On Monday we eleven Belgians were flying from Dakar, Senegal to Brussels, Belgium.  We had a six-hour layover in Casablanca, Morocco – 7:00 am till 1:00 pm.

I started the journey weak from the accumulated African heat, and the four-hour bus ride from Toubacouta to Dakar sent me sliding further downhill.  When our plane landed in Casablanca, I was desperate for sleep.

What we faced in the terminal were rows of chairs with metal armrests between each seat.  I saw Camille adjust her body to lie down without armrest pain but I wasn’t able to duplicate her feat.  My hip bones refused to get comfy.

Lore lay down on the floor but I immediately said no when I saw her.

I needed to do something so I wandered the airport looking for more pleasant seating.  None was to be found.  (Sigh)

At the very end I saw a sign: “VIP Lounge”.  That looked promising.  The fellow at the desk pointed to the armchairs inside but no place to sleep.  He mentioned, however, that there was a free lounge in Terminal Two with lots of beds!

I went back to my friends and told them I was setting off to find the beds for us.  They were dozing.

I followed what I thought were the directions but a ten-minute walk led to no beds.

Back to my VIP friend who seemed upset that I hadn’t found the Oasis Lounge.  “Ask people!”

Back to Terminal Two and Gate 25 with tweaked directions.  Seeing no oasis, I did ask an employee.  I had taken the wrong stairs before.  Finally there I was, entering the lounge.  I found two big rooms, full of sleeping humans.  The beds were more like individual sofas but they would do nicely.  There were at least eleven empty ones.

Back to my uncomfortable friends.  Four came with me and four others joined later.  At first not everyone had a bed.  Three folks went for some food but I found a spot and adjusted my physical life to approach sleep.  By now it was about 9:45.

As I laid down my weary head, the darkness around was a blessing.  My mind wavered, slowly taking in the symphony of sound that came and went:

A baby crying on and on with an exhausted mom doing her best to quiet him

The far-off beating of a drum

Feeding padding on the floor, back and forth

Kids talking in fast bursts, being mellowed by mom

Cell phones ringing, most with the usual series of tones

I came and went in consciousness for an hour or two. There was some sleep. My alarm roused me at 11:45 since our boarding time was 12:15. Soon we nine were gathered near the entrance of the lounge, still off-kilter but thankful for a bit of stretched-out slumber.

***

We dozed with other citizens of the world

We were together with them

And off we flew to our many destinations