المغرب, أفريقيا
After finally adjusting to our new surrounding cultures, we decided to take a break from our European adventures and head to a new continent...Africa.
Before coming abroad, I knew a few people who went to Morocco, Africa as one of their trips while studying in Europe. Traveling to Africa has always been a dream of mine, and while being so close to it for an entire semester, I couldn't resist.
Although my parents didn't exactly agree, I went ahead and booked my trip to Morocco. I registered through a reliable program with meals and hotels and transportation included, everything was set.
Following our trip in Sevilla, we met outside the University of Sevilla and hopped on a boat that would take us to a city on the southern coast of Spain, Tarifa. From Tarifa, we would take a really nice ferry (looks very similar to the Lake Express but bigger) from the coast of Europe, to the coast of Africa. The ferry ride was a short 60 minutes and we had the pleasure of taking the ferry at sunset and watch it set over the coast.
Pulling into the port in Tanger, Morocco, I was thoroughly stunned. While I did not have any sort of expectations prior to coming, I certainly didn't expect what I saw. As we pulled in, it looked almost identical to a large city. Tanger was much more urbanized than I had expected and tall apartment buildings were packed together and towered throughout the main part of the city. However, as we got off the boat and hopped on a bus, the scenery changed drastically as we continued to drive.
While it grew darker as we drove to our hotel in Tetuon, the city-like features of Tanger began to transition into something different. We began to drive by open land with dirt and shacks and run-down stores and shops with dead animals hanging in the door way. Even the buildings that looked nice and city-like downtown appeared run-down when taking a closer look. I was definitely anxious to wake up the next day and see everything in day light.
We arrived at the hotel around 10 pm and were given dinner at the hotel restaurant before bed. I was also curious about the food and what I was going to receive. Due to my gluten allergy, my dinner consisted of chicken and vegetables that were heavily seasoned in saffron (a theme of the entire weekend for every meal...)
The next morning we woke up and were given breakfast at the hotel. With a pastry selection that rivaled Italy, I unfortunately had to opt for yogurt and hard boiled eggs (another stable in Moroccan meals apparently). Following breakfast we departed to Chefchaouen, "the blue city".
Prior to arriving in Africa, Chefchaouen was the only city in Morocco that I had really seen in pictures. Within this village, every building is painted some shade of blue. The city almost looks like a blue Santorini, Greece. The buildings are all painted a color of blue to help keep the inside cooler during the summer season when the temperature can reach insane numbers.
We walked around with a local guide who took us through the ally ways and buildings. Chauoen is more of a touristy village due to its colors and because of that, it isn't exactly the most run-down African town but still very, very different compared to Europe and the US.
After our tour, we headed to a restaurant (Aladdin) for lunch and were given chicken and rice and a salad. Once again, normal, but covered in saffron. We had a lot of free time for walking around and shopping after lunch before heading back to the hotel for dinner.
In Florence, I thought that the vendors at the leather market were bad and harassed a lot...however, the Florence leather market is now heaven compared to what I endured in Chaouen (and in Morocco in general). I was yelled at, grabbed, pulled into stores, etc. My hand was literally pulled in one direction and a lady started putting a henna on it without me saying anything. But then of course because they gave it to you, you have to pay.
The stores are filled with beautiful Moroccan rugs, clothing, shoes, jewelry and more. While I wanted a small rug more than anything, transporting it back to Italy and then to the US would have been quite difficult (I still regret not getting one though). I came out of Chaouen with jewelry and postcards though. A guy at a jewelry store made me a beautiful charm with a symbol of Morocco on it. Even though I wear it as a necklace now, I plan to put it on my charm bracelet at home to make sure I keep it forever. We even ended up in a small rug and tapestry shop with a sweet old man who was in the middle of hand making a new carpet. He sat us down, explained how they got every color and the meaning of every small design on certain carpets. We were given mint tea (served at every Moroccan meal) and listened to him talk. It was a really cool experience hearing everything that goes into each rug and how long they take.
The next day we had two cities on our schedule: Asilah and Tanger. Asilah had buildings similar to Chaouen. They were similar shaped and some were blue, but they also had a lot of green and yellow; all the buildings were beautiful. The city was also on the beach and the ocean looked amazing. We were given more free time and shopping time in Asilah. The stands and shops were similar to Chaouen as well but they also included a lot of "knock-off" designers rather than homemade souvenirs.
Our last stop was Tanger. Tanger was another beach town seeing that it is the city we depart from and we even got to ride camels by the beach. The camels were a bit taller than expected but it was really fun to ride them. However, after seeing how they were treated, I will not ride a camel ever again. The leader of the camel ride was quite confused when I yelled to him to not hit the camel...it came out before I had the chance to think, but it worked and he didn't hit my camel. The camels and I were great friends...
Going into the weekend, I had no idea what to expect. I was more excited for this trip than any other, yet I researched barely anything going into it. It was a weekend, a country and a continent I will never forget. My weekend in Morocco was one of my favorite weekends abroad and definitely confirmed my feelings for wanting to see more of Africa and more of Morocco as well. Even though I got to use my French all weekend, I also got the chance to learn some Arabic:
وداعا حبي شكرا
(osbeho ‘ala chair habibi, shukran - goodbye my love, thank you)
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