Tangiers, Morocco \ May 7 & 8

Well, the ferry ride was fantastic.  I love transportation; really I do, and there is nothing better than a ferry ride especially when it takes you to another country. Nothing out of the ordinary but just knowing you are leaving Europe and about to step foot on the continent of Africa is quite the experience.   The ferry from Tarifa to Tangiers is very classy and cost 38 Euros (a bit pricy for a 30 minute ride).  Once on board you can grab a coffee or a snack and wait in line to get your passport stamped…very cool!

 I had read in quite a few places that you are inundated with touts and chaos as soon as you step foot off the ferry in Tangiers.  To our great surprise Tangiers was totally chill and laid back.  Only had a couple taxi drivers tried to give us a ride and offer us hotels.  Told them we already had a place and even gave then the name of a resort I had seen in a guidebook.  Several drivers told us that our hotel was shut down.  I assumed they were saying the hotel was closed in order to get us somewhere else; the ‘your hotel is closed, stay at my friends hotel’ is a tried and true taxi driver technique.  As it turns out that hotel was shut down and everyone was just trying to help us out.  In the month to come we would learn that many of the usual rip off trips just don’t happen in Morocco.  Oh, those crazy honest Moroccans.

We walked ourselves out into the kind, mellow streets of Tangiers on the hunt for a hotel.    It didn’t take us long to wander close to our first Moroccan medina (the ancient walled city that most of the action is in any Moroccan city or town).  Our hassle free wanderings lead us quickly to a clean, comfortable and centrally located hotel called Hotel Miami…and cheap to boot.  We dropped our bags and headed out to get lost in our first medina. 

My first medina, like many travelers, is in Tangiers.  Medinas are the old quarter of a city in Northern Africa.  Tangiers medina, like all medinas, is a maze of small roads, alleys and walkways lined with simply shops and homes.  We learned quickly that the action in Moroccan cities is within the walls of the medina.  Wandering around a good souq (covered market streets) while trying to find the Kasbah or mosque are just some of the good times to be had in the medina. We had a list of places we hoped to check out but spent most of our time lost within the walls of the medina, which by the way is part of the fun of travelling in Morocco.  Tangiers medina is a tangle of alleys on a hillside and we did manage in out lost state to find a killer view of the city with the ocean in the background. 

Food and Morocco go hand in hand.  No matter how picky you are Morocco is a culinary delight.  If you are coming over to Tangiers for a quick visit from Europe and want to dine an as many Moroccan delicacies as possible then hit up Hamadi in the medina.  It is designed for tourists but the food is top notch and the entertainment is well worth getting your ‘touristy’ on.  We dined on kebabs, harira, pastilla, and mezze while dancers contorted around us. 

Now, you always hear the most about the happenings in the medina but the Ville Nouvelle (new city) has heaps to offer.  The Ville Nouvelle in many cities is like jumping forward several hundred years.   In the bigger cites like Marrakesh, Casablanca, Fez and of course Tangiers the Nouvelle is a fantastic place to chill out with the ‘suite and ties’ over a mint tea and watch the modern world blend with the old world. 

There are literally hundreds of cafes to choose from in Tangiers but one stands out as a must go spot.  Café de Paris is like stepping back in time; in fact, it has been around since 1927.  The dim lighting, dark wood, and smoky atmosphere draw businessmen, tourists, and the old world Moroccan men.  The mint tea comes in a tall glass half full of mint leaves and is served on a silver cup tray but a tuxedo-wearing waiter. This watering hole is often full but it is worth waiting for a table to open in order to spend an hour or two taking it all in while you wait for your ‘Bogart’ to walk through the door.   

I am quite use to spending the better part of a day parquring bus or train tickets even in Europe.  I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to walk into the CTM station (CTM is the best and most reliable bus company in Morocco) and buy tickets.  We walked in, didn’t wait in a line, asked for tickets to Chefchaouen, and got them.  It was a new phenomenon to me.  By the way, the bus and train system in Morocco rocks.  The USA should send someone from the FAA, Amtrak, and Greyhound over to get schooled!

More photos:

Tarifa, Spain \ May 5 & 6

TARIFA, SPAIN

(quick note: finally in a spot where I can start posting blogs again...rest of the trip coming soon!)

