I am back from yet another wonderful, but tiresome adventure. Throughout my travels, I have yet to understand the concept of relaxing on vacation, much less rejuvenating. Maybe it's Europe travel, or maybe probably it's that I can't sit in one place for too long and therefore plan vacations where I see as much as possible in the allotted amount of time, but there's simply nothing relaxing about any vacation I take, which is why I usually instead say I am going on a trip.
My normal, high-energy, creature-of-the-night, bar-scheduled, German lifestyle made a big shift to week filled with early mornings and lots of time on-the-road, but at a Spanish/Moroccan pace, which tested my "let's just get there already" attitude to the max. I realized exactly how German punctual, efficient I've become during this group tour. It was my first, and probably last, group tour, but if I was ever going to do one, the logistics and safety concerns were enough to throw me on a bus with some other clueless travelers.
I have done some nutty trips. My first Eurotrip, for example, covered 10 countries in 21 days. This trip involved the most travel I have ever experienced, but really, I can't complain. The dunes of the Sahara Desert are an unreal site and the cultures around it are almost unexplainable. I will do my best to paint a picture of the dunes, the desert, the Berber people, and the strange feeling of being thrown back into biblical times, in the coming days.
The 7 day trip went something like this:
Day 1: Málaga, Spain
4:30 Taxi from Karlsruhe to Baden Airpark.
6:00 Fly to Malaga, Spain.
9:00 Arrive in Malaga, Spain.
Spend the day and night exploring the Andalusian port city.
Day 2: Travel day: Spain to Fez, Morocco
7:00 Drive 3 hours to Algeciras for the ferry to Ceuta, Spain.
10:00 Arrive Algeciras and meet rest of group, who arrived from Seville.
12:00 Ferry to Ceuta, Spain (on Moroccan side of the Mediterranean).
13:00 Drive 7 hours to Fez.
first glimpse of Morocco
Day 3: Fez, Morocco
8:00 Explore Fez.
13:00 Drive 7.5 hours to Erfoud.
Day 4: Sahara Desert
8:00 Explore Erfoud.
12:00 Drive 4x4s 2 hours into the Sahara Desert.
15:00 Ride camels 2 hours into the dunes of the Sahara Desert to a Berber camp.
Day 5: Travel Day: Sahara Desert to Fez
8 out of 11 of us wake up sick.
6:00 Watch the sunrise.
7:00 Ride camels back to bus on edge of Sahara Desert.
9:00 Breakfast & showers.
11:00 Drive 8 hours to Fez.
Day 6: Travel Day + Asilah
7:30 Drive Fez to Asilah.
12:00 Explore Asilah.
14:30 Drive to Ceuta for Ferry.
19:00 Ferry Ceuta to Algeciras.
21:30 Drive 3 hours to Seville.
Day 7: Seville
9:00 Meet up with Cat and explore Seville.
20:00 Train to Málaga.
Day 8: Travel Day: Málaga to Karlsruhe
6:30 Bus to Airport.
9:35 Fly to Karlsruhe.
1:45 Train Baden-Baden to Karlsruhe.
2:30 Home Sweet Home!
What part of the trip are you looking most forward to hearing about?
32 comments
It all sounds amazing... but I most want to hear about camel riding (what's it like?!) and your meet up with Cat in Seville.
ReplyDeleteI hope you weren't one of the 8 who got sick!
Totally looking forward to hearing about Fez and the Sahara Desert!
ReplyDeletewow!!! this is incredible!! that camel ride looks just amazing! I just cna't wait to hear more abou it all as I live vicariously through you!
ReplyDeleteLooks like an amazing adventure!!
ReplyDeleteSee! Aren't you glad you went to Morocco now!
ReplyDeleteI love all the Morocco photos! It sounds like an epic trip, but you sure spent a lot of time in buses!
ReplyDeleteThat's some serious traveling going on there! I definitely appreciate a more on-the-go vacation, so I'm happy to see I'm not the only (crazy) one.
ReplyDeletewoah...that is a lot of traveling. i'm excited to hear about fez!!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward of your impressions of Seville! Duh. I love Seville.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do that Sahara safari! (minus the sick part, ugh, I know how that goes).
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear more!
That does look like an exhausting schedule, but an amazing one as well!!! Love Morocco!
ReplyDeleteGirl you had your booster on!
ReplyDeleteAnd the bits I'm looking forward to... all of it! :)
WOW - this does sound like a pretty intense, but amazing trip! And I can totally relate about trying to pack in as much as you can whenever you go on a trip. We just spent 3 days in Berlin and come Monday when we were home I was exhausted and didn't even leave my apartment that day. ;-) Can't wait to see more pics!
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I LOVE Morocco, and of course I adore my old home, Spain! Did you go to Morocco with We Love Spain?
ReplyDeletethis is why i ask myself sometimes why didn't i au-pair-ed or something. haha.
ReplyDeleteGotta see it all while you're there right?
ReplyDeleteI would be fine never, ever, ever getting on a bus again (the woes of budget travel).
ReplyDeleteWohoo! You made it to my part of Europe- can't wait to hear ALL your thoughts on Spain, and glad you got to spend a little time in my city of Sevilla. Although I'm so jealous you got to go to Morocco- I still can't believe I never made it there!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, thought of you when I read this. Can't believe it... finally!
http://business-reporter.co.uk/2013/10/ryanair-to-offer-quiet-flights-and-second-cabin-bag/
Holy cow! I am not made to travel this way, but you really made the most of your trip! I would love the whole 4x4, then camel riding experience, but definitely not the getting sick part. :o/ I've never traveled as part of a group before, but I'm not sure I'd be able to do it - I like going at my own pace, no one else's!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing itinerary. I love Morocco it's such a gorgeous country. I also struggle to relax when I'm travelling and barely ever have any down time but I still found Morocco a really relaxing place to travel.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read more about the whole trip, especially the Sahara desert! Glad you had such a great time! I love the pictures! My vacations are usually not very relaxed either. Only when I spend some time at the North Sea!
ReplyDeleteooh! really want to go to morocco! that camel ride looks amazing!!
ReplyDeletei'm with you on the relaxing travel thing! i think that's why it was so hard for me to leave turkey this summer! it was the first time that I can remember going somewhere and doing something for SEVEN days that literally involved, sleeping, swimming, reading, repeat. amazing!
Whoa! The second cabin bag just warms my heart!
ReplyDeleteYes I did!!
ReplyDeleteUgh, unfortunately I found the opposite, especially in the cities since I felt I was constantly being sold something or harassed. However, the night in the desert under the stars was magic!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I just realized that article said Nov. 1 and I definitely flew after Nov. 1 and saw nothing of it, but maybe that's because I routinely stuffed my purse in my carry on anyway.
ReplyDeleteWow, the Sahara Desert would've been lush. I have my Spain trip booked for 2014 & hadn't even considered doing Morocco on the same trip?! Silly me. x
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read more about this trip! Lately, I have felt very drawn to Arabic countries and I'm sure your stories are not going to help! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an action-packed trip, definitely very satisfying. I would love to sleep in the Sahara.
ReplyDeletePlus. Beautiful photos!
You make me SO jealous! I want to get stationed in Europe SOOOO bad. I will jaunt around with you!
ReplyDeleteYou spent so much of your time driving from one place to another; that part of long travel drives me nuts. Were you driving yourself, or bussing it all the way? If buses, did they have bathrooms? (Important logistical question!)
ReplyDeleteBusing it all the way... it was really rough with all the bus travel but it was the cheapest way to get to the desert. The buses had no bathrooms which made getting places take even damn longer with the stops.
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