I. Cindy & Saïda’s Big Adventure

September 14, 2009

We are in Morocco…Well, at least in Casablanca. Tomorrow we continue to Agadir and then Taroudant, the citrus area. So far, smooth sailing - good Air France flights, on time, no issues. Saïda did great…she slept on my lap under the blanket a lot of the way from Boston to Paris…once they turned off the lights. She attracted a lot of attention in the airports in Boston and Paris because she was walking around on a leash. We’ve been out of the hotel briefly, and a couple of the watchmen called to her. There isn’t really a garden, it’s pretty grubby, and loud with traffic, so she’s inside for the moment.

As a matter of a fact, no one has yet asked to look at Saïda’s papers…All the certificates signed, sealed and delivered by USDA and the Moroccan Embassy. When I asked at the airport, the customs inspector told me to skip it. Okay, I wouldn’t want to take a chance and travel without all the papers, but it seems such a waste.

Casablanca is on the coast, with a good stiff sea breeze where I am, but still pretty warm and humid. It’s very busy, lots of traffic, lots of road construction, but I did take a walk through the medina, the walled old city and market area. The front is mostly tourist stuff, but I kept going until I got to more mundane things like clothes and shoes. The shoes are certainly NOT mundane! Many people here wear light leather slipper-type shoes called babouche, mostly with very pointed toes, some that curl upward, and they come in every color of the rainbow; pink, yellow, blue, orange, as well as more sedate colors. I saw a man in a light colored suit with bright yellow babouches in the market, now that’s a fashion statement! And they are decorated – embroidery, dyed leather designs, rhinestones for women and girls, all sizes, shapes and colors. Enough to satisfy anyone’s shoe fantasies!

It’s Ramadan, so most people are fasting from sunup to sundown. I went for a walk to the market around 4 PM, and everyone was buying provisions for the meal to break the fast. A guy on the street was selling freshly caught silvery fish in plastic bags, and doing a brisk business. In the market, I went looking for the fruits and vegetables (what else?!). The main seasonal fruit now is prickly pear, it’s all over on wooden pushcarts. And carts of beautiful, round bread loaves, about 5” across and about 2” high, covered with some kind of coarse grain.

There are some imported fruits such as mangos and avocados labelled “expo”, but lots of local stuff too. The only citrus was some rather wizened oranges…they were green and pinkish orange. I was tempted to buy a couple to see if they were part blood, but decided to wait until I got to Taroudant. There were lots of dried dates and figs, small purple plums, grapes of all colors, bananas, apples, quince, beat up nectarines, and lots of melons…all sizes and all colors. From small, greenish Charantais-type to giant yellow-orange ones that are probably like Persian or Egyptian shamam melons. I can’t wait to find out!

Vegetables were interesting…basics like peppers and potatoes and different ones like cardoon. Mint and cilantro you can smell as you walk down the narrow streets. All of the tomatoes had spotted wilt. Processed olives in every color of the rainbow…white, green, purple, black, with chilis and garlic…mmmm. Hard to resist those.

I didn’t take pictures yet because I thought it might be too awkward on my first day. I would like to as the stalls are very eye-catching with the variety of fruits and vegetables.

Even though the streets in the medina are very narrow and crowded, no one bothered me, which was nice. They all looked at me but didn’t hassle me at all. It probably helps that I was head and shoulders over most of them and walking like I had a purpose, not being a tourist. Nice first day. Now I’m going to go get some dinner…I/m going to find out what the menu calls “exceptional Delight Pastilla” is.