Morocco!

Morocco was awesome!!!! The first day (September 3rd) Rachael and I woke up early to see our arrival to Port of Casablanca. After standing outside and taking some pictures for a while we went down to the dining room and got breakfast. We then went to the union for the diplomatic briefing, although I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be there or in classroom 3, since we were early anyway I sat with Rachael for a while. Eventually I had to go to the meeting place for my FDP; we had to wait there a while until the ship was cleared but as soon as it was we were the first ones off! Dry land at last! We went straight to the bus and went to the Hassan II Mosque, which is the second largest mosque in the world. I was very surprised at the fact that we were allowed to take pictures when we were inside, so I have some pictures that I never expected to be able to get. Rachael was nice and let me borrow a head scarf since I sadly left mine at home. But it was really cool going through the mosque and seeing the amazing craftsmanship both inside and outside. I can’t imagine how much work building that was, each tile was handmade and placed. Once I got back to the ship I met up with Rachael and we got lunch then hoped on the City Orientation bus, it was nice being driven around and getting acclimated to a city we had never been to, we got to get out and walk through a market although there was a lot of stuff closed because it was Saturday and Ramadan had just ended. When we were brought back to the ship we met up with Allison and went out to try and find a place to eat. We were provided with a shuttle to and from the port gate to the ship but many times it was easier to just walk. I was surprised we were allowed to walk through the port because it is a working port and there were all sorts of ships coming in and out getting loaded and unloading goods. We ended up eating at a hotel restaurant but only getting appetizers and a large bottle of water. Between the three of us we spent 160 dirham (including tip) which equates to about $21, not bad for a college student budget. We went to bed early because we knew we had to wake up at 4:15 to leave for our camel trek.
Day 2 started bright and early (VERY EARLY) we got outside and Cassie (the girl who organized the trip) came out a few minutes later and we all walked up to the main gate (the shuttle had hours, it wasn’t going to start for several hours yet). We got up there and got on the buses and then picked up all the stragglers that don’t understand punctuality. We then began what ended up being the longest bus ride and coolest adventure ever (maybe I should note here that I am safe and currently on the ship and we are officially in transit to Ghana now). Our first stop was Marrakech which was about 3 ½ hours away. We picked up the rest of our group who had gone the day before by train; at this point we were told we were 7 hours away from our camels. Many people bought snacks and drinks at a little shop nearby and we loaded back onto the buses (at this point the time had changed to 8 hours away). According to the itinerary that we were given we were going to stop at some cool historical places so we figured that’s why it was so long until we got to the camels. Our next stop was a stop for lunch that we found out while eating wasn’t included in the trip, while it wasn’t expensive it was a little annoying to find out we had to pay more money and I was glad I had plenty of extra money. We were told after lunch that our next stop was 3 ½ hours away (some people wanted to buy alcohol). So we kept chugging along crossing the Atlas Mountains and getting some beautiful Moroccan scenery pictures. We finally stopped and again were told 2 ½ to 3 hours until we got to our camels. Long story short it was 14 hours from actually leaving Casablanca to actually getting on the camels. We were supposed to ride the camels into the sunset in the Sahara desert but we didn’t get there until 8:00 at night and it was already dark. Personally I think we got a better deal because we got to ride by moonlight and see all the stars. We finally got to the camp and were given dinner (which was included) and then sat around a campfire and listened to our hosts play music on their drums and sing. It was really cool and I will never forget this trip. The next morning we had a wake up call at 5:45 to see the sun rise over the dunes. It was really pretty and I got some amazing pictures. We then ate breakfast and packed up our stuff. There weren’t enough camels for everyone to ride back to the buses at the same time so some of us waited until the camels had come back. I was in the group that went very last and we got the bonus deal because we got to ride the 4x4 about a quarter of the way and met the camels that were coming back for us. We then got on the buses for our incredibly long journey back. We made fewer stops and everyone made sure to be back on the buses in a timely manner the second day so it went much faster. I think it was about 8-9 hours to Marrakech and then we split up as a group. There was a fairly large group that wanted to stay there because there is a good night life and Marrakech is catered to tourists. Meanwhile there was another group (which I was a part of) that wanted to just get back to Casablanca and get on the ship. So we had about an hour of free time until the vans came and picked us up and we drove about 3 ½ hours to Casablanca. We even managed to convince the port authorities to allow our van to drive us all the way to the ship so we didn’t have to walk since it was later then the shuttles ran.
Day 4 was our last day in Morocco and Rachael and I decided to let ourselves sleep in for a little, we really didn’t have much planned we just wanted to walk around Casablanca a little and be back at the ship well before on-ship time. So we went out and happily found a shuttle right outside! We first walked to Rick’s Café (duh who wouldn’t?) and found out that it wasn’t open for another hour and a half so we walked back to the market area and looked in shops and for the first time bought something other than food. I bought a cute little camel that is made out of leather and a keychain that is the shape of the traditional Moroccan shoe but also it is the color of the flag and has the star on it. It also says Moroc on it which is how they write Morocco. My other purchase is puzzle box which you have to move different parts to get the key out then move some more parts to find the keyhole. Many people bought them (although from the people I have talked to I have gotten the best price so apparently I am good at haggling!) so I ended up getting one that seems really nice and it’s made with cedar wood so it smells really good! We got some really yummy ice cream and called that breakfast since we hadn’t eaten yet and then walked back to Rick’s Café. The food there was too expensive so we just got coke which was still fairly pricey. We then walked back to the ship and stopped at a snack shop and got more coke and orange juice which we wanted to take on the ship and a pistachio ice cream bar. We ate the ice cream while walking to the ship and when we got to the ship we found out we couldn’t take the drinks on-board even though they hadn’t been opened yet because they were twist caps instead of cans. So Rachael and I sat near the check-in point and drank it before officially getting on the ship. We then went and turned in our passports because we didn’t really plan on getting off the ship anymore. Instead we went and took naps and just hung out until dinner time when we ate our first real meal in 2 ½ days.
Today classes started again and everyone is walking around like drunken zombies, we have a lot of rocking and we are all exhausted. I have already had one class and I have another after lunch. We have 5 more days at sea and then we do this all over again in Ghana. At least we don’t have a time change coming up (maybe not at all I believe Ghana and Morocco are in the same time zone!!!), until the next update enjoy this incredibly long update on the last 4 days of my life.