One last hello to the friends and family of Spain and Morocco 1A!
June 22, 2024
By the time you read this, many of your sweet kids will already be back under your roof, but nonetheless, we wanted to reflect on our final memories together, including our market visit, cooking class, Madrid town day, and banquet.
Thursday morning, we got some well-deserved sleep and then hopped in the van to go to the markets. Before our spending spree, our guide taught us some of the history of Marrakech. We learned much about the water in Marrakech, which flows from the Atlas Mountains where we hiked Toubkal. He then took us to a herbal market where we learned about many Moroccan spices and oils (yes, like the famous Moroccan Oil brand that comes in the blue bottle). A favorite purchase among the group was a seasoning blend for meats that we had been eating with many of our meals as well as mini tajine lip stains. Finally, with much anticipation, we headed to the markets.
The markets boasted booths upon booths of fresh mint, olives, and fresh orange juice (which was a staple during our time in Morocco), as well as beautiful rugs, embroidered pillows and bags, ornate game boards, and colorful printed pottery. We created a buddy system within our group pairing one boy and one girl together as an extra level of accountability in the busy market. Everyone wanted to be with Philip because of his witty bargaining and business skills; nonetheless, it was so fun to see everyone put their bargaining skills to the test. Hilliard and Juliette immediately went to find Hermes dupes while Preston hunted for an ornament. Preston after discovering Christmas trees aren’t overly popular in Morocco (however, I will say I was also shocked by the lack of ornaments) resorted to a new quest: to find a ukulele. After some persuasive bargaining, he walked away with a “ukulele.” We later found out from our riad host, Mohamed, that his ukulele is actually a bouzouki, which is very similar to a ukulele but more common in Morocco. Philip and C.C. walked away with unique marble chess boards. Hayes got spice dishes similar to what we had been served spices from during our time in Morocco. Lauren and Nikhil both got t-shirts featuring famous sites from Morocco — Casablanca and, nevertheless, the Hard Rock Cafe (this choice of shirt made us all giggle). Mills and Katie Hayes were quite the dynamic duo navigating the market, bargaining numerous 2-for-1 deals. Everyone walked away with someone to take home to family and friends, as well as personal souvenirs to commemorate their travels!
After returning to our riad, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon by the pool, jamming out to the speaker, playing numerous ping pong tournaments, laying in Preston’s hammock, and even playing mermaids. Our afternoon of free time was the perfect way to wind down and really soak in our last non-travel day together. Later, we gathered around a big table by the pool for our cooking class, where we learned to make the famous pita bread we’d been eating every morning at breakfast, and everyone took turns kneading the massive amount of dough. We also made the most delicious meatballs and red sauce. We ate our body weight in pita and sweet honey, but later at dinner, when meatballs were brought out, suddenly our stomachs made room for more. Judson was a fan — we can always count on Judson to finish off anything that might be leftover. Between the cooking class and dinner, Evie played endlessly with Mohamed’s adorable daughter. She placed her little feet inside Preston’s size 13 On Clouds and started attempting to walk around — it was precious. The rest of the crew sat around the table decorating the bouzouki/ukulele. Mohamed offered to write Moondance on the instrument in Arabic, and we learned that Arabic is actually read right to left instead of left to right.
After dinner, we circled up around the pool for one of our last Moonups together. Will read an inspiring poem challenging each of us to “rock out” and make the most of each day like it’s our last. It was an inspiring poem leading us into our last day together even though it was mostly a travel day back to Spain.
