Wednesday, February 19 – transit from Marrakech to Casablanca

I’m on the train back to Casablanca today. But first…

I originally booked a late afternoon (5:50pm) departure from Marrakech for 89 dirhams (1st class, $9). I feel like I’ve seen all that I want to though, so I decided to book an earlier train (12:50pm). My original ticket was non-changeable / non-refundable; I therefore bought a new 1st class ticket for 215 dirhams (no surprise, last-minute is a little (lot) more expensive!). And my riad room rate included a transfer to the train station.

Here are a couple views from the train ride…

I’m only spending the night in Casablanca; I have a flight tomorrow to Tunis. So I ended up just booking a hotel next to the train station.

I did a little walking around the neighborhood; nothing very exciting (or picturesque) to report though.

Morocco Facts

• Drive on the right (LHD vehicles)
• I did not drink the tap water
• Languages I encountered were Arabic and French; with English spoken by those in the tourist industry
• As previously noted, the currency is the Moroccan Dirham

Thursday, February 20 – transit from Casablanca to Tunis

My flight isn’t until 2pm; no rush this morning! And conveniently, I can take the train to the airport.

(Although, I was advised by Royal Air Moroc to be at the airport 4 hours before departure. That seems excessive! I got there about 3 hours early. But I must admit there were a lot of security checks at the airport. No complaints; and 3 hours was still enough time.)

The cost of the 30 minute train ride was 80 dirhams. Seems kind of pricey, right, compared to the other fares I’ve encountered while in Morocco. I guess the reasoning is those that can afford to travel by air can also afford the cost of a more expensive train ticket. (Not complaining, just observing!)

Travel Note: You may recall my previous diatribe regarding the attempt to pay for tickets online from a couple different airlines. That resulted in my using a Harrow travel agent to purchase the tickets (and that ensuing fiasco!). Well, one of those tickets was for today’s flight on Royal Air Moroc. You may further recall that I ended up booking on Royal Air Moroc because my original afternoon flight on Tunisair was canceled, and they wanted to shift me to a 2:00am departure. Nope! The process to cancel that reservation was also rather maddening, but it eventually happened. And good news: I actually received a full refund for the Tunisair reservation! (surprise!) So, in summary: the cost of the Tunisair booking was $192 (full refund received), and I ended up paying the travel agent $281 for the Royal Air Moroc flight. Oh well!

The 3 hour non-stop flight was aboard a full 737. And there was good news, bad news regarding my seat assignment: On the bulkhead (yes!), in the middle seat (oh!). However, I ended up sitting next to a nice woman from Tunisia named Rania. She didn’t speak a lot of English, but she gave me a few tips on what to see. We also traded WhatsApp details and she checked in with me a few times during my stay to see how I was doing (she didn’t live in Tunis). Thank you!

I was impressed with the Royal Air Moroc flight. It was on time, and they served a nice baked whitefish meal.

Sidenote: I’m still not feeling well. The tickle in my throat has pretty much turned into a cold. As a result, my step count for the last two days has been rather low. If it was going to get sick though, it’s probably best that it happened over these last two days, when my main activity has been transiting between Marrakech and Tunis.

This cold turned into an issue though as we descended in Tunis: I wasn’t able to clear my ears. Rather painful!

I made my way through Tunisian immigration in a breeze, but it took forever to retrieve my checked bag. I reserved my hotel via Booking.com, and through them I received a free airport transfer. Fortunately, I was able to contact my driver via WhatsApp to let him know that I was delayed at baggage claim. Thankfully he was very accommodating (and spoke a little English!).

It was early evening by the time I got settled into my room. I’m in for the night. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow!