Marruecos-1

Thursday, March 4

Ahhh, finally a day of sunshine for more than a few minutes! I am sitting outsider in front of the river enjoy the view, the people running by (I should be doing that) and the relatively warm weather. We just finished our first week of regular classes, and I like them all so far. But first, I want to talk about Morocco. This may be a lengthy post, and I apologize, but I hope you find it interesting. To begin: we left from Sevilla on Saturday and took a bus to Algeciras in southern Spain. There, we hopped on a ferry and cruised across the water to Ceuta, a Spanish city on the tip of Africa. Before this trip, I didn’t know this city existed, but it was neat to see familiar shops and signs when we first landed in Africa. The ferry was fun, and we were able to stand outside and watch as we approached the big mountain of the new continent. After getting off the ferry, we boarded the bus again (yes, it came on the ferry!) and drove to the top of the city. We were able to see all of Ceuta and the seas. We also visited a park for a few minutes, then got back on the bus to go through customs. We waited in the bus for some time while the police checked our passports and then came on the bus to inspect our passports again. While we were waiting, I saw many people walking along the corridor from Morocco to Ceuta carrying shopping bags and other items. I wonder if many people travel often between the two? We got the green light to continue, and began driving towards Tetuán. It was dark and quite rainy outside, which added to the solemn feeling I had looking out the window. I noticed a lot of men just standing outside watching as our bus drove by. I definitely felt out of place, and they couldn’t even see me yet! Many of the men were wearing these long robes with pointed hoods, that turns out to be the ‘going out’ clothing of men and women. After a little drive, we arrived at the hotel and at dinner. The first course consisted of a salad of eggs, beets, carrots, cucumbers, peppers and some other vegetables. We then ate chicken and potatoes and had something that resembled flan for dessert. We also drank the mint tea. I was leary to try the tea since we are not supposed to drink the water, but it was heated up so I figured it was fine. We also ate quite a bit of bread-as usual in España también ☺

The next morning, w woke up early and ate a breakfast of—what else? Bread. Crossiants, biscuit-type bread and these crepe/pancake looking were accompanied by honey and jam. We also had real orange juice, which I absolutely loved. We hopped on the buses again to go to Chefchaouen. The city is famous for its blue buildings. When we arrived, we met up with our tour guide and began our tour of the city. During our walk through the city, it began to rain, but I think that made it more adventurous! The streets there do not have signs and they are so windey-some very narrow too! We crossed over the river and saw where women bring their clothes to wash them. Just before that, we were serenaded by a group of young men playing drums among other instruments and singing. I don’t know if they do this all the time or if it was a ‘special’ show for us ☺ Speaking of show, enroute to Chefchaouen, I noticed many more men standing outside watching as we went by. Imagine these big tour buses passing through a very rural area. While we were on our tour as well, I felt like we were on display. I have become accustomed to not travelling in big groups here, unlike my last visit to Europe. I was very self-conscious of the way we looked and acted and how these people perceive us.

After the tour and many beautiful photo opportunities, we had some free time to shop at the markets. These are real markets. They were little tents filled with trinkets such as scarves, jewelry, camel memorabilia and dishes. There are no set prices and everything is to be haggled for. I asked one of the group leaders what would be a good ‘token’ item to buy from Marruecos, and she mentioned the Hand of Fatima, which guards against the evil eye. A man overheard her telling us about the Hand, and he offered to show us what it looks like. He was wearing a green djellaba, and proceeded to take us to this scarf shop. Looking back, that doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do (sorry madre), but our tour guide, talked to him and seemed to validate his helpfulness. The people all seemed very nice and welcoming-probably because they want us to buy their staff. But more than that, they were indeed helpful and made sure to say that they want us to come back again. We entered the scarf shop and were greeted by a young boy, then by the owner of the shop. He explained how the scarves are made in the city on a loom. He then proceeded to throw scarves all over us, making sure we notice the fine handy-work and soft feel. They were about 23 euro, which was a little too much than I was willing to spend. A few of the girls bought some for less-they got the 'student price' :) In the beginning, the man said, "We don't push here. We are not like a big city. We want you to come again. Try on anything you like." When we were getting ready to leave he said "See you later aligator". Hahaha.