Friday, we rose early and headed to the Marrakech airport to catch our flight back to Spain. After our crew started yet another plane clap when we landed in Madrid, we headed off onto the Metro to our hostel in the Madrid city center. It truly was a planes, trains, and automobiles kind of day. Earlier in our trip, we had been talking about how much fun a pool table would be, and lo and behold, our hostel common room has a pool table! We showered and played pool, then hit the town, exploring Spain’s capital city. We walked to Sol and Plaza Mayor, two of Madrid’s most famous squares. Then, after many requests, we had Mexican for dinner! Everyone was very very excited for chips and queso. It was banquet night, so of course, we were going to have a series of desserts. We headed to the famous Chocolatería San Ginés, which has been open since 1894. In historic European cities like Madrid, restaurants this old don’t often have tables for 14 people, but we finally found one and enjoyed ice cream and warm churros together. It was delicious! The churros + chocolate or strawberry + cream ice creams were the fan favorites. We walked off our feast, continuing to explore the streets of Madrid, collecting some souvenirs along the way. For our final Moonup, we walked to the Royal Palace. When we arrived, there were quite a few people gathered, and there was a big projection letting us know some sort of production was starting in the next 3 minutes. Soon a spectacular video production was being projected on the side of the Royal Palace. Colors danced across the columns, and the narrated explained the history of Felipe VI, the King of Spain. We couldn’t believe the timing and that we had just stumbled into such a cool experience.
We circled up in front of the palace for the final Moonup. Each of us took turns giving “nugs” to one another. It filled our hearts to share what we have loved and learned about one another over the last two weeks in our many adventures.
Spain + Morocco 1A it has been an absolute pleasure being your leaders. You are joyful, kind, courageous, silly, and uniquely you. Thank you for trusting us and buying into this crazy adventure where you travel the world with strangers. I’m happy to say after each high and low we are walking away as a family.
That’s love,
SC and Will
Summiting Toubkal!
June 20, 2024
Hello again, parents and friends of Spain and Morocco 1A!
I’ll cut to the chase: Everyone made it to the summit of Toubkal (the highest mountain in Northern Africa, standing at 13,671 ft)!!!!!! WE ARE SO PROUD!
Last you heard from us, we were on our way to the hotel to then go to the airport in Madrid. When we arrived in Madrid, everyone checked into our lovely hotel rooms and then we walked to the main plaza in Barajas. We ate tapas outside around the square and then got some ice cream and cookies for dessert. Nikhil wanted to try something new and got a 5-layer lollipop that was sour, then sweet, then filled with gum. Everyone was laughing at Moonup because his mouth was so blue. We headed back to the hotel where we ran into the other Spain and Morocco Moondance group, and they gifted us some pizzas as a snack. This crew LOVES to eat! During Moonup, CC was selected as the first person to be LOD for a second time due to her constant joy she radiates within the group. We went to bed eagerly looking forward to our Moroccan adventures ahead.
The next day, we headed to the airport for our flight to Morocco. Everything went off without a hitch except for our peanut butter, which was confiscated by security. We arrived in Morocco and transferred to Imlil, often referred to as the “gateway to the Atlas Mountains.” We arrived at our riad and were so psyched. The terrace and bedrooms were decorated with traditional, colorful Moroccan rugs and pillows. It overlooked the Atlas Mountains, and we could see Toubkal in the distance. We immediately had tea time where our guide Eunice taught us how to properly pour the famous Moroccan mint tea. After tea time, we were served a spread of potentially the best food of our trip: tuna salad, fresh bread, chicken kebabs, and Moroccan spice blends. We FEASTED and basked in the warm sun. It was the perfect chill afternoon to prepare for our hiking days ahead!
Monday morning, after a plentiful breakfast with numerous beverages (tea, water, coffee, hot chocolate, fresh squeezed orange juice), we began our hike up to Toubkal Base Camp. After 8 miles steadily uphill, we were beat. However, this group showed tremendous growth and how we truly are a family. After Phillip’s suggestion, Preston rallied some of the other boys to help carry some of the packs. Hayes, Phillip, Judson, Preston, and Nikhil rocked two packs for the last two miles and encouraged everyone the entire way. Katie Hayes (Kayes) continued her endless trail talk. Preston endlessly chanted repeat-after-me war chants to keep the group motivated. Around halfway, Nikhil indulged in some fresh squeezed orange juice from one of the mountain huts. It was a tough day, but I knew after we completed this day, this group would have no problem summitting.
