Waka Waka! MOROCCO

This last week, I spent 6 days in Morocco, Africa. I have been looking forward to this trip all semester and although it was a lot of travelling, with many ups and downs, it definitely did not disappoint!

This is Morocco. Notice the close proximity to Spain. We ferried into Ceuta, travelled to Fes, went southeast toward Algeria into the desert, went back up to Meknes and then back to Ceuta to Spain.

Day One

Today was relatively uneventful. Met the group at 6am, then spent a ton of time on the bus. Crossing the Straight of Gibraltar was pretty cool, but I was so tired that I just slept through the whole thing. Got to our hotel in Fes, ate dinner and then went to bed!

Day Two

Today was MUCH more eventful. We went to the Medina of Fes. The Medina is a winding network of over 9000 unmarked streets and alleys. We had a guide, thank goodness, but it definitely was an experience. Everyone had to make sure to watch out for all the pack mules and donkeys theat were used to transport goods through the Medina. Our first stop was a carpet co-op and they had hundreds of the most beautiful carpets I had seen in my life. Unfortunately, they were all a little out of my price range. Actually, most everything was out of my price range. I was a bit disappointed,, I was led to believe everything in Morocco was going to be SO cheap but the places our directors brought us to definitely were not… Anyways, next was the tannery with the leather goods (I bought a cushion, a purse and a wallet), then the textile store (didn’t get anything there), then a Berber pharmacy (bought a bunch of random stuff there) and then had a big lunch of cous cous in a pretty authentic Moroccan restaurant. After lunch, we went to a ceramics shop and saw some BEAUTIFUL ceramics, even though I wanted everything in that shop, I settled for a cermanic Moroccan shoe. Once we got back, we had some down time then had dinner and went to a traditional Moroccan show. It consisted of mint tea, a Moroccan band, drummers, and bellydancers. They involved the audience quite a bit and I got a few great videos of some of my friends attempting to bellydance. After the party bus/karaoke time on the ride back, it was bed time.

One of the donkeys hauling sheep skins through the Medina.

Some of the carpets at the carpet co-op.

Moroccan leather shoes inside the tannery.

An example of some of the amazing ceramic work in Morocco.

One of the belly dancers at the show.

Day Three

Time to travel South into the desert and of course I got sick! I didn’t vom, but my stomach was roiling pretty good all day… Ugh. And no, I did not drink any of the water in Morocco. Anyways, it was another long bus ride and took most of the day, but the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We travelled past the mountains, hills, the rock desert and finally in the real desert. We stopped for lunch at an oasis. Then a short ride later we hopped into some jeep 4x4’s and went off roading through the desert into the dunes where our camp was. I cannot express to you how amazingly beautiful those dunes are! We had dinner at the camp then hung out while some of the camp workers played on the drums. Then bed time in our little “haimas” (tents).

Our bathroom stop.

So pretty!

Me in front of the oasis we stopped at.

Day Four

Woke up at 6:30 to catch the sunrise in the desert. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy but still was awesome to sit on top of a huge dune and look out into the distance in silence. Haggled with some Berber vendors that hang around the camp to sell trinkets and fossils to the tourists and then I got ready for our CAMEL RIDE! We rode on the camels for a little over an hour into a small village nearby. We checked out one of their store, but even after bargaining with them their goods were a bit too expensive. We went back to the camp for lunch, downtime and then henna by some of the local women. I also encountered a fellow UMD-er in the ISA Granada group that was camping with us and realized not only do we go to the same college back home but we have met each other quite a few times – she works with my roommate at home! Such a small world!!... We went outside to explore a bit and I got caught up in a really interesting conversation with one of the Berber vendors. He learned Spanish, English, Italian and a bit of Japanese just by interacting with the tourists in the desert. (I don’t know about his Italian or Japanese, but his Spanish and English were pretty good!) He asked me about my family and if I had brothers or sisters and any nieces or nephews. I said yes, two brothers and one sister and yes I have a niece. He asked if we all lived with my mother and he was confused when I laughed. I explained that no, usually in the United States you move out after high school or going to college and don’t usually move back in with your parents. I asked him if he had travelled much and he said “Oh, of course!” and drew me a map of Morocco and a circle that would be about a 200 mile radius of the place we were at and said he has travelled all around this area. (But that was the furthest he had ever gone.) He also told me that in the summer time when it is very hot, many Moroccans come to the desert to take “desert baths,” which are when they immerse themselves in the hot sand up to their necks for five minutes at a time. Apparently, it has healing qualities and after a week even those who could not walk before can walk again. I don’t know if this is true, but it sure is a good story! And because this guy was so nice, I bought more trinkets from him. After that, I went back to the main haima for dinner and they had hired a band for the night, so we all danced around a bit. Then finally it was time for bed!

Sunrise in the desert. Too bad it was cloudy!

This is me and Casey from UMD. She works at Starbucks with one of my roommates in Duluth. What a small world to run into someone you know in the Sahara desert! 

Chillin with the camels.

