Continuing Morocco Story....

I realized I didn't finish my story about Morocco cause my eyes hurt. The main thing I wanted to blog about was our bus ride from Fez to Tangier (the port town). I think I'll just copy what I wrote in my journal...

After we had finished exploring the Medina in Fez, we took a taxi to the train station. By the time we got there we had NO money left and looked for a bank. All of the banks were closed and we were so hungry and must have appeared desperate enough that a kind shopkeeper accepted our mismash of euros and dirum coins in exchange for a pack of Spanish cookies and a liter of water. Once on the train, we found a car with two women and two men. The moved their stuff around and in the end we all fit comfortably. I drank a little water and from the looks on the other people's faces I could tell that they couldn't drink as well as aeat until sunset (because it was the holy month of Ramadan). So Chrissy and I waited to eat or drink, and just as the sun began to disappear on the horizon the whole compartment sprung to life. Immediately everyone offered their food to eachother and our simple dinner of bread and cookies turned out to be much more balanced. Well maybe not. The cute guy (lol I didn't know his name so Chrissy and I deemed him "cute guy") gave me cookies and the young girl dates. The woman offered us orange juice and some of her cake. It was an amazing experience to break fast with a wonderful group of Muslims during Ramadan.

After dinner I fell asleep and Chrissy read her book, when all of a sudden we stopped and the woman and cute guy asked us if we were going to Tangiers. We said we were and they beckoned for us to follow them. Mind you they spoke French and Arabic and us English and Spanish. Chrissy and I were surprised because we knew we weren't supposed o arrive in Tangiers until 11:15 and it was only 6:45. We blindly followed until they led us to a bench on another platform. The woman refused to take the only available seat and insisted I take it. We spent the next hour there until the train arrived and they found us all a compartment. We all settled in and talked a little. When I say talk I mean we communicated through body language, gestures and the small amount of English the woman knew. It turned out the man was in Fez on business and the woman was visiting a friend. the guy had a serious crush on Chrissy. When we asked the soman if she was married (she had a ring) she said yes and asked about Chrissy and I. When the guy heard Chrissy had a boyfriend whom she used gestures to say she love, he asked, "you love him a little or a lot?" unfortunately for him, the answer was a lot.

So when the guy got off at a stop before Tangiers, it was then that we realized the two weren't married to each other. The woman found that hysterical. When we commented (after he left) that the man was cute, she proudly replied, "Yes, but my husband is very very beautiful!"

We end dup having to change compartment sa few times, but we never knew why and couldn't get a straight answer out of the conductor. We tried to asks and the woman giggled. We notices she just obediently accepted the fact that we needed to change compartments without questions and I think she found our tenacity funny.

My journal ended here, but what happened was that when we finally arrived in Tangier (not a very safe city) at 12 midnight we still had no money, no idea where an ATM was, and no money to pay for a hostel. The prospect of sleeping in the train station was quickly becoming a reality. Just as we were exiting the station however, I spotted a small MAC and rushed to that little piece of technology overflowing with relief. After getting out some cash, the woman took us out to the curb and helped secure us a taxi. We hugged goodbye and with the help of providence we were fast asleep in less than half an hour.

The next day was a crazy trip back to Madrid, and in no way simple. Here's what I wrote in my journal...

We arrived in Tarifa (Spain) in only 40 minutes. There were 2 cabs waiting outside and they were immediately filled. So we tried to walk to the bus station. We asked directions every few minutes because we could only understand the first part of everyone's instructions. (We ended up spending 25 minutes walking in a complete circle!) When we finally arrived at the station just on time the attendant informed us he only excepted cash and we were short. The only ATM was back at the entrance to the train station!! The bus was due to arrive any second and the attendant said I'd never make it back in time. (However, if we didn't make this bus, we would miss our connecting train and not be able to return to Madrid until the next day, and subsequently miss class) I threw my luggage down and sprinted in my Jeans, and dirty donkey poop covered shoes a half mile to the MAC. I ran back, which was considerably harder and complete the whole run in under 7 minutes. Tash would be proud. As i approached the station I saw the bus had arrived and about to leave. I quickly begged the driver not to leave and ran into the ticket office, cash in hand, to find a very surprised attendant. He didn't think we would make it, but I was sure that if God had gotten us this far he would get us ont hat bus. All I need to do was run. Running is not a simple task for me.