Tuesday was summit day!!! We woke up early and hit the trail. It was steep, extremely windy, and rocky. Each step we relied on our trekking poles to keep us balanced, but with each step, we were closer to our goal. The trail curved and we could see fellow hikers in the distance making the final stretch to the peak. As the hikers ahead got smaller, we were encouraged knowing we were gaining on them. After 6 hours uphill the day before, only 3 hours felt like a breeze. We reached our long rest stop before our final push and were in awe of the mountains for miles. After refueling with a quick snack, Will turned on the speaker, pumping everyone up. With the peak finally in view and tunes filling our ears and spirits, we climbed the last hundred or so meters. When we reached the top, joy lit up everyone’s faces. The wind had subsided and the views were spectacular. We could see the town of Imlil, where we started our journey, down below, and Eunice pointed out the other 4000-meter peaks around us. We gathered for our group photo, waving the Moondance flag proudly with smiles all around. Everyone reveled in their accomplishment in their own ways. Evie and CC took a moment of quiet together, many of the boys kicked back on rocks basking in the views, Phillip perched on a rock getting all the angles on his GoPro, and Hilliard and Lauren blew their candy whistles at the top in celebration. Will and I cannot express how proud we are of this group’s resilience and support for one another!
Our descent down from Toubkal was met gladly after a day and a half of only uphill. Mills, Evie, Katie Hayes, and I discussed our favorite childhood movies, determining that iCarly takes the cake. We made it down by early afternoon and propped our feet up on the terrace, chatting and playing Empire with Toubkal as the backdrop. Lauren, our gracious Empire host, laughed at the horrendous spelling of our characters and Judson’s constant need to clarify who his character was. At moonup, our summit LODs Katie Hayes and Phillip left us with a thoughtful question about the biggest decision we have ever made that has impacted our lives. Sitting at the base of Toubkal, all our decisions felt a little bit smaller, and we were reminded that we can overcome seemingly huge challenges.
Wednesday morning, we hiked down from base camp, thinking wistfully about our relaxing days ahead at our riad in Marrakech. Juliette and Hilliard chatted for easily 6 of the 8 miles about all things pop culture. Katie Hayes and Phillip attempted to solve Will’s riddle. Hayes kept the group on pace, always near the front and being a steady presence. We gratefully loaded into the vans and a couple of hours later, we arrived at our riad in Marrakech and immediately changed into our swimsuits for a pool extravaganza! Despite a long 3 days, this crew had seemingly endless energy for pool games and lots of dinner time chatter. We played hours of Marco Polo, and Preston and Judson somehow managed to get so close splashing and taunting “Marco,” yet rarely got caught. We did moonup around the pool led by Mills and Hayes. It feels like we are in our own little palace here!
Updates to come about our market experiences and cooking class in Morocco as well as our final night together in Madrid. Each member of the group has a little shoutout and love they’ve sent below!
Lauren: Hi Mom, Hi dad!!! this trip has been so fun! I have made a lot of great friends! I’m bringing home a lot of stuff from Spain!
Mills: Hi family!!! This trip has been amazing and I can’t wait to see you soon and tell you all about it. I hope you are doing well. We just submitted Toubkal which was beautiful and I know you would love it. Dad, happy late Father’s Day and I hope you told Hardin goodbye for me while he is at camp. I miss you all and love you so much. I am so grateful for this experience.
Hilliard: Hi mom and dad!! my trip has been so fun and I’ve made so many great friends! The hikes, although not very fun, have been so worth it in the end; every view has been so pretty! I am so excited to see y’all and loulie and cannon when I get home, I miss you all so much
Juliette: Hey mom, dad, and Bao. Spain and Morocco have been so amazing. My group is great and we’ve been having so much fun. The hiking has been very difficult but it’s been so beautiful and rewarding. I can’t wait to tell you guys all the stories when I get home. I love and miss you all so much.
Philip: Hi Mom dad and Wes, the trip has been incredible. My group is awesome, the hiking has been really cool, and the views are better than anything that I have ever imagined. Thank you so so much for everything. I miss you all, I can’t wait to get back and show all of you the photos that I have taken while I have been here!
