Casablanca and Rabbat (April 25 – 26)

In the morning, Marcela and I went to visit the inside of Hassan II Mosque.  This is quite a marvellous architectural gem.  Every detail was perfectly thought of, every carving either marble, stone, wood or plaster was carefully designed and the place is lit with beautiful chandeliers.  This place was build in 6 years buy more than 10,000 workers and 3000 artisans.

Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco

We then headed to pick up the rental car we will be using for the next few weeks.

In the afternoon we drove to Rabat and visited the Chellah and the Hassan Tower. Both beautiful places with Arab design. In the Chellah we saw the Roman ruins which are not well preserved but gives the visitors an idea of a Roman complex.

Chellah – Roman Ruins, Rabbat, Morocco
Chellah – Roman Ruins, Rabbat, Morocco
Chellah – Roman Ruins, Rabbat, Morocco
Chellah – Roman Ruins, Rabbat, Morocco
Chellah – Roman Ruins, Rabbat, Morocco
Hassan Tower, Rabbat, Morocco
Hassan Tower, Rabbat, Morocco
With Marcela’s aunt, uncle and cousin in Hassan Tower, Rabbat, Morocco

We then drove to the place we were staying, however we couldn’t find it so we asked for directions. The guys helping us didn’t know the location but asked if we had a phone number so we gave it to them.  After several attempts the guy answered the phone just to say that there was no reservation and he will call later.  After about 20 minutes he called and said there was a reservation but the apartment was only for 4 people and we couldn’t not stay there and he was cancelling the reservation.  At this time, Halid, the guy helping us, got really fired up and called the police. This is where things got heated and messy. The police showed up and wanted us to denounce the owner of the place but we refused. After more phone call attempts and chatting through the website we booked the place with, the guy accepted to give us the apartment. It was already 11:30pm, we were tired, frustrated and morally devastated.

I have to say that we arrived at an apartment with a propane water heater with exhaust inside the house… how dangerous is that?  The place did have a couple of bedrooms and we could sleep comfortably.

Well done Morocco, three out of three… one can only hopes things get better or worse!

We left early in the morning of April 26 to visit Oudayas, a cemetery in Rabat.  We then visited the Medina where we walked along the narrow roads and got lost exploring every corner of it.  We had lunch in a local restaurant inside the Medina.

Rabbat, Morocco
Pottery Shop, Rabbat, Morocco
Rabbat, Morocco
Rabbat, Morocco
Rabbat, Morocco
Rabbat, Morocco
Rabbat Medina, Morocco
Rabbat Medina, Morocco

In the afternoon we drove to Chefchouen, the blue town in Morocco. We drove through beautiful landscapes, most of them used for agriculture.  We arrived late in the evening.  Marcela and her cousin went to look for the place where we are staying which was located inside the Medina, a beautiful guesthouse up in the hill.  The owner was a funny guy and kept saying “No pasa nada” (Nothing happens).

Aqueduct on the way from Rabbat to Chefchaouen, Morocco
On the way from Rabbat to Chefchaouen, Morocco
Chefchaouen, Morocco
Artist in Chefchaouen, Morocco

Lisbon and Casablanca (April 24)

We left Medellin on April 23 towards Panama.  After a short stopover we flew to Lisbon, Portugal.  We arrived in Lisbon at 11:00pm, took the train and headed to a hostel we found on Booking.com, however it was very hard to find and did not get to bed until 1:30am.

Train Station, Lisbon, Portugal

We spent the morning on a free walking tour around Lisbon’s city centre.  What a beautiful city, we will have to come back… of course we will come back!

Some of those curiosities you find along the way – The sandwich were delicious, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal

We departed Lisbon at 4:00pm and after an hour we arrived in Casablanca, Morocco; got a free SIM card right at the airport and then took the train to Casa Voyageux train station.  At the train station we got onto a taxi and all of a sudden the driver got an additional passenger.  We argued with the driver about it because you never know who is getting into a cab with us and what the intentions are, however there was no point because of the language barrier.  We decided to stay in the taxi and hope for the best! It was all okay, apparently the driver wanted to make some extra money with an additional passenger, as we paid full price and the other passenger also paid a bit.

Casablanca, Morocco

We arrived at the hotel and met with Marcela’s aunt, uncle and cousin that were waiting for us.  Late that night we went for dinner and then walked around town, the last stop was to see the outside of Hassan II Mosque at night.

Restaurant, Casablanca, Morocco
Mosque Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco

We then decided to get a taxi to go back to the hotel and this experience was not short of excitement.  We talked to a taxi driver and he agreed to take all five of us, which is apparently illegal (we did not know that), however the other taxi drivers had a different opinion.  They started confronting our driver and the altercation almost ended up on a fist fight… we were just pure spectators inside the taxi, well not that much because I came out of it to take pictures.  Finally, they agreed to split the fare and take us in two separate cabs.

Not a bad few hours in Morocco, let’s see what tomorrow brings!