Some of the foreign staff was invited to a beach town south of Casablanca for a retreat! After being in Casa for 2 full months I was ready to get away!
We left shortly after school on Friday and arrived around 8:30. It gets dark around 6:30 right now so we couldn't really see anything when we arrived. We found the villa we were staying in and unpacked our things then took off for "the best shawarma in Morocco." It came with a delicious garlic sauce that reminded me of La Pita in Dearborn!
On Saturday, we had a breakfast at another villa then went back to ours for worship. A couple came from Marrakesh to be our guest speakers for the weekend. After the meeting/worship we climbed over dunes and spent some time at the beach! It was a beautiful beach!! The water was a deep, clear blue. The beach was totally empty and quiet, except for the sound of the waves crashing against some of the rocks.
After lunch, we had free time to do as we wanted in the town. There was a group of us that decided to go quading and then kayak in the lagoon. On our way to the quad rental we passed some others from our group going by on the quads! So we had to wait an hour or so but we explored the boardwalk and the time passed quickly. We rented four quads for 8 of us with the plan that we would switch drivers half way through. Cherith and I were riding buddies and I won the ro-sham-bo to drive first! We chose the sturdy green one third in line. Why? Because I didn't want to lead. The second one was the "sporty" model. And the last one had just been towed in because it broke on the first group. So, the 3rd green one it was! We went down the road until we got to the same dunes we had climbed earlier. We drove over the curb and away we went. After the first dune, the already broken quad broke again! Cherith and I turned back and went to the shop to tell them. (Rescue 1). Then we went back out and found the sporty quad. I was starting to feel more comfortable and actually having lots of fun! Cherith and I switched so she could try driving. The four of us decided to look for some caves that were somewhere in the area. We were following the sporty quad and watched it start up this crazy hill. It wasn't really a hill. More of drainage ditch. Which meant it was un-level and at the bottom was a giant concrete block half buried in sand and hard to see until the last minute! Cherith was carefully approaching the bottom as the others were reaching the top. And then they flipped! It was awful to see and we didn't really know what happened. We were stopped halfway up the hill yelling to them. We had to drive the rest of the way up the hill before we could jump off and help. Thankfully, both girls were okay. They were definitely in shock- one with a hurt knee the other having chest pains and a beat up arm. A few Moroccans that were around came over to ask if we needed help....with the language barrier it was almost comical. One man imitated an ambulance with the siren and all! We turned down their offers for help. Instead Cherith drove one back on the sporty quad and I drove the other girl back on the green one (rescue 2). Before we got them back to the shop, we ran into the 1st quad that had been repaired but broke again. They carved SOS in the sand as a joke! We took the two injured girls back only to find another girl already at the shop. Apparently, they had split off and then stalled the quad in some deep sand. So one left the other to walk back for help. The quad guy came out, got on Cherith's quad with her and led us back toward the dunes (rescue 3). He took us over a hill I had attempted earlier but stopped because I wasn't sure what was on the other side...and if it was the ocean we would have a 300dh fee. Instead at the top was the opening to the caves we had been going to find. If only we had known they were so close! We climbed down a narrow opening in the rocks and then it opened up to a beautiful view of the ocean! The quad guy turned into a little photographer and took somewhere a hundred photos of us on Jasmine's camera. It felt like a senior photo shoot. The quad guys continued to guide the 5 of us that remained on the three still semi working quads. They took us through some cool trails but I was freaked out after the luck the other girls had faced. I was ready for our quading adventure to be over. Cherith and I agreed later we felt we were on Baywatch...driving all over the beach rescuing people. It was pretty fun!
After checking in on the girls we were going to go kayaking but by that point we were ready to just chill on the beach. We watched a football game and climbed another rock/dune and then the sun was starting to set...the afternoon went quite fast! We went to an Italian place for dinner, walked around the town, star-gazed on the beach, and went back for another worship time and dessert! Sunday, we went to the beach again as the tide was coming in. The waves were huge! It was even more beautiful! After brunch we packed up and headed back to campus. It was really nice to get away and I am already looking forward to the next trip planned for the end of October! Exploring Morocco is a goal I have and one I am determined to fulfill!
