In my opinion, most people have the wrong perception on Morocco. For me, going there was one of the most unique experiences I’ve had abroad thus far. I will admit though, last semester when I came to Barcelona, Morocco was not at the top of my priority list. However, when I heard my friends ranting and raving over their experiences in Morocco, I figured it would be worthy of checking it out myself.
Morocco was incredibly different from every place I’ve been to, Europe or anywhere else. There is so much untouched and open land that seemed to go all the way to the horizon, completely as nature intended it to be. Just starring outside the bus window as we transferred from one spot to another, I was constantly in awe over its rugged beauty.
Even though it was an unforgettable weekend, we definitely had our fair share of mishaps. This was a weekend filled with life threatening situations, unexpected problems, and never-ending bus rides, but I still wouldn’t have done it any differently.
The trip started when we flew into Seville on a Friday morning and checked into our tour company, Discover Excursions. The plan was to take a 4-hour bus ride down to the southern most tip of Spain where we would catch a ferry over to Morocco. Half way through our bus ride, we made a quick stop for a bathroom break and to grab some snacks. At this point, the weather had turned on us. It started raining and the wind picked up heavily. By the time we got back on the buses to continue on our journey, one of the guides made an announcement that the ferry we were planning to take was postponed due to weather conditions. We ended up staying an extra hour at our pit stop and then drove to a different port in hopes that we could get on a ferry there.
Once we arrived to that port, we had to wait another hour or two to hear back from the captain of the boat that was coming back from Morocco. He would be the one to decide if it was safe enough to cross over again. We all sat around, waiting for any news. At this point, it really looked like we weren’t going to make it to Morocco at all that night. Just our luck! Finally, after anxiously waiting, we got the go ahead and were able to take the ferry that night.
Once we got settled on the boat, we thought it would be smooth sailing from there. Of course that would have been too easy. The weather was so bad out in the open water that the boat was rocking like crazy. Almost everyone on the boat started getting sick and throwing up everywhere. Luckily my friends and I were fine, however I couldn’t say the same for some of the other students. At one point it got so bad that you just had to sit in your seat and not stand up or else you would literally fall over. After a two hour treacherous and life threatening ride (not being dramatic), we finally made it to the coast of Morocco late that night.
We had an hour bus ride to our hotel in Tetouan and by the time we arrived, it was around 3 in the morning. We passed out as soon as our head hit the pillow. Discover Excursions hooked us up with such a beautiful hotel by the way. It was by far the nicest accommodations Ive stayed in while abroad.
The next morning, the weather was still looking terrible. We got on our buses and headed to a town called Chefchaouen. The entire bus ride there, we were blasted by rain so hard you couldn’t even see out the window, which made everyone’s overall expectations for the day increasingly lowered. Thirty minutes outside of Chefchaouen, the weather completely cleared up all of a sudden and we had sunny blue skies. Thank god something finally went right for us.
Chefchaouen was an incredible place. This small little town at the base of the mountains is completely tinted 50 shades of blue. Every wall, home, and restaurant was painted in faded hues. I had never seen anything like it.
We wondered down narrow streets, followed unknown staircases higher into the city, and bargained with the local merchants. This city was absolutely charming and the most unique place I’ve ever been to, hands down. Apparently the city is painted blue because it works as their form of air conditioning during their hot summers. Either way, it was a beautiful sight to see.
Even though I’m sure this place gets a little touristy during the summer, it still felt like it had been locked in time, undisturbed by the outside world that surrounds its boarders. That is my favorite experience while traveling.
Chefchaouen belongs on the list of cutest towns to see in the world without a doubt. With its 360-degree views of lush mountains, its abundance of adorable kittens running through the alleyways, and the colorfully painted flowerpots that lined the staircases, I couldn’t have been happier.
After an exciting day of uncovering Chefchaouen, we made it back to the buses for a three-hour bus ride back to our hotel. Once again, within an hour on the road, the weather seemed to be haunting us.
Right when we were an hour away from our hotel, we got some bad news. Apparently a bridge that we had crossed earlier that day to get to Chefchaouen had literally washed away from all the rain. We only had one other option to get home and that meant a 5-hour bus ride in the opposite direction. So that bus ride turned into 7 hours. Nice. We thought we had enough bad luck for the weekend, but it just continued to surprise us.
We spent the next 5 hours singing songs with our tour guides and trying to make our miserable situation better. It surprisingly did kill some time and was a much needed distraction.
Once we got to the hotel at about 11pm, we had an authentic meal waiting for us and were greeted by a traditional Moroccan dance performance. This lifted everyone’s spirits and was so entertaining to watch. After dinner, everyone seemed exhausted, however the tour guides had set up a party for all of us up stairs.
Even though all I wanted to do was go to bed, Niki and I decided to at least check it out and I’m so glad we did. We spent the next two hours dancing and hanging out with the other students. It honestly was so much fun and really was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
The next day we had a full itinerary planned before heading back to Seville. The weather FINALLY seemed promising. We made our way to a beach side town called Asilah. This town was quainter than Chefchaouen, but still had many similarities. It was incredible to see this small white washed town right at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.
We spent two hours exploring this city and practicing our negotiation skills with the storekeepers in its fortified ramparts.
Before our time was up, one of the tour guides told us we had to go back to the buses because our 5pm ferry was moved up to 3pm. We rushed to the buses, scarfed down our lunches, and made it to Tangier for our camel ride by the beach.
It was a short ride, but I honestly didn’t mind it at all because those camels did not seem too friendly. I was just happy we didn’t have to miss that part of the weekend. I know everyone was looking forward to that, but somehow it all worked out.
After we hopped on our buses and made it back to the port right on time. Of course, the ferry ended up being delayed an hour but that is nothing considering what had happened earlier that weekend. We thought that after this crazy weekend, we would be done with the surprises, but of course, that would have just been too easy.
That ferry ride was somehow worse than the first one. I didn’t even think that was possible. The ferry was rocking so hard that I thought it was going down like the titanic at any moment. I had to put my headphones in and blast my music in order to drown out the noise of people puking their brains out all around me. It was a very rough two hours, but by a miracle we made it back to Spain.
We clearly had our fair share of mishaps. After telling people about my experience, they look at me like I am crazy for enjoying that weekend, but at the end of the day it was an unforgettable time for better or for worse. It was a thrilling weekend full of surprises to say the least but that’s what made the trip. Our hotel, the cities, and our guides were all amazing and I had not one complaint in that aspect.
Morocco is a place that will have a spot in my heart for the rest of my life. Even with everything happening, the good parts of my trip completely surpassed all the other mishaps.
Thank you Morocco for the unforgettable memories. I’m already looking forward to the day that I will return.
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