We're off on the road to Morocco

Well I can officially say that I have visited my third continent, that I have been to Africa, that I have seen Morocco! While Morocco isn't the Africa I pictured, it was still a complete culture shock and an amazing experience. Unfortunately the rain I've been experiencing in Spain traveled with me to Morocco and most of the weekend was spent under an umbrella. We left Friday at 115pm, traveled by bus to Malaga to pick up other students, and finally to the ferry. The experience involved a lot of waiting, feeling carsick, and sore necks from trying to sleep sitting up, but it was worth it to finally arrive. We went through border patrol on yet another bus, waiting patiently for our passports to be stamped - I know, it's a miracle they actually stamped them! I hate that I've been places and didn't get a stamp! While we were waiting, we had quite the show to watch as people were scaling the gates around border patrol, trying to sneak by. I had no idea it was so difficult to get from Morocco to Spain! Finally we got our passports back and headed to our hotel - 3 stars but really not that impressive. I wouldn't say I was scared per say, just that it wasn't as nice as I was expecting. We hit the sack and changed our watches 1 hour back for Moroccan time and slept till the first call of the day (5 in Islamic religion) at 515am when it scared me awake. At 8 we actually rose and had breakfast before heading out to our bus with our hilarious tour guide who told us to call him by the actor he most looks like...Michael Douglas. HAAAAA I thought this was hilarious he referred to himself in 3rd person all day by Michael, "come here family, stay near Michael Douglas". The man spoke more languages than I could fathom - French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, German and God only knows what others. He told us he was married to three women, as in Islamic culture you can have up to four wives, and we totally believed him till he left and told us that really, "I have a thousands of womens in my eye, but only one in my heart". The first city he took us to was Tetuan and we visited the Medina, or old section, where the streets varied in size from small to smaller. They were really more like alleyways, and I am completely sure I would have gotten lost if I lived there as it is kind of a maze. Of course we walked through this maze in the pouring rain, so taking pictures and videos proved difficult. We saw lots of people on in the streets selling vegetables or fruit until we got to the marketplace which was a little horrifying when we saw the live chickens in pens next to the dead chickens on the tables and the men slitting their throats. Lets just say it may have traumatized me a little, I know it happens to the chicken I eat, but I never want to make eye contact with anything I eat. After that incident we headed through some more winding alleys till we arrived at the place we'd be having lunch. The setting was very moroccan and included some live music and a man with a tray on his head of fire that he impressed us all with. It was quite the show. We had some spicy chicken soup and cous cous, we were very nervous about getting sick from eating Moroccan food but we all survived somehow without any incident. After lunch we headed to the bus to the next stop which was Tangier. On the way we make two pitstops, one for camels that were very pathetic looking, I decided not to ride one as it was raining and they just looked sad in that parking lot they were held in, but still cool to take a picture by. Then we made the stop at the point where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean met, which was great because there were bathrooms as well. Too bad it was rainy because it probably would have been even more amazing to view if it was sunny. We finally arrived in Tangier and got a brief tour before stopping to shop on the streets, which we were forewarned would be filled with professional pickpockets, however no one experienced said stealing. We got sucked into some purchases and headed back on the bus for the ride to the hotel where we got dinner and passed out.

Sunday we woke up even earlier at 7am and packed up our stuff to head to the final city that I can't remember the name of, but it started with a C and was really a little village at the foothills of a mountain. It was gorgeous and completely painted white and blue. The shades were so amazing to see and it was by far the best part of the trip for me. Our fantastic tour guide was gone so we had a local guide for the hour, which was not as interesting but still good to have. Also, at one point I nearly fell into a very very deep empty pool behind the hotel we used for the bathrooms and really messed up my right knee which has been swollen for days now. Anyways, apparently they paint the city 6 times a year for celebrations and they represent the colors for god and their religion. A few areas were flooded and we had to walk though them, but that wasn't surprising as most of Spain is flooding and Morocco is so close. The mountains were very green though due to all of the rain and we learned there were wolves, bunnies, serpents and MONKEYS which I thought was crazy, however we did not get to actually see said Monkeys. Afterwards we got more time for making purchases before lunch and heading back to the bus for our drive home. The bus ride was even more unbearable as my knee was really bothering me at this point, but I survived. We made one stop on the way home to use the bathroom at which point we discovered...THE STOWAWAY. The bus driver got out at this point as he thought something wasn't functioning well or something, so he opens the under part of the bus, not the part where they store luggage but the mechanical area where the wheels are. A man, a grown man climbs out of this area completely covered in mud as he has been HIDING for over an hour and a half!!! I couldn't believe it! I'm not sure what the story was, but we assume he was attempting to get through border patrol unseen. It was the most absurd thing that occurred, but he just got out, the driver had a few words with him, and he just walked away, very dazed and confused from being UNDER A BUS for so long through the winding mountainous roads.

We made it to the ferry area, boarded and felt very sick as the waves were very strong, and I later found out a man had died coming from Morocco to Spain apparently at some point during the weekend because they were so strong, but anyways it was beautiful to see the sunset on the water and we arrived on Spanish soil. Then was the bus ride to Malaga where we got to use the bathrooms and grab a bite if we wanted since dinner wasn't included that day before sitting again for 2 more hours during the ride to Granada. We were about 1/2 an hour from home when Liz got sick on the bus, which wasn't surprising since we had been feeling carsick all day anyways. We got home around midnight and I crashed till lunch time the next day which was great, especially since my morning class had been cancelled so I didn't have to work to wake up at all! Overall the trip was a success and I had a great time, am so glad I got to see Morocco and grateful for the conveniences I have at home and in Granada! I hope you all get to see some of my videos from Morocco to get a small glance into the weekend! Hope everyone is well, Love you all!