Morocco – Trackchasing Country #40

   

GREETINGS FROM PLACES ON THE WAY TO

MOROCCO

From the World’s #1 Trackchaser

 

 

  

I am an international trackchaser.  My trackchasing hobby has taken me to well over 70 countries.  With all of that travel I have seen and done just about everything….but not EVERYTHING.  That’s why I’ll keep traveling for as long as I can.  There is always one more thing to see and one more thing to do.

  

I hope you enjoy taking a brief tour of Morocco, my 40th trackchasing country.  Of course with Morocco being on the African continent this would be a grand adventure.  Don’t miss a moment of this fantastic trip. 

“MOROCCO….THE PLAN” TRACKCHASING TOUR (part 1 of 3)

 

GREETINGS FROM SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA AND THEN ATLANTA, GEORGIA

 

Editor’s note.

Everything written in this Trackchaser Report was dictated before Carol and I ever left the United States bound for Morocco.  In order for a trip like this to be successful a good deal of “pre-work” must be done in advance.  This planning takes place at the world headquarters of RLR – Randy Lewis Racing in San Clemente, California

 

Also, please don’t miss the “background” information on Morocco, the country. It appears at the bottom of this report. It’s always good to know a little bit about the country you’re flying 15,000 miles to visit. I have tried to condense this section so you can get a good “feel” for Morocco, a country in northern Africa.

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

I’ve been so busy traveling the world I haven’t had time for golf.…………..details in “The Transportation”.

 

I discovered a secret place to pack my travel gear……………….more in “Packing for the trip”.

 

We spent the first day of our African trip in Atlanta! There’s a lot to see there…………..details in “Trackchasing Tourist Attractions”.

 

DON’T MISS THE PICTURES!  

There will be three sets of photos from this trip.  Don’t miss them.  Simply click on the “Photos” tab above to see what we saw.

 

ADVANCE PREPARATION 

You might be surprised at the amount of “Advance Preparation” that goes into one of these trips. Several “items” need to be checked off. First and most important to getting the trip started was to confirm there would be a race. Once that’s done there’s the transportation, hotel, rental car and …….of course, the “companion selection” process. There are lots of other things that need to be covered too. When this was finished it would be time to “get out of the house and head on down the road”.

  

Editor’s note: You might wonder why I take the time to provide so many details about the logistical and economic portion of the trip. It’s simple. I hope that when people read one of my reports they can see themselves making an adventure like this. I’ll explain how I organize things as well as what it takes money-wise to make it happen. Then maybe that “spark” will come to a reader…..and before they know it they will be touching down in a Malta or an Iceland or an Australia or somewhere far from their home…..and somewhere far from their comfort zone.

MOROCCO AND MY HISTORY

When the green flag drops on the race in Morocco, I will have seen racing in 40 different countries. Frankly, I’ve been on the road so much lately I didn’t have time to do much Moroccan specific research. That’s O.K; we do well “on the fly”.

  

We’ll be on the ground in Morocco for five days. We will have three full days in the country. One afternoon will be taken up mainly with the race. On the other two days we’ll be trying to live life “just a little bit dangerously” every day. What other way beats that? Don’t miss the adventures we get ourselves into. It’s always fun.

  

THE RACE

I don’t know where I would be, trackchasing wise if it weren’t for computers and especially Google Search. In a matter of moments I can move all around the world searching for those elusive foreign country racing events.

  

I was most pleased when I located the “World Touring Car Championship” website. We last went to one of their events in Macau, China in late 2008. Once Morocco is knocked off, there will not be any more WTCC races in 2010 in countries where I have not trackchased. During this trip, the WTCC races on both Saturday and Sunday. Once we get to Morocco, we’ll decide which of those two race days fits best into the rest of our touring plans. Yes, a race in Morocco brings us here. However, once we’ve arrived the race will be just one of many of what we hope will be lifelong travel memories.

  

I was unable to make advance contract with anyone connected with the race in Morocco. That’s not good. Almost all of my very best foreign country racing experiences happened when I had some “inside” help. We’ll see if this time is any different.

 

THE TRANSPORTATION

Although I have not seen racing in the most countries (yet anyway) I have easily traveled more miles than any other trackchaser in search of international trackchasing venues by a factor or more than two. I don’t mind the travel a bit. It’s part of the adventure.

  

This trip would have us flying first from Los Angeles to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta we will stay overnight before flying onto Madrid, Spain and then into Marrakesh, Morocco, an African continent country. The entire flying portion of this trip (round-trip) will take some 30 hours in the air and cover about 15,000 air miles. International trackchasing, especially when emanating from the U.S. is not for the faint of heart.

  

I’ve been on a bit of an extreme travel schedule during the past month. After nine days in Maui, resting up for the upcoming trackchasing international blitz, Carol and I returned to San Clemente.   I was home for 48 hours before leaving for five days in Chile. I was home for just 60 hours after Chile before leaving for what turned out to be my Texas trackchasing trip. I had not even planned to return home between Texas and Morocco. However, the ever-changing travel landscape did allow me to get back to San Clemente for a scant 18 hours, to exchange travel clothes and pick up Carol, before we both headed off to Africa. I think we can qualify as “active seniors”!

  

By the way, our trip to Africa does not complete this “travel blitz”. We have some big trips coming up very soon before we kick back on the “California Riviera” next. The only downside to this travel schedule was that it prevented me from playing a single day at my golf club back in San Clemente during April. I can’t recall that happening in a very long time if ever.

 

PACKING FOR THIS TRIP

I never thought I would see the day. I have somehow convinced Carol that she can pack eight days of “travel needs” in one rolling carry-on bag. And folks say I don’t have any influence over her! It’s always difficult to check bags on our “sponsored” airlines. However, this trip has us flying on EasyJet, a discount European Airlines on one leg of the trip from Madrid to Marrakesh.

  

The tickets were so cheap I didn’t want to waste our savings on checked bags. EasyJet charges about $40 U.S. to check one bag. We didn’t pay much more than that to buy the airline tickets. I admit we can blow our share of money. However, there are times when we will break our backs to save money. Our carryon rolling bags were stuffed to the brim and beyond. I don’t like to admit this but I brought my winter coat to Africa. You might say, “But Randy it’s going to be nearly 90 degrees every day. Why are you taking your winter coat?” Yes, it is. However, my winter coat can carry a good deal of stuff in its sleeves. I told you we could be cheap when it seemed like a good idea.

 

TIME ZONES

After a while, I don’t really think too much about what time zone I’m in. I sort of go by whether it’s light or dark outside. However, for those that keep track of this thing, Atlanta is three hours ahead of home in California. Then we find that Madrid, Spain is nine hours ahead of San Clemente. Surprisingly, Marrakesh, Morocco was only seven hours ahead of home and two hours behind Madrid. We suspected that one of these hours had to do with Morocco not observing Daylight savings time.

CURRENCY

Normally, I send Carol off to the bank to retrieve enough foreign currency to get us/me through one of these trips. However, Citibank doesn’t handle Moroccan currency, which is the “Dirham”. The currency international code is “MAD”. That means we’ll exchange money once we get to Africa. The current exchange rate has one U.S. dollar buying about 8.3 Moroccan Dirhams.

 

WEATHER

The weather in Morocco is scheduled to be hot, humid with periods of rain. Morocco is north of the equator so it’s springtime there. The day we arrive the temperature is forecast to top out at 93 degrees. The rest of the time temps will be about 85. Rain forecasts vary from 10-60% during our five-day stay. Rain won’t be a problem for the races. Road racing of this type runs “rain or shine”.

 

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS

Often times I don’t know where I’m going to sleep for the night on these international trackchasing trips until about two minutes before I pull into a hotel property! I actually prefer it that way. Last week, when I was traveling by myself in Texas, I stayed in three separate Motel 6 properties. I don’t mind that a bit. I actually enjoy being “economical”.

  

However, when “Trackchasing’s First Mother” is with me (for anyone who doesn’t know that would be wife, Carol) I feel a need for better accommodations. We started with a night at the Westin Hotel in Atlanta. Our friends over at Priceline.com allowed us to stay there for just a bit more than $100 LESS than the best rate quoted on the Westin website!

  

While in Morocco, we’ll be staying at the Le Meridien hotel. If you go online you’ll find the best price for this hotel weighs in at $310 per night. It’s a 5-star hotel. However, as a “sponsored” trackchaser, we didn’t have to pay the “going rate”. I can’t share all of our travel secrets, but this hotel will be a wonderful place to stay. I’ll tell you more about it as we go along. Finally, we’ll spend our final night in Madrid. Airline schedules don’t permit us to complete the trip from Africa back to California in a single day.

 

THE RENTAL CAR

Rental cars are expensive in Morocco. Rates range from $125-150 per day. Since the Circuit de Marrakesh is less than ten miles from the hotel, we would get by with hired “drivers”. Part of the plan included having a “driver for the day” take us around to all of the Marrakesh “highlights”. This seemed like the best way to handle the rental car “situation”.

 

NAVIGATION

Normally, I rely on my GPS systems 100% on the trackchasing trips I take. However, with other folks driving us that won’t be necessary on this outing.

 

 

THE TRAVELING COMPANION

It’s always fun to have a “traveling companion” on trips like this. In Morocco, that “traveling companion” would come in the form of wife, Carol. She is a self-professed “homebody”. Typically she doesn’t read these reports. She says that since “she lives it” she doesn’t have to read about it too. 

 

That being the case, I can tell you that during the first four months of 2010, Carol has traveled overnight with me exactly 30 days on our various “adventures”. This doesn’t include a few nights she’s spent babysitting with those two wonderful grandchildren of ours up in Pasadena. Carol travels more, much more, than any other woman in trackchasing. However, since she won’t be reading this, I would appreciate it if we just get this information “between us” if you know what I mean.

 

THE SUMMARY

I have enjoyed every single visit to the 38 foreign countries where I have trackchased before Morocco. I have also enjoyed traveling to the 15-20 other countries that Carol and I have visited without doing any trackchasing. However, we don’t get to Africa very often. This is only my second trip and it’s Carol’s first. We’ll try to see “as much as we can see” catch a racetrack in a new country for us and mainly just have FUN. Remember, that’s the overriding objective of EVERY trip….to have fun. I’ll follow this report with two more to tell you about the touring and the racing.