Took a three-hour bus down the coast from Torrmosolis to Tarifa today.  What a view; at least the last hour or so of the ride.  The coast down to Tarifa is quite hilly and because of the high winds there are new windmills peppering the hillsides. Really makes for a spectacular view to see these huge windmills spinning away with the ocean in the forefront.  Very cool!  Wish our driver could have stopped along the way so I could take pictures.

Tarifa is a windsurfer’s paradise.  The wind blows wild in Tarifa most of the year to the delight of the avid windsurfing community.  I absolutely hate, hate, hate wind!  That said I am so thrilled that we spent a couple days in Tarifa.   Granted we had to roll through to catch the ferry to Tangiers anyway but…

 There are heaps of adorable little shops with what looks like one of a kind jewelry, and just as many clothing boutiques that could have kept me satisfied for days.

Did I mention the hip little coffee shops around town as well?  I do loves me a good coffee.We stayed at Correos Hostel right next to the church.  The hostel is housed in an old, multilevel-whitewashed building.  The doors are all painted a vivid blue, which makes for a great contrast against the whitewashed walls.  The room was huge; actually it was three rooms and a bathroom.  I rarely take photos of the places I stay, especially since I am a budget girl, most of the places I stay are forgettable, but I did snap a few of this place.  There is one downside to the Correos Hostel and it is not the staff, which is a super friendly family, but the church bell rings as it pleases.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the chime. 

All the streets here are whitewashed and as usual they are a maze to wander, which I love.  One of the cheapest meals we have had it Spain was in Tarifa and what is funny it was about one of the best.  I don’t even remember the name of the place but it was just a simple pizza joint.  We ended up there for the mere fact that some soccer game was on and everywhere was packed out, well everywhere with a TV anyway.   The pizza joint was the only place around without a crazed crowd of men screaming inside.  It was greasy, New York style, Pizza to die for.  And did I mention it was cheap!

I would highly recommend Tarifa for anyone coming to Spain for more than a couple weeks.  Beautiful beaches, great shopping, tasty grub, and chilled out atmosphere.

Left for Morocco on the 1pm ferry.  Actually considering it is only a 30-minute ferry ride the cost of 37 Euros is quite steep.   Off to Morocco soon.  Adios amigos!

More photos of Tarifa

Torremolinos, Spain \ May 2,3,4

May 2
First thing I noticed right off the train was that the temperature has gone up by a good 20 degree and this made me a very happy girl. Spain is not a big country but the climate from North to South is so dramatically different. I had been cold for so long now that torremolinos has made a very good first impression on me just with the temperature alone.

Torremolinos is a suburb of Malaga really but it doesn’t feel like it is attached to a largish city. There is a defined beachfront, resort town feel here. Cortney is out for the count but Nathan and I head off in search of just what this little town has to offer and for some well deserved grub.

Food is not going to be a problem here, there is a café or restaurant on ever corner. I can already see that the English pounce on this place in the Summer. Every other menu I see raves of it’s Full English Breakfast (sausage, eggs, toast, tomato, and baked beans). Sounds great for my heart and waistline. Nathan and I were a bit worried we wouldn’t find food as it was three or four in the afternoon and we have learned by now that all of Spain shuts down between 2-5 to catch up on sleep. In Torremolinos the tourists rules and we found plenty to eat. Nathan dined on fried fish surprise and I ate whatever.

After a tasty meal and some wine we decided to wiggle our way down to the beach which stretches on forever. Torremolinos is on a hill so down is always to the beach (unfortunatley that mean up is always back to your hotel). Like I said there is more than enough dinning options here as well as shopping. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the shopping as I live out of a backpack at the moment and have to save ever penny but it looked like good times for someone down for a week of beaching. I can see Torremolinos as one of those places where you play on the beach for hours, eat, nap, shop and then hit the beach again.

The main boardwalk stretches on for miles and is lined with shops and food, all a girl could want. The news stands have newspapers from all over. I was very excited to pick up the International Edition on the New York Times. Cortney will be happy with all the English tabloid mags too.

May 3 & 4
I am going to call this one day as it would appear I cannot distinguish between the two days. That, my friends is very sad indeed. We arrived in Torremolinos just a handful of days ago as well. Me poor mind is going I do believe.

