This weekend, my study abroad program, ISA, had an excursion to the African country of Morocco. This being my first trip to Africa, I was very excited. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel outside of my host country with the guiding hand of ISA.
Our first day in Morocco was spent in the Medina of Fez - the first and largest Medina in the world, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our tour group was made up of about 60 people, and off we went in single file through the Medina behind a local guide. Branching off from the group could lead you to getting lost for hours, if not days, in the narrow streets of one of Morocco’s oldest towns. One thing we were told to do as we shopped in the stores at the Medina was to bargain/haggle. I ended up almost buying a beautiful Moroccan carpet — until I heard that the 3x5 piece of silk was €350 and freaked out. After the carpet shop, we moved on to a decor/jewelry store, where I negotiated the price of a 3-stone graphite ring, set in silver, down from 770 dirhams (€77) to 350 dirhams (€35). Still pretty expensive for a ring, but not as expensive as Pandora — and just as beautiful. Plus, it’s a memory I can wear with me to remind me of my trip to Morocco.
The next morning, we moved on to the Sahara Desert leg of our trip. After 8 cruel hours on the bus, we made it to Erfoud, where we loaded into 4x4 jeeps which drove us for about an hour deeper into the desert until we reached our camping spot. Tents (haimas) crafted out of wooden branches and carpets were to serve as our home for the next 2 nights. The beds we slept in were sandy and I could hardly sleep either night. There were 4 makeshift bathroom stalls which were meant for 100 people to share. I’ll leave it up to your imagination to determine how disgusting it got by the end of our stay. But hey, I knew what I signed up for and I was lucky we even got bathrooms as opposed to having to dig holes in the sand.
Moving on from the toilet situation, there were many more memorable moments in the desert. For example, riding camels through the Sahara, climbing to the top of huge dunes which overlooked the rest of the Sahara and it’s desert towns, as well as watching the immaculate sunrise and sunset. However, out of all of that, I think my favorite part was looking up at the stars. I’ve never seen that many stars in one place — I’ve never been anywhere dark enough! Me and my new friend who I met on the trip even saw a shooting star as we were watching the sky waiting for sunrise!!
Now, as I write this, we are on the last leg of another 8 hour bus ride back into Fez, where we will enjoy a Moroccan style dinner and a folklore show. Tomorrow morning, we fly back into Barcelona, where I will sadly have to drag myself to class after this exhausting — yet fulfilling — excursion.
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Here’s my list of top 5 fave things about Morocco:
Fez & the Sahara Desert, Morocco, Africa
Favorite food: couscous with chicken, squash, and potatoes which we had for lunch on our first day in Fez
Favorite drink: mint tea — something Morocco is very famous for
Favorite animal that we saw on the side of the road: monkeys. Yep, blonde baboon mamas carrying their babies on their backs. I saw many an animal on this trip, but the monkeys were definitely the most memorable
Favorite activity: stargazing in the middle of the quiet, dark, and empty Sahara desert
Favorite Fun Fact: Morocco’s landscapes are very diverse. I was expecting desert and dry land everywhere. However, there were many more mountainous parts that were lush and green and foggy from the cold. 16 hours on the bus, and I spent most of them staring out the window at the beauty that laid before me outside
Ciao for now,
~ Michelle