Casablanca, Morocco

First, I got an email asking about the casino on the ship. Well...of course, Jill has visited the casino - but just once. As you might guess, she came back with her winnings - just over $100.

We docked today in Casablanca, Morocco. We booked a half-day excursion to see the city. Yes, of course, we saw Rick's Cafe - it is really just a tourist restaurant - the one in the movie never really existed.

We also saw quite a bit of traditional Moroccan architecture and the Hassan II Mosque - which is named after the current king's father and is one of the largest mosques in the world. The mosaic tilework, the sculpted plasterwork and the Venetian glass windows and chandeliers are pretty impressive. Our guide was very educational.

Casablanca is a very modern commercial city. Population is around 5 million. Even the port area is more commercial and shipping than tourist. Our excursion bus had to weave between workers, forklifts and big trucks. The traffic is similar to Rome - it looks incredibly hectic and crazy to us. But, we didn't see and accident all day.

Many of our fellow cruisers will not get back until quite late tonight. Tours to Fez and Merakesh are around 12 to 13 hours. Way too much for us. I am very glad we had a chance to visit Morocco, but, the shorter half-day was plenty for us.

Late tonight we head for Cadiz, Spain - which is where we could go to Seville. We don't have anything booked - so I imagine we'll wing it - or, maybe just relax. We'll see what we feel like in the morning.