To begin, our group loaded busses in Sevilla and headed to Gibraltar---for those who are unfamiliar, Gibraltar is a British territory in Spain, so everyone speaks English with an accent and uses the pound for their currency. There was an option to pay extra to tour a cave and play with monkeys, but I had heard that Gibraltar monkeys are evil, so I opted out and instead enjoyed some fish and chips in the town center with some friends. After spending the afternoon in Gibraltar, we headed to the ferry boat to cross the Mediterranean and step out onto the continent of Africa!
It was my first ferry ride ever and I was very impressed. The boat wasn't too rocky, and the ferry had cute tables with chairs that you could sit around and enjoy the view out of the great big windows. When we got to Africa, we were not quite in Morocco yet. Spain has a territory in Africa called Ceuta that we toured on our last day. We had to drive for about twenty minutes before arriving to the border and going through customs. This is where we met up with our guide who was with us on the bus for the entire weekend. Unfortunately we had to wait for about an hour to get through but I learned some interesting things while sitting on the bus--first, the people who live near the border of Ceuta and Morocco cross over just about every day to buy basic things like groceries because they are less taxed in Ceuta. Our guide told us that a big number of people cross the border every day, so the officers are always busy. You could see people running to get to the front of the line to cross over. We also learned that you are not allowed to take pictures of any officials in Morocco or you could get in big trouble.
After some karaoke contests and basic road trip games, we finally arrived at our hotel late at night. We had dinner around ten and went straight to bed. The morning was pleasant because we woke up to a nice breakfast on the beach. After breakfast we boarded the bus for our first of many road trips through the African mountains. Our first stop was my favorite.
In Morocco every town identifies by a color. The town of Chefchaouen is blue! Every building was painted a beautiful shade of blue---I especially enjoyed the blue! Here we were presented with hand made rugs and blankets at a local shop with products that the townspeople had weaved.
I loved the doors!
The blue color is supposed to repel the bugs from the houses.
Do you think it would work against mosquitoes???
Typical street in the blue town.
People actually live here! It was beautiful. Nestled in the mountains.
We also had free time to explore the markets. Then again, we boarded the bus and winded through the mountains to Tetuan. Our guide said the color of Tetuan is white, and it looked a lot like the white towns in southern Spain, but smelled much different...and I'm not so sure that is a good thing! We enjoyed my favorite meal of the trip in what seemed like a palace in Tetuan. After our meal we toured the city, went to a pharmacy and got to do more shopping.
Here is me with some friends at lunch.
You can see the muslim arches in the background.
It looked very similar to the Alcazar in Sevilla
There were live musicians playing for us during the meal
Whatever this is was delicious!
We also had some of the best cookies I have ever had.
Bread and cookies seemed to be very much part of the cuisine in Morocco
Also, I had some Moroccan tea that was so good I bought some to take home.
I tried to forget this image while eating my chicken at dinner.
I have a feeling this is part of the reason why the streets smell so funny!
These are the chalks that are used to die the buildings.
Morocco as a country was so colorful!
After our time in Tetuan, we got back on the bus and went to Tangier where we spent the second night. Overall, the hotels weren't too bad (especially the one right on the Mediterranean), but I did have to kill a giant spider in our "four star" hotel! Also, the tv channels were all in Arabic, so I got to catch an episode of "Arab Idol" on tv...same set up as American Idol but way different music!
When we got to our hotel in Tangier, I looked out my window and there was a camel! We had dinner in a big tent decorated with oriental rugs. During our feast of a delicious salad, curry chicken, couscous, cookies and tea, we watched a show of Moroccan entertainment. This included some crazy acrobats, musicians, a man that danced with candles on his head and a belly dancer. I had been looking forward to couscous all weekend and it definitely didn't disappoint!
When we woke up on our last morning, we had more bread for breakfast and were on our way. Sunday included a tour of the caves of Hercules, camel rides and a tour of Ceuta, the Spanish territory.
My camera didn't get the greatest pics in the caves,
but this picture was at the entrance
Hercules!
Up close and personal with the camels.
They are such strange animals.
I wouldn't be surprised if one were peeing in this picture!
It was a cloudy morning but that didn't stop the fun!
Here I am on a camel, in Africa, with the Atlantic Ocean behind me!
Look, no hands!!!
Here is the view from a mountain in Ceuta.
Seriously the bluest water I have ever seen!
The mountains and shore are on the African continent
So windy! But here I am with mis amigas!
So happy to be enjoying the beautiful African sunshine
Me, Africa and the Mediterranean
After our short visit in Ceuta, we once again boarded the ferry and headed back to Spain.
Morocco is a fascinating country, and I feel like I needed more time to really get an understanding of the way of life there. I was especially impressed by the language there. The main language is Arab, but most people also spoke French, Spanish and English (in that order). Being so close to Spain, the places we went to had an impressive amount of Spanish speakers. Even though our guide spoke English, I could understand him better in Spanish because his accent was perfect! It was strange not having any way to read the signs, because I have absolutely no knowledge of arabic symbols, and I often couldn't repeat the names of the cities we were passing. Also, the citizens are in love with their King (Morocco is a monarchy). He is the youngest in the world, and his picture is everywhere! The mountains in Morocco were beautiful, but it was hard to enjoy them while feeling like our bus was going to fall down the side of the mountain! Our guide told us that the south of Morocco is mostly desert, while the north is full of green hills, mountains and both the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean.
While my trip to Morocco was a cool life experience, I was so happy to be back in my bed in Sevilla. Here there is no risk for bed bugs, and the streets smell like fresh flowers! The trip happened so fast, and I wish we would have had more time to get to know the culture and meet some locals, but I guess I will just have to head back to Africa again some day! I couldn't help but think about my grandparents (Lulu and Papa) on my trip, because almost all of the things they use to decorate their house looked like it was bought in the markets we toured! Africa is obviously such a diverse continent, and the parts I saw were more touristy than not, but what a beautiful trip!
Tomorrow I have the day off from class because it is the "Día de Andalucía." My señora has a family get together so I am on my own for the next 24 hours. But she made sure to prepare plenty of meals just in case I got hungry...more food than I could possibly eat over the next day! She also had cleaned my sheets and made my bed when I got back from Morocco which was so fantastic after the hotels I had been sleeping in over the weekend. She sure is taking care of me!
Feliz Día de Andalucía!
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