Oh Morocco ... you are a special place for me . I was a bit leery about going to Morocco as there was/is a travel warning on our Canadian tourism website , to this day i have no clue why ??? A fellow named Adil has been reading my blog for some time and has been asking me to visit Morocco for some time also , only problem is he lives full time in Montreal ... so when i had the window to go there i didn't really think that he might not be there . He has been bugging me for years to do this too , unfortunately to this day we have not met but i still would consider him a friend . So Adil is not going to be there , i have booked my flight and i am a bit nervous because of this kinda stupid website ... mostly it is helpful but you can't always believe what the press tells you . During my trip through Europe i was noticing that nobody was reading my blog from Morocco and that kinda sent up some red flags ... remember i don't know anyone there at all , usually i have a contact there and i would see tons of people reading from the country i am visiting . ( yeah i know when you like my posts on facebook and you are not even reading it ! , chumps )
On my way there i had been put in touch with Khalid Mrini whom is the President of the Moroccan Ice Hockey Federation ... and yes they are recognized by the IIHF . I emailed him and really had no clue what to expect . Really i have to write a whole blog just about this special man .... for now i will try to keep it short . So when i arrive in Morocco my sticks are missing , story of this trip ! Who else has lost their gear 3 times in one trip ??? this was the 2nd time .... first time was gear bag lost in Paris and this time its my stick bag lost in Munich . So when i arrive i am not in the happiest mood but meeting Khalid changed everything . This guy was the calmest guy you will ever meet , what i mean is he calmed me down really fast . 
Khalid is one of the best hosts i have ever encountered and yeah i have encountered some really really amazing people on my travels but this guys like i said was special . Remember i have had a few booze filled weeks of travelling and at this point i was a sponge , ready to be ringed out . So here is the craziest most unbelievable part of this story .... i was sober the whole time , yes i spent 5 days in Morocco and did not even have 1 beer . Did not even bring any home ! In retrospect i should have and next time i will . Khalid took me to see everything i could possibly see in Rabat/Sale and meet everyone i could possibly meet like the Chief of Police and the Mayor and all these other high ranked officials . It was very special for me to be absolutely sober meeting and seeing first hand how things are done there . 
As most of you know i am not big on trying new foods but Khalid calmly talked me into trying so many new things . I ate new fruits , had couscous with sour milk , ate tajine and i even think i tried some lamb at one point (yuck) , i was also shown traditional ways of eating without cutlery .... bread in hand and dip in ! yes this is not me really but being sober i guess brought out the best in me . And for the record this is the first country i have been too and not had a single drinky drink . Trust me i was not bored ! Along with all the traditional foods i still found the time to go search for a McShwarma or a McFalafel but that was to no avail as McDonalds has the same menu they basically have around the world .... yeah i had a Big Mac :) I ate at Pizza Hut too which was the only place on my whole journey where i found my coveted favorite drink ... Mirinda , ah Mirinda where have you been .... this orange pop produced by Pepsi was everywhere last time i was in Germany , for some reason she has been hidden from me . Thank you Pizza Hut Morocco for carrying my favorite drink :) Aside from fast foods i ate at Khalid's families houses and at a Vietnamese restaurant , had a road side tajine and also had a great chicken kebab .... but the best of all was the last meal i had at Dar Naji . I mentioned this before , if you are there check this place out . As i have said before food in Morocco is fairly cheap . The service is beautiful at every establishment , they love tourists and thrive off them .... you should all go and experience their world class services !
Ok now here is the news about the hockey .... the rink is in a mall called Mega Mall . Its not as big as you would think but it has the most important element to this whole trip ... an ice rink ! The ice rink is not very big and doesn't have all the lines painted on so they don't play with offsides . They have a real zamboni that is fully functional unlike most countries that will have a tractor or maybe 6 kids pushing shovels , this is a definite plus in maintaining their rink . The ice is great , not too many divots and the edges are nice and flat around the boards . The rink is enclosed properly and the temperature in there is spot on ... the guys that built this ice pad built it the right way and i would sure hope to see a larger rink there in the near future . I actually was supposed to skate with some diplomats there on one of the first days arriving but they never responded to my emails ... yeah i contacted the Canadian Embassy in Rabat and never to this day have gotten a reply !!!! good thing its not for something serious eh ? so i didn't go skate with them , which apparently i was supposed to as one of the kids mentioned it to me ... not sure how these guys communicate but mind reading isn't one of my forte's :) Anyways the main reason i was there was to skate with the Rabat Capitals . These kids were fantastic , all full of energy they made me feel like a kid and it felt good . I actually felt like one of them after our 2 skates together and will always feel that way with these kids . They aren't as bad as you would expect either , skating skills are there with most of them ... shooting and passing skills need a bit of work but not too much , and from what i saw they like to play a bit rough :) good ol' Canadian Hockey style . No fighting they all respect each other and all seem to be pretty close friends .The Moroccan Ice Hockey Federation is doing a very commendable job at bringing their youth into their systems and will definitely have a good squad of kids coming through their ranks in the future . I look forward to following their progress over the next few years .... and will be back to see it through !
Some crazy stuff happened while i was there . Not very highly publicized in the media but there was a small tsunami while i was there , what you see above is the latter effects it had on the land scape . The air was filled with moisture and rocks and trash from the ocean was washed on shore . Some houses were flooded and even a tunnel nearby was closed down due to flooding . As far as i know there were no casualties just some damages to some unfortunate houses ... all in all i hope everyone got through it ok ! Khalid's uncle who is in his 70's was saying he had never ever seen the water so angry in his life . Moroccans were all amazed at what they were seeing and i was amazed too :O 
It is really unfortunate that i was only there for 5 days ... i really should have been there much longer as there are so many great cities to visit like Casablanca, Fez and Marrakesh and from what i had heard Rabat was supposed to be the boring lame city out of all the big cities in Morocco ... well based on what i experienced in the "boring " city, i can't wait to see the rest because Rabat and Sale were amazing ! i loved it there and i am already planning to come back Khalid ! just as i promised :p The craziest part of the trip was that my sticks actually arrived before i left ... both of them cracked , bag torn open and destroyed ... i survived the trip using loaner sticks that were way too small for me . Hoping to have my sticks with me next time LOL .
I would highly suggest everyone goes to Morocco to visit some of the most beautiful people i have ever met ! The food , the service , the people and most of all the prices are all beautifully amazing :) I would like to thank Adil for talking me into doing this , i would like to thank Mr. Khalid for being the most amazing and wonderful host that he is . i would also like to thank the Rabat Capitals for letting me on the ice with them , there are so many people i would love to remember all your names ... it is such a special trip for me .... i can't forget my buddy Sayid , you are a true friend thanks for dragging my bag around ! you deserved the tip i gave you buddy :) ... there are only a few people that will understand this last statement .... who the heck is mike ???? LOL !
Take care Morocco i will see you again soon .... Shokran !
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