Be warned, friends: this is a long one! I spent five days in Africa, what can you expect, I have a lot to say! So get cozy, grab a hot mug of something, and listen in.
My trip to Morocco, Africa began on Saturday morning at 3am, when I awoke to drag myself out of bed so that my roommate Ebony and I could walk to the bus that would take us all the way down to Tarifa, the tip of Spain that the ferry leaves from. It was a dark and chilly walk with our backpacks and shared suitcase, and we boarded the bus at 4:30am and our journey began. The bus ride to Tarifa lasted about 3 hours, and we got to the harbor to take the 9am ferry from Tarifa, Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangiers, Morocco. The ferry was only about 40 minutes, but it was a bumpy and rainy ride. Thankfully, I don’t get motion sickness, otherwise it would’ve been a lot more uncomfortable, as I know that it was for some people. In the rainy distance, the continent of Africa was visible through the mist. I had no idea what to expect, but I was ready to meet whatever was waiting for me on that distant shoreline.
Once we arrived on African soil, to say that I was surprised is an understatement. Maybe I need to brush up on my African geography and history a little bit more, but the first site of Morocco was not one that I was expecting. I know that Morocco is a Muslim country, and that it has history of being taken over by the French, however, I was not expected to see and hear the abundance of Arabic writing and French language being spoken rapidly around me. Although the rain had stopped, it was still gray and cloudy outside, also another thing that I wasn’t expecting. I mean, I know that Morocco is far north, but come on, it’s Africa! Isn’t your stereotypical image of a wide open plain with hot sun and lions? Well let me tell you right now to check those stereotypes at the door, because that is not the type of Africa experience that I had! (Arguably, I think that mine was better, but one day maybe I will again travel to Africa and this time head south).
Once we got off the ferry, we exchanged our euros for dirham, which is the local currency, and the exchange rate is about ten to one, meaning that for every euro, you get ten dirham. So suddenly the twenty I exchanged turned into two hundred. Then we boarded the bus from Tangiers and took a ride to Rabat, which is the capital of Morocco, situated on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. On the ride there, the weather got nicer, and the sun came out. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the window, even though I was so tired, and wanted to close my eyes and sleep. How could I when everything was so beautiful?! Rolling sand turned into lush fields full of purple, yellow, and red flowers, which then melted suddenly into forests full of curving and green trees. Every field was filled with livestock: goats, horses, sheep, cows, camels. Tiny towns of white crumbling brick and wood were filled with boys playing soccer barefooted as their dogs raced by their sides. The streets were populated by women in hijabs and men in colorful clothing. Everything I saw went past in a blur or color and light.
When we got to Rabat, we stopped at a restaurant to have lunch, and we were served an amazing veggie plate with tomatoes, peppers, olives, cucumbers, and oranges. For lunch, we had this pastry sort of thing that had a flaky baked crust with baked shredded chicken inside of it. The outside was covered in cinnamon and powdered sugar. A perfect blend of savory and sweet! It was delicious, and I can’t wait to recreate it in my own kitchen in the states! After lunch, we took an amazing walk on the beach. I was fascinated with the rocky tide pools teaming with the life of clams, anemones, and sea urchins. The water was so clear and blue that I was expecting Aerial to pop out at any second, calling for Prince Eric. We left the beach to go on a walking tour of Rabat, most notably, the Medina. Medina means city within a city, and it is typical of Moroccan life. It is a walled city within the city itself. The idea is supposedly that if you live in the Medina, you never have to leave it to get what you need. It Rabat, this isn’t the case. The Medina certainly is big and vast, but most people who live there leave it to go out and carry on with their everyday lives. The walls of the Medina were painted all different shades of blue, which signifies the Jewish quarter of the area. The walls of the Medina are from the 12th century, and they are named the “Andalusian Walls”, oddly enough. Andalusia is the province of Spain that Sevilla is in, where I live. The reason that Rabat became the capital of Morocco in the first place is because it was the port that the soldiers left from to go to Spain during the war (it became capital in 1912). Currently, Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, and Mohammad VI is the King of the country. However, the parliament really doesn’t do anything, and the King makes most of the decisions for the people.
After we made our way through the Medina, we passed the cemetery, which is situated on the hills next to the ocean, in order to be far away from the city center. Overall, I was impressed with how modern that Rabat seemed to be. Although it was rustic and crumbling in places, and so clearly filled with rich history and heritage, it had a good public transportation system and appeared to place as much value on growing for the future as it did about protecting the importance of the past.
