Walking Back To The Oriana
I took these pictures as I walked back to the Oriana.
They do illustrate, what I said in this post about there being a need for a good walking route from the tram to the dock.
I always photograph daisies.
The Beach At The End Of The Line
The beach was lots of flat sand, with the sort of dramatic sea, for which the Atlantic Ocean is renowned.
It was actually fairly deserted, so after my orange juice, I returned to the city centre.
But it was worth it, just for that orange juice alone, which had been freshly squeezed for my benefit. I have only ever had one orange juice anywhere near the same quality and that was in a five star hotel in probably Spain.
That would have cost me a lot more than the thirty pence or so the Casablancan one did!
The Casablanca Tram
I was about to go back to the boat, when I saw a tram, with the destination of Plage on the front.
It was a trip worth taking on the Casatram, that was only a few months old.
If the tram has a problem for cruise visitors, it is that although it goes fairly near to where the Oriana was docked, there is no walking route to the tramway, as there is a lot of dock-related buildings in the way.
It was however very easy to use, provided you had a few coins in the Morrocan currency. Instructions were in French, Arabic and English.
Casablanca In The Rain
As we started to explore the city it started to rain.
As you can see, it wasn’t just drizzle.
Arriving At Casablanca
We arrived in Casablanca early on Friday, the 22nd, which seeing as it was the day for prayers in the Muslim world, probably wasn’t the best days for those, who wanted to visit the mosque in the city.
The ship was fairly close into the centre of the city and it was about a fifteen minute walk.
My Room On The Ship
I really couldn’t complain about the room on the ship. I had been upgraded to one only two decks below the main deck with its buffet restaurant for lunch and tea, when I wanted one. This deck also contained the gym and a good bar, so everything was close at hand. Especially, as I was close by one of the staircases with a set of lifts.
The room was very well equipped as the pictures show. I had a proper atlas, binoculars, a very comfortable bath and shower, a bed that I slept well on, plenty of mirrors, cupboards, drawers and places to sit and more than enough good towels. The only thing that was a bit suspect was the air-conditioning, which tended to dry the room.
Sadly, I was unable to test that, as I’d left my humidity meter behind. It was also not the sort of weather to sit on deck to get some fresh air.
I wasn’t the only one who found the atmosphere a bit oppressive.
One nice touch was that I was able to get a sharps box to dispose of my lancets, that I use for INR testing.
Adverts On The BBC
The only television I watched was BBC World and it was good to see such as Nick Gowing, who I once met on holiday.
However, I was rather fed up with the adverts, for products I weren’t interested in. Although, one was for a mini diabetic meter, much like the device I use to test my INR. Although it was very small. It does show the way these devices are going.
I wonder how long before cruise ships such as the Oriana have a digital television service based on Freesat.
Sailing South
From Corunna, we sailed on down the Portuguese and Spanish coasts to Casablanca. We did see a bit of sun, but I didn’t see anybody in the swimming pools, as it was rather cold.
The pictures were taken on the afternoon of the 21st of March, the day after we left Corunna.
Passing Naval Battles
We were continually passing the locations of famous naval battles. Mostly, where the British gave the French or in later times, the Germans a good kicking.
As we passed through the Bay of Biscay, we passed Quiberon Bay, St. Nazaire and Aix Roads, although we were well offshore.
And then after Corunna, we passed Cape Finisterre, where two battles were fought in 1747 and one in 1805.
Later of course we passed Trafalgar and actually went into Cadiz, where Drake famously singed the King of Spain’s beard.
Corunna
I took these pictures, as the ship was arriving and leaving Corunna.
The tower at the entrance to the harbour is the Tower of Hercules.
Looking at Corunna, it would seem to be one of those places worth visiting.
The Anonymous Widower 