I just got back to my apartment in Granada two hours ago and I am still processing my week in Africa. I went with the tour group
Discover Excursions. They take groups of students on different excursions across Spain, Morocco and Portugal (going on this trip in late April) and it was the perfect set up because, obviously, I wasn't about to hop on ferry to tour Morocco on my own.
It was a crazy, breathtaking, awe-inspiring experience that I'll never forget and hopefully will have again one day.
Morocco from
Elizabeth Ortiz on
Vimeo.
Check out the video I made during the trip. Obviously set to Lion King (remix) and Waka Waka
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| Our route across Morocco |
Friday:
My trip started out in Seville. I went there Friday evening by myself so I could catch the bus Saturday morning at 4:30am. The only times I have traveled alone have been on a plane with someone waiting for me at the airport and getting to Spain (which didn't require staying overnight alone) so it was a kind of nice to do by myself for a change. Getting to my hostel was easier than expected and it was much nicer than expected too. After I dropped off my stuff I went to find the meeting place so I wouldn't get lost in the morning. Sevilla one of the biggest Semana Santas in Spain so the city was pretty crowded and getting all ready for the following week's events. I found the meeting spot then decided to stop by Plaza de España because it was really close and wanted to see it at night. It was definitely worth it. I had the sudden thought that I want my future husband to propose there, at night. After almost getting into a sketchy situation with some random guy, I headed back to more crowded areas and went to get a few hours of sleep at my hotel.
Saturday:
I made my way across town at 4:30am and discovered our group was much bigger than I thought it would be. I was thinking like one medium sized bus full of people but the group was 126 people taking up two full buses and one small one. I didn't see Tess so I just got on a bus and slept for the 2 hours to the port in Tarifa. In Tarifa I meet up with Jasmine, Tess and met her friend Christina and a after a very long line for coffee we got on the ferry to cross the straight of Gibraltar to Africa! After a
lot of waiting around we finally got back on the buses and started our drive to Rabat. The first movie shown: Aladdin. Duh. It was awesome. Also at this point it really hit me that all of our guides were super awesome, hilarious and chill. Throw in the Spanish accent and good looks and all the girls went a little crazy.
We ate an ocean view restaurant in Rabat and afterwards and got to go down to the beach for a bit then walked around for a bit. Then back in the bus for our drive to Fes. There we stayed the night in a hotel just outside the city.
Sunday:
Sunday we spent driving. A lot. We started out by driving over the mountains and the landscape quickly became snowy and icy. I would have never thought that I would have seen that in Morocco. The highlight was definitely stopping at a spot with wild monkeys! It was really cold but so worth the wet toes to go right up to the monkeys. If you got too close they swatted at you!
We continued our drive through the ever changing scenery; had lunch at a nice hotel after we got out of the mountains and continued on to arrive at our hotel at the edges of the desert. This hotel was really awesome. It was a huge complex with an outside pool, palm trees and beautiful buildings. The night before I was put in a room with Tatiana and Isabelle, two girls from Brazil, but this night I was placed with Jen, Hailey and Nandi and what a blessing it was! They are also studying in Granada and are really down-to-earth and I am so glad to have met them. That evening we hit up the jacuzzi for a bit then went to bed.
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| We stopped by a small village to wonder around a bit and take pictures. |
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| At a rest stop, a worker grabbed a scarf and demonstrated how to tie a turban on me! Then we grabbed Stefan here and told us we should get married. |
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| Just a camel walking through the hotel, nothing to see here. |
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| Our beautiful room! |
Monday:
After another delicious breakfast spread, everyone got ready for an exciting day in the desert! Everyone's inner African hipster quickly made an appearance and soon everyone was in turbans and maxi dresses. We couldn't drive the buses to our next desert location so we all split up into jeeps. I ended up with Tess, Christina, Hailey and her friend Cece. We drove for around 45 minutes through a smaller town and then got off the road through the desert as we approached the sand dunes. We arrived at a hotel that is right on the edge of the flat desert and the dunes. We had some free time so we went out back and took pictures with the dozens of camels that were there.
After lunch we walked through the small town nearby and then got ready to head into the heart of the dunes! When it was time to meet we went out back to the camels and it was crazy. There where so many camels, Berbers trying to get their line of camels filled up and people trying to meet up with their friends. We got grabbed by one guy along with a random guy named John (Josh?) and I was the first one up. With a word of advice or instructions from anyone I practically got thrown up on this camel. Luckily I made it up! Camels are super awkward when they stand and sit so it was a success to stay on.
The ride was so surreal. Actually getting to ride camels through the red sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. It was an unforgettable experience. We named our camels, obviously. They were Rudolph in front, Jane Brady stuck in the middle, Camel Joe and Caboose in the back. Of course the whole time I was thinking of one of my favorite movies of all time
The Mummy, which I just looked up and was indeed filmed in the exact same place we were in. Amazing!
During the ride we saw a girl fall because her camel tripped. She was okay, just freaked and got back on but later on the girl behind her fell! Their camels were much smaller than all the others so they must have been too young to handle the trip. The sunset while we rode so it was dark for the last leg but the moon was full and so we could still see enough. After 2 hours on a camel, your butt sure does get sore.
