Morocco

My lack of computer has given me an excuse to put off writing about a place that is still indescrible for me. Just so different in every way. I started my trip to Morocco on the bathroom floor of a ferry. Apparently our Captain decided that driving through a hurricane was a great idea, and it took all of 12 seconds for me to realize that it was going to be a long trip. Within the first 5 minutes half of the people on board were puking, and I was soon to follow. The trip from Tarifa, in the southern tip of Spain was suppose to take 45 minutes to get us to Tanjier, Morocco. And although it took only a bit over an hour, it felt like 4. Once to Tanjier we looked around briefly and got on a night train that was taking us to the center of Morocco, to Marrakech.

When we awoke the next day, we were in a different world. After going through hell to try and find a hostel we relaxed and began to explore. As we walked into the market a monkey....yes monkey jumped right up on my shoulder. I smiled happily as I got a picture taken. After that experience I looked to the ground to see a couple cobras only a few feet away from me. Anyone who knows me. knows that snakes are about the most terrifying thing in the world to me, but I put aside my discomfort and watched as Kyle attempted to charm one himself. The pictures we got from this were amazing.

Quickly, the food was so delicious. The mint tea was amazing, as were the mushroom omlettes that I got everyday. Nothing beat the freshley squeeze orange juice that I drank about 46 times a day while I was there. It is simply the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.

We continued to explore the city for the rest of the day on Thursday, but we looked for something exciting to do on Friday, the muslim holy day, when most of the city would be shut down. Our hostel suggested going into the mountains. This was the best decision of our trip to Morocco, and probably the most amazing day of my trip. The sights I saw were so beautiful. I was in awe for my entire climb into the mountains, and the tiny berbur tribe that invited us into their homes, the camel ride, and the free meal made the entire day memorable. I wish I could say more, but we all know that I've never been too good with words, so I leave my pictures to do the explaining.

The next day, Saturday was shopping day. I was told that the Market was the largest in the world, filled with alley ways and tiny shops there is something to buy for everyone. With the exchange rate at 10:1, I was ready to make some deals. We spent the entire morning shopping, and it was a ton of fun, I got a few good little keepsakes but spent more time taking in the sights and trying to watch these people rip other people off. Afternoon I went up to the roof of the hostel and relaxed. It was amazing. I fell asleep in a lawnchair and was in heaven. Just me, my iPod, the sun, and 75 degree beautiful Moroccan weather.

Unfortunately that was the end of my trip to Morocco as that night we packed up and got ready for our 730 am flight back to London on Sunday morning. I had never taken a spring break trip before, and its going to be pretty tough to compete with this one....but I'm certainly going to try. I'm thinking Thailand next year, but we'll see how that works out.