Morocco Bound - Mitos suson

After the pandemic, with the world re-opening, people started booking flights and we were eager to ride the crest of the travel wave.“Should we go back to the USA? If so, now’d be the time.” I asked Darwin, my husband. “Tickets are reasonably priced now. A year ago they were ridiculous. Travel was nearly nonexistant. Tickets were thrice as expensive as of today.”

“We haven’t been home in almost 5 years. We need to do some bureaucratic stuff. It’s so much easier there. We should update our bank cards and expired driver’s licenses. Or… where would you want to go?” I asked.
“Morocco. Still Morocco.” He said. “Do you know the song Marrakesh Express? I loved that song growing up. I’ve always dreamt of going to Morocco. It’s top of my bucket list!” “Uh hum!” I listened. “It’s where Jimi Hendrix wrote the song ‘Castles Made Of Sand’. It was the Hippie Mecca in the 50s’-70s’. The Beatles and the Stones loved Morocco.” Darwin tried to sell me on Morocco because he knew it wasn’t my first choice.

“Sure. Sex, drugs and rock and roll!” I chimed. “And the movies, Casablanca, Gladiator, Game of Thrones, John Wick 3 and many blockbuster movies was filmed there.”Being a movie buff, I was SOLD. “Do you think it’s safe to go there now?”

“Hell, yeah!” Darwin confirmed.

I could not shake the recent travel advisory that landed in my inbox rating Morocco, a security orange alert. It warned ‘travel with caution’. The US embassy’s determination was based on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the 9/11 mastermind and right hand man to Osama Bin Ladin, being killed recently in a US drone strike. Their concerns were over reprisals agsainst US Citizens abroad, specifically terrorist attacks or kidnappings. After the pandemic, and months of cities being locked down, I wouldn’t have minded a whiff of the Sahara Desert’s air. With the tragic loss of loved ones to the pandemic, I needed my senses refreshed and stimulated. Or at least distracted. Bucket list it is. I thought. Morocco, here we come!

In a past life, I’d worked for some airlines and travel agencies, and I was confident I could construct our travel itinerary. Besides, I didn’t like the idea of subjecting ourselves to the tender mercies of tour operators who were insensitive to our physical needs. We should be able to decide what time to wake-up and where to go, whereever the wind blows. The first task was to research a reasonably priced flight to Morocco; I used an app called Skyscanner. Aside from the fares, I always check travel times and stopovers. At our age, lengthy flights are hard on the back and body, so I am grateful for brief stopovers. The operative word is ‘brief’.

I like the opportunity to stretch out my legs and if we have to go from one terminal to another, we need sufficient time. I did due diligence reviewing books, blogs, and vlogs. We watched a lot of YouTube videos about Morocco altogether. One source that stood out was, ‘Trekker Girl: Morocco Bound” by Dawne Archer. She trekked in the Sahara Desert while raising funds for Thrombosis in the UK. I discovered a friend, Jacky Donovan, was going to be in Morocco. I’d met Dawne and Jackie online through my favorite FaceBook group called ‘WeLoveMemoirs’. I’ve been following Jacky’s adventures, as she had been traveling all over the world. She gave me some excellent tips about Morocco and that whetted my appetite. I was really looking forward to meeting Jacky in person at last.“What’s the best port of embarkation?” I asked. “Casablanca or Tangier?”“Just take the cheapest.” She advised. I like cheap!

Thus, I booked tickets for two to Casablanca. We took Saudia Airlines from Manila to Casablanca stopping off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Next, I booked our flight from Dumaguete City where we live, to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. The latter is only an hour and a half flight. We held to our policy of going a day early. This makes for a more relaxed trip. This is especially true for us because it’s a long trip and we had to catch our international flight from a different island.Most trips, we try to avoid Manila because it’s usually chaotic and frenzied. We’d previously had problems with getting our dogs through customs. I’d spent scrupulous months preparing documents, arriving a day before, and meeting with the certified airline Veterinarian. Even so, on the day of the flight the staff met us with hands extended, claiming we had no paperwork. I had to go downstairs, find the Vet and drag him to customs to show them where the paperwork was, right on top of their desk. They had it all along. I won’t even discuss the time Darwin couldn’t get his guitar on board as a carry on.

The alternative airport, Mactan International airport in Cebu, is a much smaller airport. The ground personel there are friendlier and more accomodating. But then again, my priority was travel time. The trip to Manila was a necessary evil. When we arrived, I barely recognized the city. We rented a condo in Metro Manila, so we grabbed a taxi. The road was punctuated with beautiful new skyscrapers of varying heights and shades of industrial gray. we were overwhelmed by colorful billboards everywhere; it was a real concrete jungle. I’d spent a couple of years in Manila studying at a University and I even worked there after I graduated. It posess it’s urban beauty, but it wasn’t our cozy little island in our neck of the woods by the seaside. I’m not sure if there it’s an art or a science to booking taxis; sometimes I think it requires divine intervention. These days, there are more taxi services available at the airport. This trip, they seemed more organized. In the past, the drivers were notorious for taking you someplace you never intend. This had happened to us before, whether you are a local or a foreigner, taxi drivers instinctively smell a victim. Usually, they try to rein you to a hotel where they’ll earn a commission. Even if you mention you’ve already got a hotel booked, they suggest a ‘better hotel’ that you’ll like even more!

Never be shy telling them you aren’t interested in their tour options. Be direct. Don’t let them try to rack up the mileage on the meter before reaching your destination. When you’re leaving the airport, people will spot you tugging your luggage and offer you their overpriced van. They’ve actually tried to grab my luggage from my hand. Then there’s the yellow cabs with fixed rates and the metered cabs. Know the difference before you get in. People wait in line for these. You can also order a Grab taxi, it’s the Filipino version of an Uber. I feel safest with a Grab Taxi. There’s an estimated taxi fare which shows up when you order it by phone after you punch your destination. You often get a picture of the driver, their number, and where they are en route to you. You can even tip with the app.

