46 hours on the ferry

We were able to spend the time on the ferry well; the weather was so nice that we were on deck a lot and played a lot of 'Mensch ärgere dich nicht', the food was absolutely okay and our 'family suite' was perfect for this long stay.

On the ferry, if you asked the long line in one of the rooms early enough, you could already take care of the entry or import process...a verrrryy slow line for us as persons and one to let the Amarok enter.

After over 2 hours of patient waiting, everything was done. We find it striking how child-friendly the Moroccans are...hardly a situation in which Mia doesn't get an extra smile, head stroking or a warm welcome. For example, when it got a bit chaotic on arrival in Tangier because the ferry staff had forgotten to open access to our parking deck (where all the Moroccan Sprinter vans & Co. were parked), some drivers became very impatient.

When one of them slammed and kicked the door in frustration, he was immediately reprimanded by others because Mia - right next to the door - covered her ears in fright. He immediately bent down to her, apologized many times (also with a hand kiss ;-) and then everyone made sure Mia and I could go through the door first and safely...

In the chaotic system, everyone wanted to leave the ferry at the same time and honked wildly - one driver just shouted at us that we had to just drive and not brake because everyone was crazy - we did that and miraculously got off the ferry without any damage to the car.

Patience was required again at the border, as all vehicles were x-rayed and the machine briefly malfunctioned, but after about 90 minutes, that was also done and after a very warm welcome and good wishes for the journey by the Moroccan border guard, we were on African soil.

At the border itself, we experienced a curious cat-and-mouse game between border guards and begging teenagers and young men - they kept climbing over the fences and begging for money, food, drinks, etc. from the arrivals, and the border guards chased them away, only for them to climb over the fence again 20 meters further on - sometimes it all happened with a lot of cursing, but sometimes also with friendly grinning...a first bitter taste of the poverty that will accompany us in the coming weeks - a different world that we are in.