8/1 – This morning we docked in Casablanca, Morocco. We are in Africa! The customs team that comes aboard in each port to clear our passports was far stricter than in any of our previous ports and they required face to face clearance of each student. This took quite a long time but seeing as how my only plans for the day were to go on our marketing class field lab, the delay wasn't much of a concern. Finally after a few hours the ship was cleared and off we went to explore marketing examples in Northern Africa. We began by walking through one of the poorest markets in Casablanca. Mind you that this time of year temperatures hang around the mid 90's on the coast. So in the baking sun, we walked through unsanitary meat and fish markets where blood and guts flow down the walkways…absolutely disgusting. From there we moved on to more modern marketing practices by going to the Mall of Morocco which is very high-end and clean, a pleasant change! We also stopped for lunch at the Churchill Club, an English speaking club, where our teacher is a member. It is designed for workers from England who are on assignment in Morocco. Overall a good day getting oriented in Casablanca despite some people having to throw away their shoes from the rancid lingering scent of the meat markets.
8/2 – Early this morning we departed Casablanca via bus for Marrakech to go on our camel trip. After a few hours on the bus we checked into the hotel and set back out for a traditional lunch and camel ride in the summer heat. Average temps in Marrakech this time of year are usually 115-120! When we arrived to the company we were informed that the camels were out in the desert at the lunch spot so they told us to pair up and hop in a dune buggy to drive out there. It was pretty hilarious as we were now clad in our Aladdin pants and dune buggy goggles. We drove for a while and by the end everybody was scrubbing the dirt and sand off their face and teeth. Sad to say that a great Adrenalin crew shirt may be permanently stained from the experience, but all part of the fun! We sat down to a Moroccan lunch of cous cous, tajine meat and vegetables and some dessert fruits. Pretty good overall but nobody got overly adventurous with the meats. They then wrapped us up in our turbans and off we went to mount the camels! If you have never ridden a camel you should know that the animals are not the most friendly and certainly not too luxurious but absolutely hilarious the whole time. We rode them back to where we had started out which was about an hour ride and the guide was pretty funny along the way. He had a tendency to start singing Shakira at random times! We spent the evening hanging out at the hotel and tried to cool off with a night swim at the pool but it didn't help too much.
8/3 – Today we had a full day tour of all of the Marrakech area. We visited a large mosque, various ancient Saadien Tombs, a spice and skin-care pharmacy, and finally the Souks area. It was a very long hot day but we were able to pack lots in, which was good. The pharmacy was a great place to get gifts for people back home and also to buy funny local products, such as male or female aphrodisiacs. The souks area is absolutely wild. We walked through a shanty maze of shops, each selling mostly the same thing. Lots of leather products, head scarfs, and any tea set or trinket you could imagine. Once we found our way out of the bazaar area we were in the main square where the primary business is entertainment. There are monkey trainers and snake charmers everywhere! They literally throw a monkey onto your shoulders and then demand money from you. Luckily I avoided it but some of the other people we were with were subject to the local business. We sat for a bit at a café in the square and enjoyed some of the best people watching I've ever seen.
8/4 –Today we returned to Casablanca in the morning and got back to the ship around lunchtime. We had a safe bite on the MV then headed back to the mall to check out the aquarium and burn off the last of our Dirhams. After an hour or so exploring the mall we decided we should watch some of the Olympics before leaving port so we found a local hotel bar that would let us hang out and watch the Games. Everybody was pretty ready to be leaving Africa by the time the ship pulled out late last night and we are all excited for our visit to Lisbon! It is amazing that we only have one port left on this great voyage and we are certainly going to make the most of it. I am hoping to get some surfing in while there and a good amount of beach time as well. Stay tuned, we will be there in the morning!
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