Bye Morocco...For Ghana or Bust

Last day in Morocco. These last 5.5 days in Morocco and 5 days in Spain really went by fast. The day started out early at 7am, with some breakfast and forming a group to go to the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. This is the second or third largest mosque in the world, so large that it could fit the Cathedral of Notre Dame inside of it, and features a 200m tall minaret (the largest religious minaret in the world) that fires a laser in the direction of Mecca at night. We were trying to make the 9am tour (because you can only go inside the mosque through these tours), but some of us had to exchange/withdraw money, so ended up missing the 9am one, since the walk took around 30 minutes and it took a while to get to the open bank. Fortunately there was also a 10am tour so we decided to take that one instead. The mosque was absolutely stunning. It was so awing from the outside, and very beautiful in the inside. The builders used special stones (including specific types of marble) that did not oxidize so that the mosque would stay that way for 100s or 1000s of years. It was so large that it could fit 50,000 people inside of it, and 100,000 people in the outside square (150,000 people in all) during payer time). The tour was short, and my favorite parts were the beginning when we say the main hallway (which was huge) and two room in the basement, one that was filled with fountains of different sizes, and the other that had a large bathing pool in the center. It was quite the experience, and I would definitely recommend it (and Morocco in general) to any traveler. Unfortunately it was a cloudy/misty day, and the top of the minaret was generally shrouded behind a light mist just thick enough that you could not get good pictures of it. From there we made our way for the markets, and stopped in a cafe along the way for some beverages (mint tea for me as usual). The walk to the markets took a while, since we decided to take a longer way that went through a part of the city we had not seen yet. And then we roamed the market streets for 4 hours (from 12 till 4) looking for some last minute stuff we may want or need, and just absorbing the environment the best we could for the last time. I was able to find everything I needed, as was everyone else. The one thing I was having trouble finding was a mixture of mint tea that I could bring back to the states for my big brother Yash (who loves mint tea). I gave up hope towards the end of our trek, and we decided to stop for a last drink of mint tea before we got back on the ship before departure. That mint tea was definitely the best I've had in this trip (maybe something having to do with it being the last mint tea I would be drinking for a long time, made it taste sweeter or something like that), and I thought I would give it one more shot, and asked the waiter if he knew anywhere to find that mint tea mixture. And he said "We have it." And I took it. I felt really good after that, because I was feeling kind of bad for not finding Yash some mint tea (that's all he asked me for.... yet), but it all worked out in the end. That was a great way for me to end my Moroccan experience, and so we headed back and boarded the ship, leaving Moroccan land. On board, we had dinner (which was really good today), played some more soccer, and caught up with friends, some of whom I had not seen since we got to port. Around 8pm, we undocked from Casablanca port, and started our trip for our next port: Ghana. I have nothing planned for that country, and I should definitely get on top of that starting tomorrow. Overall, my time in Morocco was very enjoyable. In the beginning it felt a little slow, but as it came to a close, I realized how much fun I really had. The Marrakech/Essaouira trip was a long trip with lots of bus driving, but allowed me to see different parts of Morocco and compare the differences between these parts of Morocco. Although there was some very bad behavior from a few of the SAS students, I feel that we all as a group did a very good job responding to a country that is much more conservative than our homes back in the USA. I do hope that these students who have been taking this trip for granted start acting more seriously because I am kind of embarrassed of some of these foul incidents committed by SAS students, which I will not speak of here (ask me later). Its kind of scary to think that we are already done with 2 out of our 14 ports, and we start classes again tomorrow after like 12 days. Hopefully I get back in the grove again, but only time will tell.
-Nimish
September 14, 2010