HABIBI!!

I've been to Africa! This past weekend Lindsay and I went to Morocco with the program We Love Spain. I had such an amazing time and it was definitely the coolest place I've traveled to while I've been here. It's just so different from anything I've ever experienced. I've never been anywhere where the people are so poor but the land is so beautiful.
We drove 2 hours in a bus to the coast. When we arrived at the ferry station we found that many ferry trips were canceled because of bad weather. But after a slight delay we got on the Fast Ferry. We sat OUTSIDE in the BACK of the boat. BIG MISTAKE! The trip was supposed to take 35 minutes but it took over an hour because of bad weather. Let me tell you, that was the worse boat ride I have ever been on. There were numerous times I seriously thought we were going to capsize. I felt very seasick. And we were on a HUGE boat - big enough for cars to go on and the fact that the wind could toss around that big of a boat was scary!
But we did survive. Our guide Mohammad met us in the ferry station in Ceuta, which is still in Spain even though it's on the continent of Africa. So then we had to drive through the border to Morocco. That took a while because they had to stamp all 32 of our passports. It was pretty late and dark by the time we were driving again. What's weird about Morocco is that besides in the cities, there are no street lights. We arrived in Tetuan and went straight to our hotel. It was pretty nice. We checked in and then the hotel prepared our dinner. We had lots of bread and then some tasteless soup and roasted chicken. Right after dinner we went to bed because it was late. (Morocco is 2 hours behind Spain time so it wasn't late for them)
The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel and then we checked out of the hotel and boarded the bus. We drove to the Spanish section of Tetuan and walked through the streets. We went to this Pharmacy-type spice store where this guy gave a presentation explaining different spices and such. Lindsay and I bought this perfume cube-type thing that smells SO GOOD. Then we went to see handmade Moroccan rugs. They were beautiful.
After we went to this very nice restaurant for lunch. We had cous-cous and Moroccan salad, bread and cookies. Then we had this hot mint tea that was cery sweet.
After lunch we boarded the bus again to head for our next city, Tangier. This is where we got to ride camels! This was definitely my favorite part of teh trip. I love camels. After we went to see where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. I was very excited because I was scared that I wouldn't be able to see the Mediterranean but I did! Next we went to the caves of Hercules. These were pretty cool. After that we went to the center of Tangier for some free time for shopping. In Morocco you get to use the art of bartering. The vendors set the price really high so you pretend you're not interested and walk away. But they really want your sale so they chase after you and say, "What price?" and you can usually get the price down a significant amount. There are also the street vendors who carry their merchandise on them and follow you and won't stop bothering you until you buy something. Most are kind of annoying but we had some favorites.
After we took the bus to our hotel in Tetuan. This hotel was much nicer. We had a delicious dinner of breaded white fish, potatoes, and vegetables. And, of course, more bread. After we just went to bed.
The next morning we boarded the bus early and headed to Chefchaouen. It was about a 3 hour bus ride through the beautiful mountainous African countryside. It was absolutely gorgeous. Chefchaouen is located between 2 mountains.
Our guide in Chefchaouen, Ahmed, was the funniest little man I think I've ever met. He was hilarious. He had this deep, scratchy voice and kept yelling "HELLOOOO" if any of us fell behind. He said the funniest things too like that there's no crime in the city, no hustling in Chefchaouen. Also, one time Lindsay and I weren't paying attention so he called to us, "Hello! Sweets!" haha. I laughed every time he spoke.
Chefchaouen is a beautiful city and is known for all of their blue walls and doors. Everything was blue and it was so pretty! We saw another store where they sell rugs and blankets. And then we had free time to shope. Then we had lunch in this nice hotel. After we boarded the bus to head back to Ceuta to take the ferry back to Spain.
I absolutely loved Morocco but I would never go without going with a group. You would think that the men in Morocco have never seen an American girl. They stare. All of the stare and most make comments. I heard many cat calls and compliments. Some know a little English and can tell you are American so they will just shout out the words they know. My favorite was when one guy yelled "Flower power!" haha I loved my trip to Morocco and learned so much about a new culture and can now say I've been to Africa!!