We departed YVR at 9:05 this morning, embarking on the first leg of our journey to Morocco with a connecting flight through Montreal. When global aviation authorities mandated three-letter identifiers in the 1930s, Canada took the path of least bureaucratic resistance by simply slapping a "Y" onto its existing two-letter railway and telegraph codes. The prefix originally stood for "Yes," pragmatically indicating that the airstrip possessed a functioning weather reporting station. It was delightfully lazy. The YUL designation follows this exact logic, appending the national "Y" to the area's former Royal Air Force radio beacon, which historically broadcasted as "UL."
Jay and I are currently waiting in Montreal for our 19:15 direct flight to Casablanca. We anticipate touching down in north Africa at approximately 7:15 AM tomorrow local time, navigating a five-hour time jump from this coast and a total eight-hour chronological displacement from home. Our first few days will be spent resetting our internal clocks at the Ibis City Centre Hotel. Jet lag seems a bit more pronounced as one ages. Tomorrow's entry should be drafted from the comfort of our room before we officially launch into our self-created circular tour of the country.