Lockdown: Weeks 3-6

30 MARCH - 26 APRIL 2020

We have been in full lockdown here in Morocco for six weeks now. Over the past month we’ve watched the hours merge into days, and the days into weeks. The children have not left the marina for this entire time. We venture out individually for trips to the supermarket only. We are doing our best to help the rest.

Along with the existing regulations in place (a nightly curfew, no public exercise, closed beaches and parks, etc.), it is now mandatory to wear a mask in public too. The current state of emergency in Morocco (and the full lockdown that goes along with it) is in place until at least 20 May. The restrictions will be reviewed again after Ramadan. So, the long wait continues…

There are no chandleries or boat shops in Tangier (or indeed Morocco?) for completing our long list of boat jobs. The postal service is unreliable. So, we fill our days in other ways. Whilst Ben runs his business in the mornings, Emily “homeschools” the kids. We cook, and clean, and perform general maintenance on the boat. We build and play and create. We read and colour and draw. We watch movies, hunt for bugs and go for picnics. All of the wholesome family time we were seeking contained within the square kilometre of the marina. It’s the sea change that we’ve been searching for, just without the international travel and high seas adventure!