"At the beginning of last summer holiday, twelve Canfordians left for a geography expedition to Morocco, not at all sure what we would find. On arriving at the airport we found out that the plane had been delayed by three hours, which was not well received, but meant there was plenty of time to check out duty free and to do a sweetie spending spree. By the time we finally arrived in Morocco - after going via Casablanca where we had to circle the airport four times -it was 2 am and with everyone shattered we went to straight to our rooms and crashed.
After making the most of our lie in and being pleasantly surprised by breakfast, we headed onto the roof top for our first briefing where we were told the layout of the town with its Mosque minaret. Following this and to gain a better idea of the city we travelled Moroccan style via horse and cart around the city where we witnessed the crazy driving of many over laden motorcycles through the narrow streets.We stopped off at a market located on a rubbish tip and a tannery where animal skins are turned into leather goods,and then had a guided tour through the souks where we learnt about the various sections and did our best not to be pounced upon by traders, who tried to impress us with their English phrases such as 'we give you ASDA price'and 'lovely jubbly'. Walking back to the hotel for dinner through the square was an interesting experience with snake charmers,water men and orange juice squeezers.
On day three we started off by looking at the rest of the old town, followed by all the new houses and complexes,before stopping off in a hypermarket where we all purchased a water gun! Unable to resist the temptation of the waterguns a huge water fight broke out on the minibus down to the Atlas Mountains.
Having returned to England, no-one was left unchanged by the whole experience. We have not forgotten the help and happiness that our visit gave to the children and are aiming to continue our bond with the school and its surrounding community in the future with regards to employing an Environmental Officer. He/she would live in the community teaching them about the importance of, and how to look after, their environment. Many of the group are hoping to go back during their gap years whilst others are continuing to fund raise and write letters to the children that they met out there. It will be great to hear from next year's party about how all the friends we made are getting on.
Charlie Chalkly-Maber & Emily Simmonds"
Extract taken from The Canfordian Autumn-Winter 2005
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