This past weekend (Friday - Sunday) I traveled with a group of study abroad students to Morocco through a company called Discover Excursions. I chose to book my trip through them as they pre arrange your transportation, hotels, food, and activities for a flat rate, and most importantly it meant I would be traveling in Morocco with a big organized group.
Morocco is unlike anywhere I have ever been. For starters its in Africa and it was my first time on that continent. Additionally, its an Islamic and a third world country and I have been to neither. It was extremely eye opening and a much needed culture shock to make me further appreciate and be thankful for my ability to study abroad for a semester.
Friday was our day of travel, taking a bus for Granada to Sevilla then Sevilla to the port. We then took a ferry from the port to Tanger, Morocco. On the way, our ferry stopped to pick up more passengers at the Strait of Gibraltar. If you look at my Facebook pictures the ones of the sunset is from me watching the sunset over the Strait of Gibraltar from the ferry. The boarder of Spain and Morocco is actually in the ocean so our passports were checked on the boat, which I thought was interesting. I am very proud to say that I now have stamps from Africa in my passport! (Side Note: We learned in Paris that when traveling within the European Union our passports do not get stamped because we have student visas... we're all pretty bummed about that)
The hotel was about an hour and a half from the port in Tanger so dinner there was pretty late but delicious. We had a very traditional Moroccan meal of cous cous and Tagines, with salad and bread. Tangines are slow cooked stewed meats with vegetables (ours was chicken and beans) that top the cous cous. The bread there was so good. It was a flat and lose rise circular bread that tasted kind of like english muffin. We had it with every meal. Before eating we watched four men as they performed traditional dance and music of Morocco. Some involved balancing candles but I was unable to get photos of that part.
We spent a lot of time traveling on the bus each day from town to town and back to our hotel, but I enjoyed the rides because we always had great views and it allowed us to see even more of the country that way. Saturday we drove to Chefchouen. This is the city in my pictures that has all the blue and white doors and walls. These literally cover all the buildings in the city, making it appear to be on a cloud. Also, all the doors of the houses are different sizes, shapes, and colors (mostly shades of blue). Chefchouen is tucked in between the Rif mountains. When you walk out of the center of the city you hit the valley with the sights of the mountains that we walked up a bit (see the pics!) and the river that comes from the mountains and is the source of water for the city. Photos are up of the public washing area for the laundry of the people who live there. Chefchouen was my favorite city of the trip and its where I first got to barter. Spoiler alert to the fam bam! I barter for a blanket for most likely the secret room do the colors and I bartered from 25 euros to 13 :) I also bartered for some other surprises that you'll see when I get back.
On Sunday we went to Tangiers and and Assilah. First we went to a beach in Tangiers where we got to ride camels! The camel rides were only a few minutes each but that was more than fine, as there were also baby camels to pet and an amazing beach. I still can not believe I road a camel. They're beautiful animals and much bigger than horses (I pictured them smaller for some reason) and very calm (all though I do realize these particular camels are trained to give rides so they may not be the best representation).
After the camel rides and beach we drove to the point where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea meet. If you look at my pictures its the one with a tan lighthouse that takes up the whole right side of the photo. There a bartered for my shot glass, I've been trying to get one from every country I visit. From there we went to the Caves of Hercules. It's famous for its opening that looks like an upside outline of Africa.
Our final stop was the beach town Assilah. We mostly just enjoyed the views of the coast and the murals, and some pastries while there. The city is known for its murals and has a festival each year where artists come to decorate the city with new ones. One of the murals is a relationship tree where people add there names. I added Steve and I and one for my best friend Sara and I, ha, I couldn't resist.
The way back home led to the biggest culture shock and reminder of the trip that we were in a developing country. Our ferry back to Spain was delayed over an hour because of immigrants trying to sneak into Spain by hiding in the trunks of buses and cars that were going over on the ferry. There were even two young boys (about 15/16) who were caught in the water trying to swim onto the boat. Spain's law is that if minors sneak into Spain without parents they become custody of Spain, so many families try to send their children over... it was pretty heartbreaking :(
I am so glad I went to Morocco and experienced Islamic culture and open my eyes to how many people in the world are living. I feel even more fortunate, grateful, and blessed for my circumstances after going.
Thanks for reading and i'll be sure to post soon!
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