The whole SAIIE group in Morocco!
This weekend SAIIE took a group trip to Morocco. I was so excited to visit a new continent and it was really nice to have the whole trip already paid for and planned. I have been traveling alone a lot, so I liked being able to relax more this trip and follow the group. We met in Sevilla and got on the bus with our group, which was a mix of local Spaniards, international students, and older couples who were traveling. We traveled south and got on the ferry, which took us to Tangier, Morocco! From there we went to the hotel, where I shared a room with my two Sevilla roommates and a student named Dee, who goes to college in Ohio but is studying in Madrid this semester. That night we explored the city of Tetuan and then had a delicious dinner at a local restaurant. During dinner we also got to enjoy Moroccan music and dancing from performers in the restaurant!
The next day we had an amazing breakfast buffet. My favorite item was the Moroccan crepe, which I ate with honey and the best almond butter I have ever tried! From there we left for Chefchaouen, the blue city. We walked around as a group to see the different vendors, beautiful blue streets, and the incredible views of the mountain that is right by the city. We ate lunch on a rooftop downtown, where I ate chicken couscous. I really liked the food here! I explored a little more after lunch and enjoyed Moroccan mint tea and pastries on another roof top with the program director Samantha and some new friends. I left to do some shopping, and I was excited to try bartering. There is a big bartering culture there, so I ended up getting a ring for $8 when the vendor initially asked for $15! After returning to the hotel we had a dinner buffet there, all with delicious local foods. After dinner I went with Aiden and Finn from my program to the "talent show" that our guides were putting on. It ended up being a great time! The girls from Sevilla came too, and our guide taught us how to dance the bachata. The boys and I shared our culture too and we taught the Spanish girls how to dance the Cotton Eye Joe!
For our last day we packed up and had another buffet breakfast before hitting the road. I LOVE the mint tea, so I had a couple of cups before I had to leave. We drove to Tangier where we rode camels on the beach! It was such a beautiful area and the camels were so fun. Later we arrived in Assilah, which was another beautiful city on the beach. I stopped in a shop to get some Moroccan pastries as a souvenir before I left! The journey back to Tangier was easy and we stopped for lunch on the way. Once we got to the port our luck began to change. The water was rough so our ferry ended up being delayed by almost 3 hours. While we were waiting, someone brought out a big speaker to play music and there was a big group of people dancing! I joined in for a while and it was amazing to see how quickly the mood changed in the room. Once on the ferry, we didn't leave for another hour. Eventually we made it back to Spain, through customs, on the bus, and back to Sevilla at about 3 AM! I got to the house at 3:30 and finally got to bed at 4 AM. Since we got home so late, I ended up being the only one attending out Artistic Monuments class the next day, so I got a private tour from our professor Virginia!
The beautiful blue city
Mint tea and pastries
Riding camels in Tangier
On the bus with Samantha and Dee!
Monday class alone with Virginia