Morocco!
So last weekend I went on an organized trip to Africa, more specifically Morocco. The trip was all inclusive which was really nice for a change, I didn't have to worry about transportation, activities, food, it was great! We left mid-day on Friday and after a 2 1/2 hour bus ride we arrived at the ferry that would take us over to Morocco. Once we got to the hotel it was pretty late but we had an amazing dinner! It was a four corse meal with bread, salad, chicken cous-cous with grilled vegetables and cranberry sauce, and then some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Since I've been eating like a poor person and I make the same 4 meals I was so excited to eat some different food! Then we called it a night early because we'd be getting up very early to start our adventures!
The first town we went to was called Chefchaouen which was a little bit of a drive but on the way we stopped at an view point. The landscape was awesome, tons of mountains and valleys.
Sitting on the bus and watching the landscape go by was actually really enjoyable. It gives you the opportunity to really observe what some people's lives are like and compare them to our own. Most of the people that I saw were farmers that lived just randomly throughout the country side. I would all of a sudden see a man hiking down a mountain path with a herd of goats following him. I also saw some men and women carrying massive baskets full of crops. It's just a completely different lifestyle and it makes me think about what it would be like to live in a more simplistic way. Since I'm not really into the whole technological age and whatnot I can't help but wonder if that's the better way to live. Also the whole time I was wishing I could get out and take pictures :)
Chefchaouen is that famous Moroccan city that's all blue and white. It was gorgeous!! I heard a couple of reasons why it's painted that way, one is that the colors keep the mosquitoes away and another is that blue is the color of the sky and ocean, both of which are free.
This blog post is also pretty picture heavy, but that's because I have less to say about Morocco and more to show. The whole trip was really about looking and experiencing a completely different culture. In the city they took us on a short tour where we literally just had a guide wander us through the streets, and then we got let loose to spend money! I felt throughout the trip a constant encouragement to spend my money, I did buy a couple things but mostly took pictures instead.
The colors in general were amazing! Most of the clothes, bags, tapestries, and jewlery were very colorful and that with the blue walls just made everything very vibrant.
To the left is Belinda one of my roommates and some circle bread. We would be walking around the streets and then be overcome by the delicious smell of bread! Among the houses were little bakeries where Moroccians would be cooking delicious thick circle bread over wood fires! We ate a ton while we were there, so good. On the right is Keliana just hanging out, the town was surrounded by gorgeous mountains.
Here's our tour guide! Omg he was the cutest little man.
There was a little river that ran through the city which is where the people would wash their clothes. The water would run through these little washing houses where they had washboards and then the soapy water would run back into the river. It was cool to watch the women wash the clothes, another extreme cultural difference which makes you ponder your own life haha.
We then got to have another amazing meal, we were on the roof of this awesome restaurant, above is the view from the roof.
Salad and chicken with fries and apricots, I'm really into taking pictures of food now...
Leather bags.
I think that this was powder to make dye, but I'm really not sure, just thought it was pretty.
They legit use donkeys to carry things from one place to another, serious cultural differences. I think that's why I liked Morocco so much, the whole experience really got me thinking.
River/stream
That night had dinner at the hotel and then hung out in the hotel bar and had a few drinks, above is a picture of all the lovely ladies I went to Morocco with. This picture and a couple others in this post were taking on Keliana's analoge camera so they look a little vintagey.
In the morning we decided to wake up early and watch the sunrise because our hotel was conveniently located right on the Mediterranean! It was pretty freaking cold but totally worth it, watching the sunrise is just such a nice way to start a day, especially one in Morocco. Above is a picture of me before the sun rose.
I had Marielle do some yoga poses in front of the sunset, they came out pretty cool
The second day we went to Tetouan in the morning, it's just another city in Morocco. I really didn't learn much about the places I was in, I think that was kind of the downside to my tour program. Like I said they seemed more concerned with us spending money that really letting us know what we were doing there. But we wandered around the area too and through this old market, which actually was pretty intense. There were chickens all kept in little crates and some were just laid out with their necks cut and hanging.
Later we stopped in this pharmacy where we could....buy more stuff! But a lot of the stuff was like natural herb beauty products, there was aragon oil that a lot of the girls bought because it is supposed to work wonders for your hair and skin and it's a lot cheaper in Morocco than in America. I ended up getting Moroccan mint tea, a detox tea, and some lip balm that is good for not only lips but cuticles and blackheads.
OH YEAH WE SAW A SNAKE CHARMER!!! So, the guy takes out a snake and puts it on the blanket and the snake is clearly pissed, he taunts it and it was like snapping at him. Then he starts staring at the snake while the other guy was playing music and something happens and all of a sudden he can put the snake on his face. He did it with two different snakes I'm not sure the name of the first one but the other was a cobra (shown below), yeah he finished by kissing the cobra. It was completely unexpected, I didn't know we were going to see a snake charmer!
More markets
Later we went to these caves in Tangiers which wasn't too exciting but the ocean was pretty.
We ended the trip with a camel ride, which actually turned out to be a pretty weird and slightly scaring situation. The camels were in like this random parking lot and were clearly over worked and treated kind of badly. All the camels were really exhausted and the whole vibe of the situation was kind of awkward and uncomfortable. I almost didn't do it because I felt kind of weird about the whole thing. Also 2 girls were on one camel and the whole seat fell off the camel and the girls went with it, I was already on another camel but needless to say that added to the...weirdness. But to make it better there were two baby camels that were hanging out and being super cute.
Before we got on the bus to go back to Spain we went over to the ocean overlook and took this picture. I love it!! The program we went on as a whole wasn't that great, but the country was so different and intriguing that I think it was one of my favorite places I've been so far. It made me think about the different styles of living and comparing what I have to what a typical Moroccan has, it's really crazy to think about. It gave me a taste for what a lot of this world is really like. It would be interesting to grow up in a less materialistic and corporate society and instead just live in tiny shack with livestock, fields, and mountains.