06 February 2025 – Thursday – Casablanca – Fresh Oysters & Seafood

We left the hotel at 8:30 to drive to Casablanca, our final destination. We passed through the large town of Safi where Morocco’s phosphates are processed. As we drove towards the town, we passed a huge coal fired power plant that opened only a few years ago. It pushed out black smoke. The phosphate processing plant a few miles further added a grayish haze to the air. That entire part of town seemed covered in dust and smoke. Morocco has one of the largest phosphate reserves in the world. It is used mostly to make fertilizer. 

Once we were north of the industrial area, we were in the fancy section of town which was in a high point overlooking the ocean. We stopped for the view and nuss nuss before continuing what is ultimately about a 300 mile trip. 

As we drove along the seaside, much of the surrounding terrain was arid and rocky. We saw occasional shepherds driving their flocks but it was hard to imagine that there was much for them to eat. We also passed several towns that are nearly deserted as they are mostly summer resorts and only a small number of locals live there year round. 

Our next destination was an oyster farm. There is a long shallow protected inlet that is perfect for growing oysters. The seeds are shipped from France and matured along the Moroccan shore. Those of us who eat oysters were treated to freshly picked and opened oysters. They were delicious and a bit salty. We didn’t mind that others weren’t interested. It was a beautiful sunny spot on a terrace overlooking the oyster beds. 

We moved on to lunch in the town of Oualadia. Apparently it is a popular place for Northern Europeans to escape the cold winter by bringing their trailers to the town. We had a table facing the opening of the oyster bed estuary into the ocean. Nice view! We had a peppery fish soup followed by individual grilled sea bream and then flan. A few local cats showed up in time for us to offer little bits of fish leftovers. 

We then drove to the highway for the rest of the trip to Casablanca. As we approached the entrance ramp, we were stopped by a policeman who was doing a safety check on our van. Our driver had all the required documents and safety equipment. We made it onto our hotel by 5:30, checked in and shortly after we went for a walk in town. After having been in so many rural towns, it is a bit of a shock to return to the big city. We ended our walk in a restaurant where we could order Moroccan soup which is a delicious lentils and chick pea spicy soup typically served during Ramadan. It was  light and delicious supper. 

Since very few Moroccan restaurants serve wine, Bev and I went back to my room for some red wine that we bought at the local store. It was the best of some very average choices but the $4.50 price made it quite palatable. Maria had been watching her “football” game aka soccer on her iPad.  Her team, Liverpool, needed to do well. I got a text at half time to come visit. We are all in a row on the same floor. Luckily Liverpool won 4-0. Time for sleep and one final day.