Morocco: A Reflection on Adventure

Morocco- The simple, abridged version: IT FREAKIN ROCKED MY SOCKS.

The long, detailed version: Morocco was a cultural experience filled with adventure, excitement, and amazement. Words cannot describe what we felt. The previous post lightly touched on this. 

I will not bore you with too (take that word lightly) many words, as they cannot describe the scale of the adventure, but I will detail only the quintessential parts of the journey. They are what's most interesting In my opinion. I truly believe that good writing is concise writing (we'll see how that goes), and I'll try to do just that for this guy. 

Morocco was a whirlwind from the beginning. Have you ever been on a non air-conditioned train packed to the brim with people in a country with above 90 climate? I have. I thought it was only in movies. I stand corrected.

On September 10, twelve students and I embarked on a journey to Marrakesh, a major city dedicated to street fairs and haggling everything under the African sun. The journey, as mentioned before, started with a train ride. Because it was the end of Ramadan (Morocco is an Islamic country), the most holy part of the year, the trains were overbooked with people trying to get home to their families. Though seemingly a crappy situation, we actually had an incredible time on the train and made friends with a number of the locals. It was amazing. It's absolutely incredible how a language barrier can be broken with body language. English and Arabic are nothing alike, yet a simple smile makes everything understandable. It's beautiful how there is still a common human bond, and it involves more than just verbal communication. Emotions are the language of the world. Everyone understands emotion, even if you are from half-way across the world.

So why Marrakesh? Well, because the next day we were going to be heading out for a trek into the middle of the Sahara, and we just happened to leave from Marrakesh. But first, we checked out everything the city's market had to offer. It boasted everything from fresh squeezed OJ to snake charmers. It was complete chaos, something straight from Indiana Jones. A completely surreal environment, but I loved every second of it. People were yelling, screaming, demanding that you look at their products at every corner. Mopeds and cars whipped by with absolutely no direction or rules. Kids begged for change, swindlers sucked people into their shops, public boxing matches ruled the turf. All of this seemed to be in a space of only four square acres.  The scene was nuts.

The next morning, the real adventure began (9/11). We headed out to the Sahara, the forbidden land for outsiders. The land of scarabs, scorpions, and ancient spirits that ruled the desert winds. We went with a company called Sahara Trek, and their service was phenomenal. The first night ,we spent the night in a desert villa, a palace that kings would find worthy. We couldn't believe our eyes, and the fact that it was in the middle of the SAHARA FRICKEN DESERT blew our mind. Unbelievable, but absolutely amazing. A splash in the pool under the Milky Way complimented our stay.

In the morning, we mounted our camel and headed out into the dunes. For two hours we roughed the extremes of the Sahara, which just happened to be sunny, 100 degrees, and breezy. Ok, so it was fairly nice. Slight sarcasm, but we still endured the camel. Though my hips (please disregard my femininity) screamed at me at the end of it, I will never regret it. It was such a cool experiences. Every year, people in these Saharan villages are forced to make the 50 day camel trek to Timbuktu- just to buy clothes. That in itself is incredible. I can't even imagine how that was.

With all that said, we traveled to the different villages, most of sporting more donkeys as transportation than actual cars. Literally, we were blasted to the ancient world, with most using donkeys and livestock as their main form of transportation. In many cases, there would twenty donkeys at a time in a lot, waiting for their owners to return. We were speechless. 

That day, our tour guides prepared us for what would be the coolest part of our adventure. Later that afternoon, Habib, our local tour guide gathered us together, put us in his Land Cruiser, and tore into the desert at 90 miles per hour. Our destination: a nomad camp in the middle of the Sahara dunes. Habib was the reason for our incredible experiences. Words cannot describe this man- a combination of Dumbledore and Indiana Jones- the wisest of the wise, and a man raving for adventure. 

In the middle of the desert, Habib pulled the car over and started dancing to the music blasting from his speakers. Does the song "We No Speak Americano" ring a bell? If not, look it up. If so, blast it. Because this was our jam. It's the rage in Europe.... and Morocco for that matter. We let loose for seven minutes, not holding anything back. On the top of the car, on the ground, everything you could think of- we were dancing on it. Wait til the pics. Wait til the video. It was truly a dance club in the Sahara. Once in a life time experience.  And the best part? It was under the the influence of nature- nothing else. No alcohol is what I'm saying. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

We spent that night at the camp. Our back yard consisted of 350+ foot sand dunes, reaching as high as the eye could see. We climbed them- not an easy feat, but still an incredible adventure. We were also confronted with the sight of nomad children, four beautiful children wanting to sell their treasures to our group. Allie bought an item, and the rest of the children surrounded her. Both a blessing and a curse. Regardless, it was still an amazing interaction, one I'll remember forever.

That night, we slept amongst the stars- or so it seemed. We put our mattresses together, all 12 of us, and wasted away the night under the cosmos. I thought I'd seen the stars like that, but I was sorely mistaken. I will never see the sky like that again. I guarantee it. The edge of Milky Was was in clear view, Jupiter at our right. It was a glimpse into heaven. It sent chills down my spine. Still does when I think about it.

We awoke the next morning to a beautiful blue sky, one mixed with light and dark and blue. The day was making its debut as night was quickly falling into its slumber. The air fresh, the wind nil. Animal tracks dotted the sand. Scorpions, birds, cats, and dogs all made their mark. After getting up, we headed back to Casablanca- a 12 hour drive back to reality.

This trip was a great success, one I'll remember for the rest of my life. But it wasn't what we did that made it great. It was the people we met. As mentioned in the previous post, Habib, our guide made the experience greater than anything you can possibly dream. His partner, Brahim, was also a major part of the experience. Each wise in their own right, each richer than the kings of the Earth combined. They were not rich with possession, but rich with wisdom, passion, and spirit. I envy them. Our entire group did.

When Brahim was asked for three wishes of his choosing, he responded by saying that he had everything in his life that he needed. He wanted nothing else for it was already complete.

That is the beautiful answer of them all. It is selfless. For us in Western society, we'd want to have the world. We'd want as much as we could have. Sadly, that's our nature. But for Brahim, he was content with next to nothing. His life was complete because he was emotionally rich. His life was complete because of the relationships he had. It was not the pair of pants he owned that mattered, but the friends at his side and his family around table. I love that. If only out lives could be like that. 

Habib was exactly the same way, and then some. There is something very special about that man. I will not begin to describe him, as I know a thousand words will never do him justice. Just take my word for it. He made an impact on our life. Everyone in our group felt his power. That's all I'll say.

Right now, I must soon enter into slumber. It's roughly 12:30 AM. I have no sense of up, down, or all around. All I know is that we're steaming towards Ghana. By the way, I am using my portable alarm clock as a timekeeper. I bartered my 20 dollar watch for a fossil and a Berber figurine. Cool, eh? I'll catch yas all later.


Love, Peace, and Happiness to all. Thanks for reading. Love you guys. Email soon.