Back in 2011 whilst I was still at University me and my flat mate decided to volunteer. It was something I had always wanted to do at some point in my life but never imagined it would be that soon! I REALLY would have loved to have done turtle conservation in Costa Rica or any wildlife rescue for that matter but it was way too expensive for my student budget therefore we decided on volunteering with children in Morocco through a company called 'Original Volunteers'.
Our journey took us via Madrid for a night so we tried to cram in a whole weekends worth of Madrid sightseeing into one day (and a bit of shopping obviously) but the Spanish protest or known as the 15-M Movement flooded the Puerta Del Sol square so we didn't quite get the views and atmosphere we were hoping for. Nevertheless the Spanish sun geared us up a little bit in preparation for Morocco and we tried our first Spanish omelette washed down with a desperado (well needed for a non buttered baguette and a dry omelette) whilst people watching at a cafe near the Mercado San Miguel which is one of Madrid's oldest and most renown markets.
Our next leg of the journey was straight to Morocco! We were awaited by a taxi driver holding up a Original Volunteers sign who didn't speak a word of English so without question we got in his car...
We stayed 2 weeks in a Riad in the Medina with the most amazing people who were all of similar ages which just made the experience ten times better. The whole 2 weeks involved volunteering at girls/boys/babies orphanages, street kids projects, schools and trips into the Atlas Mountains and the desert (I missed out on the desert trip as I was puking literally everywhere-cry) but the Berber trip up into the Atlas Mountains made up for all of that, it was incredible.
There were days we didn't do any visits as there are a limited amount of people that can go, therefore you don't always get chance to but that gave us time to wander around the Souks (market) which are like alleys full of treasures. I could literally have spent all the money I own in there, hands down. Instead, I haggled down these few things...
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Ignore the state of my bag, it has been with me for 4 years now and throughout my recent travels were it had one repair in Asia then completely fell apart in New Zealand. R.I.P...It still needs saving.
If you ever decide to go to Marrakesh I recommend trying the freshly squeezed orange juice on the abundance of stalls in the market square. So good. Watch out for the monkeys in nappies and the snake men though! I was pretty much forced to kiss a snakes head then pay for doing it...brilliant.
Also 'Kosy bar' is well worth going to, didn't have any food just a few drinks but if you're a massive fan of Sex and The City then they have a little shrine near the entrance from when Sarah Jessica Parker visited...
and tagine...mmm tagine.
Also 'Kosy bar' is well worth going to, didn't have any food just a few drinks but if you're a massive fan of Sex and The City then they have a little shrine near the entrance from when Sarah Jessica Parker visited...
and tagine...mmm tagine.
It was an amazing experience, maybe a little overpriced for what it was and I did expect to be going and actually helping children on the streets not in schools but non the less I wouldn't change my time there. If you are interested in reading more about the schemes Original Volunteers have on offer then I've attached a link below to their website.
http://www.originalvolunteers.co.uk/
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