Kat’s Morocco – First in a continuing series…
I had been through a handful of brochures, dozens of internet sites and had finally made my decision. After all, when one is looking for something different and exotic, they are usually going to do a bit of legwork to make sure they will be getting the experience they dreamed of. I am of course talking about planning the BIG vacation, or as Europeans are fond of saying, “The Holiday”.
I have been to several foreign countries, some more exotic than others. Egypt was to this point, one of the most exotic and exciting of those places, especially since the visit was while on one of Zahra Zuhair’s belly dance tours. I really enjoyed Egypt, especially Aswan and the people there. I thought I’d found my home away from home, until I came back from my most recent trip. I am in love with this place and daydream of living part time in this country where I have left my heart. This country called Morocco!
People travel for many different reasons. Some want to get away from it all and find the solitude of a peaceful retreat in a forest, the ideal holiday. Others fancy cruises or resort living and can’t wait to hit the links or lounge alongside the pool by day, and play hard in the clubs and casinos at night. Still others like me are looking for that unique experience, the opportunity to escape for awhile into another culture and lifestyle. Escape to a place so full of things unlike what we know as part of our every day life, we are amazed by it. (Hollywood might actually qualify here, but I am speaking of out of country experiences!)
So, I had done it! I had decided on Morocco as my holiday destination. Morocco was under French rule until 1956, so French and Moroccan Arabic are the primary languages spoken. Some Berber is spoken as well. I do not speak any of those languages and plan to travel as a single female, so I opted for a guided tour. Besides, I know myself well enough that if I am to get an overview of the whole country in two weeks, I will need someone else pushing me to move on to the next stop. Otherwise, I’ll be hanging around so long the local Gendarme will be hauling me away as an illegal immigrant.
The guided tours are also very nice because someone else is responsible to take care of you, to make sure you have lodgings, some meals, transportation and entrance to many sites. I like someone else being responsible for me once in awhile. Should you require medical attention, the Tour Director is also responsible to help locate that as well. Dysentery is not an unusual situation in these less developed locations if you are not careful and can really put a cramp on your vacation plans, if you know what I mean!
I have found when I travel, it is critical to leave myself enough time to manage through any unanticipated roadblock that might come my way. Something like say, last minute Orange Alerts at the airport, cancelled flights, people that don’t understand what “Empty your pockets,” means at security checkpoints. Not to mention the ever popular, random full body search. Some people in these situations panic but really, all you need to do is put things in perspective. You are at the airport and officially on vacation. What are you going to do? Just walk out on all your plans and dreams and go back to work? Of course not! You just have to consider those roadblocks part of the adventure and calmly work through them.
I had spent a couple of weeks packing and unpacking my bags to get the optimal “all inclusive” bag for my holiday. After many international trips, I have discovered that no matter how spectacular your luggage is, after hauling it through miles of airports, watching your carry on for endless hours and hauling it back and forth to the restroom with you while waiting for flights, chucking bags into the airplane overhead or stuffing it under your seat, (consuming part of what seems like the 25 cubic inches of total space your ticket allows you on an international flight,) tossing luggage into the back or top of cabs, buses, train overheads, anything over ten pounds is too much, let alone the allotted fifty pounds per bag! So I unpack everything I possibly can to lighten the load. I get better with every trip. My ultimate goal is to travel with a small hygiene and make-up bag and a pair of underwear.
It is 3:00 AM Friday morning when the alarm croaks on. I drag my butt out of bed and get ready to go. Traveling from Los Angeles to Morocco will make it close to thirty hours before I even get close to a bed again. As excited as I am about jetting off to Morocco, I am not looking forward to the 90 minute ride in the overheated airport shuttle or the long flight in economy class, but neither can be avoided. It is March, but I am putting on a lightweight gauze skirt and tank, a light jacket and flat sandals, anticipating Casablanca’s moderate temperatures. I now need to digress here for a moment.
I had tried to check in for my flight on the airline web site the day before. I was not able to do it and was advised I would have to check in with the agent. That’s weird, I thought. Then, I received an e-mail from the airline. The mail said I might be eligible for a seat upgrade and I was to see an agent upon arrival at the counter. Wow, twice being told to check in with an agent. While one part of my brain was doing a wild little victory dance and screaming, “This is it, you finally get to go business class and be comfortable,” the logical side said, “Are you crazy? You just applied for the frequent flyer card. You don’t even have a real card, it is a paper print out! Something must be wrong.” Oh, there was something wrong all right and it would take me three days to fix it.
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