Soaked and Hungry - Part One

by Corabelle Haarer

Walking near the beach in Tangier, Morocco

On the first day of our wild adventure, we got up early in Seville, Spain and walked down the street of our apartment in search of a decent cafe. After eating a delicious meal of bacon, eggs, toast, and a few pastries we realized that it had begun to rain. Luckily, we had previously bought two umbrellas. After some time, we all agreed that Dad, Livi , and I would share the umbrellas, and mom would hold her coat over her head to protect her and Regina, who was in the backpack carrier, from the cold rain. Since our umbrellas kept blowing inside out, and a coat isn’t a good shield to begin with, we were more than slightly soaked when we arrived back at our apartment. We still had an hour before we needed to leave, so Reggie and I decided to watch a National Geographic about Yellowstone’s wild animals. We were so intently watching rams fighting, a fox hunting a mole, and a wolf teaching its pack how to hunt, that it took Dad a few tries to get our attention and tell us it was time to go. We loaded up our luggage and off we went to the Algeciras Port where a ferry would take us to Morocco, in North Africa. 

          The car ride was about two hours, but we entertained ourselves by listening to audiobooks, repeating the line “You remind me of a man” (from an old Cary Grant movie) with Regina over and over, and eating a small lunch of turkey, cheese, an apple, and strawberries. We arrived at the port and found a parking garage but were unsure if it was the right one for overnight parking. Sensing our confusion, a man in a black raincoat motioned to us. We drove up a ramp with him leading the way on foot. He pushed the buttons and the gate opened. Then, he led us to an open parking spot. By that time I was getting a little worried, since he didn’t look like he worked here. Dad stepped out of the car and started speaking to the man in Spanish. Their conversation went on for a while, with dad repetitively making “I won’t” or “I can’t” kind of gestures– I couldn’t tell which one. 

“Does Dad know how to punch?,” Olivia asked suddenly with little fear in her voice. 

“Of course!” I replied with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. 

“Besides, the guy’s outnumbered,” I added with a hint of excitement at the idea that I could actually punch someone. 

But my excitement began to evaporate as the seconds ticked on. My nervous mind kept playing unpleasant outcomes of the situation. I had no idea what to do. I turned around, folded my hands, laid my head on the back of my seat and prayed silently. About a minute later, the man handed dad a ticket and walked away, frustrated. 

“What was that all about?” we asked dad, worry and relief written all over our faces. It turned out that the man stated that at this parking garage you pay the parking attendant, therefore Dad owed him money. But Dad, being as smart as he is, knew he was lying. 

“I can’t believe he gave me the ticket, since he denied he had one in the first place!” Dad said, amazed. 

I wholeheartedly agreed with Dad because without the ticket we wouldn’t have been able to pay. And without paying, we wouldn’t have been able to leave the parking garage after our trip. We grabbed our four backpacks, and headed towards the building where we would wait for our ferry. While we waited, Livi, Regina, Dad, and I played at a little indoor play place. 

“Well our trip is off to a great start!” Dad said joyfully. This time I didn’t quite agree with him. 

          After trying many times and failing at a frog puzzle in the children’s play place, it was time to board the ship. Once aboard the ferry, we picked a nice table next to a window. After Livi, Dad, and I played a game of Egyptian Rat Slap, we had to get in the very long line for customs. When it was finally our turn, we got stamps in our passports. We picked a new table that was larger but we still had a window seat and we could start to see parts of Africa. I was listening to an audiobook when the boat began to rock. It had been swaying a little already but now it was rocking very hard for a big boat. All at once the chairs began to slide, cabinets opened, and a big crash of something breaking came from the kitchen. Livi looked at mom, panicked. Mom gave her a reassuring look. After giving a few more big rocks, the big waves began to subside. Thankfully, we were almost there, and the rest of the ride was pretty smooth. We exited the boat and then went through security and passport checks three more times. 

          We decided to take a taxi to our hotel instead of a bus…something I would guess we would all later regret. A man with a white beard helped us into a taxi. To my surprise, he joined the driver, and we all headed in the direction of our home for a night. I tried to peacefully listen to my audiobook and ignore all that was going on. It didn’t work. Our driver would stop in the middle of a highway or roundabout to let pedestrians pass while intimidating them by honking the horn or yelling at them. He would also get so close to the car in front of us and honk the horn continuously until they moved. We all still wonder what he was doing when he stopped in the middle of a busy road, and with his gaze on a house across the street, honked the horn about nine or eleven times. Let’s just say he liked to honk the horn a lot. After we finally arrived at our destination, Dad paid the driver, but the man with the white beard said he needed money too. 

Dad confidently said, “No, you said thirty euros and that is what I gave you, no more.”  

           We easily got into our nice hotel. I immediately laid down on the couch, exhausted by the excitement of the day. I also felt very cold. Unfortunately, I only had a thin sweatshirt because I forgot my coat in Indiana. But even though I was tired, I was still eager to get some dinner. It was raining and we had forgotten our umbrellas in our room. Oh well, I thought, it can’t be that far. We obediently followed Dad through the rain to some restaurant he had picked out online. 

When we came across a particular building, I didn’t think much of it until dad stopped in front of it and said,”Well this is one I chose”. 

I realized the reason he looked disappointed was because the place was obviously closed. We turned around and walked almost all the way back to our hotel. When we came across a restaurant that we had seen earlier called La Ruche, we went inside to see their menu. After a mini discussion we agreed to eat dinner there. It was a very unique place, and as Mom pointed out there were only older men as waiters. We ordered our food, hoping that unlike most of the restaurants we visited in Europe, we would actually get what we expected. 

While we waited for our meal, a man brought us a free appetizer of figs with peanut butter. I tried one, and it was not my favorite. But Regina seemed to really like them! A man in a black shirt and black pants walked around handing out single roses. He offered us two and we gladly accepted the gift. Roses were my favorite flower, since it is my middle name. The food was good. Reggie and I split a burger and fries. Everyone agreed that the fries were better than McDonald’s. Taking Dad’s suggestion, Regina and I ordered a second burger to share and it was a good thing we did. We discovered it was Ramadan for Muslims, which meant for this whole month, they only ate after sundown, around seven at night, and before sunrise, around four in the morning. That would be really hard, I thought. I am so glad I don’t have to do that. We returned to our hotel and Livi, Regina, and I watched a dinosaur movie that I definitely don’t have to watch again and then everyone got ready for bed. We had no idea the adventures we would face the next day.