Marruecos, AFRICA

If you would have asked me a year ago where I would spend my St. Patty’s Day in 2012, I think the LAST place I would have said would have been Africa.  But that’s beside the point. The point is, I can now say I’ve been to Africa and that to me is crazier than the weekend was itself.

When I think of Africa, I think of deserts, elephants, lions, tigers and men driving around in jeeps and safari hats. I’m sure somewhere in Africa is like that, but Morocco was far from it. The most “safari” creature I saw was a camel (which was awesome) and the men I saw wore cloaks with pointy hats. All together, Northern Africa is a rich mixture of Arabic, Spanish and Jewish cultures. It was difficult to wrap my head around the culture, but it was definitely a great experience.

After a long day of bus rides and a painful ferry ride, we finally made it to Africa Friday night. We were treated to a traditional Moroccan dinner, cous cous, at our hotel. I was really nervous to eat anything at first because I’ve heard how easy it is to get sick from the different bacteria, but the program we went with had been doing this trip for years and assured us it would be fine. The food was full of flavor and can be seen as “the paella of Africa”. 

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean on Saturday morning. In Spain, the sun doesn’t rise until about 8 a.m., but in Morocco it was up at about 6:15, which was nice because we had be at breakfast by 7. Our day started with a tour of Chefchaeon, a popular city filled with Jewish neighborhoods. A local tour guide led us through the narrow streets full of blue-painted doors. The blue stone symbolizes Judaism, and keeps the air cool in the hot African summers. There were all different shades of blues and it was so beautiful. 

 After our tour we got to have a rooftop lunch overlooking the city at a place called “Aladdin’s Casa”. I was sure Aladdin himself was going to swoop in on a magic carpet by the looks of this place; it was so cool.

Later, we had free time to shop in the famous “bargain capital of the world”. Unlike anything I’ve ever seen, the street vendors and little shops are FILLED with all kinds of authentic, hand-made African goods. You could find everything from Moroccan oils to hand-made magic carpets (literally, magical). The best part was the game of bargaining. There were no price tags, all you had to do was ask how much something cost and talk your way down. For example, I was in a tapestry/carpet shop and the guy tried to sell me a tapestry for 120 euros and I said I would only pay 30…he said no way and I said okay, then I have to go and as I started to walk away, he said okay just for you, and I got the authentic hand-made tapestry for 25 percent of his asking price :) 

 Tapestry/carpet shop

 Typical street vendor

Since it was St. Patty’s Day (I actually almost forgot considering I was far from the Irish culture) our guides treated us to a free cerveza back at the hotel. After a long day of shopping and haggling, I think we deserved it. 

 Happy St. Patty's Day from Africa!

Sunday morning Emma and I put on our recently purchased gypsy pants (yes, we actually invested in these) and hit the beach to watch the sunrise after breakfast. There’s nothing like dancing along the Mediterranean at 7:30 a.m. to start your day.  And after going the whole weekend with no phone, internet and even a way to tell the time, I really did feel liberated. When was the last time you went a weekend without your everyday technology?

We joined our group on the bus and headed for Tetueon for a day of touring the city, petting snakes and riding camels. Our tour guide was another local Moroccan who spoke perfect English (which was nice for once) and the day could not have been better. 
 

 Best tour guide ever. He called us his "familia"

 I don't think Moroccan-wear is my style

 Snakes!

Camel ride

Morocco is so incredibly different than what I expected. The combination of cultures and languages, the friendly people and the amount of Arabic I witnessed all goes to show how things aren’t always what they seem or what you think they are. Walking through the streets and seeing what people have to go through to make a living not only makes me appreciate being an American, but it makes me realize how much else is out there. It also helps me to have an open mind about seeing things that are so different and indescribable. I’m thankful to be able to experience dirty African streets with an appreciation and not disgust. Looking down on a culture because it’s different or “lesser” than yours won’t get you very far. It’s all about learning from it.

There’s so much more to traveling than seeing popular Steve Rick’s tourist sites. I think it’s safe to say almost three months into my life abroad, that’s starting to sink in. To follow my deep thought, here’s a quote I found in my study abroad orientation packet.

“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

Extremadura

To say Extremadura is a beautiful place for a weekend getaway might be one of the biggest understatements I could come up with. Prior to this trip, I had no idea what Extremadura even was, but I can say it is one of the most beautiful and unique places I have ever seen.

Our program led us on this weekend excursion to Extremadura, a province north of Andalucia (the province Sevilla is in). We visited two cities in two and a half days and they were the epitome of small country towns, which was a polar opposite from last weekend in Barcelona.

We met our group early Friday morning and took off for Mérida, our first destination in Extremadura. Our group leader, Kepa, (practically our dad) led us on a tour of the “Teatro y Anfiteatro romanos” constructed in the second and third centuries! We got to sit where the Spanish Kings and Queens would once watch performances. 

 We stayed the night in a beautiful four-star hotel in the heart of a tiny pueblo, Trujillo, and had another beautiful walking tour led by Kepa at sunset. The castle was breath taking at sunset and we got great views of the famous cigüeñas (storks) that were EVERYWHERE in this city. Lots of baby delivering I guess.

 Castle in Trujillo

 Las cigüeñas

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early ready for our big day of hiking. By big day I mean 10 miles of hiking! It’s something I have never done before, but it was absolutely amazing. I have always wanted to go hiking and have never really had the chance, but this five-hour adventure through the mountains could not have been better. We packed lunches and headed out into the wilderness in order to get to our next destination for the weekend, Guadalupe.

The paths were hardly paths, which was the best part. We followed Kepa at a brisk pace who has been doing this for years, and worked up a nice sweat. The views of the water reservoirs, the cliffs and bosques (forests) were unbelievable. 

 Amazing buffet breakfast before the hike, best part about the hotels

 Beginning of the hike

 30 dedicated hikers

After a long day of 45-degree angles and single-file lines, we finally made it to our CASTLE of a hotel. What a great reward. It was technically a Monastery built in the 14th century that Queen Isabela and Ferdinand used to stay at back in the day, so we felt like royalty. 

We treated ourselves to a glass of the local “Vino de Extremadura” in a quant little plaza out front and cheers’d to a hike well done.

Sunday morning we got a tour of the Monastery (for those who don't know, it's where Monks live). We got to see gowns and crowns worn by La Virgen Guadalupe. One of the Monks that lives there took us into a sacred room where I got to kiss La Virgen Guadalupe while he gave me a blessing. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

The Monastery in Guadalupe

Extremadura is definitely going in the books for top weekends so far. From the ancient Roman theaters, to the 15 Km hike, to the night in a 14th century Monastery, I don't think the weekend could have gone better. The peace and tranquility that Extremadura has is a whole different world compared to everything else I've seen in Spain. It was nice to get away from the city life and venture into the quiet, mountainous countryside of Spain. 

I remember at one point while we toured the castle at sunset, I looked down and saw a man herding his sheep into a tiny rustic shack for feeding time. It was one of those indescribable moments when you realize not everyone in the world revolves themselves around technology, and things like an elderly man herding sheep do actually exist in some places of the world. And as if me standing on a castle wasn't enough, seeing this was yet another wonderful reminder that I was in Europe.   

The weeks are starting to fly now that I have been so busy. We already have midterms this week, and much more weekend getaways ahead. Needless to say, life is good. I guess I should try and study now, considering that's what I'm here for...right? 

¡Ciao!