Morocco!
TIA (This Is Africa) was the major saying/theme to describe our experience, the first being taking over 24 hour to get a pilot boat to guide our ship into the harbour, which was not the greatest experience because the Officers and the Captain were rather frustrated!
Anywho, we got alongside and then we waited for 4 hours for customs and immigration to finish and tehn we finally got shore leave for about 5 hours. I decided to stay on the ship because I had to do watch for 2 hours (we all take our turns so its all good, everyone has to do it) and it took about an hour to get into the city so I didn’t really think it was worth it to leave that night because I would only be allowed to go out for an hour in order to be back in time for shore leave, so I opted out.
ThThe next morning, we all awoke at 5:30am and had to get on a bus at 6:30 to head out to the Sahara Desert! We drove all day with multiple stops in these little towns where we got to hang out in for a few hours each. We ended up at our first destination, which was a hotel in Zagora! They split us up into pairs for room and I ended up rooming with my friend Marta! The hotel was actually really really awesome! The beds had these overly warm blankets on it, and they had showers that you didn’t have a limit on! J and then Emily and I decided to go swimming in the outdoor pool. You would think that a pool in Africa would be super warm, WRONG! We jumped in and to much surprise, we were out of that pool in less than a second. It was freezing cold, like it stung your skin it was that cold. And another thing is that you think Africa would be warm, but no. It was also quite cold, very very cold at night. But it had it’s warm moments. And girls weren’t allowed to have our shoulders, wrists, or ankles showing, reasons for that is because it’s a Muslim culture and we did not want to be disrespectful to their culture. But it wasn’t that bad since the weather was not scorching. After swimming, we showered and then went to dinner! In morocco, the main things that we had for ALL meals is bread, thjim , fruit, and yogurt. That’s basically what we had at all meals, but just bread and fruit and yogurts for breakfasts. After dinner we all just socialized in the hotel until 11, which was our curfew. In the morning Marta and I went down for breakfast which was bread, marmalade, and yogurt! Then we got ready to go shop. In Morocco, the shopping was very different. They encourage you to barter because the originally set the price really really high because they want you to barter it down. I got an awesome bag and a sterling silver bracelet for a total of $320 Deirum which is about the equivalent of $30 Canadian Dollars.
After shopping we went on the bus and headed far into the desert and boarded some camels! No big deal! The camels took us into this tent compound in the Sahara. Camels are not a comfortable form of transportation. And they are clumsy! We got to the tent compound and they made a sign that said “Welcome Afloat Students Class” rather than “Welcome Class Afloat Students” The English wasn’t there, but the effort was and that’s all that matters! We got settled into our so-called “tents” which were mud shacks with beds. And they were quite comfortable! We headed out and by that I mean ran out to the biggest sand dune in sight to watch the sunset. We sat in silence for 15 minutes and the sun went down. It was beautiful. We had our quietest and calmest 15 minutes spent as a crew followed by the rowdiest. People were jumping/running/cartwheeling/rolling/wrestling/flipping/pushing and pulling people down the sand dune. And it did not hurt at all and it was so much fun! Morocco had been the best port by far! That night a few people brought hookah’s and the Moroccans showed us how to set it up, which was awesome, but the mint sheesha was really really bad according to the guy, and we took his advice because it’s part of his culture and we opted for the grape, which was much better! I am not a smoker, a lot of people just did it because it’s a huge part of the culture in morocco! Then we had dinner. And afterwards we had a big bonfire and then the guides brought out there instruments and we all danced around the fire, after it died down bit, they started playing Waka Waka by Shakira. One of our people asked what the guy’s favorite song was, and they brought out their ipod and started blasting some Akon. The next morning a few of us got up to watch the sunrise and I got some awesome photos! The sand was freezing cold, like it hurt my feet! But I got to see an African sunrise! So its amazing. We had our breakfast of bread, yogurt, and eggs. And got back on the camels and headed out. One of our teachers brought a kite and she flew it on the way back. Everyone was so sore from the camels, it was so funny!
We stopped at a few more towns on the way and we stopped at a pottery place where the guy was painting everything and each design is so intricate and everything is handmade. I bought 2 mugs for my mom and dad for like 20 bucks, everything is so cheap in morocco, but its so beautiful! We also went to carpet factories and a lot of people bought handmade rugs and in each one a color means something and each design means something. Its so cool how a carpet can basically tell a story! Normally a handmade carpet will go for like 500-1000 dollars, but most people got theirs for like 50 dollars! Which is unreal! We ended up at another hotel for the night. I was in a suite with 3 other girls but we ended up sleeping 7 in our room . That night people jumped into another freezing cold pool, fully clothed. things get crazy here! We had a wonderful dinner of bread, soup, and thjim, fruit and pistachio yogurt (amazing flavor!) for desert! And then a few of us gathered around the fire and jammed out to some music. Like each of us played the guitar and the Moroccan’s joined in with their drums and it was just awesome. Remember how I said Africa gets really cold!? I was freeing the whole night. I slept in wool socks, leggings, sweatpants, and 2 sweaters AND a blanket and I still couldn’t feel my feet, and I was indoors. Not fun. It was one of our crewmates birthday the next morning and we threw him into the freezing pool that morning just for the occasion! He took it rather well J. We went on a hike that day into a town where we got some more shopping done! Let me just say that I love bartering; I got so many cool things for really cheap. Get this: I bought a pink hookah! I am so proud of it J and I also bought some Argon and Moroccan oil. And It was for so cheap! And I also picked up a few gifts for people. That was our last stop on our 3-day desert excursion which has been my favorite and most memorable part of this whole trip. It was amazing! <3 I wanna go back to Morocco!
- Megan!
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