Old Medina: A walk back in time

Old Medina.

Bonne Nuit de Casablanca.

It was another wonderful day. I love how confident and strong I’m feeling. I’ve always loved to travel and this experience is so good for me. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be flying solo for the rest of my years but knowing that doesn’t limit me in my adventures is freeing. I have a bracelet I wear and inscribed on the inside it says: “Beautiful Girl, you can do hard things." Yes, I can. Yes, I am. After a bit of a lazy morning, I decided my adventure wouldn’t be found in my hotel room and I booked a free walking tour in a section of the city. My taxi driver dropped me off in front of Sacred Heart Cathedral and I ran around looking for my tour group. I couldn’t locate them, so I gave up and turned on my phone roaming. Lo and behold, there was a message saying the tour was cancelled. No problem. Let’s figure out a Plan B but, first, let’s get coffee.

I went for a walk and found Le Comptoir, a cute little cafe where, for a little over $5 Can, I had two café au lait, a pain au chocolat (bread with chocolate), and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. And then I replotted. My Toronto ladies told me about free walking tours by GuruWalk. I hadn’t heard about them, so I looked them up and found a tour of the Old Medina that left in 90 minutes. Just to backtrack for a quick beat. I first heard about free walking tours from Mickey, my heart sister in Portugal. She found them while she was looking for things to do my last visit and we tried a couple out. It’s basically a local guide who will take you to a specific part of a city and explain the history, cultural significances and other great information. They get paid by the tour participants tipping at the end. Recommended tips are suggested but you can tip as you please. So, I booked the Old Medina tour. And then I set up Google maps to get me to the meeting point. It was a 30-40 minute walk, a beautiful day and I was in love with everything, so I set off on foot. I got a bit turned around only once but a nice police officer put me in the right direction.

My path took me around the outside walls of the Medina lined with vendors selling almost every kind of good you could desire. Clothing, handbags, shoes, chickens. There were people begging for money and people trying to sell pocket-size packages of Kleenex for money. It was sensory overload but I can honestly say that not once did I feel unsafe. The directions the police officer gave me were excellent and, as I approached the cafe that was the starting point for the tour, I heard someone call out my name. (Not WTF, btw.) To hear my name being called out in a country I’ve never been to before is both welcoming and puzzling, but it was the BEST surprise The two ladies from Toronto that I connected with over lost luggage were on my tour. And it was only the three of us. The tour itself was led by Amine. He took us walking through the Medina, explaining the history and the future of its citizens. The old Medina is more than just markets. It’s businesses and residents. There are generations of families who have lived there in tiny homes. People who live in an old city ringed by a newer city with newer conveniences. One of the best example of the difference is that residents of the old Medina get their bread baked daily in large stone ovens that are communal. They look like pizza ovens. The inside of the shop where the baking happens has tables and shelves with bags of flour on them. Written on the bags is the family name and how much flower was in them. The baker makes the required amount as requested by the customer and the customer picks it up at an agreed upon time. In the new Medina — the modern part of Casablanca — residents buy their bread from a supermarket. Old Medina equals old school.

Amine and I.

In addition to walking the streets, we chatted about the government (Morocco is a monarchy and has an elected government), about wages, healthcare and the costs of different things. We also chatted about the role of women in an Islamic society (the coffee shops almost exclusively have male patrons). It was truly an eye-opening conversation.

The tour ended with my two new friends heading off to see the Mosque (their time in Casablanca is brief) and Amine agreeing to help me haggle a backpack to lighten up my suitcase. I returned to my room to kick off my Keen hiking sandals (highly recommend), calling Mom and then getting ready to head out for a group tour meeting and meal.

Our guide is Said and he informed us there will be eight people on the tour. There are a few Canadians, a few Americans and two people that are arriving late, so I don’t know their nationality. At this point, I’m guessing I’m the youngest (whoot! whoot!).

The meal was traditional Moroccan food and I ordered the veal couscous. The plate was HUGE and, although I tried my best, it didn’t look like I put a dent in it. The conversation from the group seemed to flow easily. There are at least two other women who are traveling solo and I’ll make a point of picking their brains as well on helpful tips. And that’s all for night. Sending you love from my time zone to yours.