Goodbye Casablanca, Au Revoir Maroc!

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Goodbye Casablanca, Au Revoir Maroc!

And so we arrived at our final day in Morocco. We awoke in our hotel at 6.15 and quickly washed and dressed before we dragged our bags down to the breakfast room for our last meal in the hotel. We had basically ten minutes to wolf something down and this we did as Llew left to settle the bill at the counter.  

While in the lobby, I left a gmail message for Chriselle whose birthday it is today. As she is in London, it was too early to call her. I did call my Dad in Bombay also and had a long chat with him and my brother Russel and told them that we would be leaving Morocco via Marrakech and Casablanca soon. They gave me the news that a lot of heavy now was expected to fall in New York and I immediately began worrying that it would affect our connecting flight and our drive back home as we had rented a car from Kennedy airport which Llew intended to drive home. I immediately tweeted JFK airport to make inquiries about whether or not the airport would be staying open and about two hours later, I received a tweet back saying that the airport would be open and flights would not be delayed. Amazing! And very consoling!   

Then we were in our van with Husain our driver and two members of the other On The Go Group who were also going to the airport at the same time. We checked in speedily for the first leg of our flight to Casablanca which we reached in an hour.

 A Long Layover in Casablanca:

We had a long five-hour layover in Casablanca and by the time we made our way to the connecting terminal, I was starving and began to look for a restaurant to get something to eat. It was after all, already 12 noon (I’d eaten a hasty breakfast more than five hours previously). I just told Llew that I would like to walk around the airport (as we had ample time) to try to find a chain food restaurant such as Paul’s Patisserie that I do not get in the USA. And then, you will never believe this, but lo and behold, I turned a corner and there it was! I thought I was seeing a mirage!!! Llew also thought it was funny and the two of us had such a laugh.

Sadly, they did not have my favorite almond croissants but they did have a croque-Monsieur and Llew chose a ham and cheese quiche and both of us ordered hot chocolates. Even though we asked for them to be heated, they were cold when served to us—I had to request them to put mine back in the oven again. The hot chocolates were so tepid, they were a big disappointment. So, after all, my much-anticipated meal did not cheer. 

Not to be daunted, we found free airport WiFi and began to use it and made contact with our friends Chintan and Jen who would also soon be making their way to the airport. WhatsApp contact enabled us to realize that they would be there shortly and had passes to the Pearl Lounge where they could each take one guest! And so, we had such an unexpected treat in store as they signed us in and allowed us to feel fully at home with free WiFi (strong and dependable in the lounge) and the added benefits of free drinks and free eats. Llew had a red wine, I had a beer, Chintan had a beer too and Jen had a wine. We found plates and helped ourselves to a whole range of finger food that was very good indeed—from little cheese-filled sliders to tuna canapés, from mushroom canapés to beef on sticks. Seriously, it was proper food and we enjoyed, best of all, sitting and chatting with such good company of friends we had only just made. What a lovely end it was to our travels! In fact, we sat with our friends for about an hour and a half before we left to start boarding our flight which would leave at 4.15 pm.

A few minutes later, we boarded our flight and were homeward bound. The traffic assistant had been good enough to give us windows on both sectors and I was very content with our seats even though it was right on the wing! We could only hope that our flight would be safe and that we would reach home without any hitches.

Conclusion:

It has been an incredible experience! Morocco was amazingly varied and our tour organizers, On The Go Tours had planned a trip that offered something for everyone. We are leaving the country having learned so much about its history, geography, culture, religion and social practices. Would we recommend this tour to our friends? Without a doubt!

Until our next travels, may the road rise up to meet you... 

Au Revoir!