Saliendo para Marruecos!!!

Trip Start Jan 12, 2008

Trip End May 21, 2008

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Where I stayed

Cham's Hotel

(Tetouan hotels)

Flag of Morocco Tetouan, Morocco
Friday, February 29, 2008

This morning, I finished up my packing and then met up with Melissa and Marissa, some friends from ISU, to go catch the bus to Morocco. There were 8 of us from ISU going, and also quite a bit of people from U of I too. But in total there was 80 some people in our group!! Our bus left around 1:30 in the afternoon to Algeciras, the port city of Spain. The bus ride was long, about 4 hours total, and through the mountains. We stopped outside of M�laga for about an hour. They have to stop on every bus trip for the bus driver, which takes up a lot of time, especially when you just want to get to your destination. Once we reached la Estaci�n de Maritima to take the ferry, we had about 45 minutes to kill. The station had a balcony to go out and stand on, and since the sun was shining and it was hot, we went out there to enjoy!!! I cant wait for Granada to be just as warm as this!!!

Finally time to board the ferry!! We gathered our stuff, got our tickets from our guide, and went to the gate. Upon entering the boat, I was in shock!!! Of course it was huge, no big deal, but it was sooo nice inside, like cruise ship looking!!!! Tons of seats, round tables, a couple bars, a little store, and a place to go outside and enjoy the view and weather!!!! So we grabbed a beer and headed outside to see the sights!!! Looking back, you could see Spain, the Sierras, and the port!!! Absolutely beautiful!! The Mediterranean Sea was not rough at all, so it was a very smooth ride!! The sun glistened off of the water, until it went down behind the mountains and became dark. Shortly after, only 40 minutes on the ferry, we arrived in Ceuta, Spain, the port in Africa. Yes, Spain, because there are 2 points in northern Africa that are Spanish territory. After getting off the boat, the group gathered and we got on a bus to Tetouan, Morocco, about an hour and a half drive from the port.

It only took a minimal 10 minutes to reach the Spanish/Moroccan border, where we sat and waited for our passports to get stamped. While waiting, you could see the Moroccan police and guards. Suddenly!!!!!!!!!!........Some black garbage bags were thrown over a 15 foot fence to the ground, and 2 men appeared and were jumping the boarder!!!!!!!! It was crazy!! Everyone on the bus was watching, but for like 10 minutes we weren't sure where they had gone. Until the somehow got caught, surprise surprise, and the police were throwing their bags back over the fence. Then the men started arguing with the police and before you knew it, the one man grabbed the police and he started hitting him with his beating stick thing!!!!! Then they took them away and that was all we saw!!! The craziest thing I have ever seen!!!

Well finally after about a 25 minute wait, our passports were stamped and we continued on our way to the hotel, just outside of Tetouan. I slept most of the way, but after finally reaching the hotel, I was up!! Upon arrival, we were greeted with this amazing tasting mint tea and like pastry cookies, we filled out a form to confirm our stay, and then headed straight to a large dining room for dinner. The hotel was very nice, nothing spectacular, but not bad at all!! Dinner was great as well, finally a full meal, with REAL food, and not just soup!!!! There was bread sitting out on the table, then a bland potatoy tasting soup was served. It was pretty good. I thought that was all we would get, considering that is all I eat in Spain. But then the entree was brought out, with lemon-peppered chicken kebabs, some potatoes, and veggies!!! The chicken tasted outstanding!!! And for dessert was a refreshing dish of fruit!!!

After dinner Melissa, Marissa, and I went to our room and were off to bed!! Have to be up for breakfast at 8 and on the bus by 9!!!