Surprise!

It's the return of the travel blog! Last year I reached out to Landry’s sister Georgia several months before Asaye was due to see if she could come in mid-August to surprise Landry and be here for the birth.  She said that she wasn’t going to be able to come and then she showed up four days before my due date with her kids in tow and surprised us both.  While I was super happy she ended up being there for when Saye was born, I vowed revenge and this week I got it.

Landry and I were supposed to travel to Gabon last winter break, but there was some uncertainty with the President’s health and while we weren’t overly concerned about safety, we were concerned that some infrastructure may shut down, like the airport, and we didn’t want to get stranded.  As such, we pushed the trip to this winter break.  But a few weeks ago Landry told the family that we probably weren’t going to be able to make it again this year.

So, we celebrated Christmas Eve and Day as we usually do and then spent the following 36 hours clearing up our house, packing, shopping and at 8:20pm on the 27^th it was wheels up!  We got a great deal on our flights out of JFK (getting to JFK is the sacrifice for good ticket prices!) and flew on Royal Air Maroc.  Flying with kids is stressful, flying with kids on a nighttime flight where they don’t turn out the lights until 3 hours before you land is kind of a nightmare.  We were those people on the plane with a screaming baby who was so deliriously over tired he didn’t know what to do with himself.  But, in the end, both kids did fall asleep for about three and a half hours and then we landed in Casablanca, Morocco and it was 9am!

At the beginning of our trip, when we weren't screaming

We had a ten-hour layover in Casablanca (another reason the tickets were such a good deal!) and so we got off the plan, changed, and left the airport to explore a new city.  I had booked an AirBnB experience tour and our guide Adam was great.  He was born and raised in Casablanca, but has also spent a lot of time living in Canada.  He took us through the Old Medina (medina means city in Arabic, so think Old City in Philadelphia, except much, much older!) and then we stopped at LaSqala Café for lunch, which is situated in an old Portuguese fort right on the coast. 

The entrance to the ancient Medina

Entrance to La Sqala Cafe and the old Portugeuse fort.  Behind me are the old canons.

I don't Instagram often...

My vegetarian tajine...can't go to Morocco and not have tajine!

Traditional tajine pots

After lunch we wandered out of the medina and took pictures in front of Rick’s Café, which will be familiar to those of you familiar with the movie Casablanca.  Rick’s actually never existed in Casablanca as the movie was shot entirely in Hollywood.  However, an American expat decided to create Rick’s in Casablanca as a nod to the movie and now it draws tourists from everywhere for photo opportunities.  Adam said the food isn’t bad either, making it a fun place to have dinner if you’re in Casablanca for more than a ten-hour layover!

From Rick’s we walked across the street, through a mall and out onto a walkway built right up along the coast.  It’s a cool thing to see your ocean from the other side.  The path led us right up to the Hassan II Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world.  It’s absolutely stunning.  Completed in 1993, it is built out over the Atlantic Ocean, a nod to the sacred nature of water in Islam. 

The port at Casablanca

Jetlag much?

The detail is just amazing

That tiny dot there is Amare in front of a really, really big door

Exhausted, we said goodbye to Adam, walked around the grounds a bit more, and piled back into a taxi for our return to the airport.  A few hours later we were flying again on our way to Libreville, Gabon.  On this second flight, the lights were out within an hour of takeoff and as a Christmas miracle, the row across from us was empty, so we were able to move and give both kids two seats to lay across and sleep, which they did for nearly the entire flight. 

We landed, all of our bags arrived safely with us (this is never a guarantee!), and customs was a breeze.  Then, as Landry predicted, our hotel shuttle did not show to pick us up and when we called they said the driver was resting and no one would be coming.  So, a Tetris master of a taxi driver managed to pack our four suitcases, pack and play, backpacks, stroller and us into his Subaru station wagon and dropped us to our hotel.  By the time we checked in, showered, and settled it was 3am.  We all passed out and slept until 11 the next morning.

Arrival in Gabon

And the baby is already riding shotgun with no carseat...smh

Sunday was the big surprise day.  We loaded everything up again and stored it at the hotel, took another taxi with just our essentials, and arrived at Geo’s house unannounced.  Below are the videos we took at her house and then again at Landry’s brother’s house.

Amare and Asaye have been having a blast with their cousins since we arrived.  Geo’s house is amazing.  They have a pool, jungle gym, and trampoline, so the kids have tons of stuff to do.  She also has a guest house, which is where we’re staying.  It’s a really spacious suite with a bed, sitting area, and bathroom.

I've missed this soda!

Monday was Amare’s birthday.  I woke him up with his traditional Zoom birthday song and then I’m not sure he stopped jumping on the trampoline from the time he got up until his birthday party started around 6.  It was a dino themed party (of course!) and the highlight was a piñata that he’d been asking for constantly, so it was a great surprise for him.  And his Tonton Amenem created this amazing video for him of his party.

Last night as a four year old!

Today is New Year’s Eve.  We don’t have any big plans for tonight.  We’ll just hang out at the house with the family I think.  Tomorrow Landry, the boys and I head for Point Denis for a night.  There are elephants and the sea turtles are nesting now, so I’m really, really hoping we get to see that while we’re there.  Then on Friday I’m off to Nairobi for work