Northern Excursion, Part II

I'm going to try and keep this post less wordy and let the pictures do most of the talking...

After a wonderful time in the village, we had a few other stops of our Northern Excursion. First, we stopped in Ouazzane, a town 20km away from the village (where some of the villagers go for more schooling since schooling in the village is only available through 6th grade). Abdelhay and his wife own an incredible house overlooking all of Ouazzane. We were lucky enough to go there to get a tour and have lunch. The best part of the tour was the part of the house where Abdelhay and his wife make olive oil (with an olive press run by donkeys and everything!). 

Abdelhay in his garden (I might need to frame this picture).

After lunch, we continued on to Chefchaoen- a city situated on a mountain and known for its blue walls . The color definitely fit the relaxed feel of the town. 

We found a wood artisan shop and bought some rustic cooking utensils.

The next morning, we were trying to figure out how to best spend our few hours before needing to leave. Others from our program knew about a quick hike up to a mosque on top of the mountain. After 30 minutes, this was our view:

That afternoon, we stopped in Fnediq. When we asked one of our program directors what Fnediq is known for, they told us "smuggled spanish goods". This turned out to be very true, with everything from spanish candy to toothbrushes being sold on the streets. Although Fnediq didn't offer much in terms of souvenirs, it did offer some great views of the Mediterranean. 

The next morning, our group was crossing the "border" to Seuta, Spain. Seuta is situated on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar (the strait that I used to think separated Morocco from Spain). This spanish land is a sensitive subject in Morocco- they say it is theirs. We had to enter Spain as a program since staying in Morocco doesn't require visas. Visitors are allowed to stay for 90 days so we hopped "over" to Spain for the morning in order to have another 90 days in Morocco. Everyone was probably most excited for having a selection of cheese (and ham) options, so we all went wild and had a picnic at a park, before going on a quick bus tour which ended with this view:

The program bus headed back to Rabat but a few friends and I took our first Grand Taxi to Tangier, about an hour away. I was unfortunately sick for our first day in Tangier, so I missed out on some sightseeing. Luckily I felt better the next day and managed to see the medina, the beach, and the cinematheque. We also went to a Sunday market which offered any item you could every want. It looked like piles of trash, cleaned, and put neatly (well, sort of) on a blanket. 

Another successful Moroccan excursion.