Valencia --> Morocco : The day everything went wrong

Coming to Spain I knew one side trip I needed to budget in would be Morocco. It would be the first time traveling to the continent of Africa, an arab nation, and simply a country with a culture like no other. Plus one of the locations on the previous season of Amazing Race was Marrakesh, Morocco; so when I heard that other students from AIP wanted to go there as well I pounced on the opportunity and held them to it. My parents' condition for me to travel to Morocco was that I go with a group including a male, I fit the criteria and there was no looking back. Sure I was nervous to visit such a "foreign" land, especially after hearing the many stories in the media about trafficking, pickpocketors, unsanitary water and facilities, malaria, so on and so forth. However being the curious one that I am, Marrakesh seems to be a more tourist oriented town and I knew that if I didn't go now when else would I hav the opportunity?

We booked the flight and it was everything I could think about.

Only two more weeks!
Only one more week :)
Only four more day :D
Only two more days :/
WE LEAVE TOMORROW !!!

Then came Friday...
( one would think the 13th but no the 26th)
It was a day that arrived with much joy and excitement
Only to take a turn for the worst

I should have known it was going to be a day of misfortune when I woke up groggy and tired

But never the less, I made it to the train station at 10:30 am, the time my group had decided to meet, with my stuffed back pack and all sweaty ( after having to bike to the metro because all the bike spaces at the tram were full)

Then 10:47 rolls around and the first person from the rest of my group shows up 10:50 and the other two come
10:53 where's jack? He said he's been here waiting for 20 minutes...
Turns out he was at the wrong train station 10 minute walk up the road 😳
With our train leaving promptly at 11 everyone went into a moment of panic. We waited. We tried to call him. We sent him directions. What were we to do? We couldn't all miss the train.
10:58 four of us board the train
11:01 jack makes it on the train
11:02 we left headed for barcelona

"Phew, everything is good to go" I thought. On every trip there needs to be at least one thing that goes wrong. Better here then later on or in Morocco.

HA

How premature that thought was.

Next something was in my contact and severely irritated my eye.


2:20 we arrived at the train station in Barcelona. Next we were planning on taking a metro from the center of Barcelona to the outskirts of town to a city called Girona where we would fly out of. However there was no metro. There was a metro stop that was called Girona that must have popped up when we had previously searched, but no metro. -_-
The one thing I didn't double check.

So we checked the buses.

2:48 a lady assisted only to find the next bus was leaving at 2:50, impossible to make, and the bus after that at 3:15 was booked.

Crap.

To the taxi, or should I say to the taxi line.

It was then close to 3 with an hour and a half drive to Girona and the doors for our flight closed at 4:55.

That taxi ride will go down in history as the worst. No only was I already cringing because I was dreading the overpriced ride that would not for into my budget but also there was heavy traffic and no guarentee that we would make it .
No one talked
We were all staring at the clock

We thankfully arrived in time only for one of us to be pulled over by security and taken into the backroad for an intensive search.

Nevertheless we battled everything thrown our way, boarded the plane, and hoped for the best.

...


We finally set food on the continent of Africa. 
Just when I should have enjoyed every second, now that we had finally arrived in Morocco, I experience my first mild undertaking of culture shock.

The first trigger was after we exited the plane and entered the airport.  A young timid-looking girl from our flight (who seemed to be a local) came up and advised we put our phones away so they don't get taken. Instantaneously I because suspicious of everyone. Our phones would be stolen even from our hands? I'm glad she was kind enough to look out for our best interest but I was weery of everyone standing around us.

Second, at the exchange office the men were rude to some people in my group and almost wouldn't exchange some of our money.

Third, we we walked into the receiving area all the women were in full garb and the men in long robes. I was expecting this, however finally being mixed in with everyone I felt like an outsider that didn't belong.

Next, we had to negotiate long and hard for a taxi price to our hotel. It looked grim at moments especially after we battered with them for 20 minutes and then they walked away ( only to return 15 seconds later to agree on our fairly decent price of 225 dirham for 5 Americans to our hotel). Even though everyone was impressed with our skills I did not know if we all had the energy or will to do it throughout. ( also half way through I almost triggered an ugly scene when I forgot it was Ramadan and pleaded to the man that we were exhausted and thirsty 😳 oops - note to self check local holidays before traveling to a foreign land)

Finally, when we were driving to the hotel I was made aware of the true realities of Marrakesh. Everyone looked similar; there was no way that we would be able to blend in or manage to keep a lowprofile when walking around. Everyone starred at us even through the car we were tightly snuggled in. The streets were filled with many people in the later hours of the afternoon. There weren´t any marked lines on the road and all the donkeys and carts, motorcycles, bikes with motors, taxis, vans, pedestrians all zoomed around each other.
And then as we enter the city all the street were narrow with high walls, making it impossible to see the surrounding area. It seemed that all my plans had gone out the window once again, all the routes I had planned to walked to the different sights would now be impossible with the narrow , seemingly rowdy streets. I was frazzled and distrought.

And just as I thought we had found ourselves in a trap, we arrived at our riad to the coolest, friendliest, most-accommodating place I have ever stayed with the greatest staff. They walked us to the main square (Jemaa el- Fna) so we would know how to get back to the Riad; they said if we can find the square (imposible to miss) then we can find our way back to the riad.  They had never lost any guests and they reassured us we wouldn´t be the first.  Then they recommended a tour guide who could take us around the city, outside the city, or anywhere we wanted to go.

That was our best decision. With out our tour guide I don´t know what we would have done, or how we would have survived the heat.

Just when the road ahead looks bleak and unmanageable, there will be an opportunity to turn onto a path that will lead you into paradise.