Moroccan nights
We are on the second night of our stay here in Casablanca at the Mamoura hotel. It's the least exciting place so far, although today we managed to see the spectacular Hassan II mosque, the third largest mosque in the world. The boys enjoyed it too as there was a lot if space for them to run around.
This morning we plan to visit the new quarter where there is a famous bakery, and visit a local hammam (steam bath). Afterward, we will catch the train to Marrakesh (3 hours) and find a place to stay. Since My brother Nick will be arriving from UK on Sunday, we may go to Essaouria on the coast, or Ismil in the Atlas mountains for a couple of days.
Today I did laundry in the bath and learned the importance of having fast drying clothes and a clothesline in one's bag. Our experiment traveling with just one check-in bag has so far been successful. This has meant ditching the laptop and writing this on my iTouch.
Morocco has a strange rule that a maximum of three people are allowed in petit taxis, even though thy fit
four easily. This means we have had to take two taxis everywhere we go - fez, meknes and Casablanca. Often, one of us will arrive well before the other, creating all sorts of stress. Today we were also dropped off at different locations outside the vast square surrounding the mosque. We each waited 20 minutes before finally finding each other, wondering when the other was going to arrive.