We Rocked the Casbah - Rabat & Casablanca, Morocco

Stats:

Destination: Rabat & Casablanca, Morocco

Where we stayed: Crown Princess

Best restaurant: We didn't eat in town but we did have a great freshly squeezed OJ from this guy ($.10)!

Best of: Vegas style laser beam on top of world's largest minaret pointing to Mecca...need we say more?!?

Worst of: Dishonest taxi drivers.

The ship docked in Casablanca and we made our first steps onto African soil. Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and second only to Cairo, Egypt in all of Africa. Busy, noisy and polluted, we decided to spend most of our day in the smaller and more historic town of Rabat.

After walking all over Casablanca to find the train station, we eventually made it and were on our way. Later, on the return, we realized that there was a train station right next to the dock that Princess had neglected to put on their map. Lesson learned...don't trust the kids maps they hand out.

After getting to Rabat, we were greeted by a seemingly friendly taxi guy and we negotiated to have him drive us to the three main sights in Rabat: The Chellah, the Casbah and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V for three hours and 200 denier (roughly $25US).

The first stop was the Chellah, home of some Roman ruins. When you think of the Roman empire, Morocco does not really spring to mind but this site was an important town in terms of recruiting the local Berber population into the Roman army. Now all that is left is some rubble and one nice wall that extends down the hill. Now the ruins are home to thousands of sea birds which have built nests in the trees and on top of what's left of the Roman city.

Our next stop was to the stunning mausoleum of King Mohammad V. The design is modeled after Napoleon's tomb in Paris with the late King's body resting on a pedestal all alone in the middle of a vast room. Intricate details are carved or painted into the walls giving it a very Muslim style and look. The courtyard in front is filled with hundreds of minarets and the city's largest Mosque is next door.

Upon returning to the taxi, we were informed that what we had originally agreed upon was not going to work. While we had agreed to 3 hours for 200DH, he felt like changing the rules midstream of course and was at first saying that it was two hours for 200DH. After some yelling and some arguing, he in French, us in English, he started to say that price was 1 hour for 200DH! Back and forth we argued until after about 15 minutes he sped off down the highway. We had debated at just giving him 100DH and getting out right then, but some part of us, the stupid part, stayed in the car which was now speeding down the road swerving in and out of traffic with a pissed off taxi driver behind the wheel. After a few angry swerves and a few curses (we can only assume) we finally did get to the Casbah. Just thankful that he didn't take us to the middle of nowhere, he got out of the car and started to hunt down someone who could speak French and English. After pleading our case to the makeshift judge, a little more yelling on his part, a threat of the tourist police on our part, we threw 150 DH at him and got out of the car. After getting out, the guy who spoke English turned to us and said that he still wanted to take us to the train station after we were done at the Casbah! After debating this for all of zero seconds, we let out a laugh and continued into the Casbah thankful it was over. In the end our little to ended up costing us about $160 less than the same one the ship had...here's to independent travel, even on a cruise ship!

With its powdery blue and white walls, the Casbah is one of the oldest parts of Rabat. Narrow lanes stretching out in complete randomness allow you to get lost in amongst the shops and homes. It's a quiet reprieve to the noisy city outside the walls. Either we were here at the wrong time, or there simply are not that many shops here as we strolled up and down alleys and only found a couple of shops at the very beginning open. After "Rocking the Casbah" (complete cheese, I know) we made our way to the Medina (shopping quarter) which was located just across the street. Surprisingly, after wandering the seemingly endless rows of souks (shops) we wound up within walking distance of the train station. Taxi problem solved!

Tracy also found some more interesting Doorknocker's to go along with the growing collection, albeit this would be the first but not last time we saw a Phallic symbol gracing someone's door. No, these two were not next to each other!

We jumped on the train and headed back to Casablanca with a little more time to kill so we walked through their Medina (lots more shops filled with junk) making our way out to Hassan II Mosque. Second only to Medina (Mecca) in size, the mosque was completed just 15 years ago and is state of the art. With the world's largest minaret, retractable roof and a laser beam that shines at night pointing the way to Mecca this place has it all...concession stand (popcorn!) included.

We made our way back to the ship, looked over at Harry's Bar (built there in the 80's by an American to appease the "play it again Sam" crowd) and checked out the laser beam as we set sail for Gibraltar!

