On January 24th, 2023, I set out on a trip to Agadir, Morocco, which lasted a week. I returned on the 31st of the same month. This was, by far, the best solo trip I have ever taken. It wasn't just because of the city or the weather, although walking on the beach in 20-degree Celsius weather was lovely. It was due to an entirely different reason.

Let’s go back to 2011

In early 2010, I started playing a popular MMORPG called Ragnarok Online (RO). Later in 2011, during an important update called Renewal, I was in one of the dungeons on the Glast Heim map with my Knight character lomar. While in the dungeon, I met a friendly priest called Dr. Chopper. Now, in this type of game, you meet many people, and not everyone you encounter is special. However, I started talking to this priest, and we hit it off. He told me about his life in Agadir, a city by the coast in Morocco, his friends in the same neighborhood, and how they all played RO together after school. From that point on, we started playing together, and later on, he introduced me to his three other friends: Kareem, Hamza, and Mustafa. Dr. Chopper's real name is Soufiane.

Photo of the game Ragnarok Online

Virtual adventures

Needless to say, we became best friends. Our typical day involved logging into the game after school and spending time in dungeons, leveling up our characters, completing missions, and chatting about life. By the time the server where we initially met closed, we were already hanging out on TeamSpeak and Skype. Heck, we even had stupid matching profile pictures on Facebook, and my mother knew of these friends at that point.

A very old screenshot of our Facebook profiles

Baseless promises

As 17-year-olds, we discussed many philosophical and random topics, as you do in your teen years. One of which was about meeting in person. They would always say "You should come and visit Agadir, it's amazing," and "It would be so cool to meet in person." Each time they brought up the idea, I replied, "Yeah, of course! We should definitely do it!" However, all of these promises or thoughts were baseless, and I had many doubts that it would ever happen. Looking back, the whole thing seemed absurd.

Life happened

Life can be ruthless and unpredictable, and time goes by without giving you a chance to process each moment. I eventually lost contact with Soufiane and the others. The only person I kinda remained in touch with was Kareem. Over the years, we talked occasionally, but years would go by without any communication. We all grew up, and I knew Soufiane had gotten married, got a kid, and moved to another city, and that was about it.

November 2022

I received a message on WhatsApp from a random number. Turns out it was Soufiane, catching up and telling me that he and the gang were playing on a new server. We started talking again and catching up, reminiscing the old times. One of them suggested that I should visit them one day, and for some reason, I said, "Okay, I will come to visit you.". If you ask me the reason why I said yes at that time, I wouldn’t be able to tell.

So I started looking for tickets, while being on the Discord call with them, and found a cheap one to Agadir a month from that time. After confirming everything with them if it would be okay, they agreed on the time. They were a bit surprised but were really looking for it.

Fearing the unknown

Of course, I had doubts about traveling to a new country alone and meeting people I had only known online. However, I thought to myself, "If they really planned this kidnapping for more than ten years, then all I could say is ‘ggwp’”. Honestly, I would not be mad at that point, just a little sad and disappointed. Needless to say, my mother was also very wary and nervous, but she did her best trying to hide it. Another reason why I love her so much.

Arrival

After traveling alone, when I arrived and met them outside the airport, it was surreal. It’s as if, all these voices you used to hear on TeamSpeak, Skype, and Discord, are now in real life, in 4k quality. Meeting them exceeded my expectations. I had certain expectations of them being good people, but they exceeded all expectations and turned out way cooler in person.

Virtual becomes reality

Meeting them was a bizarre experience. It was like seeing new people you have never met before, yet at the same time you have known for a long time. A really confusing thing to experience. There was this weird thing in your behavior, where you would act according to the fact that they are strangers you have just met, and yet at the same time act like they’re long-lost best friends. Honestly, all it took was a few hours until this peculiar feeling dissipated. Our interaction flowed effortlessly, and I didn’t need to invest energy to engage. I was just, there, present in the moment.

Unnoticed homesick

When you spend two-thirds of your life outside of the culture you grew up with, you become more receptive to your surrounding and accustomed to integrating certain aspects to fit in. This kind of adaptivity or flexibility changes your expectations, of situations and people. You become more careful and delicate with how you interact with others.

Going to Agadir and meeting them in person felt like taking a trip down memory lane, back to my own country and hometown. It brought back childhood memories from Egypt. A feeling of nostalgia, a certain familiarity that I had forgotten. This unconditional generosity, unparalleled hospitality, brotherhood, and deep caring for one another, were truly refreshing. Of course, the laughs, the places we visited, the food we devoured, and the singing of the opening songs from the old cartoons we watched as kids, played in the car as we drove, were truly beautiful memories to have. It was an experience that I deeply needed.

True lasting

After the trip, I got back with lots of gifts and souvenirs from them, but most importantly, a true lasting friendship. If you’re wondering whether I plan to visit them again, the answer is an unequivocal yes. On my next visit, we have plans to explore the mountains of Agadir. Really looking forward to this.

The beach of Agadir, January 2023