Marrakech and Camel Ride

Day 1

I woke up to an awesome surprise at breakfast. Today they were serving Strawberry banana yogurt! It was delicious. The camel trek group left on the first bus at 8 am sharp for a four hour bus ride to Marrakech. I tried to stay awake and take pictures, but I fell asleep for the last half of the ride. Almost as soon as we left Casablanca we were in the countryside. Every now and then we would see a little village off in the distance, but no other towns. We stopped at a convenient store on the side of the road for a bathroom break/snack run. My friend Alyssa bought some kind of wafer cookies and Chicken flavored chips. They taste better than they sound!

We stopped to eat lunch just outside of the city. The restaurant was gorgeous! It had traditional Moroccan carvings on the ceilings and walls. It even had stain glass windows! I admit that I was nervous to try Moroccan food, but I liked it much more than I thought I would! The first course we were served was bread and a mix of different appetizers such as: squash, lentils, eggplant, and zucchini. The entrée was couscous with mixed vegetables and beef. The beef was good but I wasn’t crazy about the couscous. At least I can say I tried it! Dessert was sliced melons and grapes. After the meal we sampled the famous Moroccan Mint Tea. I’m not tea person, but it was pretty good. VERY sweet. One thing I should mention is that drinks do not come with the meal. You must order them separately. Water costs about 20 dirham (roughly $3.) Soda is 25 dirham (I think.)

After lunch we were split into two groups. The first group rode camels to a Moroccan house a few miles away. The second group took a minibus to the house. I was in the second group. When we arrived at the house we were served more Moroccan mint tea and pastries. Once the first group reached the house, the second group rode the camels back to the bus a few miles away.

Camel riding was awesome!! Before we could get on the camels, everyone had to put on a blue turban so our heads would not get sunburned (it also looks really cool!) Getting started was somewhat rough. Camels stand up on their hind legs first, so you feel like you are going to fall off the front of the camel! However, once you get going at a good pace it’s kind of peaceful. Luckily, almost everyone had well-trained and cooperative camels. Mine was perfect! Someone in our group asked if camels run. As I found out the hard way, yes. Yes they do. It was actually fun (and very bumpy!) to run. Once the camel ride was finished, we drove to the hotel where we are staying for the next two nights.

We had about 2 hours to spend in the hotel before dinner, so I turned on the t.v. and was pleasantly surprised to find we got CNN international in English! This is this first time I’ve been able to watch the news since we set sail from Halifax. It wasn’t until I turned on the t.v. that I realized it was September 11th. The story on the news was about a scuffle that broke out during an Anti-Muslim protest at large mosque in London.


Dinner at the hotel was…alright. It was a buffet style dinner with bread and multiple other types of food. I ate some kind of thick soup, rice, and chicken wrapped in some kind of bread.

Day 2
I’ve never been much of breakfast person, but it has consistently been the best meal of the day on these trips. I had a muffin with cinnamon and strawberry yogurt. Although we had to buy drinks at lunch and dinner. The hotel served free coffee, orange juice, and hot chocolate for breakfast.

After a steaming cup of hot chocolate, I was ready to start the day tour of Marrakech!
Marrakech is very different from Casablanca. Casablanca’s buildings are all white and the town is very industrial. Marrakech’s buildings are built with red brick and is very lively. Although Marrakech is less Marrakech is less modern, I prefer it there because there is more to see and do. Casablanca is a nice city but it seems like people are much more interested in the other towns like Marrakech, Fes, and Rabat.

We saw four major monuments on our tour. The first was the national library that is open to students. The second was an old place, named “Bahia Palace”, the third was a cemetery for past kings and their family, the fourth was Marrakech’s “Medina” which means “old city” in Arabic. Every city has its own Medina. Lunch was very similar to yesterdays. We were served almost the same stuff in addition to some type of beef.

After lunch we went to a store to do some shopping. I bought quite a few things and spent only 80 dirhams (roughly $12-14.) When everyone was finished shopping we went to a local pharmacy which showcased different oils, spices, and creams that are produced in Marrakech. The day ended with free time in the “Souk” which is the local (crazy) Marrakech bartering market. All the vendors are very aggressive and some will even try to follow you! Staying in a large group is the best idea. Especially if you are a female with blonde hair. The most aggressive people are the henna tattoo artists. It didn’t happen to me, but they will often just grab your arm when you walk by and start squirting the stuff on your arm and then expect payment. This is also where you can find the monkey trainers and snake charmers.

Dinner the second night was better. It was served buffet style again, but this time they had some kind of pasta and meatballs.

Day 3
After grabbing a quick breakfast, we got back on the bus at 8. We arrived in Casablanca about noon and had to stand in line for an hour while they searched our bags to make sure we weren’t trying to sneak any prohibited items on board. When I finally got through the line I decided to eat lunch and take a nap. I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. Probably just stay in Casablanca.

Traveling in Casablanca is much more of a hassle than in Cadiz. Our port is located in a zone with all types of construction so we have to wait for a shuttle bus to take us closer to town. Also, we are advised to travel in groups of at least 4 or more people. It’s somewhat difficult to coordinate a group that large for travel while people have trips and other things they have to do. In Cadiz you could just get off the ship with a friend, walk a few blocks and you would be in the heart of the city. Anyway, we leave Casablanca at 8 tomorrow night and we have week of classes before we reach Ghana. I’m not sure what to expect for Ghana, but I’m very excited to find out what it‘s like!!