Day 1- We arrived into port around 0700, but this is the first port I didn’t get up for Early-Risers Club (actually most people didn’t) because the port we were coming into was very industrialized and mostly just shipping containers. However, it different because we were all told we needed to be up by 0730 because this port was going to have immigration come on board and have face to face approval with all of us, which meant we got our passports stamped. There wasn’t much we had to do for immigration since the ship filled out the sheets for us and all we needed to do was put where we would be going. The process was relatively quick and we were ready to get off around 0900.

The first thing I needed to do when I got off was go shopping because I needed pants. The dress in Morocco is very modest so we were told to cover up. Also, day four I would be going into the Sahara so I wanted pants lighter than jeans.

We got off the ship and just wandered around for a bit and found an ATM so we could get out Dirham, the currency of Morocco. The exchange rate is about 1USD/10MAD. We found a food market that was getting set up and it was really cool with all the different produce and proteins.

Our group was pretty big and we ended up splitting into a few smaller groups. I was with three other people: Brittany, Crawford, and Emma. Once we split off, we walked to a little park and walked through it before finding a little Latino place to eat. The food was so good. I had a variation of tacos. The owner was very friendly and spoke a little English. He was from Venezuela, his wife was from Morocco and they met in San Francisco. He helped us order so there wasn’t as much of a language barrier and told us what to do around Casablanca. We decided to head to the Hassan II Masque, which was about a 50 minute walk.

The walk wasn’t too bad and it was definitely worth it. The masque was incredible. It was one of the most beautiful religious spaces I’ve ever seen. We sat down for a little while just to take it all in. Then we decided to head to the big market near the port to get our shopping done. Once we got in, we were shocked at how many vendors were set up. There were things to buy everywhere.

We learned to be very careful when asking for help looking for something because one of the girls I was with did that and a man led us to a stand and it didn’t quite have what we were looking for so we said we’d find some ourselves. He said he’d find us some and walked one way and we walked the other so he followed us and eventually took the lead. We found pants and bought some and he hung around and was expecting a tip and the girl told him no. He lingered a little longer before our guy in the group told him to leave and then the guy proceeded to scold him and then finally left us alone.

We wandered through the market with no other problems. We found a small art place with gorgeous paintings and Crawford decided to get one so we just chilled and talked to the owner for a little bit while another guy took care of wrapping it up for him. After it was wrapped, we headed back to the ship for dinner and relaxing time.

This was one of the first times I’ve been on the ship before 1900 without intentions of going back out, since drinking isn’t really the culture here (Tea and coffee are the culture which is fine by me!). Being back earlier was great though, because I was able to call people and talk to my friends and family whom I hadn’t talked to since I left. I finished my night talking with some friends and eating a blueberry muffin, they are amazing in the ship, before calling it a night.

Day 2- The day prior we had decided to sleep in and we were planning on getting off the ship after lunch, but we ended up opting to stay on the ship for the day. Although that sounds lame, it was amazing. I’ve been so behind on this blog, as you all know, and I was able to look at classes to register for since we will be in the middle of the ocean when it comes time for me to register. I was also able to save some money.

Around 1800, we got off the ship just to go to the train station and get some snacks and gelato. It was a short run, but I was able to get dark chocolate, which I was super happy about since they only have milk chocolate on the ship. Again, I just spent the night on the phone calling people to catch up before bed since I had an early morning the next day.

Day 3- This is the day I left for my Camel Trek field program. We had to meet at 0630 so I was up for breakfast at 0600 before meeting with the group. I knew we were going to have a lot of bus time, which meant sleep time, so that’s why I wasn’t worried about getting a ton of sleep the night before. We drove on the bus for about an hour and a half before stopping for a quick bathroom break. One shock was that you had to pay for toilet paper, but we had been warned that some places might not have any at all, so I had packed a little baggy of it. There were three different sections of the program I did so even though we were on separate buses, we were stopping, eating, and sleeping at all the same places. Once we finished our break, we were back on the bus for another hour and a half to our lunch stop.

To get to our lunch in Marrakesh, we had to make our way through the square, which was crazy! There were cobras just laying on the ground, not even in baskets of anything. There were monkeys, on chains, climbing all over, and just so many people. Now, you couldn’t take pictures without paying or you could expect to be tracked down and forced to pay or delete it. After a bit of a struggle with our group of 90 some people trying to navigate through, we were out of the square into alleys that led to our restaurant. Our lunch was at a traditionally decorated restaurant with live music and dancers. After lunch, we were back on the bus for about three and a half more hours. We got to Ouarzazate and had dinner before settling into the hotel. Our dinner again had a drum circle and singing and traditional dance.

