My trip from Denver took about 26 hours, with flights from Denver to Washington, D.C., then Lisbon, Portugal, and finally Casablanca. Long flights are a great time to sleep, read, or watch movies. I watched The Mandalorian and Grogu along the way.
My long-distance travel tip is simple: get up and move around. Sitting in an airplane seat for hours makes you stiff. I try to stand up, walk around when I can, drink plenty of water, and start adjusting to the new time zone.
When I finally landed in Casablanca, I had another transportation problem. A normal taxi was not going to hold me, my luggage, and a giant bicycle box, so I had booked a large van to take me to my apartment.
Of course, travel rarely goes exactly according to plan.
While moving the box, I heard a sound from the wheel that made me think I might have broken a spoke. Before I even arrived, I contacted a bicycle shop in Casablanca to make sure they could help and had the parts I might need.
Luckily, when I unpacked and assembled the bike yesterday, everything looked okay.
This morning, I got up very early and took the bike for a test ride around Casablanca. The wheels looked good, the brakes worked, and the gears shifted properly. Success! Back at my apartment, I attached all my frame bags. The bicycle is finally starting to look like an expedition bike.
There has also been time to begin exploring Morocco. This morning I had a traditional Moroccan breakfast with eggs, breads such as msemen and harcha, honey, olives, amlou, fruit, juice, and Moroccan tea.
Today I also visited the incredible Hassan II Mosque, built beside the Atlantic Ocean here in Casablanca.