We settled in on the bus and after a few local stops the passengers consisted of travelers under the age of 25, most backpacking. I felt as if I had finally been initiated into this secret society I have so longed admired. I could now boast, os so nonchalantly, of all the cool places I've traveled (not with family, school, or a tour). I felt cool. Really cool.

Well, after bask in in my coolness, I realized we had arrived in Sevilla one and half hours late. We had 20 minutes before our train ride home left, and we had to get from the bus depot to the train station. We caught a cab and while Chrissy worried I mused over the coolness of my backpack. We arrived with time to grab a snack and got on the train just before it pulled away. It turned out not to be just any ordinary train, but the exclusive, and expensive, AVE train. It was a very sweet ride, exactly what we needed.

the end

Where to begin!

So Rome and Florence were amazing! I only wish we could have stayed there longer. I will definitely return again with lots of time to appreciate all of the artwork. It is really difficult to travel in a group of 50 and still be able to see the art and hear what the guide is saying about it. My travel style is the exact opposite. I love to go with just one person and take my time wandering the halls of the museum's or streets. I'm definitely not a schedule type of a person, so when I have to spend my whole trip being places at exact times for an allotted amount of minutes it can be frustrating. That is why I'm so excited about my upcoming trip to Ireland! I'm going alone, which sounds depressing to many people, but exciting after always being in a 50 person group. I don't really have an itinerary as of yet, even though I leave this Friday. My plane gets into Dublin and I'll be able to travel for 5 1/2 days. For part of the time I'm going to see relatives my Mom's side of the family. My Pop Pop is looking into that right now, and I think it will definitely make my trip! Instead of just seeing the tourist side of Ireland, I'll be able to stay with a family and see their town and life. I also can't wait to hear stories about my relatives in Ireland since I know very little.

On a random note, I'm finally meeting Spaniards! Last night I went out with my friend Kristin to a salsa club in Sol. We met two nice Spaniards our age who were there with a big group of friends. The girls didn't talk to us, but that's nothing new. The guys were so funny though and I finally felt like I found kids that were similar to my guy friends at home. I hit it off with David and were going to meet tomorrow. He wants to practice his Spanish and me my English, so were going to speak Spanish the first half and English the second. I'm also hanging out with my Scottish friend Gavin tomorrow cause he wants to practice speaking Spanish, so It should be a interesting day as far as communication goes...

My parents sent my glasses so now I have no excuse for not writing! So I'll try and update more often. Hasta luego!

Roma y Firenze

I'm off to Rome and Florence with school, so I'll update and finish everything I said I would when I get back Sunday night. Ciao!

Granada & Morocco Photos

Here are 50 out of 90 photos. My internet connection went down halfway through posting them. But I'll get the rest up later!

Perdi mis Gafas

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I'm keeping up on all of the details of my travels in my journal, and I will post them soon. However I lost my glasses on the train to Granada and it is extremely difficult to read.

So at first I had written here quick synopsis, but it turned out to be quite long....

2 weeks ago I had a long weekend because it was spanish holiday. So Chrissy and I took a train to Granada right after mid-terms. I met a really nice Scottish guy who worked his way around the world and traveled for a few years before university. Of course I picked his brain about every detail because that is exactly what I want to do. He is studying in Madrid for the semester, and I actually met up with him two nights ago for drinks and we had a great time. Chrissy also met 2 girls who had been backpacking for 2 months and who were from her town and knew a lot of the same people! The world just keeps getting smaller. In Granada we hung out with girls, Rita and Susan, visited the Aluhmbra and feasted on free tapas. In our hostel, we met two nice guys from South Africa and England who reccommended we go to a small village in Chefchaouen in Morocco. As we were already planning on going to Morcoo next we decided to take his advice.

