Casablanca to Rabat, Part 1

Rabat is just an hour away from Casablanca.  In theory.  Our trip started, of course, with leaving the house.  The house in Casablanca was on an inlet by the ocean.   Getting from the house to the main street to catch a taxi is about  mile walk.  There were 5 of us, counting an infant, and the small taxis in the area are only licensed to carry 3 people.  We had to split up and get 2 cabs. Given the traveller's law, which I just made up,  only one group got a taxi  immediately. It took a while to regroup at the bus station downtown.

Pleasantly, the bus ride to Rabat really did take only about an hour.  Outside the bus station, there was a long line of taxis.  Small taxis.  So we went down the block, around the corner, and to the end of that block where there was a group of large taxis.  Large  taxi's typically carry however many they can squeeze in. 

Ours took the 5 of us plus a man and another woman.  The baby, 3 women and the guy were in back.  Two of us shared the one seat in the front.  I have to give the driver credit:  he was able to shift gears the whole way without touching me, although I was practically on top of the gear box.


Then we came to an unexpected stop on the side of the road.  The driver got out to look at his engine.  The man in the back got out and flagged down another taxi.  Fortunately, we were back on the road in short order.  We even managed to pass the taxi carrying  the deserter-- the former male passenger from our cab.  Our driver yelled out to him and the man replied, both laughing as we sped by.

I thought we had reached our destination,  butwe got out of the taxi and just stood on the sidewalk for a minute.  It turned out, we had not actually reached our  destination at all.  We crossed the street and got into a horse-drawn carriage.  We clomped along in  the surrey with the fringe on top  for a few blocks and got out.  No, this stop wasn't it either.  But we were close. 


After going to a store to pick up a couple of things, we walked a few more blocks and, voila, we had finally arrived.  Our one hour trip had taken about three hours.  But we were feted guests, plied with food and tea and more food throughout our visit.

Postscript:  A daughter in Casablanca had no key and was going to be locked out of the house when she got off from work.  Two of us (one being me, of course) had to get back to Casablanca and were unable to spend the night.  So we reversed the process. With good connections we managed the trip in 2 hours, well in time to meet the daughter whose waitressing shift ended at midnight. Although sadly,  in our haste, we didn't get to ride in a horse-drawn carriage on the way back.

 

Taxis in Morocco

There are 2 types of cab in Morocco.  One is the Big Taxi (teksi kabeer).
It takes assorted individuals going in roughly the same direction and charges them all separately, all the same price. There is no meter.  You will not be dropped at the door.  You will be let off on the corner, around the block from, or a block away from your destination, so that the cab driver can take the best route for the next passenger.  

If  you are travelling as one large group or need to carry large items or luggage, you can be sure to get some deluxe (high) price that you will have to agree to at the outset. You may be able to negotiate a bit, but you are at a disadvantage.  You need to get somewhere, the driver doesn't.

The big taxis are usually some version of Mercedes Benz, or they are occasionally a variety of very small minivan.  The Mercedes drivers take that whole "6 passenger"  idea to heart, as they firmly believe they can fit in 6 passengers, not including the driver.  So 2 passengers  get to sit on one seat in front next to the gear shift box, and 4 more are squished into the back.

At the Big Taxi stands, you may find guys who work as cab fillers.  I don't know what they're called, but when you approach the stand, they will ask where you're going and direct you to whichever cab at the stand is headed in your direction.  You then get to sit and wait till the cab fills (and you're squished) before leaving.

If for some reason your taxi is not full at the start of the trip, don't worry.  The cabbie is always on the lookout for people along the way going his direction.  He will pick them up, so you can get squished then.

You  may think, "well, at least it's a Mercedes". Think again.  The window in the back may or may not open.  There is no air conditioning, or heat for that matter.  Get the picture?

The other type of cab is the small taxi (teksi sa-reer),  These have meters.  They will drop you at the door --that usually costs more--or take you to the nearest taxi stand and you can walk from there.  The small taxi's have a strict 3-passenger limit.  Babies and small children are counted, even if you keep them on your lap.

Families or friends often have to split up, flag down 2 taxis, and regroup at their destination. Of course, finding 2 taxis when you need them means it may take a while for all of you to get where you're going.  And, yes, if there are only one or two of you in the cab, the driver will stop for additional passenger(s) along the way.

There is no central company office that will dispatch a cab to your house when you call.  I had one driver tell me that he would come when I call, but he would immediately start the meter when I called him.

I live about a mile from the closest taxi stand.
  
Taxi! Yo, taxi!

On the Street Where You Live

Behind any given street in Marrakech, where you might expect to find back doors and alleyways, you may find instead a warren of homes and walkways.  I'm not sure how these off-street streets are designated for, say, the post office. 

Their existence does explain why taxi drivers navigate by landmarks rather than by addresses.  Of course, the foreigner who, proudly showing off her faux-Arabic with a freshly memorized destination, may be suddenly at a total loss when it comes to knowing what is considered a landmark in the area. Not that that has ever happened to me.

Nat King Cole, probably best known now for his song "Unforgettable",  might never have recorded this other classic tune had  Lerner and Loewe  lived in Marrakech.  "On the street where...behind the other street...where you make that left...."  It just doesn't sound the same.