A Weekend in Africa

Hola todos,

I just returned back from Morocco yesterday evening at about 11:30PM. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted, but the trip was such a great time!

On Friday, we started our journey at our meeting point at the Torre del Oro in the center of the city. From there, the bus picked our group up and we were on our way. Our first stop was Cadiz, to pick up additional group members and then it was off to Puerta Algeciras (or the Port of Algeciras) to get on the ferry to Morocco. Dana and I were very fearful of riding the ferry because we have heard so many frightening stories about the ladrones (or thieves) that are on the ferry. Much to our surprise, our ferry looked like a luxurious cruise ship--complete with tables, comfy chairs, and even places to by food. This is NOT what we were expecting, but we were so happy!

On the ferry to Morocco!

  When we arrived at the Ceuta Port, we weren't technically in Morocco yet--we were still in Spain, which was kind of weird, because we crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Africa, but we were still on Spanish territory. We drove for about 20 minutes and the tour guide announced that we were no in Morocco and to set our clocks two hours behind Spanish time (the time difference was also rather strange!). Once we went through customs, we were on our way to Tetuan. When we arrived to our hotel we ate dinner almost immediately since it was getting so late. We had a pretty good European meal and then it was off to bed as we had to wake up so early the next morning. Our hotel room was pretty interesting--it was given 4 stars, but Dana and I agreed that 4 stars in Morocco is probably equivalent to a 1 or 2 star hotel back in America. Not the greatest spot to say, but it gave us a place to rest our head for the evening. Our room also came complete with a nice rotten banana in the closet which really gave our hotel room a nice, calming aroma. NOT! But like I said, the room did the trick and we were out of there at 7AM anyways.

When we woke up the next morning we had a nice breakfast in the dining room and realized that our hotel was situated right on the Mediterranean. It was so beautiful, so we went out and took a few pictures and then it was off to explore Tetuan with the group.

The Mediterranean

Tetuan was formerly the capital of Spanish Morocco, and has a tangible connection with Andalucia (southern Spain, where Sevilla is). Around the city, you will see street signs and signs for clothing stores, restaurants, etc. all in both Arabic and Spanish (and occassionally French). The people in Tetuan and around Morocco are all very cultured and know many languages. Our tour guide told us that children will study Arabic until they are nine years old, and then they have the option of studying French, Spanish, English or German. So many people know two, if not three languages--which is very impressive and made it easy for us to communicate in either Spanish or English. When we were walking around the city, our tour guide pointed out the farmers who were dressed in red and white. They come down from their farms to sell their goods in the city and they are found all over the streets selling anything from fruits and vegetables to fish and chickens. We were brought to one store where we were able to barter for better prices for things such as ceramic animals (elephants, camels, turtles), jewelry, rugs, etc. I was able to help a few friends barter as I picked up some good skills when I was in China. I also purchased a couple of things for myself as well.

Catholic church in Tetuan

Some fruits the farmers were selling

After that, we went to the very lovely restaurant for a traditional Moroccan lunch. When we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by three men playing different instruments like crazy men! It was pretty entertaining. All throughout lunch we also received entertainment from a man that could balance a tray of candles on his head and spin around and also a belly dancer. I was also able to get some henna on my hand--it is not permanent, so don't worry! I was also very shocked that I actually LOVED the Moroccan lunch. We had some delicious soup, cous cous with vegetables and beef, mint tea, and some sort of cookie. Like I said, everything was very good and I wish I could have eaten that food all day long!

Our henna!

Me and my camel!

 After lunch, we were on our way to Tangier. Tangier is a city in northern Morocco and lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Tangier is where we were able to go for our camel rides! This was my most anticipated event of the entire trip, and it was well worth the wait. I can now say that I've rode a camel in Morocco. My camel was pretty interesting and like to make really strange noises, but overall, he was a pretty solid camel. After our camel rides, we checked into our hotel in Tangier and were able to explore the city for a little while.

When walking down a street, we smelled a nice aroma coming from a bakery, so we went inside only to find some of the most delicious-looking pastries we had ever seen and all for a very cheap price. Of course we had to sample a couple of pastries/cakes and boy, were they DELICIOUS. Hands down probably one of the best desserts I've had since I've been in Spain, minus the chocolate and churros. After exploring the city for a little while, we went back to our hotel for dinner and called it an early night because we had to be up at 5:30AM the next morning.

Delicious dessert!

On our last day we went to Chefchaouen. This is a city in northwest Morocco, situated in the Rif Mountains. One distinction possessed by Chefchaouen is its blue-rinsed houses and buildings, a tradition that comes from the down's former Jewish population. Our tour guide also says the blue keeps the mosquitoes away as well!
Chefchaouen is a popular shopping destination--it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as wool garments and woven blankets. We were able to visit a shop that was selling some beautiful woven blankets and carpets and we were also able to see how they were made, and let me tell you, it's quite the process! I think Chefchaouen was my favorite place to visit because of our hilarious tour guide. Our tour guide was barely five feet tall and was probably in his 60s or so. He was able to speak English, Arabic, French, and Spanish which I was very impressed by. He had a very raspy voice that was pretty hard to understand, but it was fun to just listen to him talk. All throughout the tour he'd yell HABIBI which means my beloved or is commonly used word for friend or darling in Arabic. He was very entertaining and called Dana and I "guapas" on several different occassions. Our trip ended with a meal in Chefchaouen, and then we began our long trek back to Sevilla!

Dana and I with the tour guide (notice how blue it is!)

Overall, I had a really wonderful time. It was awesome to be able to see a whole different country and experience a new culture. It is very interesting to see how the Moroccan way of life differs from Spain which differs from the United States. The ability to experience different cultures and receive firsthand experience from traveling to all of these different places, so far, has definitely given me a new perspective and a new appreciation for people all over the world. My suggestion to America, start teaching children at a young age different languages so we can communicate with our tourists from all over the world just as well as Spaniards and Moroccans can communicate with Americans--not to mention that knowing many languages just in general will you get you places in life.

I have been in Spain now for a little over a month, and to be honest, time is not flying by, but I am enjoying every minute of the time that I have here. Whether it'd be meeting with my intercambio, having lunch with my whole host family, exploring new cities and countries, or just doing homework--each day I find that I am thoroughly enjoying myself and I am so grateful for have this opportunity. I enjoy sharing these blogs with all of you, as I believe I can serve as your "window to the world" and you are able to live this experience right along with me.

Since I'm so exhausted from all of the traveling, I think I will end here and call it a night. It's starting to become cooler in Seville. And since it has been so hot, this cooler weather seems FREEZING, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend and I will write again soon. Love and prayers to all.

Besos,
Lindsay