Hello from Morocco!
My first time in Morocco and Africa, and while it was only for three days, the trip was packed with so many incredible experiences.
Kiersten and I left early Saturday morning and arrived in Morocco where we were greeted by our driver from the Riad (hotel), but fancier and more of a traditional stay. I’ve always wanted to be picked up by a driver at the airport with my name on a fancy laminated sign, and while ours was a small piece of paper barely eligible, I loved it, nonetheless.
Our first experience in Morocco was a Hamman, a traditional typically public bath house where you scrub your body with a black soap that takes away all your dead skin and you sit around with locals talking about your day and getting ready for the upcoming week. While I would have loved to do a more traditional one with the locals, we opted for the spa Hamman at our riad since we were short on time and didn’t culturally know what to expect…and when I say that I truly had NO IDEA what we would be doing, I had NO IDEA.
Kiersten and I were brought into a small room like a sauna, but not as hot with two beds and a bucket of water. Upon arrival, I knew that we would most likely have to be naked inside the Hamman, and I was in fact correct, as a short Moroccan woman who spoke zero English told us to undress and sit awkwardly on the beds awaiting her to begin the Hamman. I went into this experience knowing and telling myself that this is a great opportunity to learn about other cultures and truly immerse myself within them, but I am terrible at being serious in times like this. Especially when I am completely naked in a room with a woman who speaks no English and barely comes up to my shoulder. The entire process starts with rinsing your body in hot water, then she scrubs your ENTIRE body, cracks, and all, in the black scrub soap. She would take turns between Kiersten and me, so I always knew what was next for me based on what she was doing to Kiersten. Now, I also should mention Kiersten and I did NOT want to get our hair wet, so the entire scrubbing and washing of our bodies we managed to keep our hair dry. As I was awaiting my scrub to dry, the lady had Kiersten sit up and face her, and up until this point I had kept myself composed and told myself that this was an amazing opportunity to be a part of Moroccan culture…but I completely lost it when I turned to see this Moroccan woman slapping Kiersten so hard in the face with water that she couldn’t take a second to breathe or open her eyes. The woman didn’t stop at the face either, the next thing I knew she poured an entire bucket of water on Kiersten’s head and started pouring on random soap. At that point, I had no other choice but to surrender to the awkwardness of being bathed naked like a two-year-old by a woman who spoke no English and had scrubbed every inch of my body. I was now soaked from head to toe, resembling a cold wet rat, and greeted by two other women who were there to give us a massage and rub Moroccan argan oil into our skin and scalp. By this point, I couldn’t hold in the laughter and knew this entire experience would be one I would never forget. Apart from being slightly uncomfortable in the beginning, I would absolutely do it again and look forward to my next Hamman whenever that may be.
Before going to Morocco, I was warned that going as a girl would be slightly dangerous and that I needed to be careful going into the markets and getting lost. And while at first, the loud music, the never-ending souks and shops, people trying to sell you things, and more was a bit overwhelming. However, I never felt that I was unsafe or that the stereotypes of me going were true. The souks are beautiful, and I had such a hard time not buying everything in sight, but for the few things I did buy, I talked the price down well and was proud of myself, considering I never know how to approach those situations.
The main market was the most intense and overwhelming part of the entire trip. You walk through dozens of stands selling fresh juice, women trying to give you henna tattoos, men playing music with actual cobras on the ground that can move around however they please, and even men with monkeys on leashes walking up to you. We opted for some fresh juice and watched from afar the snakes on the ground and monkeys on leashes, before finishing up shopping and preparing for our trip out into the desert.
Going out into the desert was what I was most excited about, and while it wasn’t exactly the postcard image I had imagined, it was such a fun crazy experience that I would never take back.
We were picked up by 7:00 for our seven-hour drive toward the Algerian border, where I was lucky enough to sit between the driver and Kiersten in the front seat…the drive was beautiful though and we went from the hot humid temperature in Marrakech, cold windy snowcapped mountains and finally to the desert, where it was actually cold because it was night.
Now, we did have a few stops along the way and met with “tour guides” who took us through these small towns and sites, but in reality, they are friends with our tour guide excursion and weren’t needed at all, especially paying them. A few of the places were where the Indiana Jones movies, Game of Thrones, and many other series and movies were filmed.
However, apart from all the “must needs”, or scams as I’d like to call it, sleeping out under the stars and meeting new friends from our group was the best part. Of course, on trips, there are many things you can’t plan for, or you put your trust in others hoping that they return it back. And while our “camel ride”, was more riding through a sandy road behind someone’s house, it was such a fun experience overall, and getting to be with new friends experiencing everything was amazing. We ended the long travel day with Moroccan tea, a traditional dinner of Tajine, soup, and citrus for dessert, and sat around the fire watching the stars listening to music, and getting to know our new friends.
Sleeping though…there were plenty of blankets to keep warm, but our beds in these tents were essentially hay bales with a few layers of blankets on top. Some people were even lucky enough to be visited by a mouse in their sleep…thankfully I was not one of those people, otherwise, I may have a different view of this experience. Similar to my igloo experience last year, something you do once for the experience, but probably not again in the future. If you truly want to experience a new culture and be out of your comfort zone in the best ways, Morocco is the place to go. From the beautiful souks, the food, and yes, even our interesting desert excursion, it was all so amazing, and I wish I could have stayed longer!
I'll be back in Morocco, as there is so much more to see, hopefully, next time is much longer!
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