We got to the camp and picked out beds and got to eat dinner which was okay. Then Tess and Christina wanted to go to bed so I stayed up and listened to the Berbers play music. They got us all to dance around the fire. I ended up sitting down and talking with Jen and Nandi for a bit then went to sit on the dune to look at the stars with Jen. As we started to climb we very quickly realized that climbing a sand dune is not something mother nature intended humans to do. We were flailing everywhere, crawling, jumping, falling, laughing and in the end got maybe a fourth or the way up. We stopped just to lay down and look up and that's when one of the Berber guides came up to talk to us and things got weird. We chatted a little and then he told us we were taking the hard way up the dune and it is easier if you go around up a flatter way and swing around to walk up to the top. He wanted to show us so he took our hands and we started walking that way. After a minute or two I realized we were walking a fair distance away from the camp and the other people on the dune and more towards where the other Berber guides were sleeping. I started calculating just how loud I can scream and how fast the Spanish leaders who were on the dune can run. He started to take us up the dune again but I could not walk that fast so I stopped and explained we didn't want to walk all the way up to the top that night. We laid down again and after some more awkward chitchat another Berber came down from the dune and laid with us. That was just too weird for me so I said I was tired and Jen and I told them we were going to bed. He walked us back to the camp but via the route to his tent and finally we got away from the whole situation. Jen had played it so cool I thought that maybe all the weirdness was all in my head but no. The second we were alone she goes "Oh my Go!"
We went to bed real quick after that.
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| Right before our jeep adventure |
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| Turban time in the oasis |
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| We named our camels Jane Brady, Camel Joe and Caboose. |
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| Dance party at the Berber camp |
Tuesday:
Woke up before the crack of dawn to climb the dune and watch the sunrise! We were told to start climbing at 5:30am to make it to the top before the sun rose above the horizon so of course I don't start climbing until 5:45 because I suck at getting up and there was a line for the bathroom. So I start climbing with Tess and Christina and not only do I have to climb this huge sand dune I have to do it in a hurry to beat the sunrise (umm seriously I think I was living The Mummy). Tess has been climbing hills all semester because she lives in the Albaicin so she takes off and Christina and I are going at our own pace with breaks about every 10 feet. The further up we got the hard it got because the sand was so loose every time you took a step you sank backwards about half of the distance you just stepped. But we made it! I got to the top ridge about 1 minute before the run rose above the horizon and it was beautiful! We hung out at the top and took lots of pictures, listen to The Circle of Life obviously but soon we had to climb down because we had to ride the camels back at 7:00am. So we walk, more like skated, down and got on our camels. I got placed with Jen and Nandi this time and was on a pretty light tan camel I latter named Fergie (for her lovely lady humps). I was so at peace and content, how can you not be riding camels through the desert? But after like an hour I was in so much pain! Sitting on a camel grids your butt and by hour 4 it was so painful but I stuck it out because I refused to get off and walk when I may never have this opportunity again. We figured out sitting side saddle helped a lot! One of guides said it best, "Before they go on this trip, everyone dreams of camels, but afterwards, they have nightmares about them".
After we got back it was a race to eat breakfast, shower and get everything packed up and ready to go for the next day. We got back in the jeeps and our new driver drove a little bit faster and crazier than our first which was fine by us. We got back on the buses and then it was a long day of driving. We stopped at the same restaurant we did on Sunday and then drove to a town called Meknes where we stayed the night.
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| Drinking morning tea with Jen after our dune climb. |
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| My second camel Fergie, she had lovely lady humps. She's smiling for the camera! |
Wednesday:
Last day in Africa! After breakfast at our hotel it was back in the buses to drive to the cost. We stopped for lunch and then went into the town of Asilah. We walked together in a group first and then had a few hours for shopping which was not enough! We first found some Argan oil and bartered for that moved on to shoes. I suck at bartering so I ended up just leaving when they were too much and not even in the proper way you're suppose to storm off when you don't like the price. But then I found an awesome scarf and ended up buying a mini rug too. I got some bracelets for some presents and we ended up at the shoe place again and he offered me them for 10 euro so I literally emptied my wallet into his hands and I think I only had something like 8.50 but he still gave them to me. Then we had to run to the meeting place and I didn't have time or money for henna which was really disappointing but I'm happy with my shoes. Then we hoped on good ole buses and headed to the port and our ferry back to Spain.
Thursady:
We got to Tarifa at about 1am on Thursday morning then had another 3 hours to Sevilla. Once in Sevilla we said goodbye to everyone (que triste) and Jasmine, Jen, Nandi and I took a cab to the bus station which was closed because it doesn't open until 5am and it was only 4am. Once inside we all were resting with our eyes closed until Jasmine says her backpack is gone. Someone took it from under her seat while we were all dosing off. Fortunately she had her passport, money, ID and keys in her purse but still really sucks. After a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Granada and a 1/2 hr city bus ride we finally arrived at back at our apartment tired, sandy, and full of memories.
Just some thoughts...
At first when we arrived in Tangiers and then Rabat, Morocco didn't come as a huge culture shock because Andalusia is so Arabic that I had seen plenty of horseshoe arches and women in head scarves but once we got into the mountains and desert it was a completely different world. Somewhere I definitely want to go back to. It made me think more about possible doing something like the Peace Corps. I still think that's a little too intense for me but who knows.
It's definitely nice to be able to go to Morocco and get an understanding for the culture and then be able to come back to Granada where there is still such a strong Moroccan influence. I can go shopping in the Alcaiceria, buy couscous and tea in the Albaicin and hang out in the gardens of the Alhambra.
