I recently had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful country of Morocco. This was the first time I’d ever stepped foot in Africa, but it certainly won’t be my last. While I spent six days in Morocco, we really only spent two days doing anything besides sitting in an airport or on a bus. That being said, I would spend months in a bus or on a place if it meant I could do it all over again.

Let’s start with Fez. In Fez, there is a huge market called the Medina. We traveled through this area in small groups, not because it’s dangerous, but because it’s extremely easy to get lost and could have taken us hours to find each other. We visited a tannery, rug shop and pharmacy. We also visited a pottery shop, but it was technically outside of the Medina.

The thing about cities in Morocco is that they do not want to flaunt their wealth by covering their buildings in the elegant tile work that you might think of when you think of Morocco. Instead, they leave the outside as plain as possible and deck the inside with all of those beautiful tiles. This doesn’t always hold true, but it is the majority.

After spending a day in Fez, we spent a day driving out in the Sahara Desert. We arrived after sundown on the first night, which meant we missed the sunset. But that was OK, because the stars were absolutely incredible! I could clearly see the Milky Way, which is something I was not expecting. It was absolutely spectacular!

We spent two nights in the desert, which meant two incredible sunrises and an amazing day in between. We got up at 5 a.m. two days in a row to witness the awesomeness that is the sun rising over the dunes. We spent our only full day riding camels and climbing the dunes. And some of us even got to ride on motorbikes through the dunes with some of the locals.

I’ll never forget the first time I got to sleep under the stars and watch the sun rise and set in the desert. It was truly unforgettable.

My overall trip was incredible and something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I would give almost anything to see those stars and watch the sun rise over the dunes. I left a piece of myself out there, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.