{"id":1181,"date":"2011-05-08T19:04:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T02:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacedesign.wordpress.com\/?p=1181"},"modified":"2021-06-25T12:21:15","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T19:21:15","slug":"from-formals-to-gum-boots-cruising-rome-rio-and-forays-into-the-amazon-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/from-formals-to-gum-boots-cruising-rome-rio-and-forays-into-the-amazon-part-3","title":{"rendered":"From Formals to Gum boots: Cruising Rome-Rio and Forays into the Amazon, Part 3-Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port 4 \u2013 Casablanca\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Day 6\u00a0 – we finally made it to the N. African coast! Because of its namesake movie, Casablanca<\/a> often conjures up images of romance and intrigue. In reality it\u2019s a vast, modern metropolis that lacks the exotic atmosphere of Morocco\u2019s more ancient cities. Refusing to spend hours in transit for\u00a0the 300 mile trek to Marrakech, I decided to explore Casablanca on our own.<\/p>\n

Immediately after docking, we made a dash for the Hassan II Mosque<\/a>\u00a0to beat the inevitable cruise hordes. This is the largest mosque in the country and a truly impressive architectural masterpiece.\u00a0Built on reclaimed land, almost half of the surface of the mosque lies over the Atlantic water and offers dramatic views. The lavishly designed building has a heated floor and electric doors. There is also supposed to be a glass floor with views of the ocean below, but it\u2019s reserved for \u2018The Royals\u2019 only. Guess we’ll never get to enjoy THAT view…<\/p>\n

\"At<\/a>
At 689 feet, the Mosque’s minaret is the tallest in the world. At night, lasers shine a beam from its top towards Mecca.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Built<\/a>
Walls and columns of the interior are delicately carved in a variety of intricate patterns reminiscent of the Alhambra and Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Mosque displays strong Moorish influence with horseshoe arches used throughout the building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"It<\/a>
It was our lucky day – the motorized sliding roof was retracted on our visit, exposing the sky above. It\u2019s open only on special occasions (a small undersection is visible in picture).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A patinated brass chandelier from prolonged exposure to the corrosive sea air.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Protected<\/a>
Protected by walls finished with tadelakt lime from Marrakech, a highly breathable plaster, this brass chandelier in the hammam under the Mosque looks good as new!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We meandered\u00a0through the winding alleys of the Medina along the way and saw\u00a0vendors\u00a0selling a m\u00e9lange of spices, tons of olives, (freshly) dead fish, live (soon to be dead) chickens, and butchers proffering cuts of mystery meat.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
A peek into one of the alleys inside the old Medina.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For\u00a0a change of scenery, we strolled\u00a0around a\u00a0colorfully restored old fort nearby and then\u00a0checked out the Deco District, where Moroccan traditional buildings gave way to Art Deco architecture.<\/p>\n

\"Remnants<\/a>
Remnants of Casablanca’s 18th-century fortifications.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A lone feline patrols the citadel and stares intently out to the sea.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Picture<\/a>
We stumbled upon Rick\u2019s Caf\u00e9, named after the one in the movie, tipped off by a busload of tourists snapping pix across the street from the restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
This Art Deco building could have been in Miami’s South Beach!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We eventually took a break and had some Moroccan coffee with traditional ground almond sweets. The coffee, similar to the Turkish variety \u2013 aka Sludge Coffee \u2013 is bold, flavorful and quite addictive, especially with hot milk and sugar! As we scurried towards the port, I looked enviously at the locals (mostly men) leisurely sipping\u00a0their drinks\u00a0at the sidewalk cafes. Someday, I promised myself, we\u2019ll have time to do nothing \u2013 but not today\u2026<\/p>\n

Port 5 \u2013 Agadir<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Rebuilt after being leveled by a devastating earthquake in 1960, Agadir<\/a> resembles a modern European beach resort with a conservative bend. I waited in anticipation, not because it\u2019s charming or scenic, but because a lunch of camel tagine<\/a> beckons!<\/p>\n

I know you\u2019d say ‘WHAT tagine?’ since most tourists would be booking camel rides rather than looking for it on the menu. To me sampling local foods is the quintessential travel experience, therefore so long as it\u2019s legal and not too gnarly tasting, I\u2019m up for it.<\/p>\n

Despite being armed with Google maps of the restaurant location, we still wandered round till we came upon it by accident. We ordered goat and camel tagines. The camel tagine is actually quite flavorful, tender but slightly chewy.<\/p>\n

Both tagines\u2019 presentations were similar, and being the same price, we joked if they ran out of one, they could probably substitute with the other! Being a Muslim country, beverages were limited to coffee, mint tea and juice shakes. With coffee, tea, and an avocado shake, the entire tab was still under $14!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
My camel encounter for the day – camel tagine…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also on the itinerary is Souk\u00a0El Had, a labyrinth of 3500 different stalls with 10 gate entrances, for potential bargains in the afternoon. The market is divided into sections selling everything from clothing, leather ware, handicrafts, to fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n

It was amazing to see stalls carrying dozens of varieties of olives and dates, with locals buying them by the kilo! We bought 3 types each of dates and olives \u2013 in case there wasn\u2019t enough food on the cruise ship…<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the entrances to the walled compound of Souk\u00a0El Had.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A spice stall in the Souk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before leaving the Souk, I decided to get a pair of leather babouches, the pointed toe traditional Moroccan slippers. Though cheap, some slippers were of plastic, and the workmanship marginal. After bargaining at several shops, I finally got a pair of leather ones at $8 US \u2013 more than the $6 that I offered, but less than the $20+ some vendors wanted, so I guess everyone went home happy.\u00a0We took it easy at Agadir since it was the last port before the transatlantic crossing, so we literally couldn\u2019t afford to miss the boat!<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
My booty from Morocco.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo journal of my cruise-tour from Rome to Rio and beyond. Part 3 covers the Moroccan cities of Casablanca and Agadir. Some highlights include adventures in dining Agadir and trips to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca as well as souks in both cities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,7,15],"tags":[18,29,69,247,248],"class_list":["post-1181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-fashion","category-food","category-travel","tag-agadir","tag-art-deco","tag-casablanca","tag-tadelakt","tag-tagine"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/agadir-camel-tagine.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1181"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8741,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions\/8741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}