My friend Misty and I just got back from a truly unforgettable vacation to Morocco. Precursor to the photos, yes wearing practically the same outfits day after day after day, because part of why it was so unforgettable is that they lost our luggage....for the entire vacation!!! The situation went from hopeful to frustrated to comical in trying to communicate with our French/Arabic speaking friends how 5 days wearing the same thing is no fun! Fortunately, both Misty and I had a change of clothes in our carry on bags and I did have my toothbrush and toothpaste. I kept trying to see any parallels in why our bags were lost and if anything it made me very very thankful for all I have, but it also made me realize how little you really need to get by. Part of what made our trip so great were the other people on our tour. They were so incredibly sweet and generous, offering to lend us any clothes, their adapters, chargers, etc... Our tour guide even bought us 2 caftan looking things because he felt so bad for us by the 4th day. However, saying a lot that even in a clothing pinch, I wouldn't wear it.
Anyway, aside from the baggage issue, Morocco was a very cool, completely different place than I've ever been. We traveled through the whole country and the architecture and countryside were so pretty. We started off in Rabat, the capital. This was probably my least favorite city. It felt like just another big, dirty city to me. Then we made our way to Fez. I loved the old walls surrounding the medina in Fez. The medina was like a maze with narrow winding alleys filled with all kind of things: spices, metal shops, people leading donkeys, mystery meat hanging from windows (pretty sure there was a dead cat in one window), etc... There was so much to see I almost couldn't keep up. We also went to see one of the oldest tanneries in the world where they make and dye leather. The smell was overwhelming...so gross! And talk about back breaking work, made me feel for all those workers, what a tough life! After Fez, we headed to Marrakech. This city was by far my most favorite. It was a great combination of the new, modern city alongside the old city walls and ruins. Lastly we ended up in Casablanca. It was another big city, reminded me a bit of Rabat, except Casablanca has the Atlantic Ocean and a very cool shopping mall called the Moroccan Mall, with an enormous fish tank in the center and more stores than I've ever seen in my life.
It was a great trip and so glad I went. I will say though, each time I fly home I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to live in such a great country as the U.S!
