Morocco (again) and the Sahara

Although our class had all been to Morocco together, some of us took a second, longer trip to Morocco, which allowed us to see some Moroccan cities that we had not seen yet.

Since our program has concluded, I can confidently say that this was by far my favorite trip that I took during my time abroad. This trip made me walk away way from Morocco more connected to the Moroccan culture, cuisine, and my friends, as we shared an incredible experience together.

Day One

The first day started off at 4:30 in the morning, as a bus picked us up at La Plaza de Cuba in Sevilla (my friends and I split an Uber to avoid a 30-minute walk at 4 AM). The first part of our travel day was similar to our first time around in Morocco, which consisted of a 2.5-hour drive to Algeciras, Spain. From there, we took a Ferry, which took us to Ceuta, which is still a Spanish-owned territory but in the continent of Africa. We got onto another bus to drive towards the city of Fez. We stopped a couple of times at a gas station for snacks and a rest stop for lunch. I got to try tagine for the first time (one of the many tagine meals I would have during the trip). We got into Fez at night, enjoyed a late dinner buffet at our hotel, and went to bed.

Day Two

An early breakfast and on the road again, as we checked out Fez and many of Fez’s attractions:

The Medina- a leather factory, where we got to see firsthand how they laid, prepared, and dried the leather. I needed an extra suitcase to come home to America from Spain, so I took advantage and I bought a camel leather duffle bag. Super nice quality.

negotiating for the best price

Moroccan ceramic workshop- We got to see firsthand how they make their pottery and Arabic tile designs. It was incredible to see the time and effort that goes into such intricate designs. They lay it all out by hand, which makes it even cooler.

in front of some of the tile work

University Al Karaouine-  The oldest University in the world! Dates all the way back to 859 BC. It started when people studying and focusing on mathematics wanted a common place where they could help each other. We checked out some of the rooms open to the public and even got to check out some of the old dorms.

Marketplace- Just the general streets of Fez are a confusing marketplace maze, thank goodness for our tour guide or we would’ve been lost. 

Me and one of my friends on the bus ride, watched a Gordon Ramsey episode where he explores and learns about Morocco. In the show, he visits a camel meat stand. To our suprise, we saw the same exact booth that he visited and checked out! I got a picture in front of it and the store owner gave me a taste of what he was eating.

narrow streets of fez

Royal Palace- We didn’t actually get to go in, but we got to see the outside and take a picture in front of.

After a day of exploring Fez, we had a long 6-hour drive, making our way to Erfound, one of the last towns in Morocco before hitting the Sahara Desert.

We stopped for some coffee at a small Moroccan town along the drive. Some of us found a stray puppy along the side of the road and instantly fell in love with him. Our tour guide David decided he would take him and keep him as his own, so we got to bring the puppy along for the rest of the adventures along our trip. We named him Habibi which means love in Arabic.

Dogs in Morocco are not seen as very favorable animals because of the Muslim religion, so there was no doubt his quality of life improved drastically in his new home with David.

 We didn’t get in till 11 at night. After a late dinner, me and my friends hung out and played card games for a couple of hours before going to bed.

Day 3

After a early breakfast (I didn’t plan well and only got 3 hours of sleep) We went to the town of Rissani, where we toured a rug/fabric shop, and a another market. I got some Argon Oil (a moroccan specialty) and a few rugs (My friends made fun of me because I had NO idea how I was gonna be able to bring all of my rugs back home.)

We then went on some 4x4 cars and cruised across the Sand dunes. Our driver was super fun and would speed up when we hit a hill. We stopped in a hut in the desert for some Moroccan green tea. 

After some downtime and lunch, it was time to ride into the desert on camels to our Berber tents that were waiting for us. The camel ride was only about an hour, but we took a little longer since we took a break to enjoy the sunset and sandboarded down some of the dunes.

That night, we had an amazing dinner, a bonfire with music, and our little ICS group at a powwow where we took turns reflecting on our year; our favorite moments, moments of growth, and some of our horror stories. It got super emotional towards the end, as we realized that shortly after this trip, we would all be parting ways and going on our own paths, after sharing such an intense and transformative experience for all of us.

My favorite part of that whole night was the stars. With 0 light pollution and it being almost completely dark, the stars were absolutely crazy. I had never seen a sky that insane before in my life. I probably spent at least an hour staring up into the night sky. 

Day 4

We woke up early to see the sunrise in the Sahara (which I have to be honest, was not that amazing, I would have rather had an extra 30 minutes of sleep) Before riding back on the camels back into town. We then had a LONG drive to get to our hotel in Fez. 

We stopped for 30 minutes at Ziz Valley, a super beautiful oasis viewpoint overlooking a Moroccan forest

About halfway through the drive, our bus broke down, we were kinda stranded at this gas station area for several hours. I’m not even gonna complain though, because we played some card games, hung out, ate food at a nearby restaurant, and when to the top of a building to get a good view of the sunset. Eventually, a new bus came and picked us up, but we had to skip visiting Ifran to stay on schedule.

That night Habibi the puppy got to sleep with me in my bed and I got to take care of him for the night. He woke me up a couple of times in the night, but overall he was a good roommate and I was happy to have him.

Day 5

On our final day, we hit the road early (again) but stopped in Asilah, which was a coastal fishing town next to the ocean. We grabbed some lunch (seafood obviously), walked around the markets (I was able to find a Moroccan patch for my bag), and my friends watched me as I took a quick dip in the ocean.

We then drove back to the ferry, arrived back in Spain, and took the bus back to Sevilla arriving at about 1 at night, finishing off an amazing trip.

Thank you Morocco!