Morocco.

Our last stop. Still very much in the denial period as we docked in Casablanca, I was ready for another bucketlist adventure. Immediately embarking on a 13 hour bus ride to Zagora, Morocco where we would be going on a camel trek into the Sahara and spending the night at a nomad camp. While we didn't get to see much of the Moroccan sights and culture, I did get to see a lot of the country and change in landscapes on our bus trip to the desert. It took us about a day and a half to get to Zagora, driving through the Atlas Mountains ranges and stopping every 4 or so hours for food or a bathroom break.

 After 2 days of traveling toward the Sahara, it was finally time to caravan to our nomad camp for the night (a lot of travel for just one night in the desert). I had bought a headscarf from the restaurant/hotel where we ate lunch partly in an effort to protect from any sandstorms that could happen during the trek and then partly because I thought it would be a good souvenir for the trip considering up to this point there wasn't many opportunities to get much.  Its hard to say how long it took to get from the bus to the camp via camel, but my best estimation has gotta be about 2 hours. I'd also compare it to doing a 2 hour core workout where the main goal is to not fall off or break a hip because of the saddle. Our camel trek was also hilariously on a Wednesday so you can take a moment to think about 2 hours worth of hump day jokes being made from all around me.

As we settled in to the Berber nomad camp, we got to see the sunset from atop a sand dune. This was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Sitting next to friends I hadn't known even four months prior, on top of like a 60 foot sand dune near the Algerian border -  it seemed so strange and unreal while at the very same time made so much sense and felt so perfect. We spent the rest of the night around a camp fire and playing games, and the closest thing I can equate it to is going to summer camp, but at the same time it is nothing like summer camp at all. 

The next morning after breakfast, we prepared for our long journey back to the ship. Bittersweet was the overall feeling getting into the bus again, partly because I didn't want it to be over, but also because we had another 13 hour bus ride back to Casablanca. The hotel we stayed in this time was in Marrakesh, which was nice because we were given some free time in the morning to explore before getting back in the bus to go back to the ship. My friend Hadley and I hired a taxi for the day/time to take us to some bazaars around the city. I got to try out some of my French skills irl, and considering I had only taken two semesters of it, I think it went pretty well. (I basically got to use one of the sample conversations I had learned and the vendor thought we were French until I told him we were American. I ended up going home with some jewellery, some other little gifts for friends, and a rug (I told myself that I wasn't allowed to buy a rug, and then I bought one anyway because I have no self control). 

Arriving back at the ship for the last time was something I knew would happen, but I never wanted it to. I have so many memories and lifelong friends that getting to write this series a year later made me even more grateful for. Being able to say that, at 19, I traveled the world with some of the greatest people I've ever met, saw things people only dream of seeing, experienced so many cultures, walked through history, and lived on the seas; it makes going back home that much harder. And with that, my last Semester at Sea trip was over, and we began studying for our finals and making our way to Germany. 

Talk to you later,

- Karin xx