Today was beach day for us. Cortney is finally feeling better, not 100% yet but ready to recoup at the beach. Grabbed our books and made a beeline for the beach. Before making the big decision on a location to park our bodies for the day we ate. Surprise. Just about every beach front restaurant has a whole set up of beach chairs with umbrellas. I am not a sun bunny by any means so we decided this was a perfect option, if they don’t charge an arm and a leg for the pleasure of a cozy spot. 4 Euros for the day works for me. We picked a joint that also had king sized beds on the beach. The beds where 40 Euro a day but if you are having drinks you can hang out on them for an hour or two.

Very little happens now. Read, have a glass of wine and watch people fry their skin. Just about everyone on the beach must be out getting there first sun of the year. Don’t think I have ever seem some much pasty white in my life. Within a few hours those same pasty white bodies were a nice pink color…a couple more hours and we can feast. I really wanted to wander the beach with my sunscreen and help folks out.

(I fell terrible about it but I did take unnecessary photos of some interesting sunbathing characters out there on the beach. Believe me the tabloids wouldn’t touch these photos with a ten foot pole.)

Travel Day: Santiago de Compestela to Malaga \ May 1

Our train isn’t until 10pm and Cortney has nasty case of food poisoning. As seems to often be the case on Fridays in Spain it was a holiday, Labor Day I do believe and we were unable to keep our room as the entire pension was booked out. Thankfully the owner walked me over to a friends pension where he thought there might be a room.

There was a single for only 16 Euros and I grabbed it. It look quite a while as the little, old lady who owns the place can barely get up the stairs and has almost completely lost her hearing. Very cute and very fantastic that Cort can sleep away the day until our train….if she can even get on it.

After moving Cortney to her new digs’ Nathan and I had an entire day to kill. Don’t get me wrong, Santiago is a beautiful city with lots to do but it was a holiday and only restaurants were open. In the end Nate and I chilled out and several different cafes moving between coffees and wine. Not a hard way to kill a day really.

Cortney decided she could do the train thing which was a nine hour overnight train to Madrid before changing stations and jumping on another three hour high speed train to Malaga. The 1km walk almost killed poor Cort but she pulled it off. The train had sleepers (not for us unfortunately) and tourist or second class. Not a full train so tourist class worked out fine.

Jumped off train number one and had to get onto a local train to get us to Atocha Station where our train to Malaga departs from. Easy as pie except for the fact that Cort is still battling a nasty bug in her body. A ten minute train ride and an hour wait later (over coffee of course) we where in our cozy first class seats off to the sunny beaches along the coast of Spain. Only a few of us on the train to Malaga as well. Nothing wrong with Tourist Class but a First Class ride every now and again hit’s the spot.

Malaga is a decent size city (600,000) that sits on the coast of Spain. The beloved Picasso is from Malaga and he has a museum in the city. It had been a tough decision but we decided to stay in Torremolinos just south of Malaga instead of in the city itself.

OK. So we are on train number three now (train to Madrid, local across town, high speed to Malaga). Just one more train and we are there. Another local train down to Torremolinos. Even at the train station in Malaga you can tell we are in tourist central. The ticket machines cover all the major languages and you can hear the buzz of different accents in the air. All the sunburn bodies was a bit of a giveaway as well.

This last train was buzzing with activity. Travelers with there suitcases, backpackers navigating their packs around people, English retirees, and sun baked 20 something English girls with sunburns and very few clothes. We kicked back and enjoyed the activity especially the just over middle aged drunk Spanish ladies out for a mid-day booze fest in Malaga.

Found our hostel with trouble and put Cort to bed at last. It is now May 2.

Camino de Santiago \ April 24, 25

LEON
April 24 & 25 (no KM)
Arrived in Leon, by bus, around 4ish in the afternoon. Not far into the part of town we wanted to stay in so we walked it. Leon is one happening town. It is about the same size as Burgos but has the heartbeat of a much bigger city. Pretty sure we will be able to find anything we want here….including an iPod charger (ended up getting shipped to Santiago de Compostela).