We left Rabat, and endured another three hour bus ride towards Fes, which is further south into the country. As we left Rabat, I bid goodbye to the crystal blue ocean, the colorful boats along the docks, and the children running on the beach with bright yellow and green kites. We arrived in Fes by dinner time, and we checked into our hotel, The Fes Inn, which was not an inn at all, but more like a super luxury resort. Vasanthi, Ebony, Keslie and I found our room and got rid of our bags, and then went downstairs to have an amazing Moroccan dinner. The food was delicious! There were so many veggie options that I didn’t even have any desire to eat meat. (This trip has really made me consider going vegetarian again). After dinner, we went back to our room and went to bed after a long day of travelling.
Day two began with a breakfast in the hotel and then getting on a bus for a five hour ride south, heading towards the Sahara Desert. It was super rainy again, and as we wound our way up and down the Atlas Mountains, I was getting motion sick and cranky. Thankfully, we got to take a pit stop when we noticed some monkeys playing out in the rain, so we played with them and got to stretch our legs for a bit. There were also some very cute stray dogs that I played with. It breaks my heart to see stray dogs. I just want to take them all home and give them a bath and snuggle them. After we got back on the bus, things seemed to be improving a bit: the rain stopped and the blue sky was poking through a bit. Everyone on the bus started telling jokes and having sing alongs. However, as we got through the mountains, we passed through a small town and then we hit a traffic jam. Really. A traffic jam. In Africa. Apparently, it exists. The road that we were trying to drive through (a dirt road) was flooded over because of all the rain, and so no one could pass through, causing cars to back up and lots of Arabic screaming to ensue. Our driver got off the bus and tried to sort things out and eventually, we were able to get through the flood, but later, a lot of people found out that because of this, the luggage they had stowed under the bus had gotten wet. Thankfully, I was not one of those people. Through all of the difficulties we endured in getting through the flood, the wait and struggles were worth it, because when we crested the mountain, we had a beautiful view of the Moroccan sunset over the desert. So beautiful.
We arrived at our “desert oasis” which was literally a resort in the middle of nowhere. And I am not kidding when I say nowhere. I mean the middle of the Sahara Desert! Look left: sand. Look right: sand. Look up, down, all around: sand, sand, sand! Everyone’s moods were instantly lifted when we all wearily walked into the lobby greeted by drums and women dancing and singing, and men in turbans and traditional Muslim wear offered to serve us tea (which is the most amazing tea I have ever drank in my life, for the record). After leaving our bags in the oasis, in the dead of the night, we piled into jeep 4x4’s and took off for the heart of the desert. I can honestly say that this night was one of the most amazing that I have ever experienced in my life thus far. Picture this: speeding through the desert at 150 miles per hour, sand flying, Moroccan rave music blaring on the stereo, hands up and flying through the air, everyone screaming with a pure rush of happy adrenaline, and the stars shining like crushed diamonds above in the blacker than black sky. After our jeep ride, which I honestly don’t know how long it lasted for, if I had to guess, roughly an hour, we were let out in the middle of the desert where a Berber family was waiting for us with camels to take us into their home in the dunes. Berbers are the traditional native tribes that live in the Sahara, completely disconnected from modern societal needs. They use the land to live, and they use their camels for transport. So cool! There really are no other words to describe it.
At first, I was a bit shy to approach the camels, but once I laid my hand on its soft nose, I was in love. There are so soft and gentle and they have zero complaints about carrying people on their backs for miles and miles through the desert. All that they ask for in return is some hay or desert scrub to munch on, and some water to guzzle down. I made fast friends with my beautiful camel, Pico, and he obliged in taking me on a thirty minute ride over the winding sand dunes to the Berber camp where we would stay the night. And of course, leave it to me, while everyone else is whispering in the darkness, to start belting out…. “ARABIAN NIIIIIIGHTTTTTTS!” I couldn’t help myself! You know they were all thinking it too! But despite my outburst which drew laughter from the silence, it seemed almost appropriate to sit in silence and appreciate the beauty of the night around me. The air in the desert was warm, and wrapped around my skin like a sheer blanket. I could feel the rhythm of the camels’ shoulders moving beneath me, making my body sway from side to side as he plodded across the smooth, rippling sand. The stars in the desert were so bright since there was no light around for miles and miles and miles to pollute the purity of the night sky. I have never seen anything so beautiful.
After half an hour on the camels, we arrived in the Berber camp. It was a little circle of tents constructed out of wooden posts with blankets making a roof, walls, and floor. There were mats inside the tents with pillows and blankets, where the Berbers normally sleep. (I guess they don’t go without alllll creature comforts). We dismounted our camels, and ate a dinner of amazing veggies, and once again, although it was offered, I ate no meat. After dinner, we sat around a big bonfire and listened to the Berbers drumming. As cheesy as it sounds we did dance around a fire and sing all sorts of chant songs in Arabic that I couldn’t understand, but loved all the same. When my feet got too weary to dance, I fell onto my mat in my tent, and slipped into sleep listening to the sound of drums.
