Chefchaouen, Morocco

Waking up in Africa is a feeling like no other. Knowing you're finally in the place you always dreamed of going is an unreal feeling. The atmosphere that this place gave off made you feel like you were in a new world, which we were. We ate breakfast and got ready for another day in Africa. This is Tetuoan, the place where the hotel is that we stayed in for 2 nights, and this is the view that we woke up to.

After breakfast we all boarded the 2 coach buses and we off to Chefchaouen. The drive was very humbling through the winding roads and mountainous region. The houses were all compiled together in one area, then there would be green space and some more houses. It continued like this for about and hour and a half. The area was very rural, all small towns, and we didn't get to civilization for a while. 

We stopped at a rest stop partial way through the journey and there was a beautiful lake! It had rained earlier in the morning so it was still a little foggy but the beauty was still able to pull on through. We took a group photo with everyone from Winona State who went on the trip.

After driving for about an hour more we finally reached our final destination for the day, Chefchaouen, Morocco! The town is also called Chaouen, and it is known for its blue walls and doors. It is usually referred to as the "Blue City" and it is a tourist point. When we got off the bus, the first thing that caught my eye is what is pictured below. The blue is very appealing and gorgeous and I would soon learn that it is throughout the city. We were also met by a tour guide who was going to show us around the city and talk about everything that we saw or passed by.

Throughout the walking tour, the tour guide (who I forgot the name of) would talk about the history of the city and the people, customs and everything in between. I overhead one of our directors say that he had given us the best tour that he as ever heard! He told us about the history of the blue paint as well. The blue is painted 4 times a year to keep a fresh and non-chipped looked. The blue is used to keep the bugs away as well, but it was originally used to symbolize that you are Jewish, but now it is just widely used. 

Rachael, Amy, Me, Leah, Maggie, Chelsea

There are still no cars in Chefchaouen, only donkeys and scooters. This is a picture of donkeys bringing oil, and the worker taking the empty cans. 

The remains of the castle that used to be in Chefchaouen. 

Our tour guide took us to a beautiful overlook of the city. The blue walls really do stand out and catch your attention. 

From the overlook we walked up hill a little bit more and we could see people washing their clothes. These locations are throughout Granada and all of Spain (most likely Europe as well) but I had never seen one that was working, let alone so many people doing their wash.

We finished the tour and ended up a the hotel where we were going to be eating our lunch. Because we arrived about 15 minutes early, we had time to go on to the hotel's patio and take some pretty cool pictures. This is a panorama view of what I was looking at!

Lunch was buffet style. It had the cold vegetables and rice, as well as hard boiled eggs. For the second course there was chicken in a yellow sauce with olives and rice, stuffed tomatoes and potatoes. All of it was very very good. 

After lunch we had free time to shop and walk around some more. This is when we got to barter. I was walking around with Ruth Ann, Michael and Katie. First things first, we went to exchange our money to durhams so we had some local currency. There was a little boy who was selling bracelets and he melted my heart so I bought one from him for 1 euro. I had the name of the city pressed into metal on a leather bracelet. It was now time to shop til we dropped! The second that I bought was a bracelet, that supposedly has camel bone on it. It was originally 16 euros but I got it down to 5 euros. I then bought a necklace that was super cute for 5 euros, originally 16 as well. From there we went to a shop that I had seen walking on the tour and it was selling handmade paintings of the town. I got one for 10 euros, which was what he started at but I didn't feel it was the right time to barter because it was handmade and each were original. 

We then took a bathroom break in the hotel and I ended up shopping some more with Ruth Ann, Amy and Chelsea. With them I bought a painted bowl for 2 euros, originally 3. We walked around some more and came across a bunch of colored spices and other things. It was a cool experience to see the shops that other people use on a daily basis.

After walking around some more, we ran into some people from our group. From there we found a lady who was doing Henna tattoos. Ruth Ann and I decided that we were going to get one as part of the experience!

At the top of the tattoo, where it reaches my arm, it says Chefchaouen in Arabic. Just a cool sentiment that I didn't even ask for and the lady added. 

After getting our tattoos, we were exhausted and tired of walking around so we decided to return to the hotel to chill out until it was time to leave to return to Tetuoan. 

When we returned to the hotel it was time for dinner. We started out with a soup, then hamburger pasta and ended with a fruit cup. It was all very good but I was not feeling that great from earlier in the day so I did not eat that much. There were also dated on the table before the food was served. I tried one but it was a little too sweet for my liking.

This the chandelier that hung from the middle of the dining room.

