Friday morning, I met Ali Janice and Ali’s friend from school Margaret at Plaza de Catalunya. Being awake as the sun rose did not feel great but we hopped on the Aero Bus and made our way to the airport. We slept the hour ride to Sevilla. In Sevilla, we had 5 hours to kill before our bus departed so we walked around the city and found a place to eat, and sit for 3 hours . We had some American food - french fries and chicken sandwhiches and chatted for hours. We watched the people come and go for the restaurant - one couple who split a piece of cherry pie, two glasses of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes; another couple from Ireland who ordered tea and left. After lunch, we found an old store filled with beautiful, glamorous hats and hand made leather goods including belts,hand bags and clutches. I loved the store and will never forget it.
Once it was finally five pm, we made our way to the front of the Portugal Consulate and met up with our massive group of 105. All of the other kids in our group are studying in Sevilla. There were 5 group leaders, all young 20 somethings from Sevilla, America and Portugal. We were split into two buses and began our journey to the southern tip of Spain. After 2 hours, we arrived at the port and went through customs to get on to the ferry. We held back our sea sickness for an hour and half before arriving in Tangere. By the time we arrived in Morocco, it was pitch black outside and a little rainy. We then get back on the bus to our hotel. By the time we got to our hotel it was 2 am and we had a huge Moroccan feast that the hotel had prepared for us. The waiters were dressed in coats and ties and served us a three course meal as if they did not feel tired one bit.
The hotel was beautiful in it’s white adobe architecture with beautiful flat pools in the center. The Saturday morning, we woke up at 7 am to have breakfast before our journey began. The breakfast consisted of really delicious flat breads and thin crepe -ish things with honey.
We got on the bus and began our journey to Chefchaouen. The bus ride lasted an hour and a half, my first glimpts of daylight in Morocco turned our to be nothing what I expected. We passed green pastures, filled with cattle, goats, and sheep tied to trees. Men dressed in djellabas, dresses with hoods. Little boys playing soccer on dirt roads. And tons of Moroccan flags and gigantic billboards with the King Mohammad the Sixth’s portrait.
We stopped half way to use the rest room and admire a beautiful view of a river and the mountains.
A boy carrying hundreds of loaves of bread through a bustling street.. while talking on his cell phone.
Chefchaouen is a small town located in the Rif Mountains, inland from Tangier and Tetouan. All of the buildings have a blue rinse to them as a result of it’s Jewish inhabitants who painted the town blue and still do every year. The blue color keeps the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The city has a smell that is so unique. At first, I loved it and pictured the scrumptious meals the scent originated from but after a whole day there I couldn’t stand it.
OUR GUIDE
This man is the city’s baker. Little kids scramble around town with huge trays of unbaked loaves to bring to the baker. For a few cents, he bakes their loaves in his hot oven.
pigments used for dying
typical moroccan clothing
we passed this boy in an adorable outfit. on our way back, three hours later, we found him strangling a live chicken that 2 seconds later was killed and plucked on the street. 
the city has a lively river that rushes through it, holding fresh water that is bottled and sold in america.
mules grazing by the river
mule carrying sodas and junk food
we stopped in a textile shop where the owner gave us a twenty minute run down of all the different rugs they make. they were beautiful
typical image of wild cats eating old bread
three cats admiring raw pollo
At the end of our day long tour, we took the bus back home to the hotel and had a delicious dinner with Moroccan performers who danced and sang for us. One man danced with a tray full of lit candles with zero fear.
The next day, we got back on the bus and headed to Tétouan. These men were loading cartons of live chickens on to their truck and were realllly happy to see us.
As we walked around the city and it’s tiny curvy streets we were brought to this wash area. The area is basically full of holes in the ground filled with bloods of different animals and some water. Furs hang around the area and against the walls and blood drips slowly to the floor. Men work in tiny caves pulling skin from the fur. The smell is something I will never forget and the sight of tails, hooves and mouths will probably haunt me forever.
typical size of moroccan streets:
This man gave us a 30 minute sales pitch of all his store sells. Spices, perfumes, teas, and age old cures to common ailments of fathers aka snoring and back pain.
henna tattoo for 1 euro
live chickens with dead chickens and eggs. all for sale.
at the end of our trip, we got to ride camels and go to the beach. we went to the spot where the atlantic and the mediterranean oceans meet.
the king
henna
foood
dreads
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