 

TRACKCHASING TOURIST ATTRACTION

I very much enjoy the racing when I go on trackchasing trips. However, I am not the type of person who would feel the trip was complete if I simply left home, went to the race and came back home.

 

I do a good deal of traveling. I want to do my best to see the local area when I come for a visit. There are usually unusual attractions that one area is noted for more than any other locale. I want to see those places. I want to touch them and feel them. When I leave an area, I want to have memories of these special places that I call Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. I will remember those experiences long after the checkered flag has fallen on whatever race I have seen that day.

 

Atlanta, Georgia

We had almost 24 hours to spend in Atlanta before departing on Wednesday night for Madrid, Spain. We wanted to make the most of our time. The weather was beautiful. We visited these places.

  

 

Silver Skillet Restaurant – Atlanta, GA

(http://www.thesilverskillet.com/) 

The Silver Skillet restaurant was recommended to me by the folks at www.tripadvisor.com. It’s all old-time diner that’s been featured in several TV shows and movies. It’s definitely worth a stop and earns a RANLAY Money Back Guarantee by all readers who stop there. Don’t miss the pictures.

 

 

Georgia Tech University – Atlanta, GA

(http://www.gatech.edu/)  

Georgia Tech University is within walking distance of the Silver Skillet. This is a gorgeous large campus. It is heavily wooded and most of the school buildings had red brick exteriors. The campus occupies 400 acres in the heart of Atlanta. It’s home to 20,000 students. It was a beautiful day to visit Georgia Tech. Of course, I couldn’t pass up buying one of their t-shirts. I’ll wear the t-shirt of any university as long as they are not a rival and have never beaten UCLA or Northern Illinois is a big game

 

World of Coke – Atlanta, GA

(http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/) 

I use a Coke (or Pepsi) product nearly every day of my life. Carol hasn’t used one of their products during just ten days of her existence. Therefore, we were an “odd couple” to be visiting this brand new museum. The highlight comes at the end of the tour when guests can sample 64 different drinks sold by Coke around the world. Surprisingly, many of them tasted about the same. I highly recommend the “World of Coke” tour during any visit to Atlanta.

 

Georgia Aquarium – Atlanta, GA

(http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/)  

This was the only disappointment of the day. Maybe this was because it was “fourth on the list” of today’s activities. I am told this is the largest aquarium in the world. It might be. However, twenty-seven dollars is just too much to spend to watch the fish swim around. Also, there were just too many of “other people’s grandkids” out for a day at the aquarium.

  

Don’t miss the pictures from today’s outing in Atlanta. Staying over in Atlanta helped us, in a minor way, get accustomed to the nine-hour time zone change we would face when we landed in Madrid. Atlanta was a good lead into Africa!

 

To be continued………………….

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Moroccan saying: Every lamb is hanged by its own legs (in the Day of Judgment). Chilling isn’t it.

 

MOROCCO – FAST FACTS*

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 32 million, including the disputed Western Sahara, which is mainly under Moroccan administration. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with three small Spanish exclaves, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera), Algeria to the east, and Mauritania to the south.

  

The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including dissolving parliament. The political capital is Rabat, and the largest city is Casablanca; other large cities includes Fes, Salé, Agadir, Marrakesh, Tangier, Meknes, Oujda and Tetouan. A large Jewish community lived in Morocco before the creation of Israel, numbering approximately 265,000 in 1948. Between 7,000 and 12,000 live there now, mostly in Casablanca.

  

Contemporary Morocco

On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence. Morocco recovered its political independence from France on March 2, 1956, and on April 7, France officially relinquished its protectorate.

  

Economy

The major resources of the Moroccan economy are agriculture, phosphates, and tourism. Sales of fish and seafood are important as well. Industry and mining contribute about one-third of the annual GDP. Morocco is the world’s third-largest producer of phosphorus (after China, which is first, and the United States, which is second). The information technology and communications sectors have been witnessing significant expansion as well. Morocco is the first country in North Africa to install a 3G network. The high cost of imports, especially of petroleum imports, is a major problem. Another chronic problem is unreliable rainfall, which produces drought or sudden floods; in 1995, the country’s worst drought in 30 years forced Morocco to import grain and adversely affected the economy.

  

Demographics/Religion

Morocco is the fourth most populous Arab country, after Egypt, Sudan and Algeria. Most Moroccans practice Sunni Islam and are of Berber, Arab or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Arabs and Berbers comprise about 99.1% of the Moroccan population. Some 99.7% of the Moroccan population practice Islam.

  

Languages

Morocco’s official language is Modern Standard Arabic. The country’s distinctive Arabic dialect is called Moroccan Arabic. Approximately 10 million (30% of the population), mostly in rural areas, speak Berber – which exists in Morocco in three different dialects (Tarifit, Tashelhiyt, and Tamazight) – either as a first language or bilingually with the spoken Arabic dialect. French, which is Morocco’s unofficial second language, is taught universally and serves as Morocco’s primary language of commerce and economics. English, while still far behind French and Spanish in terms of number of speakers, is rapidly becoming the second foreign language of choice among educated youth.

  

Cuisine

Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from Tiliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fez, are home-grown. Chicken is the most widely eaten meat in Morocco. The most commonly eaten red meat in Morocco is beef; lamb is preferred but is relatively expensive. Couscous is the most famous Moroccan dish along with pastilla, tajine, and harira. The most popular drink is green tea with mint.

  

Education

Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children – particularly girls in rural areas – still do not attend school. The country’s illiteracy rate has been stuck at around 50% for some years, but reaches as high as 90% among girls in rural regions.

 

Sport

Spectator sports in Morocco traditionally centered on the art of horsemanship until European sports—football (soccer), polo, swimming, and tennis—were introduced at the end of the 19th century. Football is the country’s premier sport, popular among the urban youth in particular, and in 1970 Morocco became the first African country to play in World Cup competition. As of 2007, Moroccan society participated in many sports, including handball, football, golf, tennis and basketball.

 

 

U.S. GOVERNMENT ADVICE ABOUT MOROCCO   

Travelers to Morocco must have a valid passport. Visas are not required for American tourists traveling to Morocco for fewer than 90 days.  In March and April 2007, a series of terrorist bombings occurred in Casablanca, two of which simultaneously occurred outside the U.S. Consulate General and the private American Language Center.  In 2003, a series of similar attacks in Casablanca targeted hotels and restaurants. The potential for terrorist violence against American interests and citizens remains high in Morocco.

 

CRIME

Crime in Morocco is a serious concern, particularly in the major cities and tourist areas. Aggressive panhandling, pick pocketing, purse snatching, theft from occupied vehicles stopped in traffic and harassment of women are the most frequently reported crimes. Criminals have used weapons, primarily knives, during some street robberies and burglaries. These have occurred at any time of day and night, not only in isolated places or areas less frequented by visitors, but in crowded areas as well. Taxis in Morocco are generally crime-free, although city buses are not considered safe. Trains are generally safe, but theft, regardless of the time of day, sometimes occurs.

 

* Much of this info comes from my research at Wikipedia and the United States government.

 

Official end of Randy Lewis Racing (RLR) Trackchaser Report

 

“MOROCCO, NORTH AFRICAN” TRACKCHASING TOUR (part 2 of 3)

 

CORRECTION

Reader Greg Robbins corrects my recent description of the “college known at Georgia Tech”. He informs me that the official name of the school is “Georgia Institute of Technology”. Why should I take his word for it? For starters, Greg graduated from this university. He should know. That’s good enough for me!

 

GREETINGS FROM MADRID, SPAIN AND THEN MARRAKESH, MOROCCO

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Carol for ‘5,000 camels’? It was an interesting offer..…………..details in “Day 5 – Saturday”.

 

What real value do we get from these foreign trips?………………more in “The Objective”.

 

Sales pitch or cultural enrichment?……………..more in “Day 5 – Saturday”.

 

DON’T MISS THE PICTURES!  

There will be three sets of photos from this trip.  Don’t miss them.  Simply click on the “Photos” tab above to see what we saw.

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

The Objective

 

Why do all of this?

I get that question from time to time. Here is the answer. Trackchasing takes me all over the world. Much of the world is very different from where I live. Heck, much (most?) of the United States is very different from where I live.

  

The REAL value for me with these faraway trips is simply watching the people and the culture. Have you ever watched a three-year-old riding in a stroller? I have. I love to follow their eyes. Trust me, they’re taking it all in! That’s the way I am on these trips. My eyes can’t drink enough of the environment in to satisfy me.  

 

Don’t miss the ‘medina’ photos.

The racetrack brings me here. However, it’s the sights and sounds of a different culture that keeps me coming back. Some of the situations I put myself in are minorly dangerous. That just adds to the excitement for me. I really recommend you taking a good look at the photos from our trip to Morocco. I’m guessing you’ll very much enjoy them, especially those taken in the “Medina” section of the “old” Marrakesh. That place is amazing.

 

The Trip

 

Day 2 – Wednesday

 

I was busy moving my watch forward.

We left Atlanta bound for Madrid, Spain at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening. There are no direct flights from the U.S. to Marrakesh, Morocco, our trackchasing destination. Why did we decide to fly into Madrid, Spain? The answer was simple. Madrid had the cheapest connecting flights into Marrakesh. You might not believe it, but I do travel on a budget.

  

Peons?

Although we left at 7 p.m. Atlanta time, it was six hours later, time zone wise, in Madrid. The flight was “only” seven hours long. We were soon touching down in Madrid at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. Many times I am upgraded to business or first class on my international adventures. As luck would have it, Carol and I were relegated to “peon” class. The airlines call it “coach” for this trip. No worries. We are adaptable folks.

  

Day 3 – Thursday

 

Should we sit in an airport or “make it happen?”