At our hotel, most of us were tired, regardless how much we slept on the bus, so we all hung out for a bit downstairs before calling it a night.

Day 4- I got to ride a camel this day! But don’t let me get ahead of myself. We were up around 0700 so we could be back on the bus by 0800 for another round of driving. We started the day with a four and a half hour drive before we had lunch in Zagora (Don’t worry, we got a few breaks. I know ya’ll were concerned). Then we drove about an hour and half to Oulad Driss, where we would start our camel trek.

This part was so exciting. Everyone was nervous to get up on the camels and it was definitely different. They start laying down and then once you get on, then they stand up. Now let me just tell you, it was very fun, but it is not the most comfortable ride. We rode the camels for about an hour, which went super fast because we were all still in shock that the moment was real. My camel’s name was Mabro(k?). I thought it was only a little painful, but I didn’t notice it or feel sore when I got off; other people definitely did.

When we arrived at the nomad camp, we were all so excited to see where we would be sleeping. It was more like glamping (glamorous camping, duh?). We each had our own little cot in a big square tent for four. The guys were in one circle and the girls were in another. Of course ours was the main one where dinner and the fire were to be held. Before we even got our room assignments, some of us took off for the sand dunes to get a panoramic view of the area. It was all absolutely incredible, and then we got called down for tent assignments. We went down and settled in, a little, before it was getting close to sunset so we all hiked up a giant sand dune facing West to watch. It took a little while to set, but it was well worth the wait. We passed the time by taking photos and videos with each other. Everyone was content just sitting and watching it sink below the horizon when the time came. One of the guys, Matt, had brought a speaker so he was playing music which was very fun. He played the song Home by Phillip Phillips and everyone sang along. Honestly, this moment just hit me so hard that I was doing a truly incredible thing with amazing people from all over, who I had only recently met, but that didn’t matter. We were our own small community who got to share life changing moments, such as this one.

Around 2000, some stars were starting to peek out and it was time for dinner, so we climbed down the sand dune to head to the main tent to eat. We tried to eat relatively quick because the stars were coming out and we wanted to see them before the moon rose.

The stars were UNREAL! With almost no light pollution, you could see so many. I’m a lot more used to this because I’m from an area of not a lot of light pollution, especially when I’m on the lake, but some people had never seen the stars in this brilliance. I was able to find both of the dippers and point out Polaris to everyone. We saw a multitude of shooting stars, I think I saw about eight, but by the end of the night everyone had seen at least one. I was finally able to pick out the Milky Way, which was something that I had never been able to classify before. I stayed out on the dunes until 0130 with two other people just talking about life, which is something I am beyond grateful for. Milo and Kat are are both incredible and extremely kind people. On this voyage, we all come from completely different places and want to do very different things with our lives, but it’s interesting because even only knowing them for a short amount of time, you know that they will be able to accomplish what they want to, even if they aren’t sure what that is yet.

Between the sunset, sunrise, and the stars in the Sahara, I can’t fully describe how extraordinary it was. Even though I’m writing this a few days later, I think I am still processing it all. My narrative of it all does not even come close, nor do the pictures.

Day 5- I was sore this morning. Everyone had complained about it the night before, but I hadn’t felt it. LET ME TELL YOU, I jumped right into the same boat as them when I woke up. I was up at 0630, well technically 0645, in order to climb and watch the sunrise. The views of the sky were amazing and although I didn’t actually see the sunrise, because I didn’t want to forfeit breakfast, it was still spectacular. Breakfast was a very good, buffet-style meal. We had to hurry up, eat, and get our stuff together so we could hop back on the camels to head back to our bus. I was in one of the first groups to leave. My camel this day was a little grumpy at the beginning, but seemed totally fine by the end. I didn’t catch this one’s name. The ride back was a lot worse than the ride there, still fun but painful. Because we were all sore, it just added to the pain and you tried to position your body so the pressure was focused in a different area, but then by the time we were back at the bus, everything hurt and sitting on the bus comfortably was basically impossible. Now, I don’t want to sway anyone away from riding a camel, because it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, but I talked to people who rode one for a shorter amount of time and were just as happy and a lot less sore.

Side note: My mom thought it would be funny to say I have ridden a camel before and sent a picture of me when I was like four on a Manger Scene camel so please enjoy the comparison.

