Morocco

Posted by a Foster School student studying abroad in Spain.

This weekend I took a trip to the country of Morocco. We went with a group called StudyTravel,  and I highly recommend this because it was much cheaper and faster than traveling alone. We got to visit three cities in three days; it was a jam-packed weekend.

We started our journey in Malaga where we met with the group. Once there we drove to Algeciras to take the ferry down to Cetua. Cetua is still run by Spain so we had no problems there but once we drove from Cetua to Tétouan the border was packed. We spent a good two hours trying to get across the border. The driving there is insane, it looks like there is going to be an accident any second. Finally, we crossed the border and made it to Tétouan where we took a bus tour of the city and went to our hotel. The cities instantly look different once you cross the border because Morocco is a Muslim country so all the signs are in Arabic. They also used to be run my France so the only other language on the signs is French. This would make it very difficult to get around without a guide. The nice thing about it being so close to Spain is that most people speak Spanish. Once at the hotel we had a traditional Moroccan dinner of meat, vegetables and couscous and went to bed exhausted after a full day of traveling.

The next morning we got up early and headed to the city of Tanger. This city is quite a bit smaller than Tétouan. First, we went into the small center of the city, which is a market. It is gated off so that only people on foot can get though. At some points only one person at a time could walk along the passageways. People of Tanger like to get their food fresh every day so the market is open 7 days a week and they have everything to make their traditional food: huge bags of spices, the freshest produce and very fresh chicken (in fact, they kill it there on site). After this we went and saw where the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans meet. The view was spectacular but I only wish there hadn’t been such a down pour or we would have been able to enjoy it longer. We also got to take a camel ride a long the way. We headed back to the hotel again for some R&R because we had to get up pretty early the next morning.

On our final day we headed to Chechaouén. It is a very small city way up in the mountains. Our tour of the city was breath taking. Their neighborhoods are all painted one shade of blue or another; there are also magnificent views of the countryside below from almost anywhere in the city. The center of town is the cathedral and a bunch of cafes where the locals all sit and drink tea. Its something you need to see for yourself but I really hope to return someday. I am so glad I took that trip it was a last minute thing for me but sometimes those turn out to be the best.