When I woke, I also woke up the sound of drums. I don’t know if the sound was meant to wake us up, or if the drums had been playing all night, but I rolled out of the tent quickly because I knew I only had a limited amount of time to descend the dune in order to view the sunrise. As tired as I was, from only having four hours of sleep, I rolled up my pants and took off my sandals and began to climb the dune in the semi darkness to get to the top. I climbed alone, since my friends wanted to stay closer towards the bottom of the dune. My calves burned as I neared the top, but I liked the familiar feeling that it made me think of cross country camp, and running, and it made me eager to want to get back into better shape this summer. Shortly after I sat myself down in the cool sand, the first glimpse of golden orange was visible on the horizon. It rose slowly at first, and then higher and higher it ascended until it was a fiery, burning ball of light, illuminating everything and making the sand glitter with light. Once again, I began to sing Disney. This time, “The Circle of Life”. However, this time I wasn’t the only one, and there were people scattered across the dune at varying heights attempting to sing the beginning of the Lion King. It was quite an amazing way to wake up. After brushing my teeth with my water bottle and grabbing my backpack, we were off again, to start another day.
This time, I got to meet another camel friend, Michelangelo! He graciously gave me a two hour ride back to the desert oasis through the hot sun. The desert was hot, but the breeze was relieving. I had to tie my hair back with my scarf because the wind kept blowing it into my eyes, and it was getting annoying. However, despite this, the daytime camel ride, although 4 times the duration of the nighttime camel ride, was amazing. The views of the desert and the shimmering heat were spectacular. In some ways, it reminded me of being back home in Saugatuck, with all the rolling sand dunes. Except here, there was no water in site. After the two hours, we were back at the desert oasis from the night before, where we had left all of our luggage. Only this time, in the daylight, I really got to appreciate how awesome it was! It was like a full blown resort! Hellooooo, vacation time! Now it really felt like we were actually on spring break. The first place that I went to was the spa, to take a hot shower and get the sandy camel smell off me. Regrettably, this is the location where I lost my makeup bag at some point. As sad as it was, I am glad I didn’t lose something more important like my passport! After a shower, we had lunch and then relaxed by the pool for the afternoon in the sun.
Unexpectedly, we took a walk into the tiny little town that was closest to our resort, and the only one around for miles. What they didn’t tell us is that we had to walk on foot for half an hour through the desert to get there. Holy heat stroke. After sweating through my shirt, severely sun burning my neck, and guzzling a liter of water, we made it to the town. And by town I actually mean a really super teeny tiny village. Everyone was taking pictures of the people in the town. It actually made me feel rather uncomfortable. As an anthropologist, I am inherently intrigued by people and their way of living and their values of life. However, I felt like I was being judged by the local people because I was with the group of clearly American tourists who were snapping pictures at rapid fire of every little thing in site. I, on the other hand, was slowly driving myself insane wishing that I spoke Arabic so that I could go and sit down inside the stone bake house with the women and children and ask them their views on life, and religion, and Americans, and everything! I wanted to shed my red white and blue skin for a moment and be shrouded in a hijab and bury myself in the beautiful Moroccan culture. However, I was quickly reminded that this was not the case as another flash bulb went off in my peripheral vision. I did my best to make my way through the village and remember as much as I could with my eyes, and not my lens. I wanted to take in every detail, and scribble it all down in my notebook field journal. We arrived at a small market, where everyone wanted to haggle for prices on hand made goods. This was another thing that made me slightly uncomfortable. A lot of the goods that were being sold were pieces that had been longingly created by hand over a long period of time, that people were trying to get a super cheap deal for. In the end, I didn’t buy anything. After this, we walked back to through the waves of heat to the oasis, where I ended up passing out next to the pool for a solid hour before eating lunch.