We landed in Madrid, Spain at 10 a.m. (1 a.m. San Clemente time). Our next flight, from Madrid to Marrakesh, would not be leaving until 4 p.m. We had a choice. We could waste six hours in the Madrid airport or be a little adventuresome and spend three hours in downtown Madrid. I hope you correctly guessed which option I chose. Option #2, of course.

  

To get to downtown, we needed to take care of some “logistics” first. Clearing customs was a breeze as it usually is. We didn’t have any checked luggage. That’s right we would be gone for eight days with only enough clothes to fill our carryon bags. I ask you. Do you know anybody who travels this way?

 

Ever heard of the ‘left luggage’ area?

However, we didn’t want to be traipsing around downtown Madrid with our luggage. Not a problem. For just 3.85 Euros we could store all of our luggage at the airport in a locker. If you want to do that in the Madrid airport just look for the “left luggage” sign. That’s where you will find the lockers.

 

The ‘metro’ rocks in Madrid.

It was nice that the bag storage area was next to the “Metro” station. Madrid’s metro station looks to be nearly brand new. It’s easy to use. The one-way ride to anywhere on the system from the airport is just two Euros per person. We took a recommendation from the airport “information” desk regarding the best place to disembark in Madrid.

  

In about 20 minutes after we had changed from the #8 train to the #10 train and we were in downtown. We didn’t have anything particular in mind to see. There would be time for lunch at a nice little outdoor European café. Our order was simple. We just wanted to share a single cheese pizza. However, midway in the ordering process we decided to add some sausage to our pizza. The order was placed and we sat back and watched the people.  

 

When our food was served we got TWO pizzas. One was cheese and the other cheese and sausage. So much for being able to “communicate” effectively. I could have disputed the situation. However, when speaking in English with people who don’t have that as their native language I often don’t think it’s worth the “hassle” to go into it all. They usually don’t really understand the nuances of my language all that well and I certainly don’t understand theirs. Anyway….I’ve never had a hard time finding a place for an extra pizza!

  

Then we just strolled around until it was time to catch the subway back to the airport. This sure beat sitting in an airport chair for six hours. 

 

EasyJet had us worried.

Next up was our easyJet flight to Marrakesh, Morocco. EasyJet is sort of a Southwest Airlines equivalent. I had flown them one other time during my trackchasing effort to the Isle of Man. That trip left Liverpool, England.

  

EasyJet offers very low fares. However, passengers are only allowed one piece of carry-on luggage. Any bag you have to check is charged about 30 Euros ($40-45 U.S.). On the EasyJet website and via their email communications to me, they made it sound as if this policy would be strictly enforced. I can hardly ever recall having to pay to check a bag. I didn’t want to start today.

  

It was going to be 85; I brought my winter coat.

My rolling carryon bag was stuffed to the gills. I even brought my winter UCLA coat. It was going to be 85 degrees every day in Marrakesh. Why would I do that? My coat’s sleeves were stuffed with my second pair of shoes. I needed a second pair of shoes as an “insurance policy” with my airline partners. My shoes were stuffed with socks and “stuff”. Yes, I can be “thrifty” when the need arises.

  

Some airlines aren’t very strict about their carryon rules. Maybe that’s why so many people abuse the carryon policies. When we went to check-in with easyJet the agent looked and acted as if she meant business. She made me but my bag in one of those “sizers” that you see at the airport. That was a problem. 

 

Would ‘Cinderella’ miss the ball?

My bag wouldn’t fit. It was a bit like Cinderella trying to put a size 12 foot into a size 7 shoe. The crowd behind me in line was chanting, “It will fit. It will fit. Shove a little harder”. I asked the agent if I could take my computer out of the bag. She said I could. Then the bag just barely made it into the “sizer”. I had a devil of a time getting the bag out again! That was a close one, but at least we avoided the extra charge.

  

We needed to clear airport security in Madrid bound for Marrakesh. During this process, the TSA equivalent took away my shaving cream. I was told it was too large. I’ve been traveling with this sized shaving cream for years in the U.S. I didn’t argue. It’s never a good idea to have an “attitude” with the TSA boys and girls. I can shave with bath soap for a few days.

  

EasyJet boards on a first come first served basis. The seats don’t recline at all. Even a glass of water costs money. Carol and I were lucky enough to get an aisle and window seat with the center open. In a little bit less than two hours, we were touching down in Africa. I never know for sure where the trackchasing hobby will take me next, but it’s usually somewhere exciting.

 

We had made it to Africa; they were expecting us.

Marrakesh was two hours behind Madrid. That meant we left Spain at 4 p.m. and arrived in Morocco at about 4 p.m. Clearing customs was easy. We strode out into the massive lobby of this eight-gate airport. We soon found a man holding up a sign that said, “Mr. Lewis”. I had made advance arrangements with the Le Meridien Hotel to have their driver pick us up. The youngish “Trackchasing’s First Mother” seemed impressed with the first class treatment we were receiving.

  

Soon we were at the five-star Le Meridien Hotel. I can thank the “Starwood Hotels” for their sponsorship with this hotel. Normally rates go for $310 per night, but we didn’t have to pay anywhere close to that.

 

When we checked in we were given some paperwork to fill out. This was when we met a very friendly bellman, named “Said”. He would become our friend throughout the stay. As we checked in, he poured us a “welcoming tea” from a height of about four feet. We were “officially” in Morocco now.

  

I would classify the Le Meridien as a “boutique” hotel. In my opinion, they’re the best kind. They are usually older, but have a good deal of class and charm. The hotel reminded me of something you would find in the exclusive locale of Santa Barbara, California.

 

The hotel gardens were the best. Our room was good sized but with twin beds. What’s up with foreign country upscale hotels offering twin beds. That’s a terrible option.

 

Postcard stamps were not a bargain.

We stopped by the gift shop to buy some postcards and postcard stamps. Carol sends out about a dozen cards from each trip. I’ll usually send out two or three. We found the postcard stamps to be the most expensive we can ever recall buying. They were about $2 U.S. per card. However, the recipients are precious and well worth the expenditure.

 

Carol’s first dinner in Africa.

We walked down the street (Avenue Mohammed VI) for a quick bite to eat at an outdoor café. On the way, we noticed that traffic doesn’t stop for pedestrians. That idea was brought to the forefront of our minds when a motorcyclist ran into a pedestrian just yards from where we were standing.

 

We ain’t in Kansas anymore Dorothy.

This was when we knew we were operating in a different culture. The pedestrian, a man in his 30s, picked himself up from the pavement with a mildly annoyed look. The motorbike rider was a man of my age or older. The rider said something to his victim. Then he proceeded to shake the man’s hand and kissed him first on one cheek and then the other. Then they conversed some more before again embracing and bidding each other farewell.

  

In my wildest imaginations I can’t think of this ever playing out this way in America. A lawsuit maybe, but kisses on both cheeks. Not in your lifetime!

  

Dinner was at a little outdoor café. I have never had a better serving of spaghetti Bolognese. Carol’s salad was huge and offered more color than any salad I have ever seen. The flies were mildly annoying, but overall it was a delightful first Moroccan dinner.

  

Our room was quiet. We were tired from about 24 hours of straight travel. We slept hard with no planned wakeup call. When we did wake up we were enthusiastically looking forward to seeing and learning about Marrakesh. We would not be disappointed.

  

Day 4 – Friday

 

We don’t see many Americans when we travel to faraway destinations.

We got a great night’s sleep on the first of our four-night stay at the Le Meridien. I got up early and went for a walk. There are no American tourists in Marrakesh. I can’t recall hearing an American accent a single time during our touring of the area. This is a good thing. I get enough of Americans back home.

  

I was lucky not to get run over.

I did learn one thing during my walk. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way in an intersection. The cars roll through the stop signs and you have better not be in the crosswalk. Once you understand the rules, it’s all good.

  

Variety is the spice of life.

We had breakfast at the “Le 6” restaurant where we had eaten dinner last night. This violates a strict principle of mine when traveling in a foreign country. I don’t like to eat at the same place twice. Regardless of how good a restaurant might be the first time, I want to get the broadest experience possible. I can’t do that by eating at the same place more than once. However, today we did and breakfast was very good.

  

They served all kinds of bread rolls and croissants. I think the total number of pastries on the table for Carol and me was sixteen! Unlike Europe, these folks serve real fresh-squeezed orange juice. We saw several orange trees bearing heavy fruit here during our tour. Carol topped that off with coffee and we both had fried eggs. The entire bill for our large breakfast came to about $10 U.S.

 

We needed Dirhams.

Speaking of money, we had to get some. We could exchange Euros or dollars in the hotel for Moroccan Dirhams (Dhs). However, we didn’t have enough to get us through the trip. There are a lot of banks in Marrakesh. We found one across the street that gave us 3,200 Dhs or about $400 U.S. The hotel told us we could move any unneeded Moroccan money back into dollars at the end of the trip.   The hotel concierges checked and told me we could use credit cards to buy tickets at the racetrack. That would save us some local currency. However, we would later learn this was not true!

 

Mohammed would be our man.

At this point, I met “Mohammed” described below. Mohammed would lead us on a city tour tomorrow. We could have taken the “safe” route and booked a big bus city tour. We could have taken the even safer and more boring route and tried to guide ourselves. You won’t see nearly as much that way. That’s not for me when I can get a “custom” tour. I was really looking forward to a tour with just Mohammed, me and “Trackchasing’s First Mother”.

Eating at the hotel wasn’t going to work.

After a brief nap back in our room, we decided to eat poolside at the hotel. Carol had a very small cheese omelet. I had a Caesar salad with shrimp. It was THREE shrimp to be exact. We topped that small lunch off with coffee, a Diet Coke and a piece of apple pie alamode for dessert. The bill was $50 U.S. We won’t be eating there again.

  

The concierges were on the top of their game.

The hotel concierges were most helpful. I should have tipped them more. I had heard about the “dinner shows” available in Marrakesh. I inquired and the concierges set everything up for us. The folks running the show would come by the hotel at 8 p.m. to pick us up. We would ride a bus to the outskirts of the city for a night of fun, food and Moroccan showmanship.

