Day 47

Waking up at 7:30 really didn't feel so bad, considering it was the latest I had woken up in a while. Well, actually, it was 6:30 in Morocco, but our tour group had us running on Spanish time all weekend.

We got ready and went down to have breakfast where we had dinner last night. There were some good little pastries, and the Moroccan tea was FABULOUS. It's already sweet without adding any sugar! I love it so much.

The first place we went was the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. On the way there, though, we got to see a lot of Tangier, and found out that the king of Morocco was currently there! You could tell because there were Moroccan flags EVERYWHERE. At the meeting point, there were some super nice, not-too-pushy venders (who I may have gotten a present for my mom from). It was also just a beautiful view.

Next, it was already time for camel riding! We hopped back on the bus and went down to the beach where each of us got a turn to ride a camel. The guys working the camels were crazy, and really, the whole experience was crazy. But it was really fun! And the pictures are cute.

Much taller than the levee in Grand Isle! 

I think my FAVORITE part of the camels/beach experience was that we also got to see a baby camel!!! It was precious. 

Even just looking back at these photos I'm freaking out over how cute the baby camel was. 

We then had a long bus ride down to the town of Chefchaouen in the mountains. Along the way, we stopped at a Shell station to use the bathroom and get snacks. I got a Snickers bar, which I paid for with Euros, but got change back for in Moroccan Dirhams. The exchange rate of the Euro to the Dirham is 1:10, so I felt pretty cool carrying around 190 Dirhams. 

The first thing we did when we got there was have a buffet-style lunch at a hotel. The food was pretty good, especially since it was possible to avoid the things I didn't want to eat. My favorite was the potatoes and rice cooked with saffron. The hotel also offered some pretty great views.

We were then introduced to our local tour guide, Ahmed, who was absolutely hilarious. He was about 4' 9 and sounded like a muppet. The local tour itself was pretty neat, even though Ahmed didn't give us a whole lot of information. Everything was bright blue, and it was just so neat to look at. Near the end of the tour, we were taken into a handmade blanket store, where this one guy working there desperately tried to get me to buy a beautiful blanket that I made the mistake of touching (if you even act the least bit interested in a vendor's products, he will not leave you alone until you buy it or run away). While I was getting harassed by that guy, another one of the guys was trying to get Tiffany to marry him. It was an interesting experience all around. 

Ahmed!!

So many cute stray cat everywhere, just like this kitten!

The tour ended when we were taken back to the town center for free time. We did a little shopping, and I got a pair of pretty Moroccan pants. I went to just about every store looking for the right ones. There were many that I liked, but lots of places only offered them in one size: XL. They would've been way too long on me. The pair I ended up getting are just right, though.

We finally made our way back on the bus to Tetouan to our new hotel. This one was even nicer than the last one, except that you could only get Wi-Fi in the lobby. All the rooms had a queen bed and a twin bed, which was kind of weird. Instead of fighting like children over who got which bed ("I'm older!" "I'm taller!"), we decided to push the beds together and share the gigantic bed. It was something we had joked about doing in our dorm last year anyway, so it was actually kind of exciting to get the chance to do it. And I'm sure housekeeping got a kick out of it the next morning (or were really pissed about it). 

After chilling at the hotel for about an hour or so, they took us to a palace restaurant for dinner and a show. They gave us so much food, which was all really good (delicious bread, vegetables, couscous, tea, and cookies), and the performances were great, too. There was lots of traditional music and dancing to enjoy. We could also get henna if we wanted to, so Tiffany and I got some. It even says my name on top! (I checked with Umme to make sure it was legit).

The fully-clothed belly dancer

We had been running late all day, and by the time we finally made it back to the hotel and showered, it was around 2:30. And once again, we had to get up at 7:30. Luckily, we had another fun-filled day ahead of us, and then a day of rest following that.