2023 m.s. Zuiderdam – Leg 7: Canary Islands & Morocco

Before moving on from Dakar, Senegal towards the Canary Islands, I’d like to describe our visit to the mythical “Null Island” as it is called. Not an island at all, but rather the location on the ocean where the equator crosses the prime meridian. In terms of navigation, it marks zero minutes latitude and zero minutes longitude. Here’s the screen shot from Tom’s phone GPS from that very spot.

Unfortunately, the buoy that is supposed to be permanently moored here in 3 miles of water, has disappeared.  Perhaps due to weather or some other demise.  More information on Null Island: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Null_Island

Even more special on this location is that the Captain decided to take the rare opportunity to position the ship in the cross hairs… our bow in the northern hemisphere, stern in the southern hemisphere, port in eastern and starboard in western.  Cool!  

According to old maritime traditions, you are a Polliwog until you cross the equator. Thereafter you are a Shellback.  If you cross the equator at the International Dateline, you become a Golden Shellback and even more extraordinary, if you cross at Prime Meridian (where we did) you become an Emerald Shellback. 

King Neptune bestows these designations during elaborate ceremonies that typically include kissing a fish and being bathed in some disgusting concoction of whatever was aboard.  Fortunately for guests aboard, only the crew actually had to go through the initiation ceremonies!

Our journey continues onward to the Canary Islands, which lie 62 miles west of Morocco. A Spanish volcanic archipelago, consisting of 7 main islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

We arrived to the city of Santa Cruz on the Canary Island of Tenerife.   It’s a gorgeous, sunny day of 70 degrees and we’re greeted by clean streets, wonderful architecture, plazas, sidewalk cafes and shaded parks. 

Several festivals were going on, giving the town a vibrant, joyful feel on this Palm Sunday.  Families in the parks with their kids and dogs were everywhere enjoying live music, balloons, and Chinese lanterns hanging from the trees. 

The ornately decorated Central Market is also bustling with abundance of produce, Serrano and Iberian hams, splendid cheeses, seafood, and bakery items as beautiful as they are delicious.  The young, goo-ey Gorgonzola that had to be sampled with spoons was especially decadent.

Streets are teaming with folks enjoying the Spring temperatures.  Several walking bands seemed to project the mood of upbeat spontaneity in the streets.

From Santa Cruz, we visit a neighboring Canary Island the next day:  Arrecife.  While only 160 miles away, the terrain on this island is entirely different.  An arid and rocky landscape replaces the lush, sub-tropical greenery of Tenerife.  Hardly a tree exists on the volcanic peaks that roll on in each direction. 

We pull into the port of Lanzarote, a popular beach town for northern Europeans. 

White-washed multi-home buildings with blue roofs rim the coastline like Lego blocks.  Adjacent to town, we strolled the lagoon, where the daily tide leaves lots of small fishing boats lying in the mud once a day. 

Lanzarote features a beautiful beachfront promenade, though still quiet during our pre-season visit.

The craftsmanship on this promenade gazebo was incredible, both inside and out.

We found the Canary Islands beautiful, welcoming and needing more time to explore. We will be back someday!

Tom’s birthday was celebrated at sea along with a dozen of our shipmate friends. It was a very fun afternoon pool party!

As we journey further north, the Islamic country of Morocco offers epic Atlas Mountains, sweeping deserts, ancient cities, and it greets travelers with warm hospitality and the perfect glass of mint tea. Slightly larger than the state of California, Morocco’s personality seems to be influenced by both Arab and African worlds. It’s a place where old world and modern collide. Traditional souks (open markets), medinas (walled urban centers) and kasbahs (forts) sit adjacent to sleek, high-end malls, buildings and wide boulevards. Men and women dress modestly. Agriculture is rich; oranges, spices, argan oil, tea, olives, dates. We will visit three coastal cities: Agadir, Casablanca and Tangier.

During our 226-mile crossing from the Canaries to Agadir, Morocco, we found strong northwest winds that produced choppy 10 foot waves. The ships stabilizers do an amazing job in keeping us from rolling too much.  Pitching is another story. Nevertheless, the Zuiderdam handled the slight conditions with grace. Some of the passengers, not so much, as evidenced by the empty dining room and other public areas on board.

