Part IV: Marrakech and the Desert

Part IV: Marrakech-Desert-Marrakech-Tangier-Paris

The conductor came by in the morning on the train from Tangier to Marrakech to announce that we would be arriving in twenty minutes. We actually arrived an hour earlier than planned! I was really looking forward to a shower, but because the hostel check-in didn’t open until around noon, we decided to do some exploring.

Train station in Marrakech

Inside the train station of Marrakech

The sun was out, and the skies were clear – it was the perfect weather! After walking around a bit, drinking some coffee, some tea, eating some food, drinking more tea and looking at the map, it turned out that the hostel was actually pretty far from the city center. The German guys said that their hostel was right by their square and about three times cheaper, so we ended up all staying at the same hostel that night.

After having experienced a tiny bit of Tangier, I was definitely glad to be in Marrakech and really enjoying it a lot. The food was cheap (around 2-3€ per meal), and the hostel only cost 5€ a night! There were still some people who made random comments when we walked by (I got called a spice girl…- that was just the most memorable comment out of many). There were also still some people who came out to try and sell things, but not as many or as bad as Tangier. 

Moroccan 'crêpe' with laughing cow cheese inside and a mint tea on the side - perfect 

Roof terrace of a café looking over the main square

The hostel

That night was really relaxing, just sitting on the roof terrace and hanging out. But it was nice, because the next morning, at 745AM, there were about 13 of us, Sciences Po students for the most part, who were going on a trek to the desert!

There are cats everywhere in Morocco!

Palace wall on the left

The main square of Marrakech changes throughout the day. In the morning, it’s pretty quiet with just some orange vendors and cleaners. In the afternoon, it starts getting busier, with dancers, snake charmers, and people selling things. At night, it just completely changes – there are food stalls everywhere! They were all about the same stands with the same food, but had guys that would stand outside trying to get you to eat at their stalls. It was pretty funny. They all spoke English very well and would say things like “It’s finger-licking good!” “107 (stall number), take you to heaven!” 

That night was really relaxing, just sitting on the roof terrace and hanging out. But it was nice, because the next morning, at 745AM, there were about 13 of us, Sciences Po students for the most part, who were going on a trek to the desert! 

My view as I brushed my teeth in the morning :)

The square in the morning was so different from the night before! So empty except for orange juice vendors  

So, we all got on a van and our tour guide took us towards the desert. We stopped at different spots along the way for lunch, photos and bathroom breaks, like in the Atlas Mountains, in front of some movie studios and a Kasbah (which my mac dictionary defines as “the citadel of a North African city”).

After all that, we kept going… The drive was pretty epic with lots of speed, high cliffs, etc. We even saw a truck that had been carrying cement turned over on the side of a ride with all its cement spilling out down the mountain/hill! 

But before long, we were in the desert. We got on some dromadaires (camels have two humps, dromedaries have one :P) and rode for about an hour and a half to the camp. I’ve never ridden a horse or anything before so that was pretty fun. 

The Kasbah - parts of gladiator were filmed here

Movie studio

At the camp, we ate dinner and listened to some traditional Berber music around the campfire, along with some dancing. Then, most people went to sleep. But another girl and I ended up staying up all night around the campfire with the nomads and our tour guide. It was a pretty awesome night. I’ll never forget sitting under the most amazing night sky I’ve ever seen – the most stars I’ve ever seen in my life! And just hanging out around the campfire, talking and laughing, etc. It’s something I’ll remember for sure :)

The next day, after watching the sunrise, we rode the dromadaires back to the van, but just half an hour this time. I was pretty sore, so it wasn’t as fun as the day before… But I made it! :P We drove back to Marrakech with some more photos and breaks, but I pretty much slept through almost the whole way back. 

Then, it was back to the hostel! After going out to the souk (market), getting some snacks, and then eating a light dinner, I headed back to the hostel and slept for like 10 hours. It was realllyyy nice. 

The next morning, after another cheap breakfast of the Moroccan crêpe and mint tea, it was off to the train station. After a four-five hour train ride to Casablanca, a not so great lunch at a restaurant where they didn’t speak French, and then another four-five hour train ride to Tangier, there were only about nine hours until the flight to Paris. 

Outside of the train station in Tangier, there were a ton of taxi drivers trying to get passengers. After lots of talking and a lot of arguing between the taxi drivers themselves, one of them offered to drive us for 50 dirhams (less than 5€). But after getting into the cab, it turned out that the guy didn’t even speak French, but only Arabic. This was bad, because when we got to the airport, he tried to say that it was 150dh, not 50. He tried to get his French-speaking friend involved, but I managed to explain to him that the guy had agreed to 50, so he told his friend to forget it. 

With about eight hours left to go, and nothing to do, I slept on the uncomfortable airport chairs for a couple hours until it was time to check-in. Then, it was on the way back to Paris! Unfortunately, it was pretty foggy and cold when we landed, but it was still nice to be back.

It was a nice vacation with the sun and some relaxation. It was exactly what I needed, because this week has been exponentially better than the week before my break. I’ve had a couple things due this week, and pretty much from here on out, I’ll have either an essay or an oral presentation or both once a week. But this weekend, I’m headed to Cambridge with Guyanné, my friend from Lyon, and her roommate, Adeline to visit Guyanné’s friend, Hugh. I’m pretty excited to see her after two months! So, look forward to that update.

Thanks for reading my blog! :D Until next time!

Bisous!