Mudgways In Egypt: Casablanca

Casablanca can't be compared with Cairo. It has its positives - it's clean, no pollution, public transport is good, the people are very friendly and we loved speaking in a mix of English/French/Arabic with them. I have to say all those French lessons back in college have come in handy. But the city also has its negatives- it's far more expensive than Cairo (and yet the dinar is about the same as the pound), there are beggars here too, daylight saving started on the first day of Ramadan (no one told us) and the beer is very expensive!

Three days has been plenty to see the main attractions. We spent a day on the trams travelling from one end of the line to the other. Sadly there were not as many attractions along the way as we expected. We have missed the new medina and the sacre coeur cathedral because they are both off the tram track. I wouldn't trust a taxi driver to take us there after our fare from the airport cost 300 Dh to get to the hotel downtown.

Today was the day of the 11.5km walk. We decided to catch the tram to D'Ain Diab Beach and walk back to the hotel along the corniche. Not something I want to share with my physio who has been working to get my knee back in order. However, the beach, the Anfaplace Shopping Centre, the Phare D'El Hank lighthouse and the beautiful Grande Mosque all made the walk worthwhile. What was even better was the beer we had when we got back to the hotel. I'm still waiting for Tony to massage my calves though. Tomorrow we pick up the rental car and drive to a beach called Essaouira down the coast for a couple of days. Goodbye to the big city :-)