Bouregreg Marina - Rabat, Morocco

After spending most of the day touring Rabat, my wife and I spent the afternoon exploring the Rabat Medina and Bouregreg Marina. It was a sunny day, but there was a nice breeze coming off the water. We arrived at the Marina by taxi, which cost a whopping 10 dirham (about one dollar). We were told the trip should cost 5 dirham, so I knew the taxi driver increased the price on us, but I wasn't about to argue about a fifty cent taxi ride. I would have given him 10 dirham anyway.

Protip: Use metered cabs. Taxi fare is very cheap in Morocco. But metered cabs will ensure you don't get "taken for a ride."

We started at the Atlantic Ocean end of the Marina, near the sea wall that protect the Kasbah of the Udayas, pictured above. You can see the primarily white structures in this photo. Closer up, you would see the blues, as well. The paint scheme within the Kasbah is blue at the bottom and white on top. So the blue portions of the walls and houses are obscured by the other structures in the photos. This end of the Marina has a pier where several fisherman were using large outrigger poles to fish. There were also quite a few school aged boys jumping off the pier into the water. It looked like refreshing fun.

There was a large construction site at this end of the Marina, obstructing the pier from a direct line of sight to the more touristy area of the Marina. As we weaved our way around the construction, we arrived at the location of a restaurant that came highly recommend to us. I don't eat seafood, so we passed. But the restaurant is on a boat, so I felt compelled to take a photo of it. The boat creaked and sighed as it tugged against it's moorings. The sound quickly drowned out by the call of gulls as we distanced ourselves as we meandered along the waterfront.

There were several more restaurants located along the road side of the pier. But we were more interested in the waterfront where the water was colorfully contrasted with the bright blue boats common to this area. Fishermen were working large commercial nets (pictured in the title photo) while we encountered more groups of boys jumping into the water.

We encountered another group of boys jumping into the water. I took a video, posted below. It looks like they were thoroughly enjoying the water. There were a group of boys across the river who who also jumping in on the other side. We encountered more boats, more scenery and then a final group of boys. As we were walking past, one of the boys said "Clark Gable" to me. That was the extent of their English. We communicated a bit in French and pointy speaky. It worked. It was a fun, genuine cultural interaction. One of the boys motioned for us to take photographs together. So we did. Of course. And then one said "Facebook" with a thumbs up. Well, I don't do Facebook, so here is the next best thing. My young Moroccan friends clowning for the camera and seemingly enjoying themselves.

I guess if I had to title this excursion it would be boys and bouys. We finished our walk at a private swim club of some sort at the other end of the Marina. We hiked up the hillside from the Marina and found the Tram stop. We looked at the map at the tram and decided we would give it a try. But that is a discussion for another post. After all, that Tram is the number one listed thing to do in Rabat. Imagine that. I would put a stroll at the Marina above the tram any day of the week. Especially if you get the opportunity to joke around with a group of kids enjoying an after school swim.

All photos are my own. They may be reproduced with prior permission.