Fun fact: Did ya’ll know that camels can carry like 900 pounds? I didn’t, but that’s what Ahmed, a professor on board the ship from Egypt, told us.

After about five more hours of driving on the bus, we got to our lunch stop in Ait Benhaddou. Now, Tagine is good. It is a traditional dish in Morocco that consists on meat and vegetables with some broth. However, it was kind of like my Poland field program, where we had it for every meal. By then, we all wanted some couscous, which we later found out isn’t typically served at restaurants and is more so meant to be eaten at home with the family. Anyway, the food was still quite good, just very repetitive.

Next, we were headed back to Marrakesh for the night, which was about a three and a half hour drive. Once we arrived in Marrakesh, we were all wiped, at least I was, which is strange because I slept almost the whole way. My highlight of the night was showering. I had sand EVERYWHERE. After laying, jumping, and running in the sand dunes, I had sand in virtually every crevice of my body. I didn’t had my shampoo, but it was at least good to get the sand and sweat smell off my body.

I ended up staying up a lot later than I planned to just talking to my roommate for the trek, who I seem to get paired up with every field program, but Julia’s super cool so it’s not a problem at all. Around 0330, we called it a night.

Day 6- This was our final day in Marrakech and we had a little free time before we had to go back to the ship. We went to the market around 1000 and I ended up splitting off with our guide, Bob, and three other girls. We went to a place to buy rugs made with live wool, not dead wool like the ones sold in most tourist shops in the market. We were able to see where and how the rugs were made, even though none of the women were there because they were home with the children since they didn’t have school that day. We were able to each tie a couple of pieces of the wool on a carpet that was in the process of being made. Then, we were told to go up to the roof so we could get a panoramic view of the city, which was incredible. When we came down, we were given mint tea, the national beverage of Morocco, and then the rugs were all shown to us. There were so many different ones and they all had such different stories. One interesting thing we learned was that each pattern is unique to one woman and although no two rugs are exactly the same, a woman will stick to the same general pattern her whole life and this pattern is passed down from mother to daughter over generations.

After we left this amazing place, Bob took us to a place where they made argon oil right in front of the shop. This place was so cool and had tea, creams ,and oils which were all natural. Once we got our fix there, we headed to one last shop to get a few more souvenirs, where Bob helped us argue down our prices. Then, we were running low on time, so we quickly headed back to our bus meeting spot. We had about another three hour drive back to Casablanca and we were actually a little late for on-ship time, but since we were with a field program, we didn’t get dock time.

My final day in Morocco was so amazing and I couldn’t of asked for a better day. If I could change one thing about my time in Ghana, I would have went and done a Hammam at a place where single mothers get all the profit. Eventually, I do want to do a Hammam, which is a cleansing bath mainly offered to women. Other than that, I loved Morocco. I had no clue what to expect when I went there. So far, it was the country that was the most different from my own and I am so thankful I was able to experience it.

Now, to change tone for a minute, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were a few things that were hard to see. We would get out for a photo stop or restroom break and have young children coming up to us trying to sell us something or just asking for money in general. This is not something I was used to at all. I also saw so many young children and people in general struggling. It really moves a person and makes one wonder why you deserve the life you have while others live in constant struggle. I come from a good upbringing, one I really can’t complain about, even if I occasionally do. I have an extremely loving family, I’ve always had a roof over my head and food, and I have never known true need. It hit me later though. Most people don’t think that they are going without. As long as they have their family, enough food, and a simple roof, they don’t need all the material objects that seem to be what make a lot of Western lives complete. Also, just being exposed to these circumstances can be what moves a person to help others and if you never see this type of struggle, then you don’t know the extent to which some people need help. Compassion and understanding are two of the most important traits in the world and without them, the world would be a very selfish place.

Another thing that was different was all these small towns had many homes that were crumbling, but there was always one perfectly intact, beautiful building: a masque. For me, it was hard to wrap my head around because I didn’t understand why so much money would go into one building, religious or not, when so many houses around it needed repairs. Again, a realization came later. Religion is at the front of their culture and it is priority in their lives, so having a place like this is very important for them and it means more than having luxury homes. Now, I’m sure this isn’t the case for everyone living in Morocco and I know there are some people in extreme poverty that need help, but overall this trip was so eye-opening.

Morocco is a place I would definitely go back to. I would love to see the Blue City, meet more people, and do a Hammam. It’s such a different, but beautiful culture that I believe everyone should be exposed to in some way or another. Thank you for tuning in, coming up next is Ghana.

With Bated Breath, Abby Lynn