Left Nathan at a bar to watch the bags and Cort and I headed off to find accommodation. Turns out that there are several weddings in the area over the weekend and we are out of luck on getting a room. Wandered around looking long enough for Nathan to kick back a couple beers. Finally found a hostel a bit off the main drag but more than suitable for our meager means.

Like I said this is one pumping little town 150,000) . We did find an iPod charges (yippiee) and could have shopped for days. The Cathedral here lived up to the hype it gets in travel guides. We spent most of our time wandering about checking out the beautiful buildings and mingling with the weekend crowds.

Did manage to book our final train ticket. It is over a holiday week and in the end we have to do the long leg of it...from Santiago de Compastela to Madrid (9 hours) in 2nd class then change trains to Malaga down in Southern Spain. As we left the train station in search of chocolate we saw a man who had just been hit by a car. The ambulance finally got there, still wonder if he is ok. Didn’t look good.

On a brighter note, we found our chocolate. In Spain they are into their chocolate.

Camino de Santiago: Rabe de las Calzadas to Carrion de los Condes \ April 21,22,23

From Rabe de las Calzadas to Castrojeriz April 21

Day 2 on the Camino (28.5KM)

Towns: Rabe de las Calzadas, Hormillos del Camino, Hontanas, Castrojeriz)

Stayed at Camping “Camino de Santiago” (had a house to ourselves)

Woke today at around 7am, still dark. Found out that the time changes by two hours in Spain for Daylight Savings which means waking in the dark. Hit the road, er Camino, with the sun just wakeing. It was chilly and misty out. Very cool for a couple gals who read horror movies into everything. The village was just as asleep at 7am as it was the night before.

It actually felt great to put our packs on and start walking. We ended up walking almost 30 km by the days end. The trail from Rabe de Calzadas to Castrajeriz was basically deserted except for a smattering of Pilgrims. It is only day two and we keep meeting up with the same small groups (ones, twos and threes) of pilgrims. It looks like there is only about five sets of us on this bit of the Camino. The folks on bikes are always seeing new faces as they move on so quickly.

The greeting on the Camino de Santiago is “Bueno Camino” or “Good Camino”. You hear it almost every time you pass by someone, whether they be a Pilgrim or a local. Just a quick mention of those living along the Camino. It amazes me that they are all so friendly to us (smelly, hungry, tied) Pilgrims. It would seem that we would get on their nerves, especially when it picks up in the summer, but no, everyone is exceptionally kind and go out of their way to make you feel important.

Today we seriously tested our walking. Our packs are a bit bigger than most others for the mere fact that we are going on after this journey. Because of this simple fact, our packs start out weighing a couple pounds more than those just here for the Camino. We also don’t have super sleek, super expensive sleeping bags. We have bulky cheap blankets instead. Figure we can give them to a homeless folk at a train station after the walk.

From Castrojeriz to Bodilla del Camino

April 22 \ Day 3 on the Camino (18.9KM)

Towns: Castrojeriz, Itero de la Vegas, Bodilla del Camino)

We had a fantastic nights sleep. With the economy like it is and less than half the usual pilgrims we ended up with an entire house to ourselves…yes, a living room and all. Grabbed a bottle of wine and settled in for a bit of Texas Hold em’. Little Man Nate taught us and Cort and I cleaned the floor with him. It was good fun.

It would appear that 30km did us in as I had a nice big blister and all of us were quite the gimps. I heated the end of a needle and sewed a piece of thread through my blister (leaving a bit of the tread in the blister to drain it). By the am our bodies were healed and my blister was no more. Time to hit the road.

As it turns out we slept in until 9:30, which is crazy late on the Camino. Typically someone wakes you by 6ish to be on the road no later than 8am. I must say we got the best nights sleep ever. Nice and cool in the room and so ridiculously quite. It was fantastic.

Any who when we finally made it to the reception, bar area the owner said Buenas tardes to us, meaning good afternoon. He was giving us crap for getting up so late. I figure we might as well take advantage of the chance to sleep in. I have a strange feeling it won’t happen often on the Camino.

