π°ββοΈ Marriage certificate π°ββοΈ
Last year, our whole family decided to spend New Year’s Eve in the Sahara Desert π₯
In the south of Morocco, amidst the dunes of Merzouga.
And since we now live in Marbella, which is a bit closer, we decided to go by car for several reasons:
First, because we were ten people, it’s much more cheaper than flying (although the ferry wasn’t as affordable as I had thought…).
And the second reason was to get to know more about Morocco as we crossed the country.
So off we went in two cars, leaving from Algeciras to reach the port of TANGER MED.
MISTAKE
NEVER GO TO THAT PORT!! π
DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!
It took us exactly 4 hours to get out of there, with endless queues at customs.
A nightmare.
Unbelievable.
Anyway.
Things that happen when you leave home…
But let’s get back on track.
We FINALLY left the port of Tanger Med to go to the hotel where we spent the first night.
We still had about two hours of driving ahead… π
When we arrived at the hotel, it was already 12:30 p.m.. Or 00:30, it didn’t matter, because we were equally tired π
And here comes the issue…
We handed all our passports to the guy at the reception, and after looking at them for a good while -which felt longer than usual- he blurts out:
“I need to see the marriage certificates of all the couples.”
π³
What the heck?
What is this guy saying?
Wait, let me ask him again because it seems like I didn’t understand…
So I politely ask him:
“Sorry, I didn’t understand well… What did you say you need?”
And he answers without looking at me…
“The marriage certificates of all the couples… without them, you can’t stay here.”
What??
But what is this guy saying???
“Hey, hey, this can’t be true… we’re in the 21st century, about to start 2023, and you’re telling us that we can’t sleep here if we don’t show you our marriage certificates? Come on!!!”
At that point, everyone is looking at me, wondering what’s going on.
When I told them, they started laughing.
I went from being surprised to laughing out loud, the kind where you have to go to the bathroom because you might just pee your pants.
And while laughing, I asked my daughter Kenya:
“Are you married?”
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
“And you, Roberto, are you married?”
Everyone was laughing, but still not understanding what was going on…
βWe are the only ones who are married here are us,” said my father-in-law.
And that’s true.
Then I turned back to the receptionist and said, between laughter and annoyance:
“Listen, when we made the reservation, they didn’t tell us about this, we weren’t informed, so you can’t leave us on the street at this hour, it’s too late! Give us the keys to the rooms now, please.”
“Not possible, ma’am. If you don’t have a marriage certificate, you can’t stay.”
Well, this is something else.
I looked at him as if I was seeing a Martian. ET in the flesh.
Then I figured it out.
He didn’t look me in the eye.
When I talked to him, he looked away.
Then I understood everything.
In the purest style of a developing country…
(It annoys me that it’s like this, but in Morocco, my beautiful home country which I deeply adore, things are sometimes like this…)
WHAT HE WANTED WAS FOR ME TO GIVE HIM A NOTE π΅ TO SOLVE THE SITUATION…
OR SEVERAL π΅π΅π΅!!!
What a jerk…
Well, I don’t feel like it.
Why should I?
“Can I speak to the manager, please?”
“I think he has already left,” he answered without looking at me…
“Then call him at home and have him come here, because if not, I’ll call the police.”
That’s when he finally looked at me.
Straight in the face.
“Wait, ma’am, let me see if the manager is here.”
“You better,” I answer, now with more anger than laughter.
I looked at the others, and they were all laughing, and I joined them to continued being amazed by the situation, although I am already in a state of combustion.
They can’t do this to you in a serious hotel.
At that hour.
They can’t and they shouldn’t.
After a while, the guy in question came out, followed by the hotel manager.
…At least that’s what he said… that he was “the manager”…
“Excuse me, ma’am” (this time in perfect French). “Everything is sorted out. Here are your passports and the keys to your rooms. On the second floor, the elevator is at the end on the right.”
There you go, everything worked out nicely and quickly, as the saying goes.π₯΄
The word “police” worked the miracle.
So I handed out their passports to everyone and we grabbed our suitcases to go rest on our long-awaited first day of the trip.
That’s what happens when you leave home. I always say it.
Don’t get a bad impression of my birth country π²π¦
The rest of the trip was wonderful.
We had an amazing New Year’s Eve and visited beautiful places.
If you love craftsmanship and don’t want to go out because of things like this, you can check out all the wonders we have at Ohana Marbella.
Like this beautiful cactus silk scarf.
Yes, made of cactus.
You read that right.
In Morocco, there is plenty of cactus and they use it to make beautiful things like these scarves.
Β
Β
Hug,
Teresa πΊ
Β
PS: The correct port is TANGER VILLE.
PS 2: If you’re very tired and want to resolve the situation quickly… just hand over a little tip as soon as the circus starts, and everything will be fixed! π
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