Morocco, Day 4

In the morning, we had to say goodbye to our families bright and early so we could drive up to the Rif Mountains to visit a small village and have lunch with a family from the area. The ride across the country was beautiful, and it was very fun to look out the window the whole ride, because there were so many people on the sides of the road like farmers, children selling food, donkeys carrying loads of sticks, or shepherds.

Once we made it to the village, we used a translator to talk to a man and his family about his life in the village. They were very welcoming and fed us a delicious lunch of, what else, couscous and Moroccan tea. After talking for a while, we went on a hike around the village to an amazing view at the top of the mountain. It was absolutely breathtaking. Some little girls from the village joined us up there, and they were so adorable and loved holding our hands and giving us flowers.

After our afternoon in the village, we left to head to our last city, Chefchaouen. This city was another beautiful city near the mountains, and almost all the houses were painted blue in the tradition of their Jewish heritage. It is also very touristy, so we were able to spend the night in the shops all along the streets. Many of the shops were sold beautiful pottery, weaved crafts, jewelry, teapots and silk clothing.

After a few hours of walking around the city, we met back for a “celebration dinner” in a Moroccan restaurant. I had soup, kebob, and fruit, most of which was very good. It was fun to just sit and talk with our whole group over dinner.

After dinner, we had one more group chat on the roof of our hostel. We all talked about the trip and what was most rewarding about it. All of us had really enjoyed ourselves and had gotten a lot our of the trip. We loved that this trip wasn’t just a “touristy” tour of the country, but we had been able to see the daily lives of Moroccans in many different areas, from the busy capital to the slow paced farm life in the mountains. The Moroccan people had all been so welcoming and friendly, and we had all definitely been touched by their hospitality. It was so sad that the trip was almost over.