We ended up hitting a road block of sheep today. I bet farmers think it bizarre that tourists grab for the camera when they see sheep in the road. We did stop for coffee is some itty bitty town and ran into everyone we have seem along the Camino. They all stopped for the night but we were tough and carried on another 8km to Boadilla del Camino and stayed at a beautiful private pilgrims hostel. This beauty had a fantastic common outdoor area with a small pool (not warm enough yet) and the staff was super friendly. We ate olives, bread, cheese, and ham along with two bottles of vino. Played Texas Holdin’ and chatted with the staff.

At these Pilgrims Hostels they turn out the lights at like 9:30pm (these places do only cost 5 Euro). Everyone, I am talkin’ 20 plus people in the dorm where already in bed by nine For some reaon this struck Cort and I as just about the most amusing thing ever. Will an entire room of adults sleeping before dark, Cort and I began a 30 minute laugh fest. One of those can’t stop no matter how hard you try. Even went to the bathroom to try and contain it by to no avail. We tough we had done a good job of controlling it, which meant stuffing blankets in our mouths but Nathan informed us the next morning that everyone hear us. Couldn’t help it.

From Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de los Condes

April 23 \ Day 4 on the Camino (25.3KM)

Towns: Boadilla del Camino, Ista, Poblacion de Campos, Villovieco, Villalcazar de Sirga, Carrion de los Candes

I really only have one thing to say about today…we walked, and walked and walked. It was hot and we walked. Later in the day we ate and walked. Then after walking for a while we drank some water and then walked some more. One fun thing that happened when we got water was that there was an army of caterpillar crawling up the fountain we got our water from. Cortney and I are quite sure that we have some strange caterpillar amoeba brain bacteria now. Nathan thinks we will start pooing butterflies within the month. Over the horizon we say Carrion De Los Condes so we walked into town got a room (no Pilgrim Hostel this time) and stuck needles in our blisters then walked around town and ate.

Over dinner we realized that the only way to get our full month in Morocco is to cut a few days off the walk. Looking at things it seems that now is the best time to jump a bit of the walk as it would be several days of walking along the main road anyway, and seeing a ton of the same thing we have been walking through. Will look at jumping on a bus to Leon in the am…that should cut two and a halfish days off the walk and give us our full month in Morocco. Cool!

(next morning) There is a bus at 12:45 and we bought tickets at the bar this morning over coffee. Many people waiting for the bus with busted up feet, wow. Nathan and I just have a couple blisters.

Very glad we took the bus in the end. The Camino followed the motorway most of the way to Leon. Feel like we picked the best bit to skip. Looking forward to Leon.

Camino de Santiago

From Rabe de las Calzadas to Castrojeriz April 21 \ Day 2 on the Camino (28.5KM)Towns: Rabe de las Calzadas, Hormillos del Camino, Hontanas, Castrojeriz)Stayed at Camping “Camino de Santiago” (had a house to ourselves)Woke today at around 7am, still dark. Found out that the time changes by two hours in Spain for Daylight Savings which means waking in the dark. Hit the road, er Camino, with the sun just waking. It was chilly and misty out. Very cool for a couple gals who read horror movies into everything. The village was just as asleep at 7am as it was the night before.
It actually felt great to put our packs on and start walking. We ended up walking almost 30 km by the days end. The trail from Rabe de Calzadas to Castrajeriz was basically deserted except for a smattering of Pilgrims. It is only day two and we keep meeting up with the same small groups (ones, twos and threes) of pilgrims. It looks like there is only about five sets of us on this bit of the Camino. The folks of bikes are always new faces as they move on so quickly.
The greeting on the Camino de Santiago is “Bueno Camino” or “Good Camino”. You hear it almost every time you pass by someone, whether they be a Pilgrim or a local. Just a quick mention of those living along the Camino. It amazes me that they are all so friendly to us (smelly, hungry, tied) Pilgrims. It would seem that we would get on their nerves, especially when it picks up in the summer, but no, everyone is exceptionally kind and go out of their way to make you feel important.
Today we seriously tested our walking. Our packs are a bit bigger than most others for the mere fact that we are going on after this journey. Because of this simple fact, our packs start out weighing a couple pounds more than those just here for the Camino. We also don’t have super sleek, super expensive sleeping bags. We have bulky cheap blankets instead. Figure we can give them to a homeless folk at a train station after the walk.
From Castrojeriz to Bodilla del Camino April 22 \ Day 3 on