Greetings From Fateful, Agadir, Morocco

My Thorough Surgeon

Greetings from eventful, Agadir, Morocco.

I did not know Agadir existed and planned staying onboard while other passengers were excited about their various excursions to this resort destination. It lies along Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast and has a population of 450,000. It’s not as glitzy as its larger, more well known neighbors, Casablanca and Marrakech. It is also a typical middle eastern city with new and old construction, donkey pulled fruit vendor carts and the typical groceries and pharmacies. It reminded me of my growing up years in Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt.

Well, it happened that fateful Thursday night – I had a heart attack!

The onboard medical group went into high gear and began the process to getting me off the ship to a local; but which one??? speed up to Agadir or return to a previous location. Captain decided to speed up and we arrived about 6:00 pm the next day, where an ambulance was waiting to transfer me to a cardiac hospital. Fortunately, one of my friends, Judy Cortese and her husband accompanied me there and took care of the associated paperwork and payments while Doctors removed the blockage and installed a stent. They waited 2+ hours to hear the doctors report by which time it was too late to catch a cab back to the ship, so the surgeon and his nurse drove them back to the ship.

The Hospital was surprisingly modern and well equipped, as good as any around the world with a top notch staff of doctors and nurses. Unlike the wait encountered in US hospitals, I was wheeled into an operating room, was prepped and met my Surgeon, Dr. Assam and discovered that most did not speak English. But could easily understand Egyptian Arabic, hence communication was a breeze…and fun. In my humble opinion, Dr. Assam was knowledgeable, thorough and we bonded immediately. He indicated the blockage was extensive and severe but he was able to clean it out completely and he expected a quick return to normal. In addition, he was going to request a financial discount once he discovered I had no trip insurance.

This episode was more beneficial than if it had not happened in many ways. Physically, my heart is improved, and should pay more dividends. More importantly, it gave me a chance to discover a new country that I knew nothing about and became enamored with. On the way back to the ship, I learned many impressive factoids that are beyond the scope of the more superficial tourist tracks.

The highway from Agidir to Casablanca was superior to any I have seen in California. It was clean and smooth lined with farmlands and orchards. The trees looked healthy because computers were used for irrigation, fertilization, weed control and harvesting. I thought maybe the roads were superior to ours because they were newer and discovered there is an actual law for continuous improvements. Farm workers lived in small brick “villas” along the highway, instead of the tin shacks used by California migrants or mud huts used by Egyptian farm workers. A Porsche passed us far exceeding the speed limit and driver indicated it’s captured on camera and the owner will receive a hefty penalty in his mailbox.

Morocco is more than 90% Moslem, but not very strict. Women could opt to wear Hijabs or not, and anyone can drink and gamble without judgments or repercussions. People are kind and tolerant to one another and not driven by money or material goods. In fact, the pleasant port agent who arranged it all and shadowed me throughout would not accept a tip.

Why can’t we all emulate the Moroccans. Our world would be a better place.

I’m feeling fine butt a little sad this fantastic segment of our adventure is coming to an end.