In Philly, the morning traffic and my neighbors greeting each other become my alarm clock. I wake up knowing I have public transportation to take me from my house to the city, and that every destination is walkable from University City to Chinatown. Living in Rabat was not too different for me, since certain aspects of the atmosphere were similar. Everything was very lively, everyone was awake, and it was a feeling I was used to for most of my life. If someone told me that on a random week in the middle of June, I would be hiking up a mountain in the Ourika Valley, climbing a sand dune in the Sahara to watch the sunset, or being less than a foot away from the McCauley monkeys in the cedar forest of Azrou – I would think they were lying.
During the excursions, we had a lot of exposure to the mountainous regions of Morocco. Notably, the Ourika Valley, Dades Gorge, and other surrounding peaks. During our visit to the Ourika Valley, we had the opportunity to climb the mountain next to the river, following the fiery orange path of the mountain with the wind pushing us upward as we reached higher elevation. At the top of the mountain, the air was cool, and lush greenery had built itself over the red surface of the mountain. While trekking, we noticed houses built into the side of the mountain that belong to a village of Amazigh people, who are indigenous people from North Africa, who have been living there for decades. It was eye-opening to see that these people have acclimated themselves to a lifestyle different than the ones I’ve seen in my homestay or the excursions in the cities.
Our next stop was the Erg Chebbi sand dunes in Merzouga. This area near the Algerian border is only a taste of what the Sahara Desert is, as it lies on the outskirts. From only a couple of miles away, I saw towering, wave-like, orange sand dunes in the distance. During our camel ride, we stopped in the middle of the desert and climbed on top of a sand dune to watch the sunset. The blue and yellow ombre stretched across the horizon, and the breeze started to settle in, splashing the sand on my face. As nightfall started, there was little to no light pollution, and we were able to see the stars shining in the sky clearly. I was able to step outside, dig my feet into the cold sand, and stare at the night sky. I saw a traveling path of light appear for a second and realized that this was my first time seeing a shooting star.
Last but not least, we ended the natural excursions in Azrou, where there is a lush forest full of cedar trees surrounding the hilly and mountainous region. It is also a region where the wild Barbary Macaque apes reside and run free. We saw many of these apes run free, hopping from tree to tree above us, and even being less than a foot away from visitors. This was much different from seeing animals in a zoo, as some of us have in the city. Seeing them in their natural habitat with their troops was a different and immersive learning experience I wasn’t exposed to.
Hearing about these places or googling them doesn’t do them proper justice. Even these pictures I took that will be perceived over a computer screen will never compare to being face-to-face with the natural wonder. Thinking about my life in the United States, I resided mostly in the city or other urban areas and never had a great exposure to natural landscapes. Even thinking of the people who reside in these landscapes has offered a new perspective on the way I practice a daily routine and define what distance means. I feel like this trip was a testimony to adventure and molded me into a person who needs to challenge myself to come out of the bubble I’ve been in for my entire life. Whether it is hiking a mountain, meeting new people, or just taking some sort of risk.