Preston; Hey mom! The trip is awesome, Can’t wait to see you and chase when I get home. Hayes and I have gotten some great photos. My group is really fun and I can’t wait to tell you all the stories of this trip, also I have unfortunately ran out of money as Moroccan Duran had run me broke anyways love you!!
C.C.: Hey Mom, dad, hud and everyone else. Spain and Morocco has been absolutely amazing. I have falling in love with so many things here and am so happy to be here. Everything is so amazing and the food and views are unbelievable. I miss y’all so so much. I wanted to thank you for this great trip I’m on with people I have made so many good relationships with. I’m so grateful to be here and am really thankful. I have been getting lots of good photos and can’t wait to show y’all when I get back! Even though I have been struggling on some of the hikes because they are hard, I never gave up and always thought of y’all. Can’t wait to see y’all when I got back! Love and miss y’all so so much.
Evie: hey mom!! this trip is incredible!! I have been having a blast hiking, canyoneering,
surfing, trekking, and enjoying the group. I currently am on the bus back from mount toubkal…. It was insane but I am definitely exhausted! the next two days are more chill. We are heading to Mohamed’s house to relax and then we go to the market tomorrow! I hope to get some stuff (although I lost my wallet). i have now had enough bread for the rest of my but the food is so so yummy. I can’t wait to tell you more and to show you the photos!! Give the family my love. I miss and love you so much and will see you in a few days!!
Katie Hayes: Hi mom! I’ve been having so much fun on my trip! I have lots of fun pictures and some European sunscreen (make sure to tell Ms. Emmie). Climbing Mt. Toubkal was so insanely cool! We are going to the market tomorrow and I’ll make sure to bring cool stuff back. I can’t wait to tell you all about my trip when I get home! I love you so much and make sure to say hi to Hank and Franklin for me! I miss you and the puppies but don’t worry I’m having a great time!!
Judson: Hi mom and dad this trip has been great so far my group just finished hiking mount Toubkal after three days and now we are headed to the markets for the next two days. Canyoneering and hiking the Picos were both amazing experiences but y’all would have both loved the view of Africa from the top of mount Toubkal. I miss y’all so much and I can’t wait to tell y’all more about it in a few days.
Hayes: hi mom and dad this trip has been so much fun dad I hope that you had the best birthday/fathers day I hope that mom let you go to the beach I’ll make sure to get you and mom both a suvienear from the market so far we have hiked that Picos and Mt Toubkal witch was definitely something that I think both of y’all would have enjoyed today is Wednesday on week two I’m very excited to see y’all both when I get back on Saturday and am so excited for the end of this trip.
Nikhil: Hey mom and dad! Trip has been incredible, view from the top of tube-cal was stunning. I will be sure to bring back a souvenir from the markets of Morocco. Hope you guys had a great Father’s Day and I miss you!
¡HOLA! from Spain!!
June 15, 2024
Parents and friends of Spain and Morocco 1A, ¡HOLA! Upon a safe arrival in Madrid Monday morning, this group connected quickly and were practically best friends by the time they landed. During our car ride north to Picos de Europa, conversation flowed easily until everyone fell asleep to catch up on rest. When they awoke from their naps, we were pulling into the national park, and the views had us all in awe. THE MOUNTAINS ARE UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Northern Spain gets quite a bit of rain, which lends to stunning green grass covering the mountains. Poppies were blooming on the drive up, and yellow flowers were spread across the mountainside. Our first hostel was situated in a small mountain town alongside a river. We went on a mini hike and discovered caves. The boys became obsessed with the caves. Our guides later told us some of the caves are deeper than the mountains are tall! Preston was determined to skip rocks on the river, so during our exploration, we went down to a river bank and skipped rocks until dinner time. At dinner, we had lots of comfort food, including homemade pasta. We wrapped up our first day together with Moonup by the river underneath a beautiful sunset!
