Morocco - Assault on the Senses

Our overland trip from Marrakesh to Lisbon started with an explosion on our senses the moment we arrived in Casablanca and made our way to Marrakech. The smells, the sounds, the sights were all different, chaotic and overstimulating. Morocco was the first country truly outside my cultural bubble and the culture shock I felt was as claustrophobic as the narrow covered streets within the Medina walls.  

After working our way overland into Spain we were exhausted, exhausted from all the scams, all the hassles, all the garbage and all the foul smells, but at the same time strangely fulfilled - we finally stepped outside our comfort zone and got a taste of adventure again.

Morocco is a country of contrasts - it is ugly yet beautiful, chaotic yet peaceful.   

Morocco is ugly. One of the first things I noticed on arrival was the sheer amount of garbage floating around, it is everywhere and I mean everywhere, so much so that halfway through our journey we realised although great for sharing with our friends and family and for displaying on our walls, our photographs weren't really capturing all the truth and if we looked back on them in 30 years they wouldn't be a real representation of our Morocco adventure, so we decided to also start capturing the ugly truth and our photos suddenly got much more interesting. 

Shepherd among the garbage in the Rif Mountains

Chaotic rooftop in Essaouira

Marrakech Medina

Morocco is beautiful. There are details and colors carved within the Medina walls that just leave you stunned and architecture that leaves you breathless. The call to prayer is eerily beautiful and a constant reminder that you're in an exotic destination. Outside the cities there is nature that is simply wild and beautiful.   

Details in the Medina of Fez

Details in Rabat

Intense color on Riad walls

Cat takes refuge under lush bougainvillaea

Another cat takes refuge in a broken pot

Beautiful Azrou from afar

Beauty. The Rif Mountains

Beauty. Shepherd in the mountains

Pink walls of Marrakech

Morocco is Chaotic. Don't stop! Don't stop! It seems as though every time we stopped for any reason we were surrounded and hassled by beggars and absolutely everyone who had something to sell. Medina's and souq's are especially overwhelmingly chaotic on all levels: they are cramped, loud, smelly and colorful, they are never ending and winding. Shop owners yell at you, shop owners hassle you, people beg, loud music beats from Berber drums, colors stimulate you, stray cats everywhere, the smell of piss and shit overwhelms you, the smell of fresh leather, the smell of meat sizzling. The smell of all of these together. 

Marrakech Souq

Cramped and chaotic Essaouira.

Windblown streets Essaouira

Windblown in Essaouira

Morocco is peaceful. There is nothing more peaceful than seeking refuge from all the chaos of the Medina within the walls of a riad. Quiet, seclusion and a warm welcome with mint tea is the norm. Some of the friendliest hotel hosts we have ever encountered on our travels around the world were in Morocco, many who went out of their way to make sure we were relaxed and well fed.

Riad in Essaouira

Savoring mint tea

Rugs air out on a small quiet street that leads on a secluded nature walk

Stray cat in Azrou

Morocco is truly an adventure but you will need a thick skin, street smarts and a good sense of humor. Be warned and be prepared because every day is overwhelming in so many ways.

A Box of Sweets in Morocco

The little white boxes of sweets are very recognisable in Morocco and they stir quite a lot of emotions, our little white box caused a commotion, was ogled, begged for and almost stolen.

We bought our sweets in Djemaa El-Fna, which was probably not unlike most nights buzzing with music, snake charmers, henna ladies and hundreds of tourists. Restaurant waiters continuously tried to lure us in to eat and we retreated into one of many, pleased to have a moment to savor the peace of no one approaching us, of no one trying to sell us something, of no one trying to beg us for money, where we could take our time to observe the chaos around us. It was there, after filling our bellies with delicious grilled meat that a cart full of sweets rolled by, we (and the French couple next to us) couldn’t resist the opportunity for something sweet and carby after our protein fest. Noticing this the waiters began to yell at the cake man and shooed him away from their customers.

After some mint tea with a couple of our sweets, we took our time heading home through the souq, browsing the rich coloured spices and fabrics, and politely declining offers from shop keepers, all passing eyes locked on our box of sweets. Soon we realised we were lost, and that one second of stalling is all it took for us to be approached,

”It’s closed it’s closed” the boy lied as he pointed in the direction we were heading.
”It’s OK” we say, we wanted to continue our lazy walk home without a guide.

