Preport: Code Red & Fasting

Preport- n. (etymology: sas)- meeting the night before the MV Explorer docks in a new country. Two types: logistical and cultural. Reason for meetings: to brief voyagers on safety and cultural awareness. A. Gosh that preport was scary, I feel like I can’t leave the ship without being mugged or raped. B. The interport lecturer was really funny; do Moroccans really stereotype us that way?

At the Moroccan preport we were told that our security level was red, the highest. We were told not to do anything with our left hand unless you want to deeply insult someone and their family, their ancestors, their dog. We were told to dress as if we were going to a Muslim mosque: nothing above the ankles or the wrists showing, nothing below the collarbone, cover your hair if you can, etc. We were told to travel in large groups and always have a male.

The stories, the personal experiences, the lists of emergency contacts scared us all into precisely following the rules. Please gather these details and form a laughable image in your mind: groups (no smaller than twenty), clad ultra conservative clothing (some girls even taking to wrapping traditional scarves around their head), walking tightly together (to protect and watch out for each other), in 80 degree humid weather, walking through the tight and busy streets of the medinas. I cannot imagine anyway that we could have stood out more.

Upon reading World Party: a rough guide to the globes best festivals, I realized that most cultural celebrations happened in the spring. The only notable festival we would run into on our voyage was Ramadan in Morocco. In my classes, I was intrigued but disappointed to learn that Ramadan is in fact a holy month dedicated to a cleansing of the spiritual body of Muslims. This includes fasting from sunrise to sunset. Festival? I’m hoping for nonstop activity in the streets, intoxicated friendliness towards tourists, and participating in deep and meticulous traditions. Nope. Morocco lagged in the hot sun as they nobly forwent food, drink, sex, smoking, and other things of the sort. Respectfully, we tried our best to keep those practices out of the public eye until sundown. This was easy to do considering most restaurants were closed and the water wasn’t potable.