Last Moments of Casablanca and the Railway to Marrakesh - Seventh Day in Morocco

23. September 2022

Yes, we were supposed to go to the beach. We were supposed to wake up early for this. We didn't. We allowed ourselves to sleep in again. Nice. We quickly calculated the time we had available. We had to leave the Airbnb by 12:00. Decision: take the day off.

We turned on the TV and watched 'Inside job'. This cartoon is just too much fun. Then we went online to find a taxi to take us to the train station. It said on the internet that UBER is possible in the city, but unfortunately, we couldn't log in due to lack of signal - we would need our phone number.

However, we found an alternative. YASSIR app which worked similarly to UBER. We found a driver through it, he accepted the ride and after a short wait, three members of the group got into the car.

Yes, only three, the car was small. However, the 4-kilometre ride to the train station, for all 3 of us, cost 30 MAD. BRUH. 30! CRAZY!

The other two of us had to catch a taxi, who of course ripped us off. He said 100 MAD, we said 60, and we settled for 80. For two people it was 40 MAD each. Total scam.

How to avoid this problem? From then on, we would have to be the first to set the price. Otherwise, the taxi drivers charged an outrageous price, and even if we lowered it, it was still much more expensive than a local or a smart person would pay.

We met again at the train station and waited for the train for a good half hour. We jumped on it and bam. They separated us with seats, and one of our group sat in another compartment. Not ideal.

But it was what it was. We had a 2.49-hour drive south to Marrakesh. Although a bit expensive, it was better than a 4-hour car ride. This time, however, there were no real 'episodes' of the landscape rushing by.

It was simply a desert, desert, desert.

There were no more green spots. Yes, there were some plants, trees and bushes. But no more green spots. It's true, I didn't look out the window the entire ride, far from it. But that's the impression I got from what I saw.

The only thing that remained the same compared to northern Morocco was the occasional walled village and town. It seems that Morocco did not tear down their walls to build new things, but simply went beyond them.

Then we finally reached Marrakesh. Again, the train station was super cool. And again we were met by scam taxi drivers who offered us a ride. But this time we said no with a clear conscience. Our Airbnb was very close to the station and we walked to it.

At the building, we waited for the host. He took a while to come and let us in. His English was amazing. His English was amazing. And the apartment was sick as fuck. Wow.

Not waw in the sense that the Riad in Fes was waw, this one was simply new and modern. Almost as much as it could be. I mean, we had mirrors that lit up when we pressed them. Fancy stuff.

But we couldn't enjoy it for long. We were starving. So, after dropping off our luggage, we went to the immediate vicinity to get food. We found it quickly, being very close to the train station. Hehe, four of us took the pasta, only Leon taking a Moroccan dish.

Then we went to find a pharmacy and a supermarket. We looked around the city a bit. It was nice. The city was again quite modern, but less so than Casablanca.

But then it started getting dark and we started heading back to the Airbnb - there was a pool and the owner told us we could use it until 21:00. It was 20:45 or 20:50. when we returned, and quickly changed into swimsuits. However, only two of the group managed to jump in and swim a bit before another resident of the complex told us to leave. The official hours of the pool were until 19:00, 21:00 being only unofficial. Oh well.

Then we went upstairs to the apartment, smoked a little (not me Mom!), watched 'Inside job' again and went to bed. Looking back, it wasn't a very eventful day. At all.

But that was okay. We're nearing the end of the road and progress is rarely bad. Tomorrow we go to the Merzouga desert and the Atlas Mountains. Night.