Jiggy Jiggy MOROCCO

Aside from literally spending about 65 hours on the bus over the course of the week, and getting ABSOLUTELY AWFUL food poisoning the first 24 hours I spent in Morocco, the trip overall was the most incredible experience of my life.

April 4 th Departure from Madrid at 9 p.m.

April 5 th Along the way we picked up other ISA students from Salamanca, Santander, Granada, and Malaga. Trip by bus to Algeciras – crossed the Strait of Gibraltar by ferry - Cross the border in Ceuta. Arrival in Fes, Morocco around 8 p.m. - Dinner and accommodation in Menzeh Zalagh 5* Hotel.

I slept a majority of the first part of the trip. When I woke up, we watched the movies Gran Torino and Bolt! Then we stopped for lunch somewhere in Morocco. The view on the bus was amazing – I never knew Africa was so GREEN! The landscape was just rolling green hills for miles, as we drove through the Atlas Mountains. The hotel was gorgeous – there is really no other way to describe it other than really Moroccan looking, our rooms were nice- pretty balcony looking over the city, and the food was good (we were warned not to eat anything uncooked because their water is not safe to drink). I followed the rules, and of course I would be the one to wake up with food poisoning the next day! The directors said that I could be in trouble the rest of the trip if I got so sick off eating COOKED food from a 5* hotel, and only drank bottled water. GREAT how reassuring!

April 6 th Breakfast at the hotel- all day visit to the Fes Medina. Dinner and accommodation in Menzeh Zalagh Hotel. Folklore Spectacle at 8 p.m.

After breakfast, we got on the bus. First stop was the King’s Palace. Since there were Moroccan flags everywhere, we were told that meant that the King was actually there! Then we saw the Jewish quarter, and continued to the Medina, the largest Medina (outdoor market) in the world. 1,200 tiny streets of different kinds of stores with NO street signs. It was insane! We saw the food market part, Dyer’s Row (where they dye scarf-like things and make them to wear when they die), Traditional Moroccan decorations/pottery/jewellery, Chairs Row (where they make the thrones Arabs use for their weddings), House of Rugs (had Arabic tea and saw tons of authentic Moroccan rugs), House of Fabrics (factory and store filled with different fabrics used for scarves, or more traditionally, turbans), the Tannery (a.k.a. Death Factory where they skin animals for to make leather products such as coats or handbags- smelled HORRIBLE but nice view looking over the rest of the city), and soo much more! Then we had lunch inside the medina at a traditional Moroccan restaurant that was absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t eat lunch because I was so sick, and at some points I thought I was going to have to go back to the hotel, but I was a trooper and stuck it out because I didn’t want to miss out! =) After lunch we headed to a pottery factory and took a tour to see how traditional Moroccan ceramics are made from start to finish. It is amazing how much work is put in just a single bowl or plate. Lastly, they took us to a panoramic view of the city of Fes, which was unbelievable to see all the streets that we had walked earlier that day. That night, we ate dinner (I ate bread, of course) and then we went to a traditional folklore show – there was music, dancers, and many different performers. It was really fun!

April 7 th Breakfast in the hotel -trip by bus to Erfoud- On the way: lunch included at the Ziz oasis area. From Erfoud we will go in jeeps 4x4 to Merzouga, town in the Big Dune Desert. Arrival in the Sahara desert at dusk. Dinner and accommodation in “haimas” (tents) in the desert.

The bus trip was brutal, but the scenery was amazing. We also watched the movies 300 and Kung Fu Panda so at least that helped to make the trip feel a little less painful. Thankfully I was feeling a little better. The Ziz Oasis was really beautiful – overlooking a pretty landscape of all trees and waterways - Still not wanting to eat much to upset my stomach, at lunch I only ate bread! Got to Erford not too much longer after late lunch, got off the bus and into the COOLEST JEEPS EVER! We off-roaded into the desert in the jeeps, and our driver had traditional Moroccan music on, which was exciting. Got to the desert in the dark, and the Haimas were AWESOME!!! We were all so excited, we dropped our stuff in the tents and immediately started exploring the mounds and mounds of sand dunes in the desert (of course didn’t go far, since we would’ve gotten lost). The stars were amazing! A little while after, we ate a late dinner with some awesome tea, and got ready for bed since the following day was going to be really long.

April 8 th Wake up early in the morning to see the sunrise in the desert - Breakfast in the main tent- Ride camels through the desert and visit to a typical town- Free time to enjoy the wonderful scenery of the Desert – Lunch, dinner and accommodation in the tents.

