Blog 13: Salam Morocco! (Hello Morocco) Part 1

Blog 13: Salam Morocco!  (Hello Morocco!) Part 1

I really like this picture...Nat Geo worthy?

World's oldest tannery

            If living 8,000 miles from home wasn’t adventurous enough, I decided to embark on my first trip to Africa. I went with a tour but was traveling without a friend from school. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous to be traveling without a friend or family for the first time. The night before my stomach was doing somersaults (I said I prayer it wouldn’t be doing the same after I ate the food in Morocco!). I could almost feel the Sahara sand seeping through my toes and smell the desert air as I packed my bag the night before. I was certainly in for an adventure.

            After a three hour bus ride from Sevilla and a hour ferry ride across the calm Mediterranean Sea, I finally set my eyes on the third continent I will have set foot on. And this was honestly the first (highly educated) thing I thought…holy shit it’s Africa! Give me a break I’m from Hawaii. Never in my life had I thought that I’d be traveling in Africa. That was the first of many surreal moments I had during this trip. What I didn’t know was that Ceuta, the city where we landed, is still a part of Spain. As soon as we drove from Ceuta to the border I got my first dose of culture shock. There were people waiting around in the streets trying to cross the border into Ceuta. I saw two woman hunched over so that their chests were almost parallel to the ground. I watched as they carried who knows how many pounds of stuff on their backs. They both wore hijabs (head scarves) as many women do in Morocco. Then I saw a fight almost break out between some men, which had to be stopped by a border control police. Needless to say, I was relieved to be in the bus. Finally we got our passports stamped and we left the border, making our way into Morocco.

            First thing I learned about Northern Morocco…it’s not dry plain lands (thanks Disney for giving me the impression that all of Africa is like the Lion King). In fact it was overcast and raining as we drove through the rolling green hills and gulches of Northern Morocco. We finally arrived in Fes under the cover of fog. Fes was by far one of the most interesting places I’ve been. It’s actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site and called the “Mecca of the West.”  The city truly transports you back in time. In the Medina (the oldest part of the city) I felt as if I was whisked back to biblical times. Imagine you are walking through a maze of unpaved, narrow streets filled with small shops. Each shop has a specialty whether it be jewelry, pottery, meat, vegetable, leather hides, traditional wedding clothing, or weapons. At one point, I was staring at one of the shops that had live chickens in cages. Suddenly the owner grabbed a poor, squawking chicken by the neck and turned it upside down. I fled the scene, but still saw the man swiftly snap the chicken’s neck. There were also donkeys with packs on their backs being led through the streets. It took talent to avoid getting smashed against the wall by one. I also learned that people wash their vegetables and fill water bottles in public fountains since some houses don’t have running water. Oh yeah and forget about washing machines. Instead people wash their clothes in brackish looking water on the streets. We also saw a school where anyone can come to learn how to read and write. Can you imagine living in a country where learning how to read and write is a privilege? Finally we saw one of the most famous sights in Fes, the oldest leather tannery in the world. The strong odor of animal flesh drifted up to the balcony where I was staring down, in total awe. I wondered if I really was in the 20^th century as I looked at the stone vessels filled with dyes. Fes opened my eyes, but I had yet to see the Sahara desert.

To be continued….

King's Palace

Chickens