"Saturn, the law of cause and effect challenges you to be orderly and coherent. If you ignore obstacles or failings, the cosmos will demand repayment". I reckon they deliberately put that star sign in the Iberia air magazine for us. Pissed off and now poorer is a bit of an understatement.
I booked our flight with Iberia from Casablanca to Munich a few weeks back, paid it on credit card and it was all sorted. We got rolled on prices because we left it late, and couldn't change Oktoberfest accommodation bookings to cut down the airfares. I also thought our tour of Morocco ended where it started- in Casa, so booked the flight from there. By the time we were told by our travel agent we wind up in Marrakech it was too late to change- no big deal though. We stayed in Casa for a night in the youth hostel and although there wasn't alot to do in Casa, we met some pretty cool Aussies- A couple of chicks from Syd- one a zoologist doing some bird banding and the other out on holidays and a mum from Melbourne who is half way through a 5 month round the world trip. Given the lack of nightlife in Casa we just sat around and chatted till bed time.
The next morning we missed the 8:07 train to the airport by a few minutes so jumped on the 9:07 one- cutting it fine for a 10:55 departure. We got into the airport at 9:45, closing time for check in was in 10 minutes... close call. What didn't help our time situation was the signs to terminal 3. We have now learnt that although in most countries a down direction arrow means down stairs or behind you and an up arrow means straight ahead or up stairs, its arse-about here in Marocco. After going from downstairs to upstairs, terminal 1 to terminal 2 and repeat, we learned the sign system. The down arrow above the escalators means keep walking. Nice.
We get to check in as the flight is closing, and we are then told we don't have tickets. I whip out the reservation number and the laptop with the flight confirmation and I'm told "This reservation is cancelled" I'm mystified- It says confirmation on it about 6 times, shows my credit card details and says paid but apparently its not a ticket and we cant get on the plane. We end up running with the bags over to the Iberia ticketing desk and getting charged more than we ever thought- I think there were a few hundred dirhams tip for them coz the amount we were charged doesn't appear on the receipt, then we run back to the check in where we are told the flight is closed and we cant get on. You can pretty much see steam coming off our heads now, and we are trying not to snap- The next flight out to Munich is days away- There goes a grand in Oktoberfest bookings.
After some radio calls by the staff we get checked in with our gold-plated tickets and we start the security shenanigans. Somehow I get a passport checker that has to have a conversation to his mate after each letter he writes on my customs declaration. After he has discussed the practical impossibilities of perpetual motion devices with his buddy I get my stamp and proceed to the frisking of a lifetime station. Once I have taken off my shoes for him and they have passed his x-ray scanner I have his nod of approval (I guess he's and etnies man, not DC's) and we can proceed to the plane. We are the last ones on, and furious as we are, damn its good to be out of there. Saturn can get bent for all I care.. Shit I shouldn't tempt fate- I hope our bags made it onto the plane.
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