Wake up call at 5:30 a.m., Marni saw light so she started yelling, “It’s not supposed to be light out, we missed it!!!!” so everyone scrambled to get their cameras and we started running in the sand (which is up hills and really hard!) Finally, one of the Moroccan tour guides caught up with us and reassured us that we had not missed it lol. So we walked for another 20 minutes to the top of one the dunes, and awaited the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen in my entire life. It was so stunning, people were crying, and of course we just sat there in the freezing cold (yes, the desert is REALLY cold at night/early morning) and took in the amazing atmosphere as the sun rose and changed the sand different colors – from yellow, to reddish-pink, to orange – there are no words to describe how beautiful is really was, it felt like it was close enough to reach out and touch it. Then we went back to the tents, ate breakfast and got ready. The camels arrived at 9 a.m. – two people to a camel, I rode with Eli on HIMALI (Best camel ever!) and Mia and Kira, who were both scared to death, rode on the camel in front of us. HAHA then we wondered through the desert by camel and arrived at the largest sand dune in the Sahara, and then WE CLIMBED IT! It was insane, really hot, and extremely difficult, but the view from the top made it well worth it. From there, we walked (I skipped) down the huge dune, and continued by camel to a typical town outside of the desert. When we arrived, I thought it was abandoned; it looked like NO ONE was around. Sadly mistaken, a lot of people live there. The houses are made out of clay, and were in poor condition. We handed out candy to the children who were going absolutely crazy for it. I wondered why they weren’t in school when we arrived to a slightly nicer area, and got to see a school. The schools were just a room- 1 per age group. You have to pay for school in Africa, so not everyone can attend. We got to talk and take pictures with the teachers and the students – it seriously opened my eyes a lot. Afterwards, we went to another, but smaller house of rugs and saw handmade rugs and more jewellery. Went back to the tents, had lunch, and explored more of the desert, played Frisbee with the local children, and by nightfall we watched a gorgeous sunset while we were all dancing in the desert sand to the beat of the locals bongos, it was really fun! We also got Henna, which was pretty cool =) We then had dinner, and they threw a party in the main tent with a local band that played traditional Moroccan music, we all danced until we were exhausted, and finally got ready and went to bed.

April 9 th Breakfast in the main tent -Trip in 4x4 to Erfoud where you will take a bus to go to Meknes- you will stop on the way to eat (picnic included). Arrival to Meknes at night and accommodation in the Rif Hotel 4*.

The next morning, I decided I wanted to watch the sunrise again. Since no one else wanted to wake up at 5:30 again, I did it alone. It was really peaceful, and the rest of the desert was completely dead silent- I probably could’ve heard a pin drop. I went back to the tents, and everyone was waking up for breakfast, then we packed and got back into the jeeps to head back to Erfoud for the bus. The jeeps were just as fun as the first time – off-roading in the desert is quite the experience! Got back on the bus, unfortunately, for another looong bus ride to Meknes. Luckily this time I was so tired, I pretty much slept the whole time. We made a stop at a park that was full of monkies; they were everywhere, and we got so close- it was awesome. Got to Meknes at like 5 p.m., and went searching through the city for a while. When it started getting dark, we watched an old man get punched in the face, and that’s when we decided it was time to go back to the hotel. At the hotel, we had dinner with the ISA students who are studying in Meknes for the semester. Of the 16 total students there, one of the girls was from TCNJ – how crazy!!!!!! Her name was Jessica, and she’s a junior at school, and I had never met her in before. After dinner, they took us to a bar where I had my first Hookah experience, haha and it was pretty fun. Once we finished the Hookah, we went a club, had some drinks and danced with the entire group. Didn’t go to bed until like 3 a.m., and had to wake up at 6 the next morning. Just like living in Madrid, I pretty much didn’t get any sleep the entire trip.

April 10 th Breakfast in the hotel -Trip by bus from Meknes to Ceuta - Crossing by ferry to Algeciras - Trip by bus to Madrid- Arrival by 7 a.m. (the following day).

Ate more bread for breakfast lol (what I basically ate everyday). Packed my suitcase, and back on the bus we went! Watched the movies Vicky Cristina Barcelona, some stupid movie about a man who lives for 14,000 years that I didn’t even know the title of, and Snatch. Crossed the Straight of Gibraltar by ferry (I saw Gibralter Rock), and slept the rest of the way back to Madrid. Along the way, we dropped off the other students studying in other parts of Spain, and arrived in Madrid at 4 a.m. Since we weren’t supposed to get back until 7, the metro doesn’t open until 6 a.m., and we didn’t want to pay for a taxi, we WALKED home with all of our luggage in the cold – great way to end the trip! Nonetheless Fes, the Sahara Desert, and Meknes in Morocco were the most different and unbelievable places I have ever been. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime, and something I will never ever forget!