To see more of our photos from Casablanca & Rabat please click here!

Is that a phone to heaven? Cadiz, Spain

Stats:

Destination: Cadiz, Spain

Where we stayed: Crown Princess

Best of: A picnic on the square of flowers complete with aged manchego cheese, proscuitto, a baguette & wine. Heavenly!

Worst of: I can't think of anything about this little town that we didn't like. Most people on the cruise use this as the jumping off spot for Seville, but we felt it had a lot of charm on it's own

Cadiz, Spain is the oldest constantly inhabited city in all of western Europe. While it's more well known city to the north, Seville, gets most of the attention, Cadiz has a nice charm on its own. The tourism board has went out of it's way to promote the town and it shows. The Tourist Information center actually set up on the ship giving out maps and guided walks. All along the old part of Cadiz colored lines run this way and that indicating walking trails. Aside from the lines, the city itself is on an isthmus, making it compact and surrounded by the ocean on three sides. It's virtually impossible to get lost.

We started out on the path that leads all the way around the city along it's fortified walls. The walls serve as a reminder to the cities importance as a harbor during the Moorish ruled years of Spain. Evidence of Islamic style and decor remain today on a lot of the buildings.

After checking out the wall, outposts and forts that protected the city back in the day, it was time to move into the heart of the city and check out its hopping market. We picked up some aged Manchego (sheep's milk cheese - a Spanish delight!) some proscuitto and some fresh olives from the market. After hitting up the supermarket across the street for some bread and wine (in juice boxes and .33 eurocents each - $.50 US), our picnic was complete. We took our meal out to the flower market and surrounded by flower vendors, and the steady flow of tour groups, enjoyed our meal. Picnic's are one of the great things to do if there are not laws against it. Not only can you eat a lot cheaper than restaurants, but it usually comes with a view, great food and it's a great way to people watch.

After our great lunch, we climbed to the top of a tower that had a Camera Obscura. The views from the top of the tower were great, but the camera was interesting as well. Set up with a periscope and mirrors, the image is reflected onto a circular disk and the operator is able to zoom in and out giving you a real picture as it happens. They can even zoom into street level so much that you could recognize the people that were walking by...it you know them that is.

We made one last stop at the city's cathedral. Sadly, the place is in need of repair as the ceiling was nearly completely covered in a net to catch falling pieces. The crypt had a mini dome with excellent acoustics. I also couldn't resist "phoning" God. Ok, so it's really a coin operated "tour guide" giving you a brief description of the church, but hey, it's fun any ways. Hmmm, I wonder if he would accept a collect call?

Next stop: Casablanca, Morocco and our first steps on African soil.

To see more photos of Cadiz please click here!

Our first stop on continental Europe! Lisbon, Portugal

Stats:

Destination: Lisbon, Portugal

Where we stayed: Crown Princess

Best of: A free wine tasting at ViniPortugal & strolling through the tiny back streets

Worst of: We loved it and thought the city was great but we did hear that a lot of pick pockets were out and about on Tram 28 so be aware!

Lisbon is the capitol of Portugal and represented our first stop on mainland Europe. Although we had a nice and relaxing time on the crossing, it was time for some sightseeing. Not as well known perhaps as its neighboring capitol cities, it still represents an important part in the history of the world. One of its most famous early citizens was Vasco de Gama, the first to sail around Africa to India thus establishing a new trade route to the spices of Asia.

After arriving in Lisbon we caught Tram 28 and headed up to the Alfama area and to Castelo St. Jorge. Alfama is the oldest part of Lisbon. With it's winding narrow streets, it makes for a pleasant stroll relatively traffic and noise free. Laundry hanging out to dry, old men puffing away on cigarettes and the occasional ringing of the trolley bell brings the scene to life. One of the few areas of the city to survive the earthquake of 1755, it also represents one of the best places to see the fine Moorish tile work from the 1500's. Although there are several tram/trolleys in the city, the #28 is the main line for tourists, making short work of the steep hills of Lisbon.

Our first official stop was the Castelo de Sao Jorge. From this ruined fortress you can take advantage of the commanding views of Lisbon, taking in the distinctive orange tiled roofs lining the hills and our ship in the background! The Moorish Castelo is over 1000 years old and you are free to wander up and over its towers and many rooms.

