September 25, 2002 –
Essaouira – El Jadida – Tanger
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Today, I am
leaving to El Jadida with Emanuele and Manuela. At the bus station, a guy
told me that there is a bus at 8:45am to Azzemmour, 15km from El Jadida.
The 2 Italians are not here and the 9:30am bus will take the coastal road and
the journey will last for more than 6-7 hours so I decide to take the first
bus for the next 240 km. En route, I have a lot of time to see the landscape
(a combination of green fields and cultivated ones). The hills are far from
what I saw in the High Atlas mountains or in the desert in Merzouga. Just
before noon, the bus stops for lunch time. I avoid the brochettes sellers and
I find a soft drinks dealer who also provides customers with some food. I
order two sandwiches made of Vache qui Rit and eggs, a delicious meal!!! A 1:30pm, I am at a crossroad near the downtown of
Azzemmour, this is where the bus stops before leaving for Casablanca. The 2
other tourists in the bus must think I am crazy to stop there, as there is
nothing else around. I will walk in direction of the town. From the bridge
you have a great view on the Medina and the ramparts of the old Portuguese
city. Azzemmour is a nice little town but I don’t really find something
particular in it so I ask a policeman on how to leave for El Jadida. He tells
me to walk another 100m to reach a square where the bus 101 will drive me to
El Jadida. The trip is quick even in this old bus. The bus stop in El Jadida
is at 150m from the bus station so I decide to leave my bag there (5 DH)
during the visit of the town. The ville nouvelle is not of great interest but the
Portuguese cisterns are definitely worth a look. The main attraction there
are cisterns from the 15th century where just enough water, a
great light and a décor of 6 naves,vaults and 25 columns allow fantastic
reflections. I understand better why Orson Welles decided to shoot a scene of
Othello there. The Portuguese Cisterns Once I finished the visit of the cisterns, I walk
for a few minutes on the rounds way on the top of the ramparts. The ramparts
were built during the 17th century, young Moroccans dives from the
top of the towers… Ronds way Around 5pm, I leave El Jadida after having checked
at the cisterns that no Italian couple came this afternoon. Now I am on a bus
to Casablanca where I will try to join Tangier from either the bus station or
the train station. After a brief look at the time schedules at the
Casablanca bus station, I prefer to go to the train station (Casa Voyageurs)
to catch a train. The strange atmosphere at the bus station invites me to
contact the police station to know what is the safest thing to do to join the
train station. The captain will go outside to choose a taxi and that’s
another time a great move from the police forces in this country. I thank him
and my taxi driver is the quickest man to reach the station… The train is leaving at 0:15pm so it is in 4 hours,
what a long wait. In the train I put my stuff in a compartment with 2
Germans and 2 Moroccans but the latter will leave quickly in Rabat. We will
be 3 until Tangier Morora. Main expenses of the day : Bus to Azzemmou: 55 DH Noon meal: 15 DH Bus 1001 Azzemmou – El Jadida: 3 DH Portugese cisterns entrance fee: 10 DH Bus El Jadida – Casablanca: 18 DH Taxi Bus station – Casa Voyageurs: 10 DH Evening meal: 30 DH Train ticket Casablanca – Tanger: 116.50 DH |
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Other travels (Syria,
Jordan, Egypt, USA...) (Hotels, Transportation
timetables…) D1 :
Luxembourg – Paris – Casablanca D4 :
Meknes – Volubilis – Meknes D9 :
Tinehrir – Ouarzazate – Marrakesh D13 :
Refuge – 4167m –Tizi Ouanoums D14 :
Tizi Ouanoums – Amsouzert D16 :
Azib Likemt – Tacheddirt D17 :
Tacheddirt – Imlil – Marrakesh D19 :
Essaouira – El Jadida – Tangier D22 :
Chefchaouen – Casablanca D23 :
Casablanca – Paris – Luxembourg |
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Last update : January
2003
Contact : pindavid@hotmail.com