Magical Morocco

We went on a programmed trip that started from Seville, Spain and went to Morocco through Gibraltar. Gibraltar is technically its own country, but it's a British territory. It sits right on the very southern tip of Spain, across the strait from Morocco / Africa. We spent half the day in Gibraltar (its very small). The main attraction is that they have a ton of free-roaming, and generally friendly monkeys at the Top of the Rock, which you can take a cable car up to. The monkeys will play with your hair, clothes, and hands if you let them, but just be gentle and slow with them as they are wild! We spent an hour or so on the rock, then went into St. Michael’s caves which are nearby to check out the stalagmites, the caverns, etc.

We grabbed a quick, late lunch, then hopped on the ferry to Morocco. In Morocco, we first stayed in Tetouan. We explored the city center first. There’s a ton of shop, vendors, and food everywhere. We shopped for a while and had a personal tour guide / barterer. In Morocco, they speak Spanish, Arabic, French, and some English. If you speak anything but Arabic, they will think you are rich and try to make you pay more money for things. Always barter! Our program set up a traditional Moroccan dinner and show for us that evening, with dancers, music, and singing. It was amazing!

On day 2, we went to the Beach in Tangier to ride camels. We all got our own camel to ride and took about an hour beach ride on them It was such a fun and unique experience. All of our meals and lodging and logistics were provided by the program we went on the trip with, so thankfully, we didn’t have to arrange any of it. After the morning ride, we got to go to a session at a traditional Moroccan Apothecary, where they gave samples of many of their supplements, herbs, and natural remedies such as Moroccan mint tea, lotions, scrubs, etc. We were given the opportunity to buy some of the products after the showing and education about all of the ingredients and remedies. It was actually super awesome. We had dinner and settled in for the night as the next day we had a day trip.

We took a day trip to the blue cities, the extremely popular city of Chefchaouen known for its completely blue streets, buildings, walls, etc. We had brunch there at an almost palace like place on a terrace overlooking the city (organized by the program). All the food we ate was pretty traditional Moroccan food. Then, we were given a tour through the city by a local tour guide. He showed us all the best places to buy traditional Moroccan rugs and clothing and taught us about the history of the city. T

hen, we had a couple hours of free time to explore, shop, and soak up the uniqueness of the city. It was the best part of the trip without a doubt. The rugs / blankets were amazing and at some places you can even just watch them weave or make them. You will hear bells and see people praying to Mecca 5 times throughout the day. It was a really cool cultural experience to have.

In the evening, we returned to Tetuoan for dinner and a club party with a DJ that the program set up for us. It is fairly dangerous for tourists (especially females, and especially white tourists) to be out super late at night or to be out clubbing, so the program set up their own club for us. It was super fun! Early the next morning, we headed home to Spain