The 13 Hour Travel Day:: Morocco

Wow I just got back from Morocco. What a trip. I have officially been on 3 continents, only 4 more to go. From Sevilla, Morocco is a short 3 hour bus ride and a "short" 35 minute ferry across the Mediterranean. I say "short" because it actually takes 3-13 hours depending on the day....

Friday afternoon, we departed for Morocco. The bus ride was no big deal, I have become very good at sleeping in an upright position. We got right on the ferry and went across the Mediterranean--My first time ever!- and it was a little wave-y, nothing I couldn't handle. Unfortunately when we got to the African coast, our berth was full, so our vessel had to circle around the harbor. For approximately 3 hours. We finally got off in Tanger, got back on the buses and drove an hour and a half to our hotel which was in Mdiq. Mdiq is a resort town, popular in the summer months, and a little deserted in February. We arrived at about 1:30 am, just in time for a dinner of meat and prunes. It was delicious, but at that point, we were all just ready for bed. Now, I had thought that our 4 star hotel Kabila would have had the things that come with 4 star hotels. Like hot water, blankets, a heater. Not so in Morocco apparently. It was a beautiful hotel, though, I was sincerely hoping for a hot shower after such a long day of traveling. Regardless, we got some sleep to prepare for the next day.

Saturday we toured Chefchaouen, Morocco, a beautiful small town known for it's blue buildings and one-of-a-kind rugs. We walked around with our tour guide who spoke some funny english. We ate the traditional Moroccan food of couscous with chicken. The food is very good. But you can't drink the water! Even brushing your teeth with the tap water because it will make you sick. Bottled water costs about 15 dirhams though! That's okay because that is about 1.50 euro. I got to do a little shopping with my dirhams in town before it started to rain, of course. Back on the bus to our hotel for some more couscous!

During dinner Saturday night, we had some live music and dancing entertainment. The first group was 5 young guys singing, dancing and playing their instruments. The second group was older men with drums and things singing and dancing. They were awesome. It was one of the boys on the trip's birthday, so the DiscoverSevilla (travel agency) people brought out a birthday cake and then there was a dance party and I was unwillingly involved. But it was tons of fun!

The next day, we woke up at 7 am to check out of the hotel and catch our 8 am bus to Tetuan. We took a tour of the city with a hysterical tour guide. Tetuan has a lot of Spanish influence, so some of the buildings reminded me of Sevilla and Granada. We went through the medina, city market, and amidst the smells and live chickens, there were fruits, nuts, dead chickens, live cats, random secondhand stuff. It was really interesting to see. The people there looked at us like we were crazy. We saw the king's palace that he uses in the summer, and we weren't able to take a picture of the guards in front. After more couscous, we got on the bus and traveled to Tanger (Tangiers).

In Tanger, I got to ride a camel! It was a short ride and a little scary getting up and down, but still really fun. I'm not going to lie, I am a natural at camel-riding. Who knew? Then we got to walk on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea, which was beautiful. It was a little windy and chilly, but amazing to see in the light of day. Then we had a "panoramic bus tour" of Tanger, which was just traveling to the port to catch the ferry home.

So it is now 6 pm Sunday, and as we got off the bus at the port in Tanger, it started to rain. Pour, actually, with thunder and lightning. Not the best thing to see as we were about to board a ferry. We got on the ship and then were told the ferry to Tarifa, Spain was canceled, but the ferry was going to Gibraltar, Spain. Now, I'm not entirely sure why the ferry could cross the sea to Gibraltar, but not Tarifa, but this is Africa, so I never found out. The buses sadly did not make the ferry to Spain, so they were stuck in Morocco, and they were our transportation back to Sevilla. So after an hour and a half ferry ride to Gibraltar, we were told we had to stay on the ferry, which would then take us to Algeciras, another port in Spain. We got off the ferry with the comforting knowledge that the buses would get on a 11 oclock ferry from Tanger to Algeciras. But their ferry would take 3 hours. So from approximately 10 pm until 4 am, we were stuck in the port of Algeciras, sleeping on the cold ground and eating gross overpriced pizza. At 4 am, the buses arrived on their ferry, but only one, so we had to wait outside for the second one for about half an hour. At this point, I was so thankful that my travel companions, 3/5 of the Spice Girls and I, kept positive attitudes the whole time and laughed about the situation instead of getting frustrated. We boarded the bus at last and made it back to Sevilla at about 6:30 am. By 7, I was happily in my warm bed, ready to sleep. So that was a 13 hour travel day for a distance that should have taken about 4 hours. I guess that's Spain and Africa for you, what can you do!

All in all, I am so glad I went on this trip. It was so much fun and exciting to see the different culture there. Morocco is not "traditional" Africa like the Sahara, but how awesome is it that I can say I've been there!

Some facts about Morocco you might not know:
-it's a constitutional monarchy with a king an elected parliament (elections every 5 years)
-there are 56 political parties. 56!
-I want to go back when I am older and have real people money and can afford a beautiful rug
-I recommend a visit to anyone, just be careful about the ferry!
-Look at more pictures from the trip! Just copy and paste the link into the address bar!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035963&id=1222890148&l=e4811a6d24