On our way back down the hill from the Castle and the Alfama Quarter, we made a quick stop at Se, one of the great churches of Lisbon complete with a beautiful stained glass window.

Although Portugal is really known for its Ports (as in wine, not boats) we decided to give their wines a try instead. Aiding us in that decision was a) we knew where the wine was and b) it was free! ViniPortugal works similar to a taste test in that vineyards pay them to get feedback on their wines. You can have up to 9!!! tastings from 3 different regions in Portugal. All they ask is your opinion on taste, smell, color, label design and suggested price. After getting our buzz on (hey it's 9!!! healthy pours of wine and we didn't eat lunch) we decided to try and squeeze in one more tourist stop before the boat set sail...

The Monastery of Jeronimos, with it's intricate carvings and great detail was worth the effort to make it out to see. With the afore mentioned Vasco de Gama's discovery came wealth and prosperity to the tiny nation. To honor this, Prince Henry (supporter of many such missions) built the Monastery in 1502. The tomb of Gama himself is here along with several wonderfully carved statues. We took a quick stroll through the free part, the church, before returning back to the ship knowing that we had just a few minutes to spare.

Knowing that we were going to be late as it was, we got really worried when the bus we were on pulled over and made everyone get off! Luckily, there was another bus right there to pick us up and finish the journey. We raced back to the ship with about 15 minutes before they pulled up the gangway. Safely on board and avoiding the wrath of the captain we set sail for Cadiz, Spain!

To see more photos of Lisbon please click here!

Crossing the big pond! - Transatlantic Cruise on the Crown Princess

Stats:

Destination: Ponta Delgado in the Azores (Portugal)

Where we stayed: 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale at the Marriott Residence Inn in Plantation ($42/night on priceline); Crown Princess - 21 days (actually 2 cruises back to back, the first a 9 day transatlantic and the second a 12 day Mediterranean) - $1049 per person plus tips $11.50 per day

Best restaurant: How about a favorite meal? My (Tracy) favorite cruise dinner is a goat cheese souffle, a bowl of crab legs and rack of lamb! For Jason, it's crab, crab and more crab!

Best of: We had perfect seas and weather for the first three days of the cruise...I spent a lot of time out by the pool relaxing and it was wonderful!

Worst of: My cold came back with a vengeance at the end of the first cruise. It probably had something to do with sleeping (or not sleeping) at the Lima airport....This time it was accompanied by a brutal cough which is finally starting to get better weeks later.

Our flight from Lima back to the US went smoothly although the night in the Lima airport was long and boring. Of course we couldn't check our luggage in for our international flight until 3:00 am so we carted it around with us while we killed time reading, snacking and writing to update this blog! Finally after 19 hours in transit from Cusco we landed in the good old USA! After picking up our rental car (priceline - $50 for 2 days) we headed to the mall to make a dent in our long list. After 4 months in South America we were both in need of a few items and we took advantage of being able to stock up! Our little shopping expedition continued in earnest the following day as we counted down the hours to our relaxing transatlantic cruise! The following morning we made a few last minute stops at Whole Foods for wine & Barnes & Noble for guidebooks and we boarded the Crown Princess, our home for 3 short weeks!

I would like to say we stayed busy being productive for most of the cruise but to be honest we spent the first three days lounging in the sun, sleeping late and just relaxing. When the weather turned we used the time to catch up on photos, write entries for the blog, read and watch movies. It wasn't very exciting but it sure was relaxing! Our one bit of excitement came when we were attending a hypnotist's show one night. Both of us had talked about going up on stage and Jason decided to go ahead and give it a try. After seeing Jason scoot across the floor to put out an itch we will never think of "A Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash in the same way again!

The transatlantic cruise had just one port, Ponta Delgado in the Azores. We wanted to see the lakes and ended up sharing a taxi with another couple (35 Euros for 3 hours - $45 per couple). If you are there and want an excellent English speaking driver contact Jose Raposo at joseraposotaxista@hotmail.com. The lakes were certainly beautiful but the weather was very overcast so we were disappointed that we were not able to see the blue and green colors that the lakes are famour for. We also stopped at one small village located on the shore of the lake and several other beautiful spots on the island.

After the Azores we had one last day at sea. It was unfortunately quite rough and we spent most of our last day sleeping in the cabin and preparing for our port intensive Mediterranean cruise!

To see more photos of the Azores click here!