The morning started out with breakfast in the common room downstairs. The buffet style breakfast is just what is needed to get yourself going in the morning, not to mention the hot chocolate! It was nice to be able to try many different Moroccan types of food without getting huge helpings of it.
After breakfast, we packed up all of our stuff and loaded the buses to go to Tanger. The trip to Tanger, which is where we arrived on the ferry, was about an hour and a half ride.
We stopped on the side of the road, by a dirt parking lot, where there was access to a beach as well. There were 5 camels all geared up and ready to take our on the opportunity to ride camels! Because there was over 100 of us, we had to take turns in groups of 5 so before riding the camels we took pictures by the ones that weren't strapped up.
During my camel ride, I handed off my camera to Amy to follow me and take pictures with it. Here are a few of the shots that she captured!
The camel that I rode was the biggest camel out of the 5 and he was a feisty one. He didn't like the fact that many people were riding him and the trainers gave him the name of Ali Baba. He even had a muzzle on his snout to control him.
When it was time to get off the camel, the camels are instructed to lay down or sit but Ali Baba was thinking otherwise. As you can see in the picture I was a little worried that I wasn't going to ever get off and that I would somehow be thrown off. Luckily that wasn't that case and I was able to successfully jump down and off of Ali Baba.
After we rode our camels we had time to waste while other groups went. We went down to the beach, Atlantic Ocean, and soaked up whatever sun there was, because once again it had rained earlier in the day.
When all of the groups finished their camel ride, we boarded the bus for about a 5 minute trek to a rest stop to use the bathrooms. The significance of this rest stop is that you can see where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is right behind the white light house in the picture.
After taking a few photos and getting some snacks we drove to the Cave of Hercules. This cave is a very cool landmark because it shows the silhouette of Africa backwards in its opening to the ocean. Also inside the cave there were shops or little places that vendors set up to sell their goods. There was water dripping from the top of the cave so we had to be careful where we stepped to avoid puddles.
After the cave, we boarded back on the bus to a restaurant right outside of Asilah, Morocco. The restaurant had a very cool set up and it reminded me of the Arabic tea houses that we go to in Granada.
For lunch we had cold vegetables and chicken with a yellow sauce and fries. Desert was a banana and an apple. There was also fresh bread, of course!
When we finished eating lunch we returned to the buses, yet again, to travel to Asilah. When we got there, the group did a Harlem Shake video (see YouTube) outside of a castle. From there we had a nice 20 minute tour of the town. The town is known for its paintings on the walls, which I took many pictures of. The blue walls are also present in Asilah but they are not as famous as Chefchaouen.
On the tour we stopped at a pier and walls that surround the city. From the pier there was a great view of the city! The white and blue really do stand out!
After finishing the tour we had free time to shop and walk around. I exchanged a good majority of my durhams back to euros because I had forgotten to use them or stores wouldn't accept my high bill. I then bought a key chain for myself of the hand of fatima. I also bought Kristin and Karyn a little trinket from Africa and my mom and key chain! Bartering was a lot harder here than in Chefchaouen so I am glad that I bought what I did, when I did. I also bought 3 post cards so I can finally write home to my grandparents because I know they aren't able to read my blog (no internet).
When we were all tired out of shopping we decided to wander the city a little bit and go to the beach. Next to the beach there was a lake that had a lot of fishing boats in it as well and I think that lake must have been fed through the ocean.
Soon there after it was time to go and return to Spain. We took the buses all the way back to Tanger. On the bus we were informed that 6 randomly chosen people from Granada were going to go to Sevilla with the other bus and the rest would return directly to Granada. Our nerves were on edge because we did not want to go the extra 2 and a half hours to Sevilla. Michael's name got chosen but Adam took his spot because Adam didn't have class until 3:30 pm on Monday.
The bus ride back was a little rough because I was still not feeling 100% but I did survive. When we got to port we had to unload everything off of the buses and take it with us inside. We went through security and got our passports stamped. We had to wait inside a small room for about an hour and a half because the ferry had been delayed an hour, now leaving at 10 pm. Also waiting in the room was the group from Discover Madrid. When we were waiting we were served our kebaps and fries that we had the chance to order on the bus for 5 euros. This was the only meal that was not included. The kebap was really good and the fries, well they were drenched in oil. But it was still tasty!
Discover Madrid got to board the ferry first because they were there first and we had to wait outside in the cold air. When we were waiting, we witnessed 2 younger men (15-18 years old) being escorted out of the water and to the police van that they had waiting. They were in swimsuits and had plastic bags and were dripping wet. We assumed that they were trying to sneak onto the boat and not have to pay or go through customs to get to Spain. It was sad to see it happen but that is the justice system.
When we were on the ferry, we were delayed another our from leaving port because of how bad the weather was. The crew had to make sure that everything was secure and that nothing was going to fall off from the rough waves. Once we got going it was like a jetski ride, only on a ferry! It was intense and rough, no doubt about it. During the ride I started to feel a little queezy so I stepped outside on to the patio like deck, and I almost got blown away! The ferry was called the Tarifa Jet (city in Spain that we were going to) and let me tell you, it was definitely the fast ferry! It was going so fast that we were even getting splashed and we were on the 4th or 5th floor. The ferry was also rocking back and forth that it was hard to keep your balance when walking. Eventually I got over being queezy and I got to enjoy the ride, similar to a roller coaster.
When we reached land, Spain, we exited the ferry quickly because nobody wanted to be on it anymore. We had to go through customs and then we waited outside for our bus to come. When it was time to board the bus, Rachael and I had a plan to get good seats: I put the baggage under the bus and she gets on and gets the seats that have no limit on reclining. It worked! We had the best seats in the house! :)
I slept the majority of the bus ride, waking up for a little bit here and there. I had the window seat so it was a little easier to get comfortable.
We returned to Granada at 5:15 in the morning and Rachael and I walked directly from the bus stop to our house without stopping. We were exhausted and ready for bed!
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