Azrou - Amine Nahal, a 24-year-old Moroccan hitchhiker, dreams of becoming a sophisticated cosmic traveler and worldly backpacker, driven by the curiosity of uncovering life’s secrets.
Azrou – Amine Nahal, a 24-year-old Moroccan hitchhiker, dreams of becoming a sophisticated cosmic traveler and worldly backpacker, driven by the curiosity of uncovering life’s secrets.
In an interview with Morocco World News, the adventurous hitchhiker described his life and the beginning of his exceptional ventures into the wilderness. Embracing his father’s passion and curiosity of discovering how the world exactly works, Amine said, “I have naturally inherited the passion for hitchhiking from my father who taught me how to be self-confident and how to manage my daily activities away from home.”
“During my trips, I have learned a lot from the experiences of the people I encountered, and I have learned to accept being in different environments and integrating into other cultures. Amongst the greatest advantages of hitchhiking is becoming open-minded and sociable by virtue of meeting people from different walks of life and discussing various topics, especially the truck drivers who like to tell about their exciting stories and experiences,” Amine told MWN.
“I also have discovered the diversity of Moroccan nature, especially in the isolated rural areas where there are innocent and modest people. Furthermore, through my trips I have become knowledgeable about customs and traditions such as music, poetry, food, and the heritage of the regions on which I set my foot,” he added.
He shared some of the dangerous moments he has experienced during his trips. “There were obstacles to overcome; sometimes I confronted potentially fatal risks. The difficult challenge is to overcome the almost invincible hostility of nature. I still remember the time I was going from Merzouga to Rissani at night, when I plunged into the Moroccan Sahara’s darkness and seclusion and I had to cross 32 kilometers on foot. Unhappily, after I gone 18 km, I lost my water bottle and I could no longer breathe or walk.”
Amine realized that he should make safety a priority. “I pay attention to where I can put up my tent that will provide safe shelter. While I was in cities, I took shelter near a mosque because it is a holy place and no one would dare hurt me there. I also started to talk with my backpack and my clothes in order not to feel alone. Actually, generous people in rural areas invited me to stay and share my experiences with them and describe the way of life in the city as if I were a storyteller.”
Amine went on to describe how he once applied for temporary work just to make some money. “On my trip to Hoceima, I asked to work for three days at a paint workshop and as a sailor in the port of Safi. I recently became a magician performing exhibitions for people’s entertainment.”
He believes that travel is a school in which people coexist with each other, learn how to be tolerant, and immerse themselves deeply in the path of the dream they want to achieve. He says that travel helps create a strong personality that enables people to map out their futures for themselves.
Before fully immersing himself in travel, Amine graduated from L’Institut Spécialisé des Technologies Appliquées in Salé. He believes that in order to the find the true beauty of Morocco, one has to dig deep to reveal Morocco’s underground treasure.
After he has managed to visit several Moroccan areas, Amine has a burning desire to discover other civilizations: “I currently plan to tour Austria, China and Mexico.” He concluded, “I dream to awake and find that we live in a borderless world.”
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