Rest day for Marge today. Casablanca has a large port and is a commercial hub. Even though it was a Sunday we just didn't want the stress of driving and parking in the city. Don't feel left out Marge, there's was no chance of meeting any Humphrey Bogart look a likes. The film Casablanca was actually filmed in Hollywood! We particularly wanted to visit the Hassan II mosque, built over nine hectares, some of it over reclaimed land from the Atlantic ocean. Our Moroccan taxi driver booked to take us there spoke little English, and didn't like football, normally a topic that breaks the ice. He did however think Morocco would beat Brazil when they played them in the upcoming world cup. Good luck there. His English may have been bad, his driving however appalling. And to think we have to contend with these taxi drivers when we leave the area tomorrow! Sorry Marge, it might be testing for you. We really enjoyed our visit to the mosque. It had a real wow factor. Our guide was informative, and spoke english which was great. Often when abroad the English get a raw deal when on guided tours. There were a number of guides who spoke various languages.
Outside out taxi driver was ready to take us to the old Medina.
As it is Sunday a lot of the stalls were closed, but we didn't mind, we've seen many Medina's, and know there are many more coming our way. What interests us is walking the area and seeing other points of interest. Lunch was at at Moroccan restaurant.
Cous cous with vegetables, chicken and lots of very large chickpeas which don't agree with Angela. That aside the meal was delicious, and the two Moroccan guys providing musical accompaniment were funny. The backing music to their song, boom, boom, was the same for all their other songs. We tipped them a few dirham as they made Angela smile because they were so silly. Our taxi driver now returned from the mosque opposite was keen to leave. The outward drive had been bad, the return was positively dangerous. Some serious speed and tailgating. Angela was confident he wouldn't kill us as we hadn't paid him yet. The price for our trip out today with the taxi had been agreed at the campsite reception yesterday. However, upon our return the driver wanted another two hundred dirhams because of the increase in fuel prices. Angela refused, telling him our price had been agreed. John sought out a member of staff to speak to the driver. Suddenly all was fine! We were a little disappointed by the behaviour of our driver. During this visit, and when we flew to the coastal town of Agadir early last year we have not encountered behaviour like this in this country, in fact the total opposite. Angela thinks the taxi driver was given a stiff talking to by the staff member. At the end of the day with the internet we could leave a bad review for the campsite, which we won't. We think the driver may regret pulling the stunt. He'll probably not be asked to take customers on excursions again. Tomorrow we set off again. So today Angela decided to trim her own hair, and John was brave enough to ask her to tidy his. We think we look O.K. At the souk in Rabat we watched a barber cut a young man's hair whilst we ate our mixed meat sandwiches. Now we notice all the young men have a similar haircut. Very short at the sides, longer on top, a little like a monk. Angela was tempted, but didn't dare!
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