MOROCCO: TANGIER & CHEFCHAOUEN

It's the first trip outside of Spain, and I've already went to another continent! My group and I left Friday morning to head to the airport. In total, there were 9 girls going, so it was a big group.

We used the airline Ryanair, and checking in with them was a little more time-consuming than what I’m used to, but we made it through check-in and security smoothly. Then, we split into a smaller group, and a few of us went to Starbucks for breakfast. We paid for seats for the first flight just to make things easier, and most of us were in the same section of the plane!

The flight went well, and I started a book that I could not put down the entire flight. Once we landed, we went through customs and met up with our tour guides, who told us to exchange some of our euros for dirhams because many of the places we were going to don’t accept cards. While waiting, the weather shifted out of nowhere, and it started pouring rain. It was cold, windy, and rainy, so the trip was not off to the best start. 

Once our group was together, we went to a nearby mall to eat at the food court and got Shawarma, which is a wrap with meat, sauces, and different veggies. After that, we drove to the hotel to drop off our luggage before going on a walking tour around Tangier.

If there is anything I learned about Morocco, is that there are cats everywhere. It was so tempting not to pet them, but I didn’t want to risk catching anything. During the tour, we walked through the 'Casbah' and 'Medina' which I later learned means 'residence' and 'market'. One stop at the Casbah was this lookout point of the ocean.

Next, we walked through the Medina to a pharmacy, where we learned about Moroccan and Argan Oil.

We got to smell a lot of different lotions, perfumes, and spices, and everything smelled amazing. I ended up getting a hair oil, body oil, and a roller perfume. When in Morocco, I guess! Close to the pharmacy was a scarf shop, and we went inside to see all of the scarves and talk to one of the people working. They were so pretty, with tons of various textures and colors.

While listening to one of the workers, he pulled me up in front of the group and tied a scarf around my head. It was pretty, but since I had already brought a scarf abroad, so I didn’t end up getting one.

After a long day of walking, we went to the hotel before heading to dinner. The hotel was beautiful, with lots of colors and tile. Our room was adorable too! For dinner, we walked to a local place and had traditional Moroccan cuisine: Harira soup, chicken couscous, chebakia pastry, and mint tea! I had told myself while I was abroad that I would try any food once, even if I didn’t know if I was going to like it. To my surprise, dinner was yummy (except for the lamb).

The next day, we woke up early to go to breakfast and began our drive to Chefchaouen. 

I was so excited about breakfast, I forgot to take a picture before I started eating!

The first stop was the meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean Sea is supposed to be more green, and the Atlantic Ocean more blue, but in all honesty, I could not tell the difference. 

But then, it was time for one of the main reasons I booked this trip: riding camels! We were dropped off at Cape Spartel and walked down to the beach to ride the camels.

The look on my face says it all.

Long story short, it was amazing - very similar to riding horses so obviously, I was a pro. It was only a 10-minute ride but it was worth every second.

We had only two people get bit by the camel (fortunately, not including me), so I would say it was a success. While waiting for other groups to finish riding the camels, we walked and hung out by the ocean.

Katie and I have a beach all to ourselves!

The weather could not have been more perfect, and I wanted to jump into the water so bad!

Nearby was Hercules Cave, so afterwards, we went inside. It’s famous because it’s natural made, but ironically, it’s in the shape of Africa, backwards. 

It was very cool to see, but after snapping a few pictures we left right away. After an hour drive, we stopped for lunch at this beautiful restaurant. 

We had an amazing lunch with a gorgeous view and amazing staff. Only downside was the bees, which were terrible, but the waiters thought it was funny that we all were squealing over them.

Sharing flan with Emma!

For lunch, we had bread, Patatas Bravas, Chicken Tagine, and Flan. It was a 10/10.

We drove another hour before reaching Chefchaouen (The Blue City). After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we went on another walking tour. This city is beautiful.

The blue colors, the vendors, and the views were all gorgeous. During the walking tour, I learned that tourists were not allowed to visit until the 1960s, and there are rarely any flies because they mistake the blue on the buildings for the sky. 

After the tour, we hiked up to a mosque that overlooked the entire city to watch the sunset. As cheesy as this sounds, it was magical. Throughout the entire trip, I kept thinking about how crazy this experience was. It was definitely an 'Aha!' moment for me. 

After the hike, we had free time to shop. So, of course, I got a postcard. I was also on the hunt for a Moroccan flag pin but had no luck. While on the tour, I met someone who collects flags of the countries she's visited and pins them to her backpack. Naturally, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Later, after relaxing at the hotel, the group and I walked to dinner. On the menu was Moroccan salad, chicken skewers, and fruit salad. I filled up on bread and my drink, so I wasn't super hungry, but the bites I ate were good. 

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast before taking the bus back to the airport. I read my book the entire time, no surprise. We stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and revisited the same food court we went to on the first day for lunch. Thankfully, we got through security quickly and had a little over an hour to relax before boarding the flight. I decided to walk around at some of the stores to waste time, and I'm so glad that I did because I found a Morocco flag pin! I was so excited I put it on my backpack immediately. 

Can't wait to see all the pins I get as studying abroad continues!

We finished off the rest of the day by flying back to Madrid, taking the metro home, grabbing some dinner, and getting situated for the upcoming week!

Best Part of the Trip: Either walking around The Blue City or camel riding and hanging out by the ocean. It's so hard to choose. The second day of the trip was nearly perfect.  

Worst Part of the Trip: The weather on the first day and Tangier in general. It was a very different environment from what I'm used to but I'm still glad I got to experience it.

Overall Thoughts: I went through the group Citylife Madrid and I could not recommend it enough. They had everything so organized, kept us safe, and packed so much into 3 days. I still can't believe that I spent the weekend in Africa! Both Tangier and Chefchaouen were so different. While I wouldn't go back to Tangier, if I had the opportunity to visit Chefchaouen again, I totally would. I would also want to visit other parts of Morocco too. In conclusion, this weekend was beyond amazing and I'm so blessed that I experienced it!