“Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.”
-Obi Wan Kenobi
Casablanca is a hell hole. 7 million people, the average of which makes under $3.20 US a day. This metropolis is loud and dirty. Cars, motorbikes and even mule carts all push for superiority in casa's busy streets. The cab drivers, who ride little red cars called petit taxi's (they must be some kind of electric hybrid) are insane. The merchants are aggressive and desperate. But I had fun anyway. Luckily a guy like me can have a lot of fun in a hellhole.
This is a dangerous place..
This is a dangerous place..
-King Crimson
Never fly Iberia airlines. Never fly Air Maroc. I didn't realize it was Air Maroc, OPERATED by Iberia. They so don't give a shit. I had ALREADY sworn to never fly Iberia again.
I left a bit later than i wanted, but was okay. Then the Metro had unreal delays. I got there in enough time but there was a queue of 50 people. I was only checking a small bag cuz it had liquid – shampoo and crap and would have dumped it. I wasted precious time asking the Iberia people walking around to help me. The lady told me there were no machines with a way to get a ticket. The line just was not moving. I asked them to put me to the front of the line and this guy said, “you can ask people.”
“Can you help?”
“No.” And he walked away. So here i am on line “Paso? Paso, por favor? Tengo una vuelta a diez y media!”
It took a while to get through the line. When i got there they said it was two late even though there was over 50 minutes. Lots of us missed the flight and then they charged me like $600 US for a new ticket. One Guy paid $300 and he was late cuz this was his second flight and the first one was light. I got the last ticket. They were so unhelpful it was maddening.
I would ask someone and they'd send me one way, and then send me back the other way again. Then they told me I had to go to Air Maroc. No one knew where that was, til i found out they don't have an office there, so i had to call, which was no help. No help at all. When I finally got the last ticket for grand larceny, i took it to the check out and it didn't work. This lady with Princess Leia -esque pigtails had to leave the desk and was gone 30 minutes. I got through just in time to catch the next plane which was 2.5 hours after the first one! Of course it took off late.
The plane had 8 babies who didn't stopped crying (pobrecitos!) until we took off. Odd that they sleep once they are off the ground. The problem was the plane was on the runway for over an hour.
When we took off, we hit crazy turbulence (we had been delayed because of storms). I had no one next to me, even though they said i got the last ticket, and this cute blonde girl across the way looked at me like she was going to pee herself. I put my hands out in a gesture of it will be okay. I talked to her later. She was from Slovenia. A city with 300,00 people. The capital. Small country.
I got to the airport and missed the hourly train because I didn't have any Dirhams, yet – the currency.
The train was scary. Super old. It was like a bad Agatha Christie book. No one knew where the hostel was, but when i finally got there it was clean and I even had a bathroom in my room, which i did not expect.
Here's some notes i took -
Friday:
the napkins are like what we'd use as scrap paper – it's that nonporous
7.8 Dh to 1$, 11.2Dh to 1 Euro
Morocco is one of the most liberal Muslim countries, so there were women in various degrees of of Mummification as far as covering themselves up, like Muslim women do
lots of palm tree
I had great fish soup in a curry base for dinner, and shrimp. The waiter was friendly as hell.
The restaurant was really dark (i could not read). This 50ish woman came in wearing sunglasses and rosary beads around her neck. They are liberal about Islam, but rosary beads – around your neck? Why not just drop your drawers and poo on the table! Talk about insensitive.
All the bars were sausage festivals – all guys drinking. But they give you more tapas than the Spanish. I ate 300 olives while i was there of all colors, shape and size, most all delicious. But this one place brought out fried fish about 8 inches long with the head removed. It was good.
Then I ended up the night at the Hyatt – in this really sheik nightclub, with videos on curtains and stuff, but it was lame, so i went home and got some well needed rest. It was a cool day, after the zaniness in the airport.
Well, I need to sleep. I will tell the rest of my tale tomorrow. It appears Africa is still with me as I must have picked up strep throat along the way. I went to the doctor today. But, at least it's an easy cure and not something exotic – like amoebas, parasites, heebie jeebies, jungle fever or some voodoo where someone is jabbing needles into the throat of a bamboo doll with a Caps jersey on. I wanted Africa – i got Africa. I ask no quarter and give none in return. How would one know the dizzying highs without the terrifying lows?
-Homer Simpson
No comments:
Post a Comment