Lon Zomer and Hazel O'Dea - their life abroad
After a couple of changes my flight from Ouagadougou was planned at 4 in the morning. So up early to be at the airport at 2. There was a queue of luggage and people sleeping in several corners, so I did the same. 4 o'clock passed without any news from any source. 5 o'clock passed. Around 7 the queue started to move. First the police check, the second police check than check in, after that a customs check and stamp in the passport. Because of construction work at the airport we had to go to arrivals for our departure. So my evil mind thought: 'Could I not just put anything I want in my luggage at this point?'.
So we waited for a bit. Another flight left. There was news: there is a delay; what a surprise. They brought us to a hotel. A few people asked if they could go home, as home is 5 minutes away. 'NO, we need the group together for further news'. At the hotel we got some breakfast and a room (after queuing for half an hour) and were told to be at the exit at 10. Indeed at 10 we left for the airport. All in all it was after noon before we left. So any apologies or explanation? Of course not.
The flight was uneventful, 3 hours plus 1 hour time difference. Casablanca, almost everybody queues for the transfer desk, which seems to have the speed of a snail. But I got a new boarding pass for the flight of 8 o'clock the next day; I should have been in The Netherlands already by that point. I was told to get a ticket for a hotel at the 'logement' desk. So I went to the exit and wondered around as there were no signs. Luckily I found it quiet quickly, I was hoping on a quick service as I saved 5 seconds by using the diplomat desk. But: The logement desk was empty. Five people were waiting already, this grew slowly but steadily.
A man came ... and left, twice. No word or explanation what was happening. The third time he got corned, but explained it was not his job. We tried to be polite and told him he was a representative of his (@#$) company. 1,5 hours later a man capable (just) of helping us started writing tickets. A fight broke out and he refused to help anyone. Finally everybody calmed down and we got a ticket. At the hotel it was queuing again. We had dinner and came back for a room key. More confusion. No rooms? Sharing rooms? One man threw his papers on the floor and ran out. I thought I had more chance of getting a room by staying polite but firm. Out of nowhere rooms appeared one by one, it turned out that the rooms were not cleaned yet. Why nobody could just explain that I don't know. Why rooms were not clean at 22.00 is a mystery to me; what have they been doing all day? So to my room at 23.00 to get up at 6.
They advised to be at the airport at 6, which seemed a bit early to me for a 8 o'clock flight I already checked in to. So at 7 at the airport. The customs office was still closed, more queuing, struggling to go through. I got passed customs 10 minutes after the official take off. They literally closed the door behind me. The plane was more than half empty, my seat was taken and they tried to stop me sitting in another empty seat. In case someone shows up? You can imagine I was pleased to be on European soil. The rental car was ready, bigger than expected and the rest went well. Paul's kids, who expected me a day earlier, were happy to see me. The Hendriks family was very hospitable, a shame my stay there was much shorter than expected.
