The Moroccan Oddyssey Begins

One of the greatest benefits of my job is that I can work from any location that has internet access.  It’s more trouble than it’s worth to try to turn off my computer completely and take a vacation, so for quite a few years I have gone away for about a month in the summer and worked remotely part-time.  It’s a great compromise…I still get a lot done but we get to spend time visiting family and/or experiencing another culture.  This summer we’re with our family in Morocco, and spending a few days in Madrid on the way home.

This year is a little different because three other families are joining us on the trip, so I’ve spent more time on the logistics than I usually would.  Our itinerary is pretty well set once they arrive, but for now we are spending the last few days of Ramadan relaxing, catching up on work and sleep, and awaiting l’Eid (the holiday at the end of Ramadan).

We usually fly directly from JFK to Casablanca, but because of the side-trip to Madrid we flew from JFK to Madrid to Casablanca on Iberia.  It was less expensive to drive than fly from home to JFK, so we got a 1-way rental ($137 including mileage, plus $40 for gas) and drove to the airport.  I was very happy that we didn’t have stuff strapped to the roof like we did on our last trip.

We almost left on time…Ben realized at the last minute that he had lost his pedometer and spent forever looking for it.  He is addicted to measuring his steps and uploading to a website that tracks his activity.  He finally gave up on it and we left the house at 10 a.m.  The trip was uneventful until we got to the southernmost part of Connecticut, where I started seeing flashing signs for a 9-mile backup ahead.  Ben was supposed to be monitoring the traffic and I kept asking if I should get off the highway and try to navigate around it.  He kept saying “no”, but finally I made an executive decision and bailed.  It took us a while traveling on the secondary roads, but at least we weren’t sitting still.

It took us about 4 1/2 hours to get to the airport including a stop for gas, and another hour to drop off the car, check our bags, and get through security.  Iberia had moved Adlani and Norah from Row 11 to Row 35, so it took a little extra time to get our seats reassigned.  None of our bags were over the weight limit (which was a small victory for me because I hate when people reorganize their bags at check-in), but several of them were a few kilos under the maximum which Ben sees as a total waste.  If he had realized it before we left home, he would have thrown in everything but the kitchen sink to get the weight to the limit.

After one last trip to Starbucks we got on the plane.  We had one seat in the next row back from the other four, but it ended up with an empty seat next to it which Norah promptly claimed.  The boarding was so orderly and the overhead bins were only about 2/3 full…I commented to Ben that it was obvious we weren’t on a Morocco-bound flight.  The same rule about taking as much as possible applies to carry-on luggage too.

It was about a 7-hour flight from 5 p.m. until midnight our time, so we didn’t sleep much (Norah slept for a few hours).  They served dinner, which was actually delicious, and also breakfast.

When we landed in Madrid it was 6 a.m. and it was broad daylight.  I thought we would be zombies for the 4-hour layover since it was midnight to 4 a.m. in our brains, but we were all fine.  We charged up our electronics, wandered around, chatted with some other travelers, and had one more last trip to Starbucks.

I love my new compression socks!!

When it was time to fly to Casablanca, we were bussed from the gate to the plane, and stairs were set up at the front and back entrances to the plane.  People were boarding from both ends and trying to pass each other in the aisle – NOW we’re going to Morocco!  The overheads were jam-packed, people were still switching seats as the plane was taxiing out to the runway, there were lots of crying babies, and the sodas cost 2.50 Euros each.  Luckily, it was a quick 2-hour flight.

We had no trouble going through Immigration in Casablanca, other than when Ben wanted to get in the line marked “Crew” and I wouldn’t do it.  I’m on African time now…who cares if it takes a little longer to follow the rules?  All of our luggage arrived and we were waved through Customs without any questions or examination of bags.  I wish I had taken a photo as we came through the doors into the terminal, because there were literally more than 100 people waiting with anticipation for their loved ones.  Each time the door opened, they got excited again.

We found our family easily and had an uneventful 1-hour ride home (except for a detour to the cemetery which I will write about later).  A beautiful lunch was ready for us, and then we all passed out.  I slept for 5 hours and woke up in time to break the fast with 0ur family at 8:30 p.m.  I couldn’t get to sleep until 4 a.m. local time, so I got lots of work caught up.  I woke up at 11:30 a.m…gotta work on changing my clock.