Part of my henna tattoo. The blob on the right is my name written in Arabic.

Me on top of one of the dunes.

Day Five

I woke up completely covered in sand. Not entirely unusual, since without an actual shower in the desert, we were all covered with it. But apparently there had been a little sand storm during the night and so we woke up really covered in sand. Had a quick breakfast and hopped back into the jeeps to get out of there. Today wasn’t as great of travelling. I was sick again, as were many of my fellow travelers so we had to make quite a few bathroom and puke stops on our way to Meknes. We did see some monkeys at one of our stops though so that was pretty cool! Once we got to the hotel, I immediately hopped into the shower, had some dinner and then went to bed.

Day Six

Another uneventful travel day, just went from Meknes over the straight again and back to Sevilla. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience to be certain, but boy am I glad to be back in Sevilla! :)

Haven't been able to find my favorite Doritos in Spain, France or Portugal but FINALLY found them in Morocco! How weird...

Want to see more pictures?

Click here to see the Facebook album of my time in Morocco!

Locas en Barcelona

Well, Barcelona chewed me up and spit me out tired, hung over, sunburnt, pierced and a little bloody...

The first day we got into Barcelona around 10am, checked into our no frills but clean and nicely located hostel and set out on the town. We walked Las Ramblas from the harbor up to Plaza de Catalunya and observed all the street performers in their ridiculous outfits. We found the market right away with their wide array of fruit for super cheap (delicious). After hanging out in the Plaza for a while, we headed over to La Sangrada Familia, the famous Gaudi cathedral that is still under construction. The outside was amazing, even with all the construction cranes around it. Chelsea and I debated not going inside as the entrance fee was like 11 euro but we didn't have anything else planned for then and had time to kill, so we went in and I am SO glad we did. The inside was even more amazing than the exterior. So many pretty stained glass windows! After checking out the cathedral's museum, Chelsea and I took some time to just sit and chat in a couple of the parks right next to la Sagrada Familia. We wasted time until dinner when we got a little lost trying to find a few recommended restaurants. One wasn't open and one was WAY too busy but we ended up in a little electronics shop where Chelsea found a camera for the same price as in the United States that she liked, so she bought it! (Her camera was stolen in Cadiz, so she had been without one for some time...) In celebration, we had dinner at the GREATEST burger place I had been to in my whole life. Teriyaki burger, fries and a drink for like 9 euro! Ahh. Then was a little nap time and got ready and went to the club Razmatazz. It was the sickest club I've ever seen! First of all, it was huge. It had 5 separate clubs inside of it... Not just different rooms or floors but complete clubs. We mostly stuck around the main room with an awesome DJ. The 15 euro cover was a bit steep, but by the end of the night I thought it was worth it. Then, after virtually being awake for 24 hours, we went to the hostel and slept!

The inside of La Sagrada Familia.

Me in a park outside of the cathedral.

The greatest, most emotionally satisfying burger I have ever eaten.

The DJ spinning in the main room at Razmatazz!

Day two was pretty chill. We slept in (wayyy in) and took our time getting ready and getting breakfast (more fruit!). We wandered over the Cathedral of Barcelona and happened across a breakdancing/acrobatic street show. Then after that, on the other side of the square we watched the Sardana dances. The Sardana dance is a traditional dance kinda Greek style in a circle holding hands that many locals dance in front of the Cathedral on Saturdays and Sundays. It was so cool to see all the older men and women just rocking this cool little circle dance! Then, Chelsea went on a little searching adventure to check out prices for piercings. But instead of checking out prices, we just decided to get em done at the first place we encountered! First me with my nose and Chelsea with her frontal helix. (FYI, I did not tell my parents about this part of the trip. I think I will leave my nose piercing for a nice little surprise for the next time they see me.) Then, snacks at a bar and back to the hostel to get ready to go out. This night we went to Opium, a super swanky club right on the beach. Another huge club, but this time with very fancy dressed, beautiful looking people. They even had some semi classy dancers dancing on the side of the dancefloor. It was fun, but at some point in time I cut my foot on some broken glass and after a couple creepers, Chelsea and I decided to walk back to the hostel. Of course when we are super tired we get lost and can't find a cab, but we eventually started walking in the right direction and got back safe and sound. 

The street performers. 

The Sardana dance.

More Sardana dancing.

My birthday present to myself! (I repeat, my parents do not know about this...)

One of the dancers at the swanky Opium club.

On the last day we checked out and literally spent all day just laying on the beach. I, of course, got sunburnt, but not too bad. For dinner we satisfied our Japanese craving at a buffet place that served food along a little conveyer belt. Then we picked up our bags from the hostel and wasted some time and eventually made it to the airport. Our flight was at 6am, so we got some nap time on the really cold uncomfortable airport floor. So, for my 21st birthday I spent the night in an airport, got home and took a nap and then did a bunch of homework the rest of the day! I bet I'm the coolest 21 year old ever but I didn't care because I had such a blast in Barcelona that it was more than enough for me!