Merhaba!
Welcome! Our site features the work of our blog abroad correspondents and has everything you need to know about our study abroad programs!
Welcome! Our site features the work of our blog abroad correspondents and has everything you need to know about our study abroad programs!
At Al Akhawayn University there is an Extreme Sports Club. Extreme Sports plans outings that students can pay to go on (there is a limited number that can attend), and I got the chance to go on their trip to Merzouga. Members of the club pay a lower price than nonmembers. Extreme Sports Club plans mostly hiking trips - or at least that is what they have planned mostly this semester. For example, at the beginning of this semester they planned a medium difficulty hike in Chefchaouen that I couldn’t go on because I signed up too late. My friend has gone on two of their smaller hikes in Azrou and she really enjoyed them but said they were difficult. They typically have a couple of hiking trips a month. However, I believe they also have a skydiving event and other extreme activities like that. So this past weekend, all 40 of us AUIers left the mountain town of Ifrane at 2am to go to the Sahara. After a 10 hour drive we made it to the beautiful Sahara Garden Hotel with their gorgeous pool. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
After going on a camel trek, some of the students decided to hike up a very large sand dune to watch the sunset. Me and my friend were one of them and after a very exhausted hike we made it to the top! Watching the sunset was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life and really made me reflect on my time in Morocco. Coming from Oklahoma, I am not used to having such diversity in landscape. I had woken up in the mountains and went to sleep in the largest desert in the world. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
Here is my friend and me at the top of a sand dune with the sunset in the background. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
Here is where we stayed. They were kind of like tents but with more structure. They were very well insulated so when it was freezing at night we only felt very cold and not super cold. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
We went deeper into the sand dunes, and my friend took this picture of me. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
I have been reflecting on my experience in the desert since getting back at 1am this morning. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I am so grateful for AUI to have made it possible. However, I still have a lot of questions about my experience and how it connects to Morocco as a whole. The experience in the desert has left me with a lot of questions about tourism and its impact in Morocco. Photo credit: Curtis, 2020