  

The bus arrived late by 25 minutes. Then the ride over to the show took another half hour. The drive was actually fun. The “activity” of the city really picks up in the evening. The streets are packed with cars, buses, people on bikes and mopeds. It seems as if everyone is honking their horns. It’s not much like San Clemente!

  

You can get some additional detail about the dinner show by clicking on this link, http://www.partner.viator.com/en/2672/tours/Marrakech/Fantasia-Moroccan-Dinner-and-Cultural-Show/d913-5008RAK03.

 

My international culinary curiosity only goes so far.

We dined on a multi-course meal in tents sitting on Moroccan cushions. There were about six tables inside each tent. We sat with a couple from Sweden celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary and a young Spanish couple celebrating their 10^th wedding anniversary. The Swedish couple spoke English well; the Spaniards weren’t quite as proficient.

 

We had a good time with these folks. They were surprised to hear we came to Morocco to see an auto race. I get that reaction a lot. The main entrée was a entire lamb served as if as in mid-stride on a four-foot platter. I don’t eat lamb. I really wouldn’t eat any lamb with its head still on. Later in the trip we toured a modern food store. They were selling rabbits with the head and eye still attached. Why??

  

About every five minutes a series of entertainers would come through the tent singing and dancing. Carol said the “music” sounded like a bunch of three-year-olds banging garbage can lids together. She’s not likely to be buying a Moroccan native music CD any time soon.

 

What’s up with the room key?

When one troupe of female entertainers came through I was invited to get up and dance with them. Since I wasn’t eating any lamb I figured I had nothing else to do. There was a girl on each side of me holding my hand. It seemed like the music went on forever. One of the girls tried passing a metal object from her hand to mine. Was it her room key? No, it was a coin. Was she paying me to dance with her? No, I think this was the international signal for “tip”. You can’t stop capitalism! 

 

No figure 8 tonight.

Following dinner, we all went outside on a warm evening to an area that can best be described as a “figure 8 pit”. For those of you not familiar with such a thing, you might have thought of it as a horse arena with a dirt floor. Here we would be entertained by equestrians and the dancers we had seen earlier in our tent.

  

The P.A. description of the activities was in a foreign language that we didn’t understand. That could have been any of them! The entertainers showed us some horse-riding skills worthy of the rodeo. They also fired off several times rifles that sounded like howitzers! The show’s entertainment value was marginal and it went on too long.

  

We met a wonderful Swedish couple.

When the show was over we found our tour bus. It was among about one hundred of them at the event. We had a great half-hour conversation with our newfound Swedish friends. They were leaving Marrakesh the next day or we might have had dinner together again.

  

They seemed concerned about the same things we Americans are. I asked them how they felt about their government-controlled health care system. I always asked foreigners (to me) this question. I hear via American media how bad every other nation’s public health care system is and how the folks required to use those systems don’t like them. The Swedish couple response was exactly like nearly 100% of the people I have asked this question. They love their health care system. I suggest that anyone who thinks public supported health care is a bad idea, ask people who’ve had it for years. With an open mind you might find yourself changing your opinions if you currently oppose government’s involvement in health care in the U.S.

  

With that our second evening in Marrakesh was a wrap. The dinner show was fun to see one time. It wasn’t too expensive and it wasn’t all that entertaining. I might recommend it once (maybe) but there would be no need to ever see it again.

 

Day 5 – Saturday (morning)

A sumptuous breakfast buffet.

We opened up the morning with the breakfast buffet at our hotel, the Le Meridien. They put out quite a spread, although it was a bit on the pricey side. I preferred the outdoor cafes just down the street. We could watch the people, have a fine breakfast at a much more reasonable expense. That’s where we ate the rest of the trip.

We couldn’t have done it without Mohammed.

Yesterday, while waiting in the lobby of the hotel I had been approached by a local man. He was wearing a traditional Arabic “burka”. He was about 35 years old and spoke English very well. He also had an “I.D. card” on a chain around his neck. That made him seem even more legit to me.

  

I would soon learn the man’s name was Mohammed (aren’t they all). He seemed like a nice guy (don’t they all) and wanted to take Carol and me on a tour of Marrakesh. When we met we didn’t have time for a tour, but I told him then that today would be perfect. We met this morning at 8:30 a.m. 

 

What’s a ‘medina’?

When Mohammed and I talked yesterday, he told me we would take us on a tour of the “medina”. At the time I didn’t know what the “medina” even was but it sounded like a fun place to visit. Subsequent research told me what a medina was. Here’s the explanation:

 

“A medina quarter (Arabic: المدينة القديمة‎) is a distinct city section found in many North African cities. The medina is typically walled, contains many narrow and maze-like streets, and was built by Arabs as far back as the 9th century CE. The word “medina” (or Médina) (Arabic: مدينة‎, madīna) itself simply means “city” or “town” in modern day Arabic.

 

Medinas often contain historical fountains, palaces, and mosques. The monuments are preserved for their cultural significance (and are also a draw for tourists).

 

Because of the very narrow streets, medinas are free from car traffic, and in some cases even motorcycle and bicycle traffic. The streets can be less than a metre wide. This makes them unique among highly populated urban centres. Some medinas were also used to confuse and slow down invaders because of how narrow and winding they are.”

  

I figured we were winning on all accounts with a tour like this. Mohammed spoke English well. That’s not always a given on tours like this. He told us his tour would take three hours. That’s just the amount of time we had before getting to the racetrack at lunchtime.

  

We would have an English-speaking guide chauffeuring us all over town with a special emphasis on the medina quarter. Of course, everything in life is not as you would imagine it. Mohammed showed up at 8:30 a.m. just as promised. However, when I asked him where his car was he pointed to the taxi stand. No, Mohammed would not be driving us around. He hailed a taxi and soon Carol, Mohammed and I were heading to the medina in old town Marrakesh. Of course, this met my objective of “trying to do something just a little bit dangerous each day”. However, with Mohammed on our side, the danger factor was decreased a great deal. 

 

We never would have seen as much as we did without Mohammed. He talked fast. I probably caught about half of what he was saying. However, this wasn’t so much about what he was saying as it was about what we were seeing. The medina was a fantastic maze of winding narrow streets just as it was described on Wikipedia! I won’t say much more. Please check the photos. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Tell me more about Islam.

Mohammed gave us a brief background of the Islam faith. He explained that Muslims pray five times a day. We had already heard the “prayer chants” carried over a P.A. system in the city at our hotel early in the morning and at sunset. We even stopped in a “bathing area” and Mohammed explained in great detail how Muslims bathe themselves to prepare for praying. This process isn’t nearly as intimidating or confusing after it is explained this way. The tour was a major highlight of this trip.

  

A tour or a timeshare presentation?

Our tour with Mohammed was a bit like a “timeshare presentation”. The price of our “one on one” tour for the entire morning had been more than reasonable. We were getting the services of an English speaking tour guide to take us “behind the scenes” in the Marrakesh medina for just $35 U.S. for the two of us. The guide fees quoted by the hotel for this service were 3-4 times this amount. 

 

With a timeshare “tie-in”, you can parasail, snorkel, or go to a luau for a fraction of the normal price, if you’re willing to listen to a one-hour time-share presentation. Mohammed’s tour included three mandatory stops with merchants he knew. I’m sure he received a “commission” on anything we might have purchased.

  

I felt the same way about this that I do about “timeshare presentations”. I liked it!! Yes, I love getting a great value on some tourist activity simply for listening to a one-hour timeshare pitch. We’ve done this a few times. Once on the island of St. Martin the reward was a $100 casino play card. When the sales presentation was over, I went directly to the casino and walked out of there with $250 U.S. Carol doesn’t like the presentations. However, when properly used they can be like a “part-time job”. An individual just has to be strong-willed enough to NEVER buy a timeshare from one of these pitches. If you want to get into a timeshare (I currently own three of them) then buy it on the resale market.

  

Sales pitch or cultural enrichment?

The three “sales pitches” that Mohammed hooked us up with were fantastically “culturally enriching”. I was a salesman. Salesmen love to buy things from other salesmen. I’m no different. I love to “buy stuff”.

 

A smooth operator.

Our first pitchman was located on the second floor of a carpet store. I have seen some smooth operators in my time. I have NEVER seen a smoother operator ever than this fellow. He sort of had a James Caan approach with maybe a little Marlon Brando thrown in.

  

How smooth was he? Let me put it this way. If I had his technique and lines with the ladies, I don’t think I would have ever gotten any sleep in high school (other than in class of course). He was cool. He was smooth. He had it all I’m telling you! 

 

Let’s buy some carpet.

Although he was a guy and I was a guy, when he finished talking, I was willing to buy some carpet! I was drinking his Kool-Aid. We’re talking all hand-made Moroccan wool carpets. I kept nudging Carol to see if she agreed. However, she was not buying what this guy was selling. Maybe she was so impressed (my words) with the lines I had given her over 38 years of wedded bliss that this guy’s selling pitch was not making an impression. Maybe (probably) she rightfully knew that our recently built house was jam-packed with custom designed “stuff” and we couldn’t use another thing. We didn’t even get to talk price with the fella. Once Carol gave me the high sign it was my job to create a graceful exit. I explained that his goods were beautiful we just didn’t “need” anything. Don’t miss the pictures. 

 

5,000 camels for Carol?

Our next selling stop was at an “antiques” dealer. There was no marking anywhere on the building signifying this was a store. Mohammed simply knocked on the door in the middle of the “medina” and we waited. After a short time the door was opened and we were escorted in.

  

When I was a kid I used to watch a TV show originating somewhere in India/Africa that had a corner on all of the jewels in the world including ceramics and art pieces. That’s what this guy was selling. I don’t know where he got it all. Maybe it “fell off the back of a truck” if you know what I mean.

  

Again, I was ready to “buy some stuff”. There were vases, sculptures, and paintings. There was everything. This was like being in an ancient art museum. This guy was smooth as well. He kept saying that even if we didn’t buy “we would still be friends”.

  

At one point, he acknowledged a worldwide known phenomenon. This was that women made the decisions on “what” to buy and men figured out how to pay for it. Here we were on the other side of the world and that “man/woman” thing worked the same way here.

