My dear readers, there’s a big trip in the offing; a trip that has been almost a year in the planning, and I simply can’t wait.
But this is not that trip.
That trip is a little bit longer than usual, so the remaining vacation days shook out leaving me with a limited number to use – not even a full week. When we submitted our time-off requests I decided to throw the few days that were left at the schedule in late March in hopes of finding something fun to do.
And so here I am, on this cool Wednesday evening, on the leading edge of a wing, a painted horizon arcing as far as I can see, headed toward a collision with the leading edge of night, then beyond.
On the tray table in front of me are the remains of a mediocre piece of chicken breast, and below me is Eastern Canada. Tonight I head toward someplace new for a brief visit.
A logical things for me to do with this time would be a hiking trip, or perhaps something at altitude (I really can’t wait until May!). Even that long delayed trip to France would make sense.
With my days off, however, I watched the prices and found a decent price to a new location, and I pulled the proverbial trigger. OK, I’ll admit that while that sounds good, it’s not entirely true. You could give me a deeply discounted ticket to Pyongyang and I almost certainly wouldn’t go (although the burger on Air Koryo is the stuff of legend).
Instead I’m heading east, now, beyond the darkening horizon, to visit a city a mere 1500 feet above sea level, in an arid climate. Basically this trip offers me nothing in preparation for the future.
This trip takes me to a continent I’ve visited only once before, and to a culture extremely foreign to my own. I’m on my way, my friends, to Marrakech, Morocco. I booked it on a whim, and don’t quite know what to expect. I have only 5 nights, so I am spending them all in the same city and the same hotel, which is not typical for me. I’d usually travel somewhere for a couple days, but this time I’m staying put. This is definitely breaking my usual mold.
I have little in the way of concrete plans, other than an evening tour and a day trip, both of which should be interesting.
Meanwhile I sit here in anticipation, in my seat on a Delta Airlines A330, with DTW well in the wake at our stern, while our bow remains firmly pointed toward AMS. I have a quick transfer ahead, so wish me luck, my friends. And I will see you on the other side of the Atlantic!
butterblogger 