Agadir is a big fishing port and resort town. The promenade parallels the wide beach for more than a mile, and camels are awaiting to give you a ride. Tourists joke that there’s one price to get on; another to get off.

It’s a windy 70 degrees when we strike out to the cable car that will take us on a long aerial ride to the rebuilt Kasbah, 775 feet above sea level. The original was demolished by an earthquake in 1960 which killed 15,000 people and injured 20,000.

After departing the kasbah, we visited the Souk El Had d’Agadir, a 32 acre space filled with 6,000 shops/booths; furniture, rugs, fabric, appliances, books, ceramics, spices, olives, produce, tea and metal works including tea and coffee pots of every shape. 

We bought a tea blend and enjoyed a hot cup with the seller and his brother.  

The scents and sounds of the Souk were captivating, as the call to prayer sounded over loudspeakers throughout the Souk and neighborhoods, which you can hear in this video:

During our 7-mile walk today, we also found the Argan Oil Factory.  Argan trees only grow in Morocco and goats climb the trees to eat the fruit.  The goats are the only ones who fancy the fruit, which is pressed to expel the valuable oil that is used in a variety of ways, including soaps, lotions, and conditioners.

By the time we wound our way back to the shoreline, the winds had increased to 35-40 knots, kicking up the sands of the beach. 

Our visit is during Ramadan, so very few open cafes or restaurants were found during the day. But we were lucky to find one open on the windy oceanfront, Le Nil Bleu, and revived our energy with chicken shamwara and pizza.

Back aboard, the Captain announced that due to the high winds, we wouldn’t leave Agadir until tomorrow morning when winds were more settled.  However, despite the later departure, our arrival to Casablanca would still be on time.

Casablanca is the largest port city in Morocco. It has a population of 3 million people and it’s known for its beaches, nightclubs and architecture. And of course, the movie.

By far, the most astonishing of all architecture in this city, is The Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993. It can accommodate 25,000 worshippers inside and another 80,000 outside. The minaret (tower) is 689 feet and is the second highest in the world. Construction cost is an estimated $800 million, and it took 6 years to build, employing 3,000 craftsman, and 10,000 workers who toiled with porcelain, stone, wood and plaster.  While there are Italian chandeliers and marble, all other materials are from Morocco. The King footed the bill for 1/3 the cost and local Moroccan residents funded the rest.   Our photos hardly do it justice, and certainly don’t capture the sheer enormity of the place. For more photos and info, please view its website at: https://www.fmh2.ma/en/node

And speaking of the movie, while scenes of Casablanca were filmed in Morocco, Ricks Café was not. It was a stage set. Nevertheless, the one-hour long line to get into the fictitious replica was slow moving. And due to Ramadan, the only thing open was across the street at the modern mall: McDonalds!  

The streets of Casablanca were fairly quiet during morning hours but come alive in the afternoons. Especially walking through the Souks.

One sea day and almost 300 miles up the coast we come to Tangier, Morocco. It lies 40 miles southeast of the tip of Spain, in the bay of The Strait of Gibraltar.  

We arrive early on a 60-degree, windy day. To get an overview of this sprawling city of 1.2 million, we opt for an overview via their convenient Hop On/Off Bus.

We rode it for one hour until we returned to our intended stop, The Café Hafa. Established in 1921 and built on the cliffside of the ocean, it afforded us breathtaking views while we sipped mint tea and nibbled on almond cookies.

From there, we wander through hilltop neighborhoods that led us to the entrance of their medina.

Once inside the medina, it is very easy to get lost in the twisting and narrow alleys of residences and tiny shops.

Back down to sea level, we must pass through the Grand Souk with its Friday shoppers, before heading through the Mendoubla Gardens and back to the ship.

While we may not have had the opportunity to sample local Moroccan cuisine ashore due to the locals fasting in observance of Ramadan, the chefs aboard the ship prepared a delicious feast!

We turn the clocks two hours forward tonight as we sail into the night towards Malaga, Spain. More to come….