When I decided to study abroad in Spain I only had one place I was absolutely dying to visit…Morocco! It seems a little bizarre to some, but for me, I knew living in Spain would be one of the few times in my life that Morocco would only be a few hours away. So in the last weekend in February, my friend Erica and I hopped on a plane and flew down to Marrakech, Morocco.
I went with the program Bus2Alps and I’m so glad I did. They made the trip run so much easier than if I had just gone on my own. They arranged all our transportation, hostel bookings, and extra-activities. I arrived in Marrakech on Thursday night. We were greeted at the hostel with a traditional Moroccan meal, which included salad, rice, vegetable cous-cous, eggplant, massive amounts of bread, and spiced chicken. Everything was so delicious. The spices used on all the food was the best part. Erica and I literally had to force ourselves to stop eating..it was that good!
Friday we were up early. We had a 3-hour guided walking tour of the city. We first stopped at the Ben Youssef Medersa, an Islamic school attached to a mosque, where we saw some incredibly beautiful art and architecture.
After we walked around the Marrakech museum. Next, we enjoyed the Moroccan national drink: mint tea! After tea, we went and toured a local Pharmacy. Unlike pharmacies in the states where you can usually only buy medicine, the ones in Morocco not only sell remedies for ailments, but they sell all types of spices, soaps, and lotions. **A fun fact I learned while I was here: Cumin is the Moroccan form of Imodium!** After a long morning filled with touristy activities, that afternoon we headed about 30 minutes to the mountains where a group of us went canyoning! Canyoning is similar to rock climbing, but instead of climbing up rocks, you repel down them. It was much colder than I expected, but a lot of fun!
Saturday morning the group headed to a local Berber household. The Berber people are the indigenous tribes of Marrakech. At the Berber house, we watched how mint tea is prepared and enjoyed some homemade Moroccan bread and honey. While at the house, one of the daughters was doing henna tattoos. Even though I had gotten one a day before, I of course had to get another!
After checking out the Berber house, the group then headed to ride camels!! This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Riding a camel has been on my bucket list forever and I’m so happy I can now cross it off! After camel riding, Erica and I decided to explore the Souks of Marrakech. We wandered aimlessly, stopping here and there, looking for nothing in particular. As we walked around, we happened to stumble upon this store with massive amounts of jewelry and I instantly gravitated towards it. Little did I know that this was the same store Sarah Jessica Parker filmed a scene for Sex and the City 2. The owner of the store was so incredibly nice and his son loved to tell Erica and I about all the stars who had been in his father's store. 45 minutes later, I had a handful of things I wanted to buy, but I ended up purchasing a ring for myself and three small Hamsa charms (one for each sister & me). As we were leaving, the store owner called Erica and I back. He reached into a bowl and gave us both a massive Hamsa hand. He told us to keep it with us at all times because it would bring us good luck and protect us from evil. I keep it with me at all times and like to think I have something or someone keeping me safe all the time. After our long day, we headed to dinner where we ate Moroccan BBQ in the center of the town.
Ciao!
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