31 Hours in Morocco

Situated along the Atlantic Coast, Cité Portugaise longed, and might I say, begged for a family of six to stroll the ancient Portuguese fort in El Jadida, Morocco. An extended 31 hour layover on Royal Air Maroc provided just that opportunity.

A Bit Eager?

In my (over)eagerness to maximize our family’s experiences abroad to travel, I bought Christmas tickets to Spain . . . before we had even moved to Qatar.

In anticipation of living in Doha, a centralized hub for global travel, I found an affordable fare to Valencia, Spain, the spot for one of the most successful high school student exchanges in the history of mankind. This flight on Orbitz included a stop over in Casablanca . . . for 31 hours in Morocco. For some, this would be a deal breaker. For me, this represented opportunity. Opportunity to get a topical feel for the northwestern African country. An opportunity to expose the entire family to a culture different from our current reality. And, most importantly, an opportunity to spend time as a family on a family trip.

You’re Royally Messing With Us

The lead up to December 18th included four schedule changes, two flight cancellations along with two new reservations. Even ten days from our departure, Orbitz and Royal Air Maroc continued casting doubt with contradictory emails on whether or not the trip would actually happen.

The Royal Air Maroc flight departed on December 18th for Casablanca, with us onboard.

This consisted of an 8 hour flight that left at 1 a.m. with four beautiful, angelic kids in tow. Along the way, Monica kicked both Nadine and I at least 200 times. The three “olders” slept in a stack in the middle seats. Dom laid his head on Sophie. Annie laid hers on Dom. As the plane descended towards the Moroccan coast, everyone was at a different stage of sleep deprivation. Kids in the rows in front and behind us had vomited to highlight a challenging flight. The children on this plane were no longer angelic.

This leads to a fair question, that I often ask myself after long flights “Why in the hell would you fly overnight, with four kids on the same night as the last day of school for the semester?” The only illogical answer I can provide, “the tickets were super cheap.”

Tongue Twisted

Standing in front of an exasperated, steely eyed immigration officer, Annie leaned in with a cheerful, “Marhaba!” The officer almost let a cheerful smile cross his morning face. Almost.

Everyone in our family has become competent linguistically in a language. Sophie and Dom speak and understand a decent amount of Spanish from their three years of dual language studies at Crestridge Elementary School. Now Sophie is a motivated French learner at the American School of Doha. Dom began Arabic. Annie and Momo attend Qatar Academy Doha, an Arabic/English dual language school, and 99% of the students are native Qatari Arabic speakers. Annie’s language acquisition has been remarkable. She freely and joyfully speaks Arabic with anyone willing to engage her in conversation and her pronunciation surprises people. This Christmas trip will give everyone a chance to use French, Arabic, and Spanish. I speak Texas.

On the Train Heading South

Cité Portugaise

31 hours in Morocco is more than enough time to explore an individual corner of Morocco. We departed the airport that is Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport out east of downtown and then rode the train south to El Jadida. After a couple hours of sleep and fantastic gratin at Hotel Centre Ville, we made our way on foot along the jagged boardwalk leading to Cité Portugaise. Cité Portugaise de mazagan å Jadide, founded in the 15th century, served as a strategic port along the Moroccan coast, surrounded by water on three sides. This 15th century fortress housed soldiers and protected trade. Now the UNESCO World Heritage site engulfs a few individual homes and a spattering of engaging shop owners. Captivating enough that Dom walked away with a magic box, me with postcards, and the rest of the family with small souvenirs. If we had a bit more time, an excursion to the Sahara desert would be a nice change.

First Initial Impressions of Morocco

Those 31 hours in Morocco, extended to 33 because of flights delays, left an impression.

Moroccans, aside for immigration officers, were very friendly. Many people genuinely greeted us with “Welcome to Morocco!”

The French influenced food was delicious.

Outside of Casablanca, the country had a European feel to it.

The 31 hour visit provided teachable poop moments. Unlike super clean Qatar and the United States and like dog obsessed Europe, Nadine and I navigated the kids around poop mines along the El Jadida streets.

Next stop – Valencia, Spain