My Trip to Morocco I hadn’t planned on going to Morocco this year. My original choice was a joint tour of Israel and Jordan, but Helene Halperin and Noelani Musicaro, two women I met on a previous trip to Turkey, convinced me to go. I normally travel solo (within a guided tour). However, over the years I’ve learned it is far better to see the world with like-minded travelers. Helene, a retired educator, and Noelani, an online entrepreneur, were a good mix for me. Not only did we embrace the same free-spirited curiosity about our planet, we also shared a similar sense of humor, which never hurts. Our tour company of choice was Gate 1 Travel; we selected an escorted tour called the 13-Day Kaleidoscope of Morocco at a very affordable price. I travel twice a year on my letter carrier’s salary and need to keep the costs of most trips to under $250 a day (including airfare), so this trip fit my budget perfectly. Although I write detailed journals of all my travels I seldom do any research on the countries I visit prior to the actual trips. This tour was no exception. Perhaps this sounds like an asinine way of seeing the world, but I often tell myself the true adventure comes from experiencing the culture and unknown wonders of a new place, and not just crossing off a checklist. Besides, I had Helene with me, a walking encyclopedia who eats travel books for breakfast, possessing an uncanny sense of direction as if she was born with a GPS device implanted in her brain. Whenever we explored a Moroccan city on our own, she would say, “follow me” while I fumbled with my map trying to get our bearings. By the time I pinpointed our location she had already led us to our destination. I suspect she may have been a tour guide in a previous life. Helene also speaks several languages, including French, which really came in handy on this trip. Noelani, on the other hand, was more like me; we saw the world by the seat of our pants…which probably explains why my butt is so flat. Preparing for this tour was easy. I didn’t need any inoculations, and a visa was not necessary for stays less than 90 days. Basically, I just focused on my packing list. Over the years I’ve developed what is now a long list of items I bring on all my journeys. Initially, the list was concise, just a simple reminder of the type of clothing I needed to pack. But with each passing trip, my experiences necessitated adding more and more items. For example, a very bad case of sinus congestion while in Peru convinced me to bring extra cold medication, while a loose bowel situation in Guatemala reminded me to stock probiotic supplements in addition to my anti-diarrhea pills. Live and learn, right? Just prior to my trip I also Googled the weather in Morocco and downloaded the two- week forecast. The mean temperatures seemed pleasant enough, averaging between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Living in Miami I do not have a large selection of winter wear, and thank goodness I decided to bring my padded hoodie (the warmest thing I own) because the forecasts were way off. It was actually very cold in the Atlas Mountain valleys. 1 One thing I never fail to do before each trip is register with the State Department’s S.T.E.P. program (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). This informs the U.S. government and the corresponding embassies and consulates that I’ll be traveling abroad. In case of an emergency (an earthquake, civil unrest, zombie plague, etc) they will know to come get me. Hopefully. Once you are enrolled in S.T.E.P. you will also receive constant travel advisory alerts via email about the country you intend to visit. I always caution my readers these advisories are not for the faint of heart. In addition to useful tips and information, they also include a safety review that will often make the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention. Granted, one must always be cautious when traveling in a foreign land (especially where law enforcement standards are lower or the potential for social unrest is higher), but my own recent experiences abroad – I have visited fifteen countries in the past six years – have led me to believe these safety concerns can be either misleading or overblown. Common sense is the key word. For example, I wouldn’t sightsee in a high-crime area of Cairo any more than I would in Chicago. If a tour guide tells me an area is safe for strolling I will take their word for it. And, conversely, if they say to avoid an area, I will. A bigger safety concern is the potential threat of terrorism or civil unrest. I was in Egypt just months before the Arab Spring uprisings engulfed several Muslim countries in Africa and the Middle East. In these cases, I pay close attention to the news coming over the Internet to gauge the overall stability of the country I am visiting, especially those countries prone to political violence. Nothing ruins a vacation more than an unannounced rebellion. As a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines I got caught up in the People’s Power revolution that toppled the brutal dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos back in the 1980’s. Those were some wild and chaotic times, exciting only because of the ignorance of my youth. I’m in my fifties now, and my staid sensibilities require as much peace and tranquility as I can latch onto. In other words, I prefer that my traveling ‘surprises’ do not include large crowds of angry people. Keeping up with current events can be a lifesaver. In Morocco, the current social or political tensions seem to center around economics (primarily the high unemployment rate among young people) and the future role of the king. The Arab Spring uprisings have put Muslim monarchs and tyrannical regimes on notice. As more and more citizens take to the streets in protest across the region, changes appear inevitable. In 2011, following the violent public revolts in Tunisia and Egypt – and some incredibly damning Wikileaks documents alleging high-level corruption within the royal house – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI (a young, reasonably well-liked ruler who came to power in 1999) sought to head off a potential crisis by announcing political reforms that included some power sharing with the elected parliament. Since then, there has been some tapering off on political reforms and a small but growing number of protestors have been pressing the king for more democratic and economic changes. In recent years, Morocco’s Human Rights record in dealing with dissidents has not been too bad. Although, based on the current political climate throughout much of the Muslim world, that situation could change dramatically. Over the past decade, radical Islamists from Casablanca’s largest shantytown (many trained in Afghanistan) have periodically carried out or planned suicide bombings in public places, necessitating a crackdown by 2 government forces. The fact these young men all hailed from very poor neighborhoods speaks to the need for urgent economic reform. Before I continue, let me just state that my visit to Morocco was without incident. I felt not only safe, but extremely welcomed by Moroccans, who are very friendly by nature. The country relies heavily on the tourism trade (especially from Europe) and foreigners are very well treated. On March 27th, 2014, I took a taxi to Miami International Airport to begin my Moroccan adventure… Days One and Two I had scheduled a taxi pick-up for 9:30am. Just before the cab arrived I did my last minute check around my apartment (I rent half of a small duplex) to make sure I had turned off the water, shut down the central AC unit, closed all the windows, etc. I also placed the sunshield visor in my Toyota and soon discovered that my car wouldn’t start. I had inadvertently left my headlights on and drained the battery overnight. Normally, this wouldn’t pose a problem, a simple call to AAA for a jump start (or a tow if the situation warranted a mechanic), but occurring on the morning of my big trip I couldn’t shake the nagging superstitious feeling that somehow this was an omen of sorts. I said an extra prayer just in case. I live just minutes from the airport and by 10:00am I was already checked in and browsing the terminal gate bookstores for a travel guide on Morocco. I could not find one. Somehow, this added to my overall unease. My American Airlines flight to JFK was scheduled to begin boarding at 11:15am, but, sure enough, the flight was delayed. Our plane was coming in from Venezuela (and continuing on to New York City) and as the routine maintenance, customs and safety checks were being performed, something was discovered onboard that required further investigation. An hour later the airline decided to use another plane and all the passengers had to hastily trek through the entire terminal building to our new departure gate. We arrived at JFK almost two hours late, further exasperated by an unusually long wait time for our luggage. I now had just over an hour and a half to catch my Alitalia flight to Rome, which departed from Terminal Building 1; meanwhile, I was still stuck in Terminal Building 8 wondering where my luggage was.