It's Time for Africa

Hey people,

I just got back from Morocco how insanely cool is that? First I had another six hour bus trip at 1 AM followed by me sitting in Starbucks for six hours. Then the discover excursions people finally came and we were off on another bus, then a ferry, then another bus until we finally got to our hotel in Tetuan. We had traditional Moroccan food the whole trip, which was not as bad or weird as I thought it would be but it was all surprisingly sweet. The next morning we were up and on the bus again to the city of Chefcaouen- the blue city.

you can see Morocco from Spain

It was really all blue and full of lots of shops, people harassing you to buy things and cats (so many cats). We went on a tour and then hiked all the way up a mountain, which was unexpected but still fun. Then we had way too much free time to shop in a not very big area and I almost forgot to mention that it was really, really cold. It would probably not have been so cold had we not thought we were going to the dessert and dressed accordingly. Anyway shopping there was definitely a new experience, everyone spoke Arabic, French, English and Spanish and usually a combination of all four when trying to communicate. They also accept all forms of currency- you can even pay with two at once if you figure out the conversion. Bartering did not go too successfully because everything was so cheap to begin with that I kept forgetting it could have been even cheaper. That night we saw some traditional performers at dinner and Discover Excursions hosted us a sangria party and then we all went to bed- sooo tired.

Me and Meaghan

So much blue!

some dye

View from the top of the mountain

The next day we headed to another city, Tangiers, to ride camels and see the cave of Hercules. This city was really different- we only drove through it but you could still see it- around 80% of the population lives in poverty and after driving through their section for a long time we drove by the kings palace right next to it. I feel like most of the places I go to are not like that so it was really bizarre and sad seeing it. Any way, camel riding was fun but also scary- they're way taller than you'd think. The cave of Hercules (where he supposedly held up the sky) was pretty cool and it has a natural cave opening that is an exact outline of Africa in reverse- weird. Our final city was Assilah, right on the beach and where all the Europeans vacation in the summer. We did some last minute shopping before making the long journey back home again.

Lighthouse- Spain's in the distance

Me on a camel!!

my new friend

Cave of Hercules

Assilah

Morocco was definitely not what I expected it to be although I can't really explain what I thought it would be. Maybe I thought it would seem more African than it was because I usually associate Arabic with the middle east even though I know it's in Africa too. It was also the most different place I've ever been to- probably because I've only been to Europe and America so far. It was such an amazing experience and it was definitely worth the insane amount of traveling I did to get there.

Love,
Sam