Travelogue- Day 2

Whew, here we go hold on cause I don’t know if you can keep up otherwise. 

I finally got about an hour of sleep in Madrid good thing to cause we didn’t get to Rabat and the hotel until about 10:30. It was a long long day for me.  We flew Royal Air Maroc from Madrid to Casablanca it was a much better flight than the one from Dallas to Madrid. They did sell cigarettes after the meal though.  It was kinda weird.  They wheeled a cart full of different brands of cigars and cigarettes up and down the isle and sold them.

Our ride, we’ll call him Steve, wasn’t there when we showed up so we had to wait for a bit for him to find us.  We realized later that he was one of the people that the police were throwing out of the waiting area when we walked out; and later still we found out from our contact here that he had shown up at the airport at 8 am instead of pm so this was his second 3 hour round trip to Casablanca from Rabat.

There was a herd of goats just outside the airport grazing on the grass there and that was about the last thing I saw because he was driving so fast.

An hour and a half later we get delivered to the Sofitel in Rabat and I finally get to sleep.

This morning was much more relaxed we ate a breakfast of amazing olives and capers and lox and cheese and pastries; just what I need to trim my waistline and went to work. 

The people here are kind and generous and very hospitable, but they drive like they are possessed by Beelzebub himself. They even park on the sidewalks or any patch of ground not occupied when they drive up.

We were carted around and introduced to millions of people and were treated like we were stars (well I am but how could they know?).  I won’t bore you with the details of work but it did occur.  I promise.

The city is typical of any 3rd world country city, it is packed with people, the poorest sections are butted up against anything that will hold their weight and it is noisy, lively  and for the most part very pleasant. 

I saw some great areas that I would love to explore as we were driving from place to place, and I have been promised a traditional Moroccan feast before I come home. 

I had dinner at the restaurant here at the hotel tonight; it was a nice blend of fresh vegetables, cheese, lox, olives, capers, tangine (vegetables mixed with meat, tonight it was fish, and olives and who knows what else and cooked in a clay pot until it is perfect happiness in your mouth), and amazing custards and pastries.

Tomorrow is work again, but Wednesday we have been promised a trip to the Souk (outdoor market) for some real Moroccan fun.

I have pics that I will upload from my phone and post on there so that you can have an idea of the gorgeousness and old world Moorish architecture that is Rabat.

One thing that is sort of hard is the language barrier.  Not many people really speak English (not that I expect them to), and my French and Arabic are literally non-existent; so communicating is a little difficult.

I have become fairly proficient at a few phrases and it has certainly re-enforced my desire to learn a 3rd language.

Well, I guess that is it for the day.  I will come back with more tomorrow! 

Live your dream.

Chris

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