Today we arrived to the City of Casablanca at approximately 8:05 AM Moroccan time, after waiting like an expectant father for my luggage to appear on the conveyer belt of so many "lost vacations" it finally appeared from the magic hole in the wall. From this point my luggage and I joined 67 other PCVers and passed through customs and boarded the bus for... well actually I am not at liberty to name the place we are staying... more on that later.
The Mystery City is located on the Atlantic Ocean and our hotel room is a softball throw to the sand and waves. That is the good news... the not so good news is that we all must share rooms with anywhere from two to five people. which is not a problem until you try to put 4 adults with 2 years of luggage in a 10 by 15 foot room! So here we are lined up military style without an inch of space between the beds... if this was 1950 television Ricky and Lucy would be banned bedroom would have been banned from the airwaves.
Yet, I am not complaing even if it sounds as if I am... I decided the minute I accepted the invitation to go with what ever was put before me and embrace it... well maybe embrace is the wrong word to use when sleeping with three other men... lets use working with whatever comes my way.
After hours of introductions and a little form filling out in a conference roon without a breath of fresh air and sticking to clothes I had been in for 24 hours we finally broje for he day and headed to the beach. It was a GREAT time to swim..it is the Atlantic and is just like our side of the ocean, same color and very salty taste... the main difference was the camels on the beach, very strange and yet quite cool..."well damn I am in Morocco!"
The last thing I will write is that we are under heavy police and military guard... Iam left wondering why... I know for our protection but it feels like the Corleone compound after the Don gets shot... groups of uniform men every 20 feet. I am grateful that they are here, just wanting to understand why and is there a danger or just precaution.
Time for to go back later...
Hi Jim, I'll keep this brief since this my first time "blogging," and I'm not sure if I signed up right.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you made it to Morocco safe and sound! Camels on the beach??? I thought you said Morocco was a dry country? Guards with guns? Holy ****! You're definetely not in Kansas any more...
Royc
As for the guards...these are precaution and nothing to worry about. I remember being in the same hotel and city thinking, "What in the world is up with this police." Really it is a nice gesture from the King because it is his royal police or "Gan Darms". Everyone just wants to make sure that there are no problems or anything. Any time there are more then 5 Americans together it tends to make a scene here in Morocco. Without language or understanding of the culture it is more like training wheels don't sweat it.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy this time. Looking back its one of the sweetest times I had in Morocco
@rcropa if you mean dry is in without alcohol this is most certainly not true. You can buy alcohol at most bigger cities without problem.
Peace
Matt
PCV Morocco 09-11