 

These Moroccan men are cool. They know how to “suck up” to the ladies. Our art salesman put his arm around Carol and said to me with a smile. “I’ll give you 5,000 camels for her!” Wow. Now we’re getting someplace. Unfortunately, I did not know what the current market value of a single camel was. However, getting 5,000 camels sounded like a pretty good deal to me. I was already planning on how this might work. I could send all of Carol’s clothes over to Morocco. J.J. gets a nice discount with FedEx. It wouldn’t cost that much and she’d get her stuff quickly. Nevertheless, there was a problem. What would I DO with 5,000 camels? Maybe this wasn’t such a good deal after all.

  

Let’s make a deal.

I wanted to buy something. The salesman wanted me to buy something. You would think the two of us could “make a deal”. However, when Carol doesn’t want the transaction to occur…..it doesn’t. I was left to offer the generic explanation that we didn’t “need” anything. The seller wasn’t going to give up easily. I liked one piece in particular. I figured if we could get it for $100 U.S. it would look great in our house, or the garage, or somewhere.

  

It took some doing to get the salesmen to give us a price. He wanted to serve us some hot tea. We didn’t have time for the tea. What was the price? He did some quick calculations on a calculator about the size of my laptop. Then he looked to the sky and somehow figured out that we “qualified for a 20% discount”. With that he told me the piece could be bought for $1,200.00 U.S. Of course that was before it would be put in a large wooden crate and shipped with insurance to the United States. I was with Carol at this point. We didn’t need a thing. 

 

Finally, the snake oil salesman.

Our final stop on Mohammed’s time-share presentation, no I mean historical tour of Marrakesh, was at a pharmacy. Here we were escorted to a private room with the pharmacist and his assistant. Do not mistake “pharmacy” with Walgreens. This place sold every potent and lotion known to cure any ailment you or your skin or your digestive system ever has had or could have. Again, I wanted to buy stuff. Carol was a little more forgiving here. The packages were small (easy to carry home) and much more reasonably priced.

  

We ended up making our first purchase of the day. What did we buy? I picked out two cellophane packages of chili powder. We got an extra bag of “steak powder” as part of the pharmacist’s promotion. The total bill? $4.50 U.S. Ya, we can be big spenders.

 

The price of our cultural experience was priceless.

No, we had not purchased any handmade Moroccan wool carpet. We had not purchased any centuries-old Moroccan art pieces. However, we were going to have some spicy chili one of these days. However, our tour of the “medina” was absolutely priceless. That’s what I’m talking about when I rave about the benefits of seeing, touching and getting right up close to “foreign cultures and foreign people”.

  

Our morning tour with Mohammed was simply fantastic. I implore you not to miss the pictures. They’re the best of the trip by far.

  

From the medina, we grabbed a taxi to take us to the racetrack. Trackchasing country #40 couldn’t be far off now. More on that and the final part of this trip in “Morocco – Part 3” coming to an email inbox near you soon.

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Moroccan saying: Wise men talk about ideas, intellectuals about facts, and the ordinary man talks about what he eats.

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Atlanta, GA (ATL) – 2,113 miles

Atlanta, GA (ATL) – Madrid, Spain (MAD) – 4,337 miles

Madrid, Spain (MAD) – Marrakesh, Morocco (RAK) – 660 miles

 

SUBWAY

Madrid subway – 33 miles

 

Hotel hired car/taxis 

All over Marrakesh – 12 miles

 

To be continued………………….

 

Official end of Randy Lewis Racing (RLR) Trackchaser Report

 

“MARRAKESH, MOROCCO, A NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRY” TRACKCHASING TOUR (part 3 of 3)

 

DON’T MISS THE PICTURES!  

There will be three sets of photos from this trip.  Don’t miss them.  Simply click on the “Photos” tab above to see what we saw.

  

MOROCCO – PART 3

  

GREETINGS FROM MARRAKESH, MOROCCO

 

THE COUNTRY LIST

 

#40!!

 

RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries

# 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway (Mt. Hawley, oval) – Track #1, Peoria, Illinois – circa 1954 (age 5)

 

# 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario, Canada – July 31, 1988 (Dick Trickle winner)

 

# 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales, Australia – November 17, 1989 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton – June 26, 1999 (accompanied by Carol, Kristy, Jim)

 

# 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum – May 5, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde – 2^nd new country in one day!)

 

# 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg – May 13, 2005 (accompanied by Carol, Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs – December 26, 2006 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco – October 14, 2007 (accompanied by Carol, J.J., Roger Ward)

 

# 11 – BARBADOS – Bushy Park Racing Circuit (road course) – Track #1,296, Bushy Park – December 9, 2007

 

# 12 – THAILAND – Bira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,300, Pattaya – January 19, 2008

 

# 13 – SOUTH AFRICA – Durban Grand Prix (road course) – Track #1,315, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – February 24, 2008 (accompanied by J.J. and Will Van Horne)

 

# 14 – JAMAICA – Dover Raceway (road course) – Track #1,322, Brown’s Town St. Ann – March 24, 2008

 

# 15 – SWEDEN – Sturup Raceway (road course) – Track #1,335, Malmo – May 10, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 16 – DENMARK – Ring Djursland (road course) – Track #1,336, Tirstrup – May 11, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 17 – CZECH REPUBLIC – Automotodrome BRNO (road course) – Track #1,381, Brno – September 13, 2008

 

# 18 – AUSTRIA – Lambrechten Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,382, Lambrechten – September 14, 2008

 

# 19 – IRELAND – Tipperary International Raceway (oval) – Track #1,388, Rosegreen – October 26, 2008 (Carol and I visited this track earlier in the year)

 

# 20 – GUYANA – South Dakota Circuit (road course) – Track #1,390, Timehri – November 2, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 21 – CHINA – The Guia Circuit (road course) – Track #1,392, Macau – November 16, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 22 – COSTA RICA – Autodromo La Guacima (road course) – Track #1,398, La Guacima – November 30, 2008

 

# 23 – ANDORRA – Grandvalira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,404, Port d’Envalira, Andorra – January 17, 2009

 

# 24 – ARGENTINA – Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval) – Track #1,406, Buenos Aires, Argentina – January 31, 2009 (shared with Jerry Fisher)

 

# 25 – QATAR – Losail International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,408, Doha, Qatar – February 13, 2009

 

# 26 – BAHRAIN – Bahrain International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,410, Sakhir, Bahrain – February 27, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 27 – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dubai Autodrome (road course) – Track #1,411, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – February 28, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 28 – COLOMBIA – Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course) – Track #1,415, Tocancipa, Colombia – March 22, 2009

 

# 29 – SPAIN – Motorland Aragon (road course) – Track #1,416, Alcaniz, Spain – March 28, 2009

 

# 30 – PORTUGAL – Circuto de Murca (road course) – Track #1,417, Murca, Portugal – March 29, 2009

 

# 31 – ICELAND – Kapelluhraum (road course) – Track #1,420, Hafnafjorour, Iceland – April 25, 2009 (shared with Will White)

 

# 32 – HUNGARY – Hungaroring (road course) – Track #1,426, Mogyorod, Hungary – May 8, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 33 – SWITZERLAND – Hock Ybrig (road course) – Track #1,427, Hoch Ybrig, Switzerland – May 9, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 34 – ITALY – Vighizzolo d’Este Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,428, Vighizzolo d’Este, Italy – May 10, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 35 – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Autodromo Mobil 1 (road course) – Track #1,515, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – December 6, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 36 – MALTA – Ta’Qali Race Track (road course) – Track #1,521, Ta’Qali, Malta – February 7, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 37 – FINLAND – Lake Pidisjarvi Ice Track (road course) – Track #1,524, Nivala, Finland – February 20, 2010

 

# 38 – JAPAN – Suzuka Circuit (road course) – Track #1,530, Suzuka, Japan – March 21, 2010

 

# 39 – CHILE – Autodromo de Interlomas (road course) – Track #1,531, Temuco, Chile – April 18, 2010

 

# 40 – MOROCCO – Circuit de Marrakesh (road course) – Track #1,535, Marrakesh, Morocco – May 1, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

  

The ‘International Big 5’ standings.

I’ve been hitting the international trail pretty hard over the past three years. During the last 31 months, I have added 31 trackchasing countries to my list. Can you imagine traveling to a different international country every month for the better part of three years? I find it to be the most fun.

  

I’m now up to 40 countries where I’ve trackchased. The leading trackchasers in the hobby have only trackchased in 60 different countries. I will continue to search out new international locations, but don’t be surprised if my international travels slow down just a little bit. In the meantime, here are the most current international trackchasing standings. 

1. Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 44
2. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California USA – 40
3. Will White, Quakertown, Pennsylvania USA – 23
4. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California USA – 21
5. Chris Economaki, Charlotte, North Carolina USA – 19

 

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Today a Moroccan boy actually chewed my pit wristband off my wrist. Oh, my!…………..details in “Day 5 – Sunday”.

 

A “best ever” Trackchasing Tourist Attraction………………..more in “The Trip – Day 4 – Saturday”.

 

For years, I was a “stay at home” trackchaser……………….more in “The Trip – Day 5 – Sunday”.

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP, THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

The Objective

 

These long trips are not about racing.

The overriding objective of any international trackchasing trip is to add a new track to my resume. Please don’t be confused on this particular point. However, most of the fun from one of these trips comes from meeting the people and experiencing the cultural differences of the country I’m visiting. As you look at the list of tracks I’ve seen in the forty countries I’ve visited many (30) have a common thread. Yes, thirty of the forty countries where I’ve trackchased have raced on a road course. This usually means the racing from a spectator point of view is going to be sub-par. Often it is well below sub-par!

  

This doesn’t bother me in the least for two reasons. First, I usually expect road racing to be significantly less enjoyable than oval racing. Secondly, the vast majority of time I spend in a foreign country during one of these trips is NOT at the racetrack. The most fun usually comes from everything I’ve seen and done away from the track. I have trackchasing to thank for encouraging me to visit all of these countries I’ve seen all over the world. I’m lucky to have such a hobby.

