I left with a few friends Thursday night. We were supposed to leave the Barcelona airport at 10:00 pm, but our flight was delayed (there were bad airline strikes in France that slowed everything down). At any rate, we were delayed for about 2 hours. Not bad, but not fun when Africa was awaiting us. We flew Royal Air Maroc so as soon as we stepped on the plane, we got an immediate Arabic vibe. All the signs were in Arabic and we were served a very interesting meal.
Finally, after a two hour long flight,we arrived in Morocco at 1:30am(they are an hour behind Barcelona). The Marrakech airport was quite tiny, and we had to walk up to the terminal. In the waiting area we were greeted by our "tourguide" (if you would even call him that). He helped us navigate our way to our hostel. Stepping out of the airport, everything immediatley felt so strange. The people were all so different, speaking different languages (French and Arabic), and wearing different clothing.
According to our guide, Toby, everything is a hassle in Morocco. This was evident even by observing the taxi drivers as the simple task of getting a taxi took quite some time and haggling. Marrakech, like most cities, has an old town (with walls for fortification) and a newer, expanded part of town. We stayed in the old town, about 1 minute from the huge, well-known market (that we never got to shop at- sad).
At this point we were all exhausted. Toby led us through the streets (or should I say dirt alleys) to our hostel. We were staying at a different hostel then the others, and Toby simply led us up the alley and said, cya at 7:50 tomorrow morning in the main square. We ventured inside and were greeted by a man (not speaking, English...or Spanish. That was a problem that would emerge throughout the weekend. We all kept instinctively using Spanish, and they couldn't understand.) He led us to our room..a long, narrow room with 5 really narrow, really rock-hard beds. It seriously looked like I just stepped into Aladdin. Everything had such an Arabic feel. Also to our surprise and confusion, we had a window which opened up into a living room? It was all very random and totally sketchy, but we were exhausted, and so we washed up (in the bathroom without toilet paper) and tried to fall asleep. Oh, one other note. We (thankfully) correctly assumed that the water was not drinkable. The problem was none of us had much water. Good thing our "guide" told us we shouldn't drink the water, or directed us in the way of some bottled water....NOT! Oh well, we survived on minimal water, and took note to buy water the next day. All in all we maybe got 3 hours of sleep. We were scared and tired, but we were in Africa!
We had an early awakening to the sound of the morning prayers and roosters crowing. We crawled out of bed, and headed to the market (we slept in our clothes). We exchanged our Euros to Dirham which left us feeling pretty rich as 1 Euro = 10 Dirhams! Nice! We then walked out to the market square where we were greeted by Toby and our other guide, Marijuan (yes, his name was Marijuan) and we met the other 8 people in our group. (There were 12 of us total).
It was really cool to see Marrakech in the day. The vendors were starting to set up their stands, and camels and donkeys and other creatures were just wondering around. Quite a surreal experience (especially on 3 hours of sleep). We climbed in the van and were off. We drove out of the old part of the city, into the newer, more modernized area. I think that is were most normal tourists stay. We had the much less comfortable, more sketchy experience, but, looking back, I would have taken it any day over a glamourous hotel. It was a character building experience. After leaving the city we headed to the southern beach town of Agadir. The trip was absolutely beautiful, and we worked our way by and through the Atlas mountains, a stunning, snowcapped mountain range that stretches across the northern part of Africa.
We stopped for some typical Moroccan breakfast at around 9am in a small market off the side of the road. Everyone sat together at a very long table. I learned that this is the typical way Moroccan's eat. Every meal is "family style" with communal dishes and minimal utensils. For this meal we ate Moroccan pancakes (so good) and cornbread with honey and butter. We also had Moroccan tea, something I immediately fell in love with. It is really strong tea with lots of mint leaves and sugar. They brought it out in a big pot and you put the mint and sugar in yourself and mix it. I love tea, and this was by far the best tea I have ever had in my entire life.
After our delicious breakfast, we continued on our journey. The sun was already starting to get really hot, and so the rest of the trip we travelled up, down, and around the mountains with the windows open and sun shining on our faces. It was like a dream. The drive was quite scary, however, and every time I started to fall asleep I would awake to sudden breaking or accelerating. The drive was very long, but exceptionally beautiful. From the Atlas mountains, to the rural villages, to the camels alongside the road, or the goats in the trees (yes, tons of goats in trees), we were truly experiencing Africa.
We finally made it to Agadir, and to the beach town of Taghazout, a small, Berber fishing/surfing community outside of Agadir. We all jumped out of the van, eager to catch some rays and absorb the awesome village culture. Some people wearing authentic, arabic clothing, and then there were surfers wearing close to nothing. It was such a mesh of cultures and people. Very interesting. Immediately we heard the prayer being broadcasted from the local mosque. I expected it to be serene and calming, but no, their prayer sounded like a combination of an auction and a political rally. On Fridays (equivalent to our Sundays) the prayer is broadcasted 5 times a day (starting in the wee hours of the morning and ending late at night). They pray every day, 5 times a day, facing Mecca. It was a bit jarring to have this loud and almost scary prayer going off while we were trying to grasp where we were and gather our belongings.
With minimal guidance, we found our surf house. It was very tall and skinny (like a town house) with about 5 floors. We dropped our stuff off in one of the main living spaces and went up to the uppermost floor, the terrace.The view from the terrace was surreal. You could see the whole tiny village, the ocean, the mountains, and Agadir off in the distance. The terrace itself was so cool too. It was full of couch-like beds and tables and just had a really homy, comfortable feel. There were a lot of other people just hanging out up there (people who were also staying in the surf house/hostel) We all ate lunch together than headed down to grab a surfboard and go down to the beach.
