I wish I knew about this the day I got to Morocco. Wireless, pay-as-you-go internet. Life is good.

After hanging out at hotels and hanging out of windows trying to pick up a wifi signal, I went to the Wana store in Hassan (Rabat) accross from Yum Yum and bought a wireless modem. It cost 700 dirhams (about $100 USD - ouch, the dollar is low) for the modem and first month of unlimited connectivity. You can buy additional months and pay-as-you-go (Meditel offers a similar service, but at the time they require a two-year plan). Based on the access map I saw at Wana, it looks like it should work along the costal areas of Morocco. You can ask them about coverage, but I don’t expect it would work for a trek through the desert. I’m using it now in Rabat and plan on using it when I get to Restinga, between Tangier and Tetuan.

Since I work as a freelance web designer, this is a very, very good thing for me. A bit pricey, but worth it if you need to work while traveling. Wish I knew about it before I started my travels, so I wanted you to know.

I just bought a bag made of fabric woven from silk and cotton with leather detailing. I bought it from the “purse guy” on Rue des Consuls in the medina Rabat. He has excellent quality bags. If you get to go to Rabat, stop by his shop. I don’t know how to describe the exact location, but you should be able to spot it by the steady flow of customers coming in and out.

My Moroccan Bag

So often in Morocco the exterior door is all you ever get to see of a building; the exterior walls mask the interior structure, which is securely hidden. Riads are designed with windows facing in towards a central salon, so there is no hope of peering-in or guessing what lies inside. Mosques and relilgious buildings are interdit, completely off-limits to me as entrance is forbidden to non-Muslims. Luckily, and consequently, doors in Morocco are beautiful.

The sunlight in Morocco is spectacular. It adds or subtracts from the depth of color. It creates patterns that change through the day so that a simple trellis becomes a thing of wonder.

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Note: if you are American, Riad D’Or doesn’t need your business…see update at the end.

It should have been perfect and for a few hours it was. Our room was large and light. We had a semi-private salon just outside our door. It felt as if we had the place to ourselves; a perfect escape from my in-laws house; a perfect place for my daughter to play and be loud; finally, a place where we would not disturb anyone. We ran around a zillij column in the main salon and pretended it was a tree. We giggled. We admired: “Mommy, it’s so beautiful!” The water was hot for our shower. So what if they forgot to leave us any soap? It was a fraction of the cost of staying at a riad in Fes.

The French Fry Fiasco

I love to spend time at my friends house in the neighborhood of Rabat aptly named L’Ocean, just down the street for the new Bou Regreg waterfront and the Oudaya kasbah. They have a beautifully decorated fifth-floor apartment with a large terrace and amazing ocean view. Its the perfect spot for watching sunset and relaxing with friends. I can’t say enough about how nice it is to have your own place in Morocco…a place on the ocean. But, in L’Ocean, if you turn away from the ocean and look south down the coast you will see a neglected neighborhood that tells the story of suppressed waterfront development in Rabat.

Real estate development on the Rabat waterfront

Although I’ve been in Rabat for about five weeks now, I have just begun to appreciate how much there is to enjoy around the Moroccan capital. Take for example this madrasa in Sale, just on the other side of the Bou Regreg estuary. It made an excellent day trip for me and my three-year-old traveling companion.

Discovering Rabat-Sale

On our way to a friend’s house in Ain Atiq, we happened upon a fantasia. It was a competitive tournament, not a regular tourist attraction, so I felt lucky that we were able to witness it.

More from the fantasia

The guide, a man of about 20, at the entrance to kasbah was lying. He told me the café didn’t open until 6pm. It is in fact open from sunrise to sunset. But, I had a few hours to kill while waiting to meet with some friends and little else to do for a distraction as most shops were closed for lunch. I decided to follow him, interested in what he would show, tell, and expect from us at the end. He showed me his national identity card in lieu of a guide license. It showed was that he was a resident of Oudaya.

Guided Tour of Oudaya

Tassels and embroidery have always had a place in Moroccan design. Lately I’ve noticed them being applied in nontraditional ways. More