 

The Trip

 

Day 5 – Saturday.

Marrakesh taxis are educational.

We spent the morning touring, with Mohammed our local guide, the Marrakesh “medina”. When our tour was finished we grabbed a taxi in the “square” and headed toward the track at just before noon. This was our first experience at hiring our own taxi driver. It was educational to say the least. 

 

I asked the first driver I saw how much he would charge to take us to the Circuit de Marrakesh. I wasn’t sure how far the track was from where we currently were. The driver wanted 300 Dirham. That’s about $35 U.S. His request seemed high. I countered with “100 Dirham”. I didn’t know if that was a good rate but it seemed like a good “counteroffer” to the driver’s 300 Dirham opening bid. He immediately reduced his price to “200”. I insisted on “100”. The driver lowered his price to 150 Dirhams. I figured since he was willing to lower his price so much he would likely meet my price of 100 Dirham. He inched his cab along beside us as Carol and I continued to walk. The driver never did accept my price of 100 Dirham. Lucky for me! It didn’t take long for us to come upon another driver. I asked him how much he wanted to take us to the racetrack. “Fifty Dirhams” was his friendly response. Sold! It pays to “keep looking”.

  

We still needed race tickets.

I was confident we could buy tickets to today’s race at the track. We did show up once at a major NASCAR sanctioned race in Guadalajara, Mexico on race day only to find they weren’t selling tickets at all! We had to go “underground” to make that dog hunt.

 

 

The concierge at our hotel, the Le Meridian, had called to confirm the track would let us buy tickets with a credit card. This would help us save our Moroccan currency for other things. The World Touring Car Championship had offered tickets on their website for about $60 U.S.

  

Not much English spoken here.

I will say this. Folks in many of the foreign countries I visit don’t speak that much English. I wouldn’t starve to death based upon the lack of understanding but the “language barrier” is a significant obstacle. I often feel when I explained something to a person not that fluent in English that they don’t really understand me, even though they act as if they do. Then that person tries to give me advice that doesn’t cover the point I’m after or if just way off base. In almost every case, the person who doesn’t speak my language is trying to help. Unfortunately, they’re not helping much at all. In the business world, we referred to that as being “unconsciously incompetent”.

 

At the track, Carol and I walked up to the ticket booth. The ticket sellers didn’t speak much English. However, they were able to communicate to us that they didn’t accept credit cards for ticket purchases. Ouch! This would be the first of many “miscommunications” for the day. Most of them were not in our favor.

  

Next up was trying to decide what type of race ticket to buy. They offered a “general admission” ticket for 30 Dirham (about $4 U.S.). There was also a “Gradins” ticket, which we interpreted to mean a “grandstand” ticket. That seat was only 50 Dirham but they were sold out of that type of ticket.

 

Who wouldn’t want an “All-Access’ pass?

As we went up the “price scale” the next level was a “paddock” ticket for 150 Dirham. Having paddock access is always a good thing and at only about $19 U.S. didn’t seem too bad. However, the “all-access” pass came in at 170 Dirham or about $21 U.S. Who wouldn’t want an “all-access” pass. The ticket sellers told us we could go “anywhere” with it. Sold!! We would soon learn that “anywhere” means something different to a Moroccan ticket seller than it does to me.

 

I’m glad I didn’t buy a ticket on the World Touring Car Championship website for sixty dollars when I could get an “all-access” pass for $21. However, as we would come to find out “all-access” really wasn’t “all-access”. It was another example of trying to communicate with someone when each of us didn’t understand the other’s language. It’s frustrating but there isn’t much I can do about it. 

 

Walk, walk, walk and then walk some more.

It was noon and the first countable race wasn’t scheduled to go off until 1:15 p.m. We took this time to tour the paddock area. This was fun. However, we had been on a walking tour of Marrakesh’s “old town” all morning. Moving about the Circuit de Marrakesh property added the “walking miles” as well. Nevertheless, we got up close views on the Formula 2 WTCC cars as well as the legends class and the KIA Cup cars.

  

I love souvenir ‘event’ shirts.

I really wanted to buy a souvenir shirt. However, I have discovered during my international travels that most of the world’s population isn’t very big or tall. Americans are taller than the “average worldwide Joe” is. At 6’3” I’m taller than the average “American Joe”. Today’s shirts maxed out at “XL”. They were small “XL”s to boot. Although the prices of nice-looking shirts ranged from $5-10 U.S., nothing would really fit me. There was only one type of souvenir concession so the choices were limited.

  

I find the souvenir offerings very limited or in some cases non-existent in foreign countries. On the other hand, when attending a national event in the states, the shopping selection is tremendous. It’s the same way when visiting stores in and out of the U.S. I guess American’s standard of living permits the greater selection. 

 

There wasn’t much to eat either.

We had struck out on souvenirs. Next up was lunch. A few weeks ago, I was in Japan trackchasing. They offered more choices than any international track I’ve ever seen when it came time to eat. This was not the case in Marrakesh. Their food selection was extremely limited. They had just a couple of food concessions on the entire property.

  

The choices were limited to non-alcoholic drinks and candy. They also sold hot dogs and a sausage type sandwich on a hot dog roll. The track’s hot dog bun was something I’d never seen before. I’m always on the lookout for a new experience. When that happens I love it.

 

Who thinks of these ideas?

Today the woman at the concession stand had a most unusual way to make a hot dog. First, she took about a 12-inch cylindrical bread roll and cut an inch or so off one end of the roll. Then she jammed the open end of the roll over a huge 10” long spike. This created space for her to insert a hot dog! Then she slathered mustard or catsup between the dog and the roll. I’ve never seen such a thing! However, you can see it by viewing the pictures of today’s event at www.randylewis.org.

 

It was just about race time….or was it?

It was now just about race time. We had arrived at noon. The first countable race was scheduled for 1:15 p.m. After that race, there would be practice for several divisions before the last two races of the day starting around 4 p.m. We were seeing racing on Saturday. This group would also be racing on Sunday. We figured a “bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. We would go with Saturday racing.

  

All access wasn’t much better than no access.

We soon discovered our “all-access” pass didn’t really mean “all-access”. Why did this not surprise me! We expected that our ticket wouldn’t allow us into the V.I.P. tents. However, our ticket would not allow us to sit in the track’s grandstands either. Where would an “all-access” pass allow us to watch the races?

  

The answer was “not many places”. The best viewing spot we could find was a small grandstand just three rows high.   This wasn’t a “bleacher” setup. Spectators had two choices. They could stand or they could sit on a wooden floor. After some time neither of those options was very comfortable. However, the seating conditions soon became the least of our worries. 

 

We climbed into “our grandstand” at 1 p.m. and waited for the 1:15 p.m. race to begin. It never did! That’s right. As far as I can tell the scheduled “KIA Cup” race never happened. The track communication, for us, was missing in action.

  

Je ne parle pas Francais.

Morocco’s official language is Arabic. However, French is spoken here often. The track announcer spoke exclusively in French. That didn’t do us much good. It’s surprising how much you can miss when an announcer talks a mile a minute for several hours and you can’t understand a word of it. 

 

We stood and then sat, then we sat, and then we stood in that decrepit little grandstand from 1 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. There was no countable racing. They brought cars out to practice but that doesn’t count in trackchasing. I’ll be honest with you. I feared we might not see any countable racing today and would have to return tomorrow (Sunday) to see a race. When that possibility “reared its ugly head” on “Trackchasing’s First Mother’s” radar screen sparks started to fly. 

 

Were they going to race or not?

It was quite a trek from our grandstand standing area back to the paddock. We were in search of more information. While we were in the paddock area, I had taken a photo of the printed race activity schedule for the weekend. We were going to have to make that long walk back to the paddock area to see “what was up”.

  

The first person who seemed to know what they might be talking about gave us the impression there would be no “racing” today. They seemed to think all the cars would be doing was “qualifying”. I really didn’t think that was true. I think that person was thinking about the Formula 2 World Touring Cars. I had to find another source. I’m pretty good at searching out a second opinion when I’m confident the first person doesn’t know what they’re talking about. 

 

The legend cars were on the printed schedule to run the “Africa Cup” at 4:25 p.m. They were all lined up in the paddock area. I nosed around until I saw someone who might be able to answer my question in English. The young man answered my question but I had to ask it several different ways. They would soon be “racing”. There was no doubt about it. This is what I had suspected but when we hadn’t seen anything happening on the track for more than four hours, I had begun to wonder. 

 

Road racing for the spectator absolutely sucks!

Let me tell you about road racing. In person, as a spectator, it almost always sucks. This is especially true with street courses. Today’s spectating REALLY sucked. From a viewing standpoint, our seats weren’t that much worse than any other seats I saw even in the main grandstands. How bad were our seats? Let’s look at the “numbers”.

 

What do the numbers tell us?

I timed the fastest legends car in this race today. He covered a lap around the 2.87-mile course in 2 minutes and 17 seconds. From the time the cars came into our view until they left our view we saw the cars for, are you ready for this, five seconds. That’s right, five seconds out of a 137-second racing lap. Oh, my!

  

Can you imagine going to a sporting event anywhere on earth and seeing the action for five seconds and then letting the contest continue for another 132 seconds where you DON’T see the action. Are you kidding me? I’m serious. Are you kidding me!!!

  

This was a long walk for a short slide.

We had traveled on three different airplanes for a total of 15 hours. We would end up traveling nearly 15,000 miles to get to Morocco in Northern Africa and back for how much racing. How does about 50 seconds sound? That’s right. I’m not sure how many laps the legends ran. Remember, we couldn’t understand a thing the announcer was saying. I’m guessing they raced about ten laps. Now, isn’t it obvious why I say that the “non-racing” aspects of an international trip trump the racing by a factor of many.

 

Trackchasing’s First Mother rocks!

At this point, I have to give a big “shout out” to “Trackchasing’s First Mother”. Today was not the most scintillating day of trackchasing we’ve ever had. For me, being on a “never-ending trudge” up the international trackchasing ladder, it was pretty much business as usual. I will do “whatever it takes”.

