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.
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| Train station in Marrakech |
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| 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.
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Moroccan 'crêpe' with laughing cow cheese inside and a mint tea on the side - perfect
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Roof terrace of a café looking over the main square
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The hostel
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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!
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There are cats everywhere in Morocco!
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Palace wall on the left
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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!
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| My view as I brushed my teeth in the morning :) |
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| 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.
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The Kasbah - parts of gladiator were filmed here
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Movie studio
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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!