But he persistently continued to follow and we continued to walk, suddenly he surprised us as he jumped and grabbed at the box, I held on and we were locked in a battle for the sweets that seemed to go on forever, but I won and he scurried off. Stunned I looked at the box in my hands now broken, the sweets a mess but salvageable, and although I no longer wanted them I held onto the box tightly anyway. We hurried on trying to find our way back to our hotel, but we were lost and we were getting deeper and deeper into parts of the souq we didn't recognise. And as shop owners began packing down for the evening I began to feel panic. But it wasn't long before we realised we had been going in circles, and on round three of circling the same streets we found our way back to Djemaa El-Fna where we could breathe a sigh of relief.

Back in the square we allowed a stall owner to pull us in for some spicy tea and cake. Relaxed we walked home via a route that worked for us the night before, a little girl approached us to sell a fluorescent wand, we declined and she raised her fingers to her mouth gesturing for a sweet ”you want a sweet?” I asked, she nodded and was left stunned as I handed her the entire box.

One year abroad in pictures

Yesterday morning I compiled a bunch of pictures from the last year to have printed and sent to my mum back in Sydney. After spending almost the entire day at the Albert Cuypmarkt and having no time to print them, Mats suggested I upload them onto an Australian photo printing website and have them sent directly to her house instead, that way she'll get them before Christmas. This morning I was getting ready to have them printed when I saw I could make a photobook instead, I chose that option and  put in the dates; 12.12.08 - 12.12.09 and it hit me, yesterday had been exactly one year since I had left Sydney. One year since we recklessly boarded a plane and moved overseas with no apartment or jobs lined up. One year since I said goodbye to my family and friends, one year since I last crossed Sydney heads on the Manly Ferry. Time has gone so quick.

So here is the book that is now waiting to be printed and shipped to my mum for Christmas, here is my life in one year (click the images for a larger picture).

Christmas in Norway 2008 (Then off to London to look for work - Jan 2009)

Hiring freeze in London, off to Lisbon & Sintra, Portugal Jan-Feb 2009 to look for work and enjoy the sun where it's cheaper, but it turns out it's not that much cheaper. Back to Norway Feb-Mar 2009 to look for work again.

April 1st 2009 we moved to Amsterdam

Spent the next few months exploring Amsterdam and some of the Netherlands, several friends visited and we celebrated our first Queensday.

Mats' Brother visits us in Amsterdam and we all go on a road-trip through Luxembourg, France and Belgium.

We fly to Norway in Aug 2009 for a Summer party hosted by Mats' parents.

Back in Amsterdam we're busy meeting some really cool new people.

Oct 2009 - We celebrate that I finally found a job by spending the weekend eating delicious seafood in Brussels.

Autumn comes to Amsterdam.

Dec 2009 we head over to Germany with some friends for the Cologne Christmas Markets.

This year did not start off easy, as nice as hanging out down sunny Portugal way might sound the truth was we were freaking out about work, money and about where we were headed in life. Deciding to go back to Norway to continue looking for work was a hard decision and we regretted having to leave London, but once we moved to Amsterdam everything fell into place and everything ran smoothly, so smoothly we're convinced it was meant to be.

Adventure Calls

I have been lucky enough to do a lot of travelling the last few years since I made a serious effort to start living my dream. I have sat and enjoyed coffee in Parisian café's, walked down cobble stone streets in Germany and stood fascinated at the size of the waves in Portugal. I have walked in 104 different towns and cities in 18 different countries.

But I often find myself craving more, craving to climb more volcanoes, volcanoes that are more wild than the ones I climbed in New Zealand, I crave walking streets that teach me to rely on myself like the ones I walked in New York City, I crave to feel adrenaline like the adrenaline I felt when I found myself crawling into a glacier in the cold, dark Arctic.

What dread and excitement at the same time looks like.

What pure satisfaction looks like.

I have missed doing something that requires me to push myself. And as I look at photos of my last adventure and reminisce, I find myself opening Google Earth and looking down at the adventures I hope to have ahead of me.

Going overland from Europe to Asia via the Transiberian
Spending weeks walking the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Seeing the Wallace Line for myself
Trekking through the jungles of Columbia to find the 'Lost City'

Ah adventure. I've missed you, my friend.

One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.' - Henry Miller

Traveling gives you life experience and perspective that you can not gain through anything else, it takes your reality and warps it. Traveling makes you realise just how little you know but at the same time shows you a side of yourself you probably never knew was there at all.