On our first day of trekking, we trekked a very famous route through the Cares Gorge. The trail let us walk among mountains over 2,000 meters tall, along the imposing ravine carved out by the river Cares, and we passed through at least 30 tunnels carved into the rock. We were grateful for a relatively flat trek after the travel day yesterday, and our vibes could not have been higher. At our lunch stop, we turned on the speaker and enjoyed the views and our food while we listened to the music. However, as soon as “Uptown Girl” played, Evie asked me (Sarah Catherine) if I wanted to dance. Will jumped in, and soon enough, most of the group was dancing and laughing! We are planning to have swing dance lessons later in the trip! We finished our hike in Sotres, the highest mountain town in Picos de Europa. It was only mid-afternoon, so this group capitalized on our free time and started a spike ball tournament on the only flat ground we could find in the entire town. Philip is the Spikeball king, and Juliette held her own in the tournament by hitting the Spikeball like a volleyball. Right as the fog set in, it was dinner time, and we were treated to a spread of traditional Spanish cuisine at a local restaurant. Our first official Leaders of the Day (LODs), Moondance Veterans Nikhil and Mills, did a wonderful job setting the tone for our session at Moonup and encouraged everyone for our more difficult hike the next day.
Wednesday, we walked right out of our hostel and continued our trek through the mountains carved by glaciers. We passed cows, horses, and donkeys — many were friendly enough to let us say hello! We stopped at a stream with cold water that had run down from the top of the mountain and dunked our faces in. The sun was out, the vibes were high, and we were loving life! Our hotel is by far the coolest hotel I’ve ever stayed in, with mountain views for miles. Despite a long day of hiking, we had to continue exploring and took a mini hike to explore the nearby mines. For dinner, we ate at the hotel. This group is full of good eaters who eat everything from squid to lentil soup! Even the guides were impressed when everyone didn’t order chicken. That night at Moonup, our conversation turned deeper, and Katie Hayes was selected as LOD for her never-ending trail talk and Hilliard for his ability to “light up every room he walks into.”
The next morning, we rose promptly and ate a big breakfast for our most challenging day yet. We planned to summit Horcados Rojos, but it was weather-dependent. We lucked out with full sunshine, perfect temperatures, and amazing attitudes. CC and I sang songs much of the way while Judson, Preston, and Hayes initiated snowball fights as we neared the top. After a stretch of scrambling, everyone soaked up the views from the summit, eating their sandwiches and looking over the ridge at the ocean we would be surfing tomorrow. The guides called Nikhil a mountain goat due to his ability to scramble up and down the mountain! Instead of trekking all the way down, we got to take a cable car as part of the descent. We ended our night in the surfing town of Llanes, excited for some beach time and rest for our legs.
Yesterday was a beach day! At our apartments at the base of the mountain range near the beach, we cooked breakfast all together. Our LODs Hayes and Lauren led the charge, cooking the eggs and bacon, and Hilliard took his post at the toaster. With fuel for the day, we headed to the beach for our first surfing lesson. The waves were quite small, but we took the opportunity to explore the caves nearby. After lunch and exploring Llanes, we ventured to a secluded beach down the side of a cliff that was STUNNING. We felt like we were in our own secret spot, and the waves were MASSIVE. I think Mills and Philip won for most waves caught by themselves, but everyone gets an A+ for effort. We were salty, sandy, and exhausted from the waves, but everyone had the biggest smiles. It was a perfect day!
Today, our LODs Judson and Juliette led the crew in making breakfast, and Katie Hayes cut us a juicy pineapple she had picked out at the grocery store. We then went canyoneering, which was unanimously one of the trip’s highlights thus far! We jumped, swam, and slid down the river. Mills and Lauren had us laughing the entire time — they could not stay on their feet. Afterward, we were all talking about how awesome our guides were — they obviously loved their jobs, which made the activity even more fun!
As I write this trip update driving back to Madrid for our mid-trip flight to Morocco, the entire van is quizzing each other on fast facts about themselves (eye color, pet names, favorite artists, etc). It makes me smile thinking about how close this crew has gotten in just 6 short days! Picos de Europa, SPM 1A loves you, and see you soon, Morocco!
Arrival Update
June 11, 2024
Hi Spain and Morocco Families!
Everyone has landed safely in Madrid and the group is well on their way to their first activities. The trip is off to a wonderful start and we cannot wait to share more about their adventure.
-Moondance HQ
