From Oualidia to Casablanca
We left Oualidia at about 10.30am. Just when we were driving off, out host pointed out to us that our car was running on uneven wheels, three standard wheels and one smaller spare wheel. Since two weeks ago, it was at Errachidia when one of our standard wheels went flat and we had replaced it with the spare wheel stored in the car boot. Our host advised us that the car was better balance (safer) if we reinstalled the standard wheel.
He brought us to the town wheel garage and we had the leak repaired for 40MAD. The leak hole was an “exisiting hole”, it was not properly repaired causing it to leak. We were aways very careful driving rental car on the road, so it not us that caused the “puncture” in the wheel.
It was definitely “better” to repair the wheel and not report it to the rental company, because though we had bought full insurance with pay “zero” access, sometimes the insurance coverage excluded tires. At that moment it was definitely easier to mend the tire than to read through the fine prints of the contract to check if there was any tire exclusion clause or to “inform/debate” with the rental company that they had given us a poorly repaired tire on day 1.
EL Jajida
After an hour at the garage we left Oualidia and drove northward. After 1.5 hour later we reached El Jadida, a major port-city. This port was located about 95 km south of the city of Casablanca and had a population of 240,000.
As early as the 5th century BC Phoenicians had settled El Jadida.. In the 16th century the Portugese arrived and bulit the fortified city andcalled it Mazagan (old name of El Jadida). In 2004 Mazagan was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to UNESCO the most important buildings from the Portugese period were the cistern and the Church of the Assumption They showed the early examples of Renaissance ideals exhibiting the influences between Portugese and Moroccan cultures.
We were eager to see the cistern of El Jadida, unfortunately it was closed for repair. Looking at the signboard outside the cistern we could see that it looked similar to Istanbul Basilca Cistern. We were wondering if it was as grand and majestic.
The citerne (or cistern) was basically a huge inhouse fresh water catchment (storage). La Citerne Portugaise was built beneath the Citadel. The chamber’s original function was not clear, it might have been an armory, barrack or granary but was converted into a cistern in 1541. It was closed in Mar 2023 for restoration and after one year it was still closed. There was no indication when the repair would be completed.
We took a walk around the fort and the port. The weather was hot and walking about without shades was a bit difficult. After a short stroll we decided to move on and drive northward to Casablanca. El Jadida fortress was our final attraction for this 25-day Morocco roadtrip!
Famous Moroccan Biscuit
In Casablanca we went round looking for “Amoud”, a famous Casablanca patisserie. Amoud started in 1982, it was a beloved bakery and pastry brand that was popular with locals and visitors. It was run by an Amazigh family and had outlets in Casablanca and Rabat.
At Amoud, its counters was full of pastries, cakes, buttery croissant, chocolates, ice cream, eclair, and bite size Moroccan sweets. Everything looked so yummy! We bought some pastries to eat at the shop and several boxes of almond biscuits to bring home for friends and family.
Korean Surprise in Casablanca
On our last evening in Casablanca we were seeking for a place for dinner when we came across a Korean Eatery. It was “AnneYeong” a pretty two storey korean restaurant. The restaurant was just 300m, a 5 minutes walk from our stay, “Le 22 Appart’Hotel “. Our last korean meal in Singapore (home) was so long ago, so instead of eating local Moroccan food we were only too happy to eat “korea”!
Stay for the night
For our final night in Morocco we stayed at Le 22 Appart’Hotel . We booked a apartment for Eur64 a night and it came with breakfast in the morning. The hotel also provided parking.
Compared to our hotel in heart of Casablanca, “Melliber Casablanca Hotel” on night 1 of our arrival, Le 22 Appart’Hotel hotel was newer and more modern. Even the furnishing smelled new. The hotel had dining room and a gym for customer too.
Our room was very spacious, beside a bedroom with a large bed, it had a sitting room and a kitchen. It was a nice apartment to spend our last evening in Casablanca.
Other Accommodation near the vicinity
Day 25
In the morning we were down to the dining room of Le 22 Appart’Hotel for our breakfast. The spread was rather simple, we decided to be inovative and made egg mayo on the spot, we use eggs, cheeese, and butter, mashed them up and spreaded them on our crossiant.
Hotel to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport was only 35 minutes. At the airport we returned our car and check in for our flight to Singapore transiting at Dubai.
Our flight out was 2.55pm which left us sometimes for a quick snack in the departure hall of the airport.
Just when we thought the flight schedule was on time we were told that there was a delayed, the one hour delay became two hours. We only had a two hours 15 minutes transit allowance in Dubai which meant we would not be in time for the second leg of our flight.
We were very disappointed with Emirates Airlines because it was delays after delays. We were delayed for 11 hours when flying into Casablanca from Dubai. Now on the return flight we were delayed for two hours flying out of Casablanca to Dubai. Was it the faults of the Airlines or the Airports!
When we reached Dubai we were surprised that immediately on disembarking we were met by an Emirates staff who sped us and three others passengers through the terminals and customs and put us on the airplane waiting on the tarmac! We did not missed our 2nd leg!!
BYE BYE MOROCOO