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We boarded Air Morocco in Paris. We’d never seen an airline like this one before. The airline really surprised us. It was explained that it was the King’s Royal Airline. Passengers took liberties that blew my mind. Some people stayed on the phone for the entire flight. Now I didn’t think the phones actually worked at that altitude. Apparently they can work at lower altitudes. That fact amazed me. The stewardesses were quite polite and talented. Although the airline wasn’t equipped with much Western food, they seemed to be taking custom food orders. Passengers asked for some of the most bizarre things and the staff tried to accommodate them. Passengers asked for extra spices or strict religiously compliant meals and the staff somehow was able to comply. My wife and I were amazed.
The downside was that there was no control of the children. When a gaggle of children came onboard, the stewardess threw them some toys and they went at it. No one wore seatbelts. So during the climb to altitude you might see a 5 year old roll by! Our mouths hung open. My wife grabbed me out of fear. This airline was like a carnival ride in the air! In a short while we arrived safely. The kids were a little worse for wear because without seatbelts they got a bit roughed up in the air. But like children everywhere, they considered it a roller coaster ride and were upset it was ending.
We got off the plane and grabbed a taxi to the hotel. The ride from the airport to the downtown area was about 35 minutes. The roads were immaculate and the countryside seemed very dark. We rode in silence and inspected the landscape. The main road into town was flanked by large homes, businesses and government buildings. We made our way slowly to the Hyatt Regency. Upon arrival we were surprised again. The staff met us at the curve and I carried nothing. The doormen even helped my wife out of the car. All we did was register for our room and everything else was taken care of. The bags reappeared in our room and all the details of our arrival were handled by the concierge. I was impressed. Few hotels throughout the world were as efficient.
My wife immediately inspected the room service menu. Throughout her many travels she learned to inspect room service menus to size up hotels. There are several key factors she looks for and this hotel had the hallmarks of a winner. We retired in style the first night.
The next day we awoke to a sumptuous Breakfast. Many developing nations have a Western breakfast but their main restaurant featured a European breakfast with French pastries and an English breakfast theme. The chefs also got it right. The food was perfect. Having seen more than 30 countries, it seemed the Hyatt in Casablanca finally got the English breakfast right. Their European breakfast was sight for sore eyes. It featured excellent Eastern accents with a Japanese breakfast including Lychee juice, green tea and brown tea. It appeared Morocco was a successful blend of many cultures. We were told well-trained chefs were on staff.
The rest of the day brought a daytime view of what we missed on the way in. Some of the large buildings we saw the night before had no tops or sides! We were shocked. The area that appeared quite cosmopolitan on the way in was extremely impoverished. The wealthy area where our hotel was was quite different from the surrounding neighborhoods. Our visits included the area mosque and a highly regarded restaurant. It took a few hours to see the mosque and later that day I had camel for the first time. It reminded me of lamb but it was a much more fatty meat than lamb. The rest of the food was perfect.
Ending the first day in Casablanca opened a new world for me in terms of North Africa. We’d seen the customs, food and accommodations. I would highly recommend Casablanca for Westerners who want to get their feet wet with Africa. They should definitely start with Morocco.
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