. We were glad to see that they were both still relatively hale and hearty.

Monika:

Bob:

We had signed up for a walking tour of Casablanca, and as it turned out that required a bit of driving around by bus because Casablanca is a much larger, and more modern, city than I had expected. It is also more Westernized than what I anticipated in an almost totally Moslem country. Surprisingly, we learned that 10 synagogues still were active in Casablanca, suggesting a living Jewish community athough a smaller one than in the past when up to 30 or so synagogues had been located in the city.

Our bus stopped several time to give us an opportunity to walk around several areas of the city

Monika:

Bob:

The most impressive part of our tour by far was the city hall, which had decorations that reminded me very much of the medieval decorations on the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain. That makes sense because the Moors who conquered Spain came from northern Africa, so we are basically talking about the same culture with the same artistic conventions and so forth.

Regardless of the origin of the art, the city hall was astonishingly pretty. The mosaics and doorways with onion-shaped tops and thin columns combined to make a delicately beautiful kind of surrounding for the interior courtyards, fountains, and plants that graced the interior of the building. Even a conference room was carpeted in what looked like "Persian" carpets and that was gorgeous in a rich, sumptious, colorful way.

Monika:

Bob:

We drove along the beach, stopping off for a soda at the Hotel Val D'anfa, which had both a swimming pool facing the ocean and some astonishing inlaid decorations gracing its hallways and even the bathrooms! Further down the beach we also saw surfers trying to catch a wave, although the water appeared to be too cold for any of the other beach goers to actually go in swimming.

Monika:

Bob:

Our next stop was the largest mosque in Casablanca. Very pretty! From the outside, the decorated walls and minarets looked quite magnificent, but we were not allowed inside, of course. I also liked the pools situated in the courtyard and watched with amusement as a young boy played in the water of one of the fountains as his mother watched anxiously--how typical! We were told that the construction costs for the mosque had been financed by the king in part to help employ the local citizenry and aid the local economy.

Monika:

Bob:

Many if not most of tours arranged by cruise lines have a "shopping" stop included, and this tour was no exception. We stopped at a tourist-oriented shop where quite a variety of local handicrafts were for sale, including rugs, copperware, inlaid wood boxes, woven baskets, ceramics, and leather goods. I also enjoyed watching some of the artisans who were busy working there, no doubt in part to entertain us. However, I forgot that Moslem culture prohibits making human images such as pictures, and was scowled at when I took the picture of one artisan. So if you are in a Moslem country, please don't be a clod like me and remember to avoid taking pictures of people!

On the whole, I rather enjoyed this shopping stop due largely to the variety of beautiful handcrafted goods on sale. We found a nice inlaid jewelry box for Ericka for Christmas, plus a wallet for each of us and some nice brass bangles for Monika. I'm sure we could have also found such items in the local souk or market, and probably cheaper, but we find the bargaining process stressful and unpleasant and were thus quite happy to shop in a "fixed price" environment.

Monika:

Bob:

Our final stop of the day was the local market, which smelled strongly of fish. Despite that overpowering scent, the market also had stalls selling flowers, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and even some non-food items. Very atmospheric, but my urge to buy something to eat was tempered by wanting to stay healthy for the rest of our trip.

As it turned out, we returned to the ship in time for a late lunch, and then settled in to download pictures, read, and write for the rest of the afternoon. Our bit of comedy for the day came when the last folks from the 12-hour tour to Marrakesh straggled back on to the ship at 7:45 p.m. and the shore staff tried to hall away the gangplank. I saw a big electrical flash come from the top of a large black transformer on the loading crane next to the gangplank, and the crane was suddenly "deader than a doornail".

So next the shore staff brought around a big, industrial forklift that looked like it was designed to lift small containers. After a few false starts where the gangplank tilted precariously betwixt ship and shore, they finally managed to pull it off the ship and shove it out of the way over to one side. Our ship was then able to cast off and head out of the harbor, and we retired for the night.

Monika: