Morocco 2010 trip report - Bergamo

View over the rooftops of Bergamo

My first real destination for the summer of 2010 was Morocco. The main reason for me to go there was the High Atlas mountains. It had also been well over ten years since my last, and first, visit to Africa so it was time to refresh the memories.

Getting to Morocco proved to be not so easy. Of course there were straight flights from Finland but they were way too expensive for me. After searching for a while I decided to combine Ryan Air and Wizzair flights and fly from Tampere to Bergamo and from Bergamo to Tangier. On the way back I'd fly from Bergamo to Katowice and from Katowice to Kiev. The total cost for all the flights was about 150e, less than the price of a round-trip ticket from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. The downside of all this was the horridly long 'flight' times. The trip from Tangier to Kiev took about 40h. In addition to this both Ryan Air and Wizzair limit the weight of the cargo baggage to 15 kg. Of course my backpack weighed around 17 kg and I had to wear two jackets plus fill all my pockets with everything I could imagine to reduce the weight - not the funniest thing to do when it's around +30 degrees Celcius outside.

My morning flight from Tampere arrived at Bergamo before noon and the weather was just as hot as I had expected. The airport that both Ryan Air and Wizzair use is some 5 km away from the center of Bergamo and a bus trip to the center cost about 2 euros. My flight to Tangier left only in the next morning so I had a full day and night to spend in Italy before getting to my final destination.

The center of Bergamo proved to be really beautiful with many old buildings and fascinating architecture. The old part of the city is located on a nice hill with astonishing views to the surrounding mountains. There would have been a funicular leading up to the hill but I decided to walk with my backpack. It was a good exercise and, well, I had the time. On the top of the hill I relaxed for a good while, taking pictures and admiring the view from the benches.

The day I spent there happened to be the national day of Italy and most of the shops were closed and my prior plans to buy cheap lemonade from a local supermarket were ruined. On the other hand I got to see some nice decorations in the city and a small concert in the center. Luckily at least pizzerias and kebab places were still open. Fast food prices were similar with Finland but the portions maybe slightly smaller. Of the two kebab places I tried I must recommend the one located right next to the train station: it was cheaper and even its 'small' kebab was big enough for me at the time.

In the evening I witnessed a magnificent sunset behind the old town and after that took a bus back to the airport. I didn't have any place to stay for the night so I tried to search for a good place at the airport. The Bergamo airport didn't offer any great sleeping spots inside so I decided to try my luck outside. Luckily the weather was nice with no ominous clouds in sight and after searching for a while I found a nice and secure bed in the grass behind some warehouse or something. In the night I heard some strange sound from the bushes nearby but never found out the source. Probably some small animal was mad at me for stealing its bed.

Sunset over the old town as seen from the railway station

Some church in the center

My 'nest' for the night