In Manila these days there are a lot of shuttle options; in the end it’s on you if you get a nightmare taxi experience. Everyone is struggling to make a living. Who am I to complain? I’ve had worse taxi experiences in India but that’s another story to tell. We chose a condo near the Airport to avoid traffic. Manila traffic is famously horrendous. There were plenty of people hounding us to take their van. Some were above ₱ 1500 ($30.00) for a few short miles. We opted for a metered taxi. I was happy to pay the Php ₱300 ($5.00) when we arrived in our destination. The driver was chatty. We came from neighboring islands and spoke the same dialect.

“Where are you going?” He asked.
“Shoreline condo near the Mall of Asia, please.”
“Oh, that condo! That condo used to be occupied by POGOs.”
“What is POGO?” I said.

“It stands for Philippines Offshore Gaming Operation POGO for short. It’s a gambling operation run mainly in Makati. They cater to foreign markets. The Chinese dominate the scene but there are Vietnamese and Korean markets too. I used to work for them… before I started driving taxi. Until they got raided and shut down, I was a company driver.” He said.Then he pointed to the skyscrapers. “That one is a POGO too, most of the huge buildings are.” He said shifting his gaze to another building. “That building is the biggest legal Pogo operation in the country. There’s a lot of illegal POGOs here too. They paid me a good wage and I was able to save and buy some property, until the police stormed in.” He went on to say that they even registered cars in their employees names. I told him, “I’ve been hearing a lot about POGO, but I’ve been out of the country for a long time. I didn’t realize how entrenched they’d become.” He explained, “Illegal online gaming has been infiltrating for years. There’s not enough regulation to protect Filipino workers. These people have been importing thousands of overseas workers. No work permits! There’s been more crimes like murders and kidnappings. They’re ripping the government off for billions. Only recently PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) started regulating their operation, shutting them down unless they pay their dues. Many POGOs also closed during the pandemic.

Mr. Noodle in Metro Manila

True to his word, when we arrived at our hotel, there was a strip of Chinese restaurants and businesses sourrounding us. It was like a little Shanghai in Metro Manila. The restaurant where we ate was really awesome. It’s menus were in Chinese. Even the soda cans like Coca-Cola were inscribed in Chinese. The restaurant owners and workers spoke Chinese or very limited Filipino, but we managed to order a vegetarian meal in sign language.The next day, unlike previous trips, we boarded the plane seamlessly.

We relaxed, but while in the air we learned that our plans had sort of backfired. Our 1.5-hour layover in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia had become a 9-hour delay. I guess, you can’t plan for everything. The flight was long, and we were stranded for 9 hours overnight at the airport in Jeddah. To me, it felt like an eternity. Jeddah airport was empty since we arrived in the wee hours of the morning. It was a solemn airport except for intermittent prayers that echoed through the halls off its ornate and modern architecture. Most people there were either going to or coming from their obligatiory piligrimage.

The airport in Jeddah was stunning! There are special bathrooms which had low sinks allowing for foot washing and ceramic holes in the ground for toilets. There were also other bathrooms with Western style toilets. You can immediately detect a country’s priority by their airports. In Saudi Arabia there were prayer rooms for people on their pilgrimage Hajj to Mecca. By contrast, the Filipino airports have special rooms for nursing mothers, and in the US the airports have smoking dens, In Japan, their toilets were equipped with bidet. We’ve even seen airports with patches of grass for their ‘pet relief areas’.

To bide our time, we enjoyed watching this magnificent pendulum at the heart of the Jeddah International airport. This giant pendulum was inspired by astonomer Ibn Yunus, who is said to have invented the pendulum for over 1000 years ago. Areen Design, the interior designers, for the airport were invited to submit sculptural artworks to reflect the cultural identity of the Middle East. David Harber, is best known for his outdoor sculptures. His team’s knack for sensitively tailoring each project to reflect the identity of that space has made his work popular with interior designers and so he was invited by Areen Design to submit his work. David designed this 2.4m pendulum sculpture in such a way that the mirrored surface reflect and distort its surrounding with each swing.

https://youtube.com/shorts/OoQ3eQZwOt4?feature=share

As Jeddah is the gateway to Mecca, the airport is a highly-charged link between man and faith. The pendulum is a perfect expression of a physical, intellectual and spiritual connection between earth-bound humanity and the heavens above. ~ David Harber

Minutes drag into hours, especially when you’re anticipating an exotic holiday. We had 7 more hours of airtime to our destination. At 3:00 AM, there’s only so much to do in an airport. You can only walk through the airport and scan the duty free items for so long. Eventually, there is nothing to do but wait.

https://youtu.be/FBUnL5gq0zo

There was available internet at the airport, but you needed to register a local number and there was no one selling sim cards. After sprawling in the wide airport expanse, we decided to languish in luxury like everyone else. After being stuck in Jeddah, we finally boarded the plane to Casablanca. The 7 hours flight went fast because we were excited. We’d practically been traveling more than 24 hours. I caught up on a few hours of sleep in this last leg and woke up in Casablanca.We’d arrived! In my next blog, I will be sharing our trip to Casablanca, some photos and some of the other North African cities we visited. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” – Humphrey Bogart.

Map of Morocco

Photo credits:

I have taken most of the photos myself, some were shared by my husband Darwin, with the possible exception of the map.

Map of Morocco – Air France map of colonial Morocco from the Rumsey Map Collection.