After lunch, we got back on our bus, and headed to another resort further north in the desert, closer to Fes, where we had stayed the first night, and would be going back to on our last night. The resort was called “Xaluca” and it was just as swanky, if not more so, than the desert oasis. After checking into our rooms, we went to have dinner, and I entered into a diabetic coma at the desert bar. Everything was so tasty and foreign and sugary, how could I not eat it? Immediately after, we ran to the Jacuzzi and soaked our sore, camel ride broken bodies in the warm water for awhile. After we got dried off and changed, we went to the lounge/bar area in the resort and watched one of our tour guides give a magic show, which was surprisingly good! Then with the lights down low and the red velvety walls glowing in the darkness, the music was pumping and the dancing began! One of the best nights that I have had in awhile. Eventually, we made our way to bed, and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, we were up and out early, and after breakfast, we were on the bus all day. Literally. We drove all day back north to Fes, where we stayed the first night. Unfortunately, this was the day that I got sick. I had a miserable cold (which I still have right now) and I was dying on the bus. By the evening, when we arrived back at the Hotel Fes Inn, I was so sick that I skipped dinner and went straight to bed. At 7pm. My ears were on fire, and I couldn’t stop blowing my nose. I slept for twelve hours, and woke up the next morning and still felt tired. After leaving the hotel at 8am the next morning, we went on a walking tour of the Medina of Fes. Gratefully, I was able to actually be coherent during this time; however, it wasn’t the most pleasant day.
But the Medina of Fes is one of the craziest, most amazing things that I have even seen. As I said earlier, a Medina is a city within a city, and in theory, everyone who lives in the Medina never needs to leave it. In Fes, unlike in Rabat, this is actually the case. The Medina of Fes is home to over 250,000 people, and it is within the walls of the city of Fes, itself. There are no dogs allowed in the Medina, which of course I disliked! However, it is because the people think that dogs are too expensive to take care of and feed, whereas cats can just eat the scraps of fish and meat that fall to the ground in the market. Also, cats are supposed to be cleaner and have some sort of religious significance? So despite the lack of dogs, the Medina was actually super cool. It had high walls of stone that made it humid inside because of the lack of airflow, and it was also a bit dimmer because of the lack of direct sunlight. The Medina has over 9,000 streets in it, and all of them are unnamed and unmarked! Can you believe that? Lost much?! If we didn’t have a guide, I would have been so lost and confused in there. Around every corner was another color, another scent, another site to be seen. However, not all of these smells were good smells. For instance, the leather tannery that we went to, which is one of the biggest natural tanneries in the world, uses all natural dyes to color the skin. Which means that it does not smell very nice, but it was very cool to see! Also, the various kinds of fishes and meats in the markets did not smell very nice either, however, people do have to eat to live, and I am biased because I don’t like fish and/or meat very much. And it broke my heart to see the camel heads hanging in the markets. After becoming so attached to these amazing creatures over the past five days, I was literally teary eyed to see them killed in such a cruel way.
After our guided tour, they gave us some free time to explore the Medina on our own. As if this is possible to do without getting hopelessly lost! So Ebony and I set off to hopefully do some shopping and not get lost. Again, haggling commenced, and although I was not so okay with it, I did it and got some darn good prices for some gifts for friends and family. Ebony and I were looking at some silver jewelry, and Ebony asked the man where we could buy some rugs, and he said he would take us to the shop of his friend. When he took us there, he said “he is good boy, he take good care of you!” and then off he went, and Ebony and I were left to follow the other man into his shop. He showed us all of his amazing hand woven rugs, and we wanted to buy some, but when he told us the price, it was way more than we could afford to pay. We told him this, and he tried to bargain us down a bit, but it was still too high. Then things got weird. He kept saying “I am good boy, I give you student price, and you play me like fool! You can’t buy all of Morocco for 150 dirham!” He grabbed Ebony’s arm and took her into the other room, and I grabbed her other arm and said “Time to go!” and we were running through the rooms of rugs, colors blurring as we raced down the stone steps and back into the streets. Now we’re panicking, since we don’t know if this man is chasing us or not, as the last thing we heard was him screaming after us. And as fate would have it, we were lost. I rapidly turned my head back and forth, looking for something familiar but everything was a big swirl in my head, and I had no idea what direction we had came from and where our group was. We set off in one direction, clinging on to each other so we didn’t get lost in the sea of people. By sheer chance, as we passed a little shop, Ebony recognized one of the girls from our group and we dashed inside. Luckily, she was able to help us get back to where we needed to be. What a relief!
As we left Fes, I was more than ready to get on the bus and sleep forever. My mind and body were so exhausted, but sleep did not come on the bus. Eventually, after driving all day, we made it to Tangiers for our 7pm ferry back to Spain. The ferry was delayed, and we waited for awhile to board, but once we did, the ride was fast and easy and we were in Spain in no time. But the two hour forward time difference meant that it was already 11pm in Spain and we still had another three hours to drive back to Sevilla. Thankfully, this part of the bus ride, I did sleep, and when we got back to Sevilla at 2am, Ebony and I took a cab home, where we both slept forever and ever and ever.
The End!
But really, Africa was an amazing and life changing experience, and I want to go back one day and see and experience even more of the things that it has to offer.