My adventures are really only just beginning but these are the valuable lessons I have already learnt -

To be self sufficient

Nothing teaches you to rely on yourself and to solve problems on your own more than an a simple language barrier, theft or injury when you're 10,000 miles from everything and everyone you've ever known.

When I moved to Canada for a study abroad semester I decided that I was going to go check out New York city before starting classes. When I checked the bus timetable I realised I had an hour to pack my stuff and get my ticket before the last bus left. I quickly reserved a bed in a hostel online, packed some things and literally dashed out the door. I hadn't had time to check my reservation and 15hrs later when I arrived into New York city the hostel receptionist told me they didn't get my reservation and they had no rooms left anyway. It was my first real trip alone and I was petrafied, I realised I was alone in New York city with no bed and no where to go. After hours of walking and researching I managed to find another hostel and scored myself a bed for the next few nights. Of course it seems like nothing now and put me in the same situation again and I probably wont flinch at all (unless maybe you add a language barrier in there?).

That year on my return home from my semester abroad I strolled through my studies, I felt completely empowered, I relied solely on myself and confidently stood by my judgements, it was the first time I knew I didn't need my fellow students.

To be more tolerant & understanding

When you travel you always see different customs and traditions and what you think is normal back home is not always normal in another place.

My fiance and I once had yum cha in Hong Kong's oldest tea house, our waiter brought us a pot of tea and some tea cups, we eagerly poured our tea into our cups and just when we were about to drink it the old Chinese couple sitting at our tabled said "no no no!" and stopped us before we could take a sip, some people at other tables looked at us in shock, our waiter came rushing back and swished hot tea all over our tea cups. Apparently the custom there was to sterilise your tea cup in boiling tea before using it. We must have looked like filthy Westerners to the people who noticed. The old Chinese couple on our table smiled and then suggested some good yum cha for us to try.

But beneath all these traditions and customs you see that people still crave the same things as you and everyone else; love, friendship, acceptance, safety etc etc. You learn that deep down most people are good and try to do the right thing, most work hard and love their families just like you. When you travel you begin to understand that everyone reacts differently under different circumstances based on their own past experiences, customs and traditions. When you understand this you will lose your fears and assumptions and become more tolerant and easy going.

That traveling changes your point of view

When you're out seeing how things are done somewhere else it's hard to not change your view.

In Australia it's considered normal to smack your child (that is a light smack that does not strike the face i.e a smack on the hand or on the bum) I never believed a light smack and a stern 'no' was wrong and although I swore I would never use this punishment on my children it didn't bother me when I saw other parents use it. After visiting Norway where smacking your child is just not accepted and seeing how children still behaved in the same way or even better, my tolerance for smacking or yelling at children went straight to zero.

To be patient

Patience is something you learn well when you're stuck at the airport for 7hrs because your flight is delayed or your travel agent couldn't get you an earlier connecting flight. Anyone in this situation has probably realised that fighting it is pointless. After these experiences the 5 minute wait for your train ticket back home becomes nothing and when the stressed out person behind you starts huffing and puffing you can smile because you know it's really not a big deal at all.

That you can do more than you think

When you're traveling you not only surprise yourself with how self sufficient, tolerant and patient you can be but also how you can do things you never believed you could do. I remember parasailing at 600ft in New Zealand, not such a big deal except that I am terrified of heights but before I could remember this fact it was too late, I was strapped in and ready to go (it just looked so exciting from the ground!). I remember turning to my boyfriend at the time and saying in a panic "I'm afraid of heights, I'm afraid of heights!" and he replied "Why the hell are you telling me that now?!".

Traveling makes you take chances, when you're in the arctic you realise that this is one of the few places in the world where you will ever see the inside of a glacier, this makes you get up at 5am, dog sledge through the wilderness all the way up to a hole in the ground where you bite your teeth together and ignore the claustrophobia that screams at you as you crawl into a cave entrance on your belly.

Whether the chances are big or small makes no difference, I once met 2 girls in Byron Bay who were terrified of sky diving but did it anyway to see the beauty of the place from the sky another time I witnessed a traveler warily try chicken feet. These people all challenged themselves and did things they did not think they would ever do.

Traveling for me has been a tool for personal growth. How have you changed or what have you learnt from your travels?