Phone calls - a science of its own

The evening yesterday should not have been any longer. I was just zooming with my Icke when suddenly nothing worked anymore. The picture was frozen. No internet, no WhatsApp, no email program. I didn't have to think long about what the reason could be: I had used up my data volume. 20 gigabytes in one week. They told me that would last for a month. Now I was cut off from the world. What a feeling! I went to sleep. In protest.

The next morning the protest had to come to an end. And quickly. But how? Where could I recharge my Moroccan SIM card? Making phone calls in Morocco is a science of its own. It feels like babies are born here with a mobile phone in their hand. Everyone - really everyone! - has a mobile phone. But that doesn't mean you can make phone calls. You need a SIM card. Just like with us, yes, but here it's only done with prepaid cards. That means you have to buy a SIM card and a certain amount of gigabytes. That's fine, but that's not all. You have to decide: Do you want a SIM card for phone calls? Yes or no? If yes, how many gigabytes do you need for phone calls? And it's also clear: With such a card you can only make phone calls, that means you can't use the internet, WhatsApp or send emails. Only phone calls. Some members of our crew bought such a card and didn't pay attention. They can now make phone calls for 20 gigabytes - but only within Morocco. There are some couples among us who will only communicate with each other via their mobile phones for the next few weeks ...

Or you can buy an internet card. It's a pure data card that allows you to use the internet, but you can't make phone calls. Most of us use such a card and, for example, make phone calls home via WhatsApp. But how many gigabytes do you want to recharge the card with? And where? Normally, you can do this in any small grocery store. There the owner calls the number of your SIM card and orders the desired amount of gigabytes.

Or - and this is the usual case - you get a paper card about 5 x 5 centimeters in size with the desired gigabytes. On the back you have to rub off a long sequence of numbers. Then you send an SMS to 555 with the message in which you specify these numbers. If that works - you're a genius.

Oh yes, there is also supposed to be a card that can do both, phone calls and internet. But I haven't found a dealer who sells such a card yet. I think this card is just a rumor. It wouldn't surprise me, though...

My stroke of luck was Hakim. He's one of the friendly staff members at this campsite where we moved to early on Friday morning. When I stumbled helplessly and desperate out of my motorhome this morning, I fell directly into his arms. "How can I gelb you?", he said with a broad smile, and for me the sun rose for the second time that day. I explained my precarious situation to him, whereupon he simply put me on his motorcycle and raced down to the city with me. In a small shop, we bought 50 gigabytes over the phone - no scratch cards - for 50 euros. The owner's fingers were getting really shaky when entering the digits. Maybe no one has ever bought such a large amount of data from him before.

Now I'm online again. Something like yesterday must not happen to me again. I have to see my loved ones at home and talk to them on Zoom. You only really know how important that is when you're far away from home. I'm in Morocco, in Africa. I've never been further away than this.