After dinner we returned to our rooms to rest for about an hour and half before the show that the directors were going to put on at night. At the show there was free sangria and Rufus, the director from Norway, did a magic show with cards. They were all very huge mind games, that I didn't understand the working behind. 

When the show finished we returned to our rooms and we hit the sack. In the middle of the night my stomach started to act up and I became worried for what the next day would bring... luckily it brought a happy stomach! :)

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Porque Esto es Africa (Morocco)

Rachael and I woke up at 7 am and began the long day of travel with some cereal for breakfast. We then finished up packing and getting ready and were off to the bus stop. On the way we stopped at an ATM to fill our wallets up for whatever shopping we so desired to make on the trip. 

When we got to the bus stop, the bus was not there yet so we had to wait for about 10 minutes. We then boarded. It was a coach bus, with reclining seats that were cushion-y but there was no bathroom. And lucky us, there was one of the most annoying and obnoxious girls on the bus as well. She will be the downfall or negative to the trip because she was just THAT annoying. But I didn't let her get to me. Luckily for the whole bus, Manu, the director, put in the movie Zoolander and that quickly shut her up, and everyone else who was talking. It was too early to be that alive and awake!

About 2 hours into the trip, going to to Sevilla to pick up more students, we stopped at a rest stop for bathroom breaks as well as to get some breakfast. Even though we already ate, we were still hungry so we bought a pastry like thing with chocolate on it. It was the best thing ever! The cafeteria was also well maintained and huge and it had a few stores and a cafe in it. I was in such awe that I took a picture of it. I don't know why American rest stops aren't maintained like that.

After the rest stop we went directly to Sevilla. Because our bus was already full, we just sat there and waited while the other bus was loaded up with more students. Once the bus was loaded it was a straight shot to the Port of Tarifa, Spain. But we did have to make another pit stop for another bathroom break and option for some more food to munch on. 

When we got to the port we had to give away our passports so that they could be stamped and checked on the ferry. We were told to wait in a large open room for the ferry to come.. in 2 hours. We were in such a rush earlier and now we are just sitting around and waiting. I don't understand the logic behind that. When we were sitting there, we smelt fries so we just had to get an order. The ketchup here is definitely different that in America, a lot sweeter and a different taste. To kill time, we played card games and then we finally got to board the ferry. 

We got to the line and had to wait some more, a hurry up and wait game. This time we were waiting to get our tickets and to go through security. The security was nothing like airport security, quite petty and didn't really do much. I was shocked because we were about to enter another continent and country! We got to another room after security and had to wait another 45 minutes before we could board the ferry. From there we got to the front of the time and got to walk down the terminal first! It reminded me of cruises and the excitement that goes along with it. :)

When we boarded, we had to enter where the cars and buses are parked and put our bags in a huge box like thing. We were a little uncomfortable leaving them there but the guards made us and we had no choice. We got on the ship and quickly snatched up a table near the front of the boat so we could watch everything.

We soon noticed that on our tickets it said "Incl. 1 Hr Stop in Gibraltar" and we knew then that we were not a direct ferry to Africa. What a shame. We cruised over to Gibraltar, docked and waited. I still am not sure if more people boarded the ferry or if we just were chilling there for the whole time. We decided to waste some time and walk around on the ferry outside, and snap a few shots. Gibraltar is actually a very gorgeous city, if only we would've been able to actually experience it. 

Sooner than later we were off to our destination of Tanger, Morocco. Somewhere in the middle of the Straight of Gibraltar we crossed into African territory and we got our passports back, stamped with Tanger. Sooner than later we were in Africa and we took our first steps onto African soil. What a relief that was. 

I don't remember the time that we landed but I do know that we were behind schedule. There was also a time change, 1 hour ahead so that also was taken into account. We all boarded the buses and then we drove over to the security point and ALMOST made it out but we were forced to turn around. They searched both of the buses in the baggage compartments and it took an hour! Once again, more behind schedule. 

On our way to the hotel, four star hotel, we picked up a Moroccan tour guide. It was all part of the plan, that a random guy. He spoke Arabic, Spanish, English and possibly more languages. He told us all about Morocco and the city that we were going to. We even learned a few words (which I forgot) to use in bartering and we got to sing a song. Half way through the trip he got off our bus and entered the other bus to do the same thing over again.

When we arrived to the hotel, all we had to do was take all of our stuff with us and leave the baggage under the bus there. The hotel staff would take care of it for us because we were 2 and half hours late. The hotel was called Hotel La Paloma and it also would be serving us breakfast and dinner.

For dinner, we had bread, salad, couscous and chicken and strawberries and some citrus orange type thing for desert. 

