Notes from Spain: Making it to Morocco
Spain and Morocco are just eight miles away from each other, making Morocco a classic spot for Spanish tourists. Ever since I decided to study abroad in Spain, Morocco has been my top destination for a weekend trip. So, this Halloween weekend, four of my friends and I decided to ditch the costumes and head to Marrakech.
On paper, our plan could not have been more perfect. We found a three-day desert tour with food, housing, tours and transportation all covered for $100 a person. It sounded too good to be true — but it almost wasn’t.
Obstacle after obstacle on our journey to Morocco nearly made me lose sight of our end destination and ruin the trip for myself.
Our Ryanair flight was out of the Malaga airport, around 2.5 hours away from where we were staying in Seville. We left our residence 45 minutes before our bus was scheduled to arrive. Little did we know, a bus strike in the city had resulted in abhorrent traffic, making us miss our bus.
“On paper, our plan could not have been more perfect.”
After stressing and deliberating on next steps, we decided that the best move would be to split an Uber to Malaga. While this definitely hurt our wallets, we had already spent so much money on flights that we figured it was a sunk cost.
We made it to the gate just in time, ready to finally relax after the hectic ride to the airport. Boarding started. Each of us scanned our passes and headed onto the plane — until my friend was stopped by a gate agent.
The flight was overbooked, and since she’d checked in last, she’d been bumped. We were in shock. After planning this trip for weeks and looking forward to it for months, getting blocked at the last moment felt like a punch in the gut. I decided to stay back with her; I didn’t want to leave her alone in the new city.
The scariness of the situation made it truly feel like Halloween.
In the hour that followed we talked to Ryanair staff, cried, called our parents, planned a hypothetical weekend in Malaga and communicated our situation with our tour company in Marrakech. We realized that this was the only weekend that would work for both of us to go to Morocco, and discussed whether we still wanted to make the trip happen.
Our tour to the Sahara Desert would leave at 7 a.m. the next morning. The next flight to Marrakech landed after that. How would we possibly meet up with our tour group in the middle of Morocco?
We went back and forth, ran through our pros and cons, and decided that we weren’t going to let Ryanair’s shady behavior stop us from having a weekend of a lifetime. We booked flights that would land the next day in the afternoon and were able to book a taxi from our tour company to meet up with our group wherever they may be.
After waking up bright and early and enjoying a delicious brunch in Malaga, we headed back to the airport, hoping the déjà vu of our earlier stress wouldn’t carry over into the boarding process. Luckily, we made it on board without any issues.
We were elated to land in Marrakech 1.5 hours later. Then, like clockwork, another hurdle: the immigration line zig-zagging across the whole room. By the time we reached the front three hours later, it was dark outside.
We finally made it past immigration, met up with our driver, Abdu, and braced ourselves for the 6 hour drive ahead. I had Abdu play some of his favorite Moroccan music so that we could really celebrate the moment. After all, we’d reached Morocco against all odds!
At 2 a.m., we reunited with our friends in their hotel room in Boumalne Dades, Morocco. With only 2 days remaining of the trip, we wanted to make the most of it.
The next two days were absolutely incredible. We drank loads of mint tea, got to see a carpet making cooperative, ate delicious pomegranate, visited the Dadès Gorges and rode camels and ATVs in the Sahara desert.
But beyond the activities and even beyond the great company, it was ultimately my mindset that let me enjoy the trip. Even though we had lost out on some time, the extra money we had spent to make sure we got to Morocco made me want to savor every moment to its fullest extent.
I want to apply this mindset, of really savoring every trip for what it is, to every excursion going forward.
So what has this taught me about study abroad travel? First off, no matter how cheap or expensive, or long or short, a trip is, try to be as present as possible. Second, check in early to your Ryanair flights!
Columnist Parishi Kanuga CM ’26 is studying abroad in Seville, Spain this semester.
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