Today was a full travel day as we headed home on our 17 hour journey. Up at 4:00am we packed our things for one last time...said goodbye to our trusted lunch box...and met our cab to the airport by 5:00am.
It was dark, quiet and raining when we jumped in our big white old Mercedes Benz taxi...typical style of taxi around here. As bid farewell to Morocco, we listened to the Gypsy Kings in the background, complements of our driver.
Along the way, just outside the airport parking, we came to one of the many roadside police checks throughout Morocco and were pulled over...this time it turned out we had a blown headlight, so we were on our way in no time. As we drove up to the drop off section of the airport we could hear the call to prayer in the distance...very fitting for our last morning here.
Next we made our way to the airport entrance to see a security check at the door...first time in all my travels around the world I've had to go through a scanner when entering an airport! It was a bit chaotic as people were saying their goodbyes and just standing around, no clear process, and people jumping the line. Lisa was flagged due to her Swiss Army knife in her checked luggage, but after a little discussion...and getting her passport back from the guard...we were on our way. Just in time to see security patrolling the airport with big machine guns...we've only seen this in Casablanca during our travels in Morocco. Quite the process to get into the airport here!
With an hour to spare we spent every last dirham we had at the cafe...no real shopping on site...and boarded our plane by 7:45am....glad the rain stopped, because it was a long process of waiting.
The 3 hour flight was non-eventful...smooth sailing to Paris on Air France. In Paris we made our way through more security checks and had a short time before we were on our way to Montreal. Beautiful airport in Paris...even found these little treats along the way!
Eight hours later we were going through customs and immigration...and another security...just in time to catch our flight to Halifax. Overall great flights and connections the entire way home. Tired and ready for some sleep, we arrived in Halifax at 9:00pm. What a busy trip!
Now that I am home in the peacefulness of my house, I am sure I will continue to hear the sound of people asking me where I'm from and having the same response from 90% of the the people when we said Canada..."Oh Quebec, Montreal? I have family there..."...I swear half of Morocco must live in Montreal! With that said, I can also say my 12 years of French immersion...which I haven't used much in over 25 years...was put to good use in Morocco and made my trip that much more enjoyable.
Overall it was a great trip...minus the freezing weather we were not prepared for at the beginning...and there are many highlights we've brought back with us. Here are a few from the diverse melting pot of North Africa...
Top 10 Highlights:
~ Freshly squeezed orange juice, delicious dates and our cooking class at the Amal Women's Training Center...we made delicious tagine!
~ Diverse scenery - snow capped mountains, deep red rock and soil, oasis, palmeries, desert and coastal low lands
~ Beautiful doors, doors and more doors!
~ Hassan II Mosque - majestic in its grandeur
~ Beautiful Chefchaouen - the city of blue
~ The Sahara by moonlight - stunning and so peaceful
~ The exquisitely refurbished Riads...especially ours in Fes
~ Tea...mint and Berber..."Berber Whiskey"
~ Listening to the various mosques in the distance competing to be heard during the call to prayer...five times daily
~ The wonderful people we've met - in particular the gentle way of the Berbers
Honourable Mention: Lisa would add the community ovens and the wonderful smells of baking bread...not so much for this Lisa who has no sense of smell ;)
Thanks to Lisa for putting up with my late night blogging and for being my fact checker/editor throughout this entire trip...not always an easy task. For those looking for a country with lots to offer, Morocco may be the place for you...it is under huge development, so I'm sure it will have a different look and feel in the future.
To all those who have followed along our journey and sent messages...Shukran / SaHa / Thank You for sharing in the experience.
Until next time...
Lisa 1 & Lisa 2
No comments:
Post a Comment