During the meal there we Moroccan performers that came out. Two men on the drums and two dancing with noise makers. It was really awesome to see their dress and attire and experience the culture right away. Definitely something I have never seen before.

After dinner Rachael and I found our bags in the huge pile that was in the front lobby. We then found our room, 5th floor and we went to bed. It had been a long day of travelling and we were ready for bed. Excited for what was to come the next day! :)

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Packing for Morocco

Today was definitely another one of those "lazy days" and accomplishing close to nothing. I woke up at 10, ate breakfast and then went back to bed until 12:30. I woke up and watched a movie and Survivor and then ate lunch.

After lunch I went back to bed, unintentionally, as I was waiting for the heater to turn on so I could shower. When I woke up, I took a shower and there was NO hot water, or water pressure. Just another reason why I hate showering.

After my cold shower, I packed for Morocco. I fit everything into my backpack. I am practicing packing in my backpack because that is what I am going to take to Barcelona for my cruise, most likely. 

I also copied down the itinerary onto a sheet of paper so I would have it handy when I was in Morocco, and I realized how much we are going to be seeing and experiencing. I cannot wait!

Everything seems so surreal that I am off to AFRICA tomorrow! It is definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I am having so many of those moments over here on this study abroad opportunity. 

It will be interesting to be on another CONTINENT! let alone another country, where they speak another language, that I don't know, and use a different currency. The durham is equal to 1 euro, so it reminds me of Mexico and the peso, but I am sure the countries are very different.

Tomorrow will be filled with a long bus ride and ferry ride and another bus ride but Saturday and Sunday is when the fun starts! 

Here I come Africa! :)

Tapas with Class

Today was a good day! Classes we about half to less than half full because we don't have school on Thursday or Friday, so people are on vacations and exploring Europe. In one of my classes we even got to play Tabu for a good majority of the time. It was really fun but it is a difficult game, especially in Spanish.

In my Spanish Civilization and Culture class we went out for tapas. This was a planned "field trip" because we are learning about everything about Spain, including their cuisine. There were about 16 of us that went out for tapas, during the class period, which made it even better.

We had to walk about 3 to 4 blocks to get to the restaurant, that was open just for us because tapas don't usually start until 8 pm. We ordered our drinks and then the tapas began!

First he came out with chips smothered in oil and topped with a pickled fish. We couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but we guessed either anchovies or herring. I told myself I was going to try everything that was brought out to us just to live a little and experience it. It actually wasn't that bad and you couldn't even taste the fishy-ness of it. He also came out with a red, tomato based soup. We soon learned that it was (or similar to) gazpacho. I was not a fan of it because it was too tomato-ey and it was cold. He also served us fresh bread, which was delicious!

Second he came out with couscous, which were to die for. Awesome taste and perfect texture. It made me excited for Morocco because I hear that's a very common dish in Morocco. He also came out with a second round of drinks, which I was no expecting because we were there in a school group. 

Next he came out with snails, in a brown sauce. I was very resistant to try these at first because I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was snails. I tried the sauce that they were soaking in before I actually tried the snail, just to make sure that I would like the taste. The sauce was really good  and I was ready to try the snails. We took toothpicks to get the snail out and then boom, ate it! Spectacular! I was hooked and had about 5 more. I would definitely go back just for the snails. The owner also brought out something that looked like chili, but it was definitely not chili. The base of the dish was thicker than I could have ever expected and it had pig intestines in it. I tried it and it wasn't that bad but the flavor was not awesome. I had a few more spoonfuls and I figured that was enough for me.

The last dish that he brought out was chicken in a sauce with fries. This dish was in close second to the snails for the best dish of the night. It had a very unique taste that I couldn't describe if I wanted to, so I will definitely be returning to order this!

I came home to a dinner that I was not ready to scarf down because of the amount of food that I had just eaten, but I had to eat just to be kind and not disrespect Mila. 

Later on in the night Rachael and I met up with Michael and we went to Tantra. Tantra was dead in comparison to what it was this past weekend, and we couldn't figure out why. We had a drink, hung out for a bit and left. We then went to Babylon and took my favorite shot, Chocolate and Bailey's and then we went to Granada 10.

This is an attempted shot of what Granada 10 looks like on the inside. There are steps on the left of the picture (really the middle of the room) to go down to the dance floor. There is a bar to the left of the picture and 2 bars on the dance floor. There are also couches throughout the room and chairs.

We ended up calling it an early night, leaving the club at 2:30 because we just weren't feeling the music or in the dancing mood. Soon after getting home I crashed because I was exhausted after my long day of classes and then going out!