You Only Camel Once

Reporting live from El Corrillo where I am again drinking a mid-afternoon glass of wine and writing this blog instead of doing homework. Because, priorities. This past weekend I went to Morocco!!! While this trip was not in my original plans, I am so glad I went. The excursion was hosted by DiscoverExcursions, a top European travel company catered specifically towards students. Besides about 20 fellow IES students from Salamanca, our excursion included around 50 other students studying in various places throughout Spain and Europe.

The weekend began on Friday at 7am with what might have been the longest travel day of my life. The 7 1/2 hour bus ride from Salamanca to Sevilla was the highlight, if that says anything. We then met up with the whole group in Sevilla, before embarking on a 4 hour bus ride from Sevilla to the coast, where we then boarded a ferry in Tarifa to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. (Side note: The last time I had been in this part of Spain was a full decade ago, which is so weird to think about. Southern Spain had been my family's very first European adventure during our first year of living in Germany, so I would have been 11 years old. Peep this super flattering photo of me and a furry friend at the Rock of Gibraltar.)

The ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco is a story to tell in itself. First off, the waters were said to have been some of the worst the captain had ever seen. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the when the ship lurched to the side, you either grabbed onto something for dear life or plummeted into the person standing next to you. People were throwing up left and right. By this I mean that every few minutes, a poor soul could be seen sprinting to the bathroom holding their mouth. Of our group of 20 IES friends, more than half were feeling extremely nauseous and probably a quarter or more actually threw up. To make matters even worse, as the ship rocked from side to side in a Titanic-like fashion, we had to stand in an absurdly long line to get our passports stamped in order to be let into Africa. The system was extremely inefficient and we ended up waiting in line for the entire 1+ hour trip. Everyone was on edge and severely re-evaluating our chosen methods of travel.

Okay, rant over. We got off the ferry to be blessed with yet another bus ride from Tangier to our hotel in Tetuan. Upon entering the hotel, we were handed cups of the delicious Moroccan tea the country is known for. After a dinner in which keeping my eyes open was a challenge, Andie and I somehow managed to be ~very blessed~ with our own room consisting of a king-sized bed for just the two of us. This in itself almost made up for the exhausting, chaotic day.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed a fabulous hotel breakfast. In case you didn't know this about me, the only thing I love more than breakfast is a damn good hotel breakfast. There were eggs (in which I am greatly deprived of in Spain), so needless to say I was happy as could be. We then spent the day in Chefchaouen, nicknamed the blue city due to the endless shades of blue encompassing the city on almost all buildings, walls, facades and doors. I absolutely love this city. It is SO beautiful (blue is my favorite color) and extremely lively. We first went on a guided tour of the city with the cutest Moroccan tour guide on the whole planet, Habibi. See below and let your day be brightened.

A plethora of little shops selling anything from clothes to jewelry to spices to cosmetics lined the narrow streets. We became accustomed to the tactful art of bargaining, some better so than others (@Jack). I sometimes find it difficult to remove my feelings from the transaction while interacting with the salesperson, wondering about his/her quality of life, but at the end of the day that is just how business works there. Dela had given Andie and I a list of items to buy for her at the obscure markets, including various spices and a particularly interesting cream. We also got her some cool soap and green tea because we are the best host daughters ever. My biggest mistake during the day was getting a henna immediately after lunch prior to our 2 hours of free time, which proceeded to take the entire two hours and more to dry, and I was therefore walking around with my sleeves rolled up and hand extended like an idiot. Knowing me, I f***ed it up immensely and got ink on a lot of unwanted objects, but was somehow able to mostly salvage it. Not the best, but it was only €1.50.

All in all, the day in Chefchaouen was amazing and I am so glad I was able to explore this incredible blue city.

At the hotel we were granted a much-needed 2 hour siesta, followed by dinner and a traditional musical show. The food and performance were equally enjoyable. We ended the night with a sangria fiesta at the hotel hosted by our super ~fun~ tour guides, who were all young Spanish/Australian men. (On the topic of tour guides, real life quote from Andie: "I would travel across the ends of the earth to marry Carlos." Good.) The party consisted of us trying to get a buzz off watered-down sangria, semi-awkward interactions amongst all the students, and music that was a mix of Spanish discoteca favorites and the kind of American throwbacks that make you wanna dance on a table. By the time Sweet Caroline came on, the party needed to end. (Side note: finding alcohol in the country of Morocco is virtually impossible, as it does not align with Muslim beliefs. The hotel makes this exception for DiscoverExcursions after years of business, but this was the only booze we laid eyes on during our 48 hours in the country. Compared to Spain, where for the most part every eating/drinking establishment has a full bar, this was a big change.)

On Sunday we visited the city of Asilah, where we explored more markets and the beach. After another delicious lunch, we went to Tangier for the highly-anticipated activity of camel riding (hence the blog title LOL). I had previously ridden a camel in Egypt and thus was not incredibly excited for it, but I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. While the ride was extremely short (as was to be expected), it was right on the shore which was really cool. Also, I now have a theory that Moroccan camels are inherently cuter than Egyptian camels. I mean seriously, look at that face.

After this we went to the Caves of Hercules, where legend has it that Hercules himself inhabited during his "11th labor" before creating the Strait of Gibraltar with his sword. This spot is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tangier, so of course it was extremely crowded. Wishing to explore the caves further without the copious crowds of tourists, I decided I wanted to climb across the side of a ravine-like structure to reach a little alcove in the wall that had a small opening overlooking the ocean (not sure if that makes sense at all). In retrospect this climb was not my most intelligent decision--Carlos the tour guide apparently had several angry words to say about it (although my girlfriends weren't mad about his aggressive string of beautifully accented words), but it was actually so cool. Some locals hanging out on the side of the ravine gave some pointers to my friend Jack and I as we managed to make our way to the alcove, where we crawled through to the other side. It was a perfect lookout to the water and the coolest place to watch the huge waves crash into the rocks. Hercules definitely could've chilled there. On the way back down to the main cave floor, I faced death once or twice due to the slippery rocks but with the locals' help, arrived safely on the ground to an stern (read: impressed?) look from Giles the tour guide. Apparently never in his 25 excursions to Morocco has someone tried to do that. But look at this view!!!

This last activity in Tangier brought the excursion to a close as we made our way to the port to board the ferry late that afternoon. This ferry ride was painless in comparison. The long trek home was also rather uneventful. We arrived in Salamanca around 5:30am, giving us around 2 hours of sleep before our daily language classes at 9am. 0/10 recommend that. ...but 10/10 recommend Morocco. You only camel once, am I right? (Side note: I did not coin this phrase and therefore cannot take credit for its lameness.)