  

However, Carol is not trackchasing for “points”. We had already had a full morning of touring before we ever reached the track. Once at the track, we had spent more than four hours with not much happening and not much to do. It was warm, but not hot. There was no good food or entertainment. We listened to an announcer chatter on endlessly for more than four hours in a language we couldn’t understand. Touring the paddock area was better than nothing but there really wasn’t that much to see. We couldn’t even sit in a seat to watch the races. The best viewing point allowed us to see the cars come by (in a straight line) for five measly seconds. Almost every one of my international trackchasing visits at the track has been memorable in one way or the other. However, our visit to the Circuit de Marrakesh for the “Race of Morocco” must rank at or near the bottom. Despite all this, rarely if ever, was a peep of discontent uttered from my lovely young spouse. Yes, I have to give her a major “shout out”.

  

I didn’t want to come back tomorrow.

It had become painfully obvious that we might have to return tomorrow if we had not seen any “countable” racing today. Luckily the legends and the FRMSA Mit Jet group that raced in front of them actually “raced”. I never would have imagined coming to Africa to see legends race. They aren’t even one of my favorite racing groups back in the states.

  

More walking…..much more walking.

Soon, not soon enough, it was time to head back to the hotel. As luck would have it, our hotel, the Le Meridian is on the same major avenue as the track. This road is called Avenue Mohammed VI. The track is north of town. We figured we would begin walking and it wouldn’t be long before we could grab a taxi.

  

It’s commerce, baby.

When we were just out of the track, we were approached by a group of 10-12-year-old boys. They wanted our paddock wristbands that were still attached to our wrist. I suspect there was a “resale” market for them. I allowed one youngster to “chew” my wristband off as that was the only workable method of removal. Carol kept her band as a souvenir. The boys seemed happy and then we were off.

  

We had probably walked 2-3 miles this morning on our tour with Mohammed. At the track we had walked even more than that. Sadly, I report that the walk home might have been our longest of the day. I had expected that getting a taxi would be easy. It was not. Luckily, Carol and I may be in the best walking shape of any trackchasers in the hobby.

  

At one point, we walked the entire length of the track backstraight, which parallels “Avenue Mohammed VI”. Just getting beyond the track property must have been nearly a two-mile walk in itself. From there we continued to look for a taxi. Nothing. Carol and I decided to split up. She would walk on the side of the road facing traffic and I would walk on the side of the road going with traffic. This seemed like a good strategy but it didn’t work either.

  

Finally, when we were within about two miles of the hotel (we didn’t know that at the time), we found a cab. The fare back to the hotel was only 20 Dirham ($2.50 U.S.) so that will tell you how close to the hotel we were. I suspect we had walked nearly five miles back from the track before we found our taxi driver. It had been a long day! Nevertheless, trackchasing country #40 was in the record books for me and #21 was recorded for Carol. No, this trackchasing business is never easy.

 

We needed beer, cold beer.

We began the early evening with a couple of large Moroccan beers poolside at the Le Meridian. We’ve found the food and drinks at our hotel are some 3-4 times more expensive than the café and restaurants within a few blocks of the hotel. At this point, I didn’t really care how much I had to spend on a beer.

 

Meeting the chambermaid in my underwear.

After being out in the desert sun and dust, a shower felt good back in the hotel room. Our chambermaid came to our room early each evening to turn down the bed. She would always knock, then we would say “we don’t need any service” and she would come in and do her thing anyway. Talk about not having the “languages match up”. We’ve gotten used to it. Tonight I had just completed my shower and was relaxing in my “skivvies” and the maid came in…..and did her thing. Whatever works!

  

One of our best dinner services ever.

Dinner would be across the street at the Royal Mirage Marrakesh. We went there because the “Delhi Palace” Indian is located inside the high stone walls of the Royal Mirage Hotel. This was an excellent choice.

 

The restaurant was large and ornately decorated inside. During our entire meal we were entertained with “Bollywood” music (think the end of ‘Slum dog Millionaire’). The food was very good but it was the service that was most remarkable. Our waiter served bottled water more stylishly than any wine steward we’ve had in the fanciest of restaurants. After drinks, we started with an appetizer of “samosa”. I had the “chicken ticca” and then we finished off with a most unique (to us anyway) dessert. It looked like tapioca pudding but featured coconut, fruit and an ice cream of sorts. It was excellent. Our entire Indian meal with service that was over the top was no more expensive than a very plain and bland lunch yesterday at the Le Meridian.

  

After dining, we sat by the Royal Mirage’s large swimming pool and gazed at the stars. The pool must have been the size of a basketball court. The temperature was pleasant and the company as well. It was like spending a warm evening in Hawaii. This is what I enjoy about international trackchasing.

 

Day 6 – Sunday.

60 minutes needed to be added to the Kingdom’s legal hour.

As luck would have it, today was when Morocco moves their clocks ahead one hour. This meant we would lose an hour of sleep. Does it seem to you that “losing an hour” of sleep with semi-annual time changes happens about four times as often as when we “gain an hour”? It sure does to me.

  

However, today was a “catch up” day. Yesterday, with more than ten miles of walking before, during and after the race in the hot sun, we were “whipped”. It didn’t matter to us if we lost an hour with a seasonal time change. We were sleeping in! 

 

Today we would have breakfast on the “strip” or Avenue Mohammed VI. There is a string of outdoor cafes here. You won’t believe the portions they serve, all at more than reasonable prices.

  

We’re in Morocco; let’s go to Wal-Mart.

The afternoon’s activity had us taking a taxi over to the local Carrefour store. This type of outlet is similar to Wal-Mart. However, today’s Carrefour was somewhat unusual. It was the anchor store in a large newly built shopping mall. This would give us the chance to see many brand name stores that were totally unfamiliar to us. 

 

I very much enjoy “going into stores” since I did a good deal of that when I “worked for the man”. I loved to see how things are merchandised in foreign countries. I even run the risk of arrest to get pictures in these places for your enjoyment. I was pleased to see a “floorstand display” of Procter & Gamble products. There was a special offer for consumers who bought a combination of P&G products. Since I will still own P&G stock through at least 2016, it was great to see our merchandising efforts working so well in Northern Africa. There was also a great section of Tide/Ariel detergents that were drawing a crowd of African shoppers. Go P&G!

  

This shopping mall sits right next to the Circuit de Marrakesh where we saw yesterday’s race. There were a series of security guards who prevented shoppers from trying to grab a spot to view the racing action. However, the shoppers would have the same problem that Carol and I had. Regardless of what vantage point, you have there is NO GOOD PLACE to watch the racing at this track. Sorry, there just isn’t.

 

Be a good tipper and it will come back to you in spades.

After our shopping trip, Carol retired to the pool and I found an internet connection for my laptop and iPhone. We were both happy. I also ran into Mohammed our tour guide from yesterday. This was the first time I had seen him in civilian clothes and not his Muslim “Burka”. He took some time to explain to me the “ins and outs” of Marrakesh taxis. I will give you this piece of travel advice. It always pays to tip people well. When you do, you’ll be amazed at how much it can come back to help you.

  

The hotel concierges were very helpful during our entire trip. They provided touring and restaurant recommendations as well as answered our millions of questions. We soon became known simply as “Mr. and Mrs. Lewis” and no further introductions were required.

  

Tripadvior.com is an excellent international travel resource.

I pride myself in listening to others. A long time ago, I learned that “many heads are better than one”. You still have to “filter” what you hear, but you’ll be ahead getting multiple points of view. This strategy also saves me lots of work! My Moroccan research at TripAdvisor.com told me that “rooftop dining” was something fun to do in Marrakesh. A quick stop at the concierges’ desk hooked us up with a reservation to dine “on the rooftop”.

 

When dinnertime came, it was taxi time to the “old” section of Marrakesh called “Medina”. We were headed for the “Kozy Bar”. Traffic both vehicular and pedestrian really picks up in the evening here. It was amazing to see the maze of cars, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, horse-drawn carts and carriages and people walking in the streets. It probably was a good idea I didn’t rent a car here.

 

Rooftop dining in Africa; it don’t get no better.

We made our way to the roof of the Kozy Bar. We were about four stories above the “fray”. Although the service was slow at first, when it finally got going we had a wonderful evening. We enjoyed a bottle of Moroccan wine along with beef fillets and a delicious serving of crème brulet. All the while, we peaked over the edge of our rooftop location at the merchants doing what they’ve done for hundreds of years here in northern Africa.

  

While we were dining we noted something most unusual. There were a large number of storks in the area. Upon closer examination, we noticed a series of bird’s nests some 2-4’ in diameter. At each of these nearly ten nests, a “mother stork” stood guard. We were probably at dinner for the better part of two hours. Never once did any of these “guards” move more than an inch or two from their protective position.

  

We had passed through sunset during our dinner. Most all of the residents of Marrakesh are Muslim. Mohammed had explained to us that a practicing Muslim prays to Allah five times each day. One of those times is at sunset. We could hear the prayers being broadcast over local P.A. systems throughout the area at sunset. It comes across as a “chant”.

 

Following dinner it was now dark. Although it was Sunday night in Marrakesh the area was still a beehive of activity. This was the only place where we noticed merchants were more “aggressive”. For the most part when you told them “no” they back off but not always.

 

Just a bit more taxi negotiating and the evening would be complete.

It was now time to get a taxi back to the hotel. “Sied” (misspelled in my last report) my friendly well-tipped bellman had already told me that I should pay no more than 30 Dhs from the restaurant to the hotel. The first taxi driver I stopped refused to use the taximeter. Mohammed had told me this was the law and a driver would be fined for not using the meter. I asked the fare and the driver replied “40 Dhs”. I offered thirty and he refused. I walked away. The driver then reconsidered and accepted my proposal of 30 Dhs. Yes, it’s all a game. It’s a game I enjoy.

  

It was back to the hotel on our last night in Marrakesh. We didn’t have much packing to do. How long can it take to put your stuff in one rolling airline carry-on bag? Not long!