This wasn't your typical, lay-in-the-sun kind of beach. It had a rocky coast, and I guess it was perfect for surfing. At any rate, all the rocks made it very tricky to get down to the beach (especially with a board and wetsuit in hand). It was a beautiful walk though, and after arriving to the beach we all suited up and got our quick lesson. Our instructors told us a few things (mainly safety issues) and we were sent out into the waves. It was so hot (about 90 degrees) that we all rushed into the water. We all paddled out, and tried to catch our first wave.
Surfing was a lot harder than I expected. Well, I guess I didn't expect it to be easy, but I didn't realize the amount of strength and stamina required for the sport. Given our lack of sleep, it was extra hard. It was really fun though, and the waves were large,but fun to be in. I never officially got "up" on my feet (i did on my knees, haha) but our instructors said it would take a good week before you could really master the sport. Some of the guys in our group got up for a few short seconds, but the girls had a harder time. We were in the water for a long time though, and by the time we got out, I was so exhausted. My arms were incredibly sore, and so we just laid out on the beach. (even though the sun was, by this point, going down). After a quick rest, we headed back up to the surf house. Phew, the walk back up the rocks was even harder, especially because we were all so sore.
We went down to the local market. (Friday was market day in Taghazout). We bartered for some jewelry and other souvenirs. Later, I came back to the hostel and took a much needed shower. I met some girls who were at the surf house from Switzerland (they were au pairs there) and I went with them down to a little beach side cafe (even though it was dark) to get some tea. We each got our own huge pot of amazing Moroccan tea for the equivalent of .7E. So cheap. It was crazy how cheap the food was in Morocco. It was nice getting to meet some new people though, and they had some interesting stories about life as an au pair. The one girl used to live in Akron, Ohio. What a small world!
After getting back to the hostel, we all went up to the terrace for a tremendous barbeque. They had a huge grill and we all just sat around and talked and laughed and ate, ate,ate. Literally this bbq (which didn't start until like 10) lasted at least 3 hours. So much food. It was a really good time though. After the party, I immediately crashed.
Woke up the next morning to a terrace breakfast of baguettes and homemade peanut butter! So amazing. In Barcelona, they find peanut butter to be very odd, so it was really nice to be able to have some, especially being homemade. After breakfast we got our boards and went down to the beach. The weather was a bit overcast, and the waves were really huge. (A storm was brewing). We decided not to go surfing, because it was just too scary. We wet suited up, and attempted to go out, but it was seemed dangerous. Instead we rode camels down the beach. It was a very cool experience, and the man took us on a pretty scary ride. Over rocks, through the water, down a sand dune, galloping (do camel's gallop?) on the beach. It was an awesome ride, something that legally that never would have occurred in the US. You would have had to sign your life away before going on a ride like that.
As the day got more and more overcast, we headed back up to the surf house and decided to explore the little town. It was a really neat little town. It was kind of odd because the streets were disgusting, full of trash and gross things, but despite all this, the city remained incredibly beautiful. The city was like one big oxymoron.
We had a really fun time wondering through the tiny alleyways and bartering in a few shops. I swear you can barter for everything in Morocco. I asked Toby if you could barter for gas. He laughed and said no, but I feel like just about everything else is fair game. We ate a little snack at a really cool beach restaurant. The inside was very arabic feeling, and there were low couches to sit on with bright colored cushions and pillows everywhere. Really cool.
After another great day, we packed up and headed back to Marrakech. (we had to get back for our flight the next morning at 10 am) It had started to rain, so despite having to leave such a beautiful location, it wasn't as upsetting, given the weather. It was a long drive home, and we stopped for another family style meal at a roadside stand. This time we had Tagine, a slow cooked stew in a special pot over a fire. (kind of like a rustic crock pot). Amazing,tender food though. We also had tea. They joked that tea is called, Moroccan whiskey, because it is so strong, and because much of Morocco is "dry" due to its religious nature.
We arrived around midnight back to Marrakech. The market was still jamming (although I guess that it was mostly food at this hour, no vendors). It was pouring down rain, so we made our way back to the main hostel and hung out for awhile while we waited for our room. Later, we were assigned our rooms. The girls were lucky enough to get the same sketchy hostel with no toilet paper. This time we approached the situation differently though. We smartened up and took our own toilet paper.
Surprisingly, coming back to the same room we shared the first night was like coming around full circle. It had been a whirlwind of two days, but we had returned back to that room much more brave. We weren't scared at all, and after all that we had seen and experienced we felt so much more cultured and ready to brave anything. In fact, the second time around we kind of "liked" the hostel. What we initially perceived as sketchy had turned to charm. We had grown to be more open after two days of experiencing such a different place.
We woke up early the next morning, and got to the airport to enjoy a small breakfast of coffee and amazing Moroccan pastries. We were all exhausted, and slept most of the way home. After arriving back at the Barcelona airport, we took a quick restroom break. Me, being tired and absent minded, left my bag full of everything I had bought on the back of the bathroom door. I didn't realize this until I got back to my apartment. I was so bummed! Thankfully though, after much confusion my bag was found and I went back to the airport the next day to retrieve it.
Overall, the trip was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. I had fun, I learned a lot, and I became a braver and more accepting person. Viva Africa!
wow nice! lovely town www.taghazoute.com
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