We left shortly after school on Friday and arrived around 8:30. It gets dark around 6:30 right now so we couldn't really see anything when we arrived. We found the villa we were staying in and unpacked our things then took off for "the best shawarma in Morocco." It came with a delicious garlic sauce that reminded me of La Pita in Dearborn!
On Saturday, we had a breakfast at another villa then went back to ours for worship. A couple came from Marrakesh to be our guest speakers for the weekend. After the meeting/worship we climbed over dunes and spent some time at the beach! It was a beautiful beach!! The water was a deep, clear blue. The beach was totally empty and quiet, except for the sound of the waves crashing against some of the rocks.After lunch, we had free time to do as we wanted in the town. There was a group of us that decided to go quading and then kayak in the lagoon. On our way to the quad rental we passed some others from our group going by on the quads! So we had to wait an hour or so but we explored the boardwalk and the time passed quickly. We rented four quads for 8 of us with the plan that we would switch drivers half way through. Cherith and I were riding buddies and I won the ro-sham-bo to drive first! We chose the sturdy green one third in line. Why? Because I didn't want to lead. The second one was the "sporty" model. And the last one had just been towed in because it broke on the first group. So, the 3rd green one it was! We went down the road until we got to the same dunes we had climbed earlier. We drove over the curb and away we went. After the first dune, the already broken quad broke again! Cherith and I turned back and went to the shop to tell them. (Rescue 1). Then we went back out and found the sporty quad. I was starting to feel more comfortable and actually having lots of fun! Cherith and I switched so she could try driving. The four of us decided to look for some caves that were somewhere in the area. We were following the sporty quad and watched it start up this crazy hill. It wasn't really a hill. More of drainage ditch. Which meant it was un-level and at the bottom was a giant concrete block half buried in sand and hard to see until the last minute! Cherith was carefully approaching the bottom as the others were reaching the top. And then they flipped! It was awful to see and we didn't really know what happened. We were stopped halfway up the hill yelling to them. We had to drive the rest of the way up the hill before we could jump off and help. Thankfully, both girls were okay. They were definitely in shock- one with a hurt knee the other having chest pains and a beat up arm. A few Moroccans that were around came over to ask if we needed help....with the language barrier it was almost comical. One man imitated an ambulance with the siren and all! We turned down their offers for help. Instead Cherith drove one back on the sporty quad and I drove the other girl back on the green one (rescue 2). Before we got them back to the shop, we ran into the 1st quad that had been repaired but broke again. They carved SOS in the sand as a joke! We took the two injured girls back only to find another girl already at the shop. Apparently, they had split off and then stalled the quad in some deep sand. So one left the other to walk back for help. The quad guy came out, got on Cherith's quad with her and led us back toward the dunes (rescue 3). He took us over a hill I had attempted earlier but stopped because I wasn't sure what was on the other side...and if it was the ocean we would have a 300dh fee. Instead at the top was the opening to the caves we had been going to find. If only we had known they were so close! We climbed down a narrow opening in the rocks and then it opened up to a beautiful view of the ocean! The quad guy turned into a little photographer and took somewhere a hundred photos of us on Jasmine's camera. It felt like a senior photo shoot. The quad guys continued to guide the 5 of us that remained on the three still semi working quads. They took us through some cool trails but I was freaked out after the luck the other girls had faced. I was ready for our quading adventure to be over. Cherith and I agreed later we felt we were on Baywatch...driving all over the beach rescuing people. It was pretty fun!
After checking in on the girls we were going to go kayaking but by that point we were ready to just chill on the beach. We watched a football game and climbed another rock/dune and then the sun was starting to set...the afternoon went quite fast! We went to an Italian place for dinner, walked around the town, star-gazed on the beach, and went back for another worship time and dessert! Sunday, we went to the beach again as the tide was coming in. The waves were huge! It was even more beautiful! After brunch we packed up and headed back to campus. It was really nice to get away and I am already looking forward to the next trip planned for the end of October! Exploring Morocco is a goal I have and one I am determined to fulfill!
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