Morocco!

Stop 2: Casablanca, Morocco…but before going into details about our trip, I would like to say a few things about my grandmother. We had one day on the ship between Spain and Morocco, and on this day Chloe and I found out that our grandmother passed away. Part of me knows that this is what she wanted, after years of battling cancer and months of succumbing to the disease, I know that she was ready to move on. Nonetheless, I can’t even begin to describe how much I miss her and how affected my time at home in Colorado will be without her. I had a very difficult time not being with my family during this time and not being able to attend her service. I know that this is where I need to be and she would want nothing else for me though. It is so good to have Chloe here with me, and we had our own memorial time on the top deck of the ship for her. I can’t believe I won’t be able to tell her all about this adventure, have her there to watch me graduate in May, or invite her to my wedding one day. I can’t believe she will never sit with me in bed and read to me, or pull me into her embrace when I have nowhere else to go. These past few months, there have been countless times when I believe she is one of the only people who understands me, or has any desire to try to. I know that my upcoming battles will be immensely more difficult without her on my side. So grandma, wherever you are…I hope you’re exactly where you want to be, and I hope you’ve heard all the things that we’ve whispered to you in the darkness of the night. I miss you, and I love you.

So onto the latest adventure…The port we arrived at in Casablanca was much different than the one in Cadiz. In Cadiz we were around other passenger ships and only had to walk about 20 feet into town. In Casablanca were docked in a much more industrial port, with only carrier ships around us and a necessary shuttle to get out of the port area and into town. This made the first impression much less appealing than Cadiz. Chloe and I were both going on trips that left that afternoon, so we saw the ship into port and then went back to our rooms to get packed and ready. I boarded a bus with other Semester at Sea students that would take us on a 4-hour drive to the town of Marrakech. The drive was eye-opening, to say the least. We drive by shanty towns composed of a few small, desolate homes, and saw people and children walking around miles away from any sort of civilization. There were also tons of cows, mules, sheep, and goats, sometimes we would drive for 10 minutes without seeing anything, then suddenly see someone riding a mule in a field with absolutely nothing around them, and then see nothing again for miles after that. It was all very strange and I wondered what these people were doing or how they got so far away from their towns or villages. Once we arrived to our hotel in Marrakech, we explored the town a little, ate a good buffet-style dinner at the hotel, and went to bed early to prepare for the next day’s activities.

The next day, we awoke to have breakfast in our hotel; Moroccan pastries are far superior to the ones in Spain, if you ask me. We loaded onto the bus for a day of sightseeing. The morning began with a visit to The Saadian Tombs. These tombs are a popular attraction because of their beauty and decoration, and are the final resting places for many members of the Saadi Dynasty, including royalty and family and soldiers and servants. Although it was pretty, the entire area was crowded and too small for so many people. We took some pictures and quickly walked to our next stop, the Bahia Palace. This palace was sensational. This palace was built by a slave who rose to become grand vizier, it was looted after his death but there are still incredible remaining areas and gardens. The architecture was beautiful and the tangle of rooms and courtyards and corridors went on and on and on. I have no idea how we got into all of the areas or how we got out. We stopped for lunch at a terrific traditional Moroccan restaurant. I have no idea what we ate but it was delicious and consisted of a lot of chicken, spice, and large portions. We finished the meal with mint tea (delicious!), and headed out to the crazy souks of Marrakech. The souks are a winding maze of reed-covered bazaars, look like they came straight out of Aladdin, and are undoubtedly the easiest place to get lost in…ever. We tried to maintain a sense of direction and we went through countless little streets with vendors absolutely everywhere. We were shouted at from all directions and asked to “just look” at all sorts of traditional Moroccan goods- clothing, tea sets, carpets, scarves, wood carvings, jewelry, shoes, etc. I highly enjoyed the souks and loved interacting with the locals, even though every single Moroccan assumed we were British and would greet us by saying “fish and chips?” I had a great time bargaining with the vendors, who were clearly trying to rip us off, and would agree to almost any price if you just walked away after giving your final offer (sometimes they would even chase us through the souks to make a deal!), and I was able to buy souvenirs for all of my loved ones back home for under $100 American dollars. The souks eventually led us into the Djemaa El Fna Square, where there were more vendors, henna artists, snake charmers, musicians, and other entertainers. I was busy watching a snake charmer when before I knew it, his snake was around my shoulders and I was posing for photos with a snake around me and a cobra just a few feet away. The men then tried asking for way too much money and were angry when I argued “I have no money, and I didn’t ask you to put that thing on me!” Just a few minutes later, a man with a monkey on a leash put his monkey on my arm and I looked at him and firmly stated “I do not have any money. And you cannot just put a monkey on someone. Please get this off of me.” I bought a few postcards and stamps and hopped on the bus to go back to the hotel for dinner and a relaxing night at the hotel.

The next day, we drove into the palm groves. This was a day of activity and fun, and I really enjoyed it. We split our large group into four teams and had various competitions and games to play. We began by having a race to see who could navigate some obstacles while riding a camel, and I am proud to say that I represented my team well during this competition. We then played games of soccer, had ATV relay races, and then played donkey polo- which was a crazy mess of mules, Moroccans, and Americans with sticks, and was a highlight of the day. We drove ATV’s to lunch about 20 minutes away, and had an incredible meal in a little house where we all sat on pillows on the ground and ate with individual spoons out of huge group platters. I believe that everyone should eat this way! The locals played some great Moroccan music for us and we all lay on the pillows, extremely full, and enjoyed this time together. We went back after lunch and all rode camels, which was great fun, and eventually took the bus back to the hotel. That night about ten of us decided to attend “Chez Ali”- a big Moroccan production consisting of all sorts of entertainment. We walked through the gates of the Chez Ali location and were suddenly in a giant Moroccan square, completely constructed for the entertainment of tourists looking for a fun night out. This was like Moroccan Disneyland, or like a giant Moroccan-style Casa Bonita, for all my Coloradoans out there. We walked through a long “street” with singers, dancers, and musicians surrounding us, and sat down for food and drinks in a giant tent. The night ended by watching a big show in a central arena with fire eaters, belly dancers, horse-riding acrobats, a “flying carpet” and fireworks. It was a little ridiculous but SO much fun, and I’m really glad I decided to attend.

After breakfast the next day, we got on the bus for the long ride back to Casablanca. After searching all of our bags, we finally got back on the ship, and I waited for Chloe to return from her trip and relaxed for the rest of the evening. On Monday, our last day in Morocco, Chloe and I walked to the huge mosque in town. The walk was interesting, we were surprised by how dirty and impoverished and unkempt Casablanca was. We didn’t want to pay to take a tour of the inside of the mosque, but we loved exploring the outside and spent at least an hour walking around the entire building and taking pictures. We got back to the ship early so as to avoid any kinds of lines or potential of being late, and settled back into our cabins for our evening departure.

Now we are somewhere outside the west coast of Africa, and will arrive in Ghana on Tuesday morning. I am really looking forward to this port for many reasons- first, I am only doing day trips, no big overnights, so I will be able to spend a lot of time in the town and not be running around and trying to do extensive travel; second, the interport student and interport lecturer from Ghana that are currently on board are both very nice and interesting, and I am looking forward to spending more time with locals; and third, because this is the first time that SAS has gone to Ghana, and it will be the most Americans to be in Ghana at one time EVER, isn’t that incredible?