On the train to Tangiers where we would catch the ferry, we met another traveler who also reccommended Chefchoauen. With that our minds were made up. We took the ferry from Tangiers to Algeciras, then caught a taxi to the bus station. When we arrived it was mayhem. A mayhem in which we were the only female's within sight. While making our way into the station a man yelled out, "Chefchoauen! Chefchoauen!" I turned around and he indicated that the bus waiting outside was heading to the little town. He pointed to the arabic sign in the front window of the bus, and confidently announced, "See, Chefchoauen." No, I don't see, but should I take you word for it? After paying for our tickets (350 dirhum, $3.80). Once we got settled into our seats we doubled checked with the other passengers that the bus was indeed going to Chefchoauen. The tempterature, rose, and not a woman got on, and we quickly relized it would be a long ride. About 4 hours later we stopped at a restuarant for a break and dinner. It took ten minutes to make my way to the counter to get us some soup. Outside while looking for seats I ran into a nice American Kid who was with 2 other friends, they are all studying in Madrid, but were on holiday like us. We're actually hanging out with them tonight. They told us some interesting stories about being barred in a guys house in a little town they had just come from. Hmmmm, I felt all warm and fuzzy. So I asked him, "Well have you seen any other women travelers." "Uh, no, actually none."

Once we arrived in Chefchaouen and made our way to our hostel that was reccommended to us by a kid we met. The town turned to be absolutely amazing and hardly sketchy at all. We immediately collapsed into bed, for after 13 hours of travel we were exhausted. We actually slept in the next morning, and it was soooo great to get the extra sleep. In the morning we met a nice group of UVA kids who are studying in Copenhagen for the semester. We picked a time to meet for dinner then went off to explore the town. We spent the whole day wondering the streets and stopping to look at the unique crafts. We walked up the mountain next to the town and followed the path to the ruins of an old mosque. It was a bit sketch though so we made our way back down with a group of spanish kids.

The next day we took a bus to Fez, which is situated farther south in Morcco. It was an interesting bus ride. Interesting and very very hot. It wouldn't have been that bad if we had stopped for a food or bathroom break, but we went straight through for 7 hours. I met two nice kids on the bus though, Gabrielle from Canada, and Yanick from Belgium. They didn't have a hostel so they joined us in our search for ours (which the UVA kids recommended). Just about every hostel we stayed in was recommended by travelers we met. So Gabrielle, Yanick, Chrissy and I strapped on our packs and made off into fez in search of our hostel. An hour later we found it and gratefully collapsed into our beds. After a nice hot shower and brief nap, Chrissy, Gabrielle and I went out for dinner. We had a great time and relished the amazing food the owner lavished on us. As soon as we returned to the hostel I passed out and didn't wake up till 7 the next morning. Chrissy and Gabrielle stayed up talking for hours about their different culture and lives. It was a conversation I was sad to miss, but if you know me you know I LOVE my sleep.

The next day I woke up early and made my way out into the quiet streets. The difference between the morning and day was amazing. Hardly a soul was awake, for they had been up all night for Ramadan and most were sleeping in. I was able to learn my way around the area surrounding our hostel and to truly appreciate the intricacies of the city. The dirty streets I had seen the day before were now perfectly swept and small neat piles of trash dotted ally ways. A donkey passed with two huge bags resting on its back. A followed closely behind picking up the piles of rubbish and dumbing them in the bags upon the donkey.

I made my way to a small cafe and enjoyed a glass of mint tea. Mmm, mint tea is definately my favorite thing from Morocco. I struck up a conversation with an interested french man sitting at the table next to mine. It turned out that he had been traveling with his wife through Morocco by moped for two weeks. His wife had returned home to France and he was continuing on for a few more weeks. He was an amazing example of an adult that never looses his desire to travel, and money does not keep him from going anywhere. Instead, he stays in hostels and finds ways to cut costs, and as a result he travels much more than any american adult.

After my tea and people watching I made my way back to the hostel and the girls and I went out to breakfast. Afterwards we joined up with Yanick and tried to locate a guide to show us around the medina. The medina is the maze of streets that makes up the old part of Fez and it is extremely difficult to navigate alone.

My eyes are completely out of commission for now but I'll finish later...