 

Day 7 – Monday.

 

It was time to change continents.

It’s Monday morning, time to begin heading home. We’ve spent five days in Morocco. Breakfast started out at a Caruso café down the street from our hotel. We learned early on that prices are much cheaper when we eat away from the hotel.

  

As an example, this morning’s breakfast came to a grand total of $9.50 U.S. We were served eight different bread rolls and Danish. Along with that came two coffees, two large fresh-squeezed orange juices as well as two orders of fried eggs. I can’t recall eating anywhere this cheaply.

  

We’ve never seen so many smokers.

We dined outside for about half of our meals on this trip. The weather was in the 80s during the day and the lower 70s in the evenings. We were surprised at how many people smoke in Morocco. It seemed that nearly every table in the outdoor cafes we visited had smokers. The younger women seemed to be the biggest puffers. We both agreed that we had never seen so much smoking anywhere on our travels.

  

As mentioned previously, “working” with taxi drivers to get the correct rate was a constant challenge. By law, Moroccan taxi drivers are supposed to use the meter. During the day the meter should start at 160 Dhs and after 8 p.m. the starting rate will be 240 Dhs. This was all explained to us by our tour guide, Mohammed.

  

However, we found that some taxi drivers would rather forego our fare entirely rather than turn on the meter. Whenever I don’t know the answer to why people do what they do in business, the answer is usually “money”. I suspect that not turning on the meter means more money in the pocket of the driver. Once I figured out the drill, I insisted on the driver using the meter. A couple of times this demand meant we wouldn’t be riding in a taxi with a non-compliant driver.

 

This was a different taxi twist!

When it came time to leave the hotel, I asked the hotel bellman what the taxi fare to the airport should be. Recall, we had the hotel driver meet us at the airport upon our arrival for a fee of 100 Dhs per person. Today, we were told the fee to the airport would be 50 Dhs. I wanted to use the meter. The bellman said I should go with the fixed 50 Dhs charge. The taxi driver initially didn’t want to turn on the meter. Finally, after we drove away from the hotel, he said he would not charge us the agreed upon price of 50Dhs but the meter rate. At that point, I assumed the metered rate would exceed the 50 Dhs “negotiated” price. Our driver was friendly and said in broken English, “You pay me the meter price or whatever you want to pay me”. With that, I was somewhat confused.

 

Our hotel could not have been any more than 2-3 miles from the airport. When we arrived at the airport, the taximeter read……..just 13 Dhs. That’s about $1.50 U.S.!! True to his word the driver was willing to accept the metered rate or “whatever I wanted to pay him”. He had given up the opportunity for a guaranteed 50 Dhs to get a metered rate of 13 Dhs. I was confused. I gave him 30 Dhs and we were both happy. This was the only occasion on the trip where a driver didn’t start out at a high price and then work his way down. I was shocked!

 

We weren’t going back to California just yet.

Because of the limited flight schedules we would need to fly to Madrid, Spain today and then on to California (via New York) tomorrow. Today’s Marrakesh-Madrid carrier was again easyJet. They’re a bit like Southwest Airlines. They offer first come first serve seating. They board the plane from both the front and the back. The seats don’t recline (they get more seats on the plane that way!) and even soft drinks come with a charge. Nevertheless, the fare was very low for the round-trip flight to Madrid (one hour 45 minutes each way). Most of the passengers on the plane were less than 30 years old. We find very few people our age traveling where we go.

  

Moroccan airport security seems lacking.

I wasn’t all that impressed with the security at either the Marrakesh airport or on the easyJet flight. In the airport we “cleared” security without having to take our shoes off, remove my computer from my carry-on bag or remove our “liquids”. These things either need to be done to ensure airline security or they don’t. Which is it? While we were flying the flight attendant went into the cockpit while a passenger talked with another flight attendant less than five feet from the open cockpit. You won’t see that on any U.S. airlines. I think the United States takes airport security much more seriously than many foreign countries we visit.

 

Our final night had us staying in Madrid.

We would be staying overnight in Madrid. We didn’t land today until 4 p.m. Our flight tomorrow left Madrid for New York at 10 a.m. We only needed an “overnight” hotel. I used www.sidestep.com to give me hotel pricing in Madrid. We wanted a hotel near the airport with shuttle service. 

 

Sidestep is an excellent starting point for travel purchases like this. This site brings together several other travel websites so the traveler can compare prices. Comparison-shopping is not just pitting one hotel against the next, but one travel site vs. the other. Sidestep does the same thing for airfare and rental cars. I’ve been using them for a long time.

 

What do the people say?

Once I’ve narrowed my choice to a couple of hotels, I then read “user reviews”. I’ve come to find that more people who have something negative to say post comments than the other way around. I’ll be all psyched up about a hotel and then read a user comment that says there were three “cockroaches” in bed with them! That usually makes me run in the opposite direction. 

 

Today we chose the “High Tech” Hotel. It’s a five-minute free shuttle ride from the airport. The rate was only 67 Euros (about $90 U.S.) which for Europe isn’t bad. The hotel had something I’ve never seen in more than 3,000 nights “on the road”. Every room comes with a laptop!! Have you ever heard of such a thing? The hotel laptop (a Dell) is hooked up via cable to free internet. I simply used their connection for my computer and was all set. Catching up on email, checking future flight availability and updating my Google calendar were all made easy with this setup.

 

We thought it should be time to eat.

Carol and I wanted to have an early dinner and then relax for the evening. Europeans eat much later than Americans. I’m not sure what time you normally eat dinner. At home, Carol and I religiously dine at 5:30 p.m. To some folks that might seem early. In Spain, most of the restaurants don’t OPEN until 8:30 p.m. Are you kidding me?? We’re usually getting ready for bed by 8:30 in the evening!! I can only wonder what time these folks get up if they don’t finish eating supper until 10 or 11 at night.

  

We inquired at one good-looking restaurant about their opening time. 8:30 p.m. we were told. However, some “coaxing” on my part got us “in” at 5:30 p.m. in the “tapas” room next door. There we were able to order off the regular menu. The food was excellent; don’t miss the pictures of the vegetable salad!

 

What was the tipping policy?

When it came time to pay, I used my Visa card. Unlike in America, when the credit card slip came back to be signed there was no line for a tip. We asked our waiter about this and he said, “Oh, don’t worry about it; I know this is different than when I visited the states”. He seemed perfectly willing to forego any extra compensation for his service. Of course, we tipped him with the Euros Carol had brought just for the time we would be spending in Spain.

 

Our worst night of sleeping on the trip.

Back at the High Tech hotel, we discovered the mattress was about as hard as sleeping on the floor. We also discovered there must have been a good deal of very late diners. They seemed to dribble back down our hallway all talking very loudly until the wee hours of the morning. With this noise and the harder than granite mattress there wasn’t much good sleep to get. 

 

Day 8 – Tuesday.

 

When does something turn ‘diabolical’?

After the first bad night’s sleep of the trip, we both attempted to utilize the hotel shower design by those diabolical European bathroom architects. Carol and I are both college graduates. Nevertheless, we could not “solve” the showerhead problem in our hotel room. The entire device had more knobs, bells and whistles, etc than it should have. Sometimes it hard to even coax the water out of these less than “consumer-friendly” pieces of hokey hardware. Today we at least got one of the two showerheads to soak us down….but it was a challenge!

  

We grabbed the 7:20 p.m. hotel shuttle uneventfully and were through airport security in 32 minutes. The Madrid airport seemed much more concerned about checking travelers than the Marrakesh airport did. 

 

Anything priced in Euros is too expensive for my tastes.

We stopped for a quick breakfast of a coffee, an O.J., one Danish, a small baguette sandwich and a small baked ham and cheese sandwich. The bill was a bit more than 17 Euros ($23 U.S.). We didn’t get nearly as much food as our $9.50 breakfast yesterday in Marrakesh. Everywhere I travel that uses the Euro is dreadfully expensive compared to what we pay in the U.S. How much money do these European folks make in order to afford these prices?

 

Technology creates value.

We were fortunate to get business class seats from Madrid back to New York. When we landed in New York, technology saved the day. We changed from a Delta flight to a United flight that my iPhone told me had better seat selection. That yielded first-class seats from New York to Los Angeles. Otherwise, we would have flown cross-country in uncomfortable coach class seats. Using technology not only saves money but, as in this example, creates value. Technology gives me choices and makes my life so much easier.  

 

We returned home after being gone for eight days. Carol needed to get caught up on her chores. I needed to unpack, repack and be back on the trackchasing road in less than 72 hours. It’s what I do.

  

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Moroccan sayings: For every beauty, there is an eye somewhere to see it.

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Atlanta, GA (ATL) – 2,113 miles

Atlanta, GA (ATL) – Madrid, Spain (MAD) – 4,337 miles

Madrid, Spain (MAD) – Marrakesh, Morocco (RAK) – 660 miles

 

SUBWAY

Madrid subway – 33 miles

 

Hotel hired car/taxis

All over Marrakesh – 12 miles

 

AIRPLANE

Marrakesh, Morocco (RAK) – Madrid, Spain (MAD) – 660 miles

Madrid, Spain (MAD) – New York, NY (JFK) – 3,580 miles

New York, NY (JFK) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 2,467 miles

  

Total Air miles – 13,917 (6 flights)

Total Rental Car miles – 0 (0 rental cars)

Total taxis/subway miles – 45

 

Total auto, air miles, taxi/subway miles traveled on this trip – 13,962 miles

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Circuit de Marrakesh – 170 Dhs

  

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – 170 Dhs

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS  

There are no trackchasers currently within 200 tracks of my lifetime total.  

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,535 

2. Ed Esser, Madison, Wisconsin – 1,277

3. Guy “The Kid” Smith, Effort, Pennsylvania – 1,267

 

Official end of Randy Lewis Racing (RLR) Trackchaser Report

 

 

Click on the links below to see what a fun place Morocco can be:

Morocco – Part 1 of 3….planning the trip

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Morocco – Part 2 of 3…..touring Marrakesh and the medina

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Morocco – Part 3 of 3…….the race and more!