Heads up: This is probably my longest post yet, but I hope it’s worth the read! There is just too much to say about Morocco 🙂
Many of the CIEE programs include trips to Morocco, but my specific program does not. We really wanted to see this country, so a couple of friends and I signed up with a travel agency called We Love Spain for the trip of a lifetime to visit the cities of Tetuan, Tangier, and Chefchaouen in Morocco in Northern Africa. We jumped continents for the weekend in an incredible, eye-opening trip. (Important Note: If you ever plan to visit Morocco, do so with guides and/or an experienced agency. Our trip was very safe, but Morocco can be a dangerous place if you are not with people who know exactly what they are doing.)
The first step in our trip involved taking a bus from Seville to Algeciras, which is where we boarded the fast ferry to Ceuta. Ceuta is techinically in Northern Africa, but it is still part of Spain. Once in Ceuta, we met our weekend guide, Muhammad, and boarded another bus to cross the Moroccan border. Crossing the Moroccan border is an interesting experience, and I will leave it at that (again, not something I would recommend doing alone). After about 45 minutes at the border, we drove to our hotel next to the Mediterranean Sea and had dinner (which was about 10:00 pm Spanish time).
This is the point where the trip took a bad turn for me. Unfortunately, I was the only person out of 43 of us who had food poisoning that night after dinner. I tend to have a sensitive stomach and have always had unusual reactions to things, and such was the case with this weekend. It was my first experience with food poisoning and by far the worst night of my entire life so far. I was sick the entire night and went with less than two hours of sleep collectively. It was terrifying. However, I had to be up and ready to go the next morning because we had a packed weekend planned and would never be returning to any place at any point. I gathered up any strength I had left and pulled myself together for the rest of the trip. Saturday was extremely rough as it involved a lot of walking (and at times in areas that smelled terrible, such as a tannery…) and I was still getting sick periodically throughout the day. Sunday went much better, but I’m proud of myself for staying strong and keeping with the group throughout the entire trip. I feel like I could do anything now. However, this week of recovery has been miserable, and I missed the entire week of classes. Today is the first day I have really started eating at all since the incident. Food poisoning in Morocco is certainly not unheard of though, and I pulled through it without any regrets. Morocco was such an amazing trip!
So, now on to the fun stuff. I have to begin with a description of our guide, Muhammad. He was a very nice man who spoke about six languages (most Moroccans speak at least four). He was hilarious, and we loved him. Here are some of our favorite quotes from throughout the weekend (Keep in mind that this is a very different culture. He meant well and meant any comments about women to be compliments.):
1. “I have big, strong wife. With strong wife, you don’t need washing machine. You just need washing board. When it is cold, she gives me heat. When it is hot, she gives me shadow.”
2. “No problems. We are in Morocco.”
3. “God willing if we return.”
4. “Many people who live next to the border don’t work. They just smuggle people into Spain.”
5. (Talking to me after I told him I was really sick and needed to rest): “No, you are not sick. You are fine. You have strong face, good eyes, very nice face. You are ok.”
So, we began Saturday in Tetuan with a walk through some outdoor markets and a plaza, which had many cats (as did all of the cites we visited). The photo below is of a little shoe store.
While the group walked through the Jewish quarters, I was taken to rest at the next
destination 20 minutes early, which was actually a pretty cool experience. We went to a beautiful store that sold hand-dyed, handmade rugs and cloths. Everything was done naturally without any chemicals, and every single piece was remarkably beautiful. Before everyone got there, I sat and watched TV with five or six Moroccan men. Once the entire group got there, they showed us their rugs and we had opportunities to buy some. Most of them were incredibly expensive, but I bought a beautiful end table covering for only 15 euros.
After the rug store, we went to a holistic pharmacy. A pharmacist gave us many herbal remedies to smell and try, which actually worked better than some of the medicines that I have taken (especially cold medicines). The following picture was taken at the pharmacy.
We continued walking through the streets afterward, did some bargaining for goods (their currency is not very strong. 1 dirham = 1 euro), and walked through a tannery. We then stopped for lunch, where the owner set up a bed for me so that I could nap during it. Luckily, I didn’t miss all of the performances during lunch, which were really cool. Then we took a bus near Tangier to see the Caves of Hercules and to ride camels! The cave was beautiful and looked out into the Atlantic Ocean. They also sold many different items in there. Here’s the view! (It’s a little hard to see with the bright light).
Next, we rode camels at the beach. This was soooo much fun! The men who helped us were hilarious, and everyone was laughing the entire time. There was a lot of screaming every time the camels stood up or got back down because we felt like we were going to fall off. It was an unforgettable experience. Here is one of the camels! 🙂
After the camel rides, we went to an outlook of where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, rested, and then checked into our hotel in Tangier. I then proceeded to sleep for the next eleven hours, which I desperately needed.
The next day, we got back in the bus and drove to Chefchaouen, which is a beautiful small mountain town. It is called “The Blue City” because the entire town is painted blue to keep away mosquitos. The Moroccans here were incredibly sweet and told us throughout the day how welcomed we were. Women even held babies out of windows to wave at us in the streets. When we first arrived, a group of boys around our age were singing and playing drums in a plaza at 8 am. After dancing with many of us for a bit, one boy leaned over to our group and said “You are welcome in Morocco.” It was such a wonderful thing to hear.
Our second guide in this city was also wonderful and hilarious. He was a small, elderly man named Ahmed. He spoke 5 or more languages, and we called him Yoda because he had a similar voice and was always trying to say wise things. Here are some of our favorite things that he talked about: air conditioned pants, photos, his fame, and terms of endearment (“habibi”). He also let us know that there are no basket people (basketball players) in Chefchaouen because “we all short.” He also gave advice when walking down stairs: “Be careful, don’t ski without snow.” He was awesome and took pictures with all of us while saying “Holaaaaa, peace, Italia, habibi!” It was great.
After meeting Ahmed, he took us through the beautiful streets of Chefchaouen to another rug store, vendors, and to have one last lunch before heading back to Spain. The next few photos were taken in Chefchaouen, one of which was taken at the rug place.
Even though I was sick, this was the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. I am so happy
that I went and experienced such a different culture. It was unlike anywhere or anything I have ever seen before!
Location: Chefchaouen, Morocco
