Missing the exotic atmosphere of Southeast Asia and craving the feel of the incredible unfamiliarity of a new culture, I somehow convinced my parents to let me travel to Africa.
So on Friday, Emma and I met up with the We Love Spain tour group that first took us to Gibraltar, a British territory, and northern cities in Morocco. We explored the natural caves and town center of Gibraltar.
It was so weird to be back in a place where everyone speaks English; we even enjoyed a typical British lunch of fish and chips. Contrary to my previous beliefs, fish is breaded cod and chips are actually French fries.
After exploring Gibralatar and playing with the monkeys, we boarded a large ferry to cross the Straight of Gibraltar and leave Europe far behind. One quick hour boat ride to Cetua, a Spanish city in Africa, we all piled onto a bus destined for the Spanish-Moroccan border.
After an hour of waiting in bumper-to-bumper, idle traffic, we arrived at the border. Moroccan officials stamped our passports – finally! Africa!
North Africa was far from everything I imagined it would be. The Sahara Desert was a twelve-hour drive south, and we found ourselves instead nestled in a land of luscious rolling green hills – typical of Northern Morocco. Morocco translates to two meanings: “where the sun sets” and “to the west.”
The next morning, after breakfast of bread with cream cheese, croissants, and pistachio yogurt, we set off for Tangier, and the point where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. We stopped to admire the handicrafts being sold at the point and gaped at the locals dressed in colorful, traditional wear selling pictures with their donkeys.
Monkeys and donkeys aside, however, next we had the highly anticipated camel ride on the Tangier beach to the harmonious soundtrack of the Atlantic waves kissing the shoreline.
Climbing onto the seated camel, I was not prepared to be thrust into the air as the camel rolled its flexible ankles upward in order to stand up.
Yet once my camel, which I soon found out was named Agnes, decided to cooperate, we were off and trotting down the beach. The camels calmly mosied their way along the shoreline, and I let the wind tousle my hair as I perched atop, taking in the view.
I still can’t believe I casually took a weekend trip to Africa AND rode a camel.
Two hours later, after a windy bus ride through the beautiful Rif mountains, we arrived to Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl of Morocco. This entire rural city is painted various shades of blue, and easily was the best part of the trip.
So why is the city painted blue? No one really knows – and neither did our super old but cute tour guide.
However, Google knows all. There are many different theories that describe how the Blue Pearl came to be so blue. One theory claims that blue keeps the mosquitos away (and Morocco definitely has bugs), but another theory suggests that the Jews painted the city blue when they took refuge from Hitler during the 1930s. Blue symbolizes the sky and heaven, reminders to lead a spiritual life.
Determined to buy a Moroccan rug, Emma and I set out to bargain for our own Moroccan souvenirs. We peaked in a few stores and the owners went all out; literally, taking half of the rugs off the walls and displaying them on the floor. One man yelled at us after we told him we weren’t interested in his rugs, so we scurried away and found a rug shop tucked away on the second floor of a corner building.
The man, Haamad, was extremely kind to us. He offered us Moroccan tea – traditional mint green tea – and initially we turned him down, because you shouldn’t take tea from strangers. However, after he showed us a few rugs and we became interested, we took him up on his offer. While the hot water brewed out on the balcony, he dressed us up in traditional headscarves.
According to good ole reliable Wikipedia, there is a specific technique used when pouring the tea. Moroccan tea pots have long, curved pouring spouts, which allows the tea to be poured evenly into tiny glasses from a height. For the best taste, Moroccans fill the glasses in two stages; since they traditionally like tea with bubbles, they hold the teapot high above the glasses while pouring.
While he showed us some of the options – I was really into a white rug with dangly sparkles, he suggested we feel the quality and texture of the rugs. Go figure, I backed into the table and knocked our two empty tea glasses onto the floor and they shattered into one million pieces.
Haamad told us not to worry and he went to clean it up in his bare feet. “It’s good luck,” he assured me. It better be too, especially with the amount of stray black cats we saw wandering the streets of Morocco.
After bargaining our prices down, we happily left with our authentic Moroccan rugs, and headed to an extravagant building built in 1407 for our Moroccan Fantasy dinner.
As we entered the venue, traditional dancers and musicians greeted us, banging on drums and clashing bells.
We enjoyed the harmonious Moroccan melody as we ate our traditional thick soup, fresh salad, meatball stew in a tajine (the giant clay pot used to cook the stew), and lemon chicken with couscous and steamed vegetables. The salad was comprised of raw vegetables with zaalouk, a tomato mix, and taktouka, a mix of tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, garlic, and spices. We used white Moroccan bread, khobz, to eat our soup and tajine dishes.
We finished the dinner with a wedding ceremony – two kids in our group were randomly selected to dress up in traditional Moroccan wear and enter the room, while performers danced with cymbals and a man balanced a tray of burning candles on his head and spun around with it. According to Moroccan tradition, there are 3 days of the wedding ceremony, with the first day being the Henna day.
Each day, the bride wears a different embroidered robe, with the color of her choice. Since Moroccans spend so much money on these dresses, one is expected to re-wear it to other weddings. This is definitely a cultural difference because who can imagine being at your wedding only to see your friend up wearing her own wedding gown?
On Sunday morning, we explored the city of Tetuan.
Tetuan was the Spanish capitol of Morocco, until the Moroccans won their independence from Spain in 1956. We started our tour in the new city, which was built by the Spaniards in 1912.
While the King lives in Rabat, he has palaces in all big cities. We passed his palace in Tetuan right outside of the entrance into the Jewish Quarter (soldiers were preparing for the king’s arrival later that week) and then wandered down the narrow cobblestone walkways of the quarter.
All windows were closed for privacy; Moroccans follow the cultural tradition by not showing the inside of their house to preserve intimacy. One can never know if a family is rich or not unless invited inside their home, as Moroccans do not believe in a gaudy display of wealth. Although the small guarded windows do not let in much natural light, homes have patios inside the house.
Also, instead of throwing out uneaten bread, Moroccans put their leftovers in a bag outside of their front door. When the farmers come into the city each morning, they will take the leftovers for their animals.
Families also make their own bread in their home each day; therefore, no one buys their bread from a bakery. Instead, they take their dough to the bakery to bake their bread in the wooden oven to create the wooden-baked flavor. Families put a sign or marker in their bread to differentiate it from others. Of course, bakeries are also places to congregate and partake in neighborly gossip.
Our tour guide told us about the public baths located in each residential area. Women bathe in the morning, and men in the afternoon. While Moroccans now have private baths inside their homes, they usually go once a week to the public bath and get a massage.
While in the Jewish Quarter, also called the Medina, which means old historical section of the city, we visited the market to bargain for more souvenirs.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to visit Africa and expose myself to another foreign culture. While I’ve enjoyed and appreciated traveling around Europe, I really believe in the importance of traveling to countries with extreme differences in culture, tradition, and lifestyle.
Not only did it allow me to learn more about the world, but also more about myself, my culture, and what is most important to me.
ALWAYS ASHLEY 
Absolutely awesome Ash–what a great experience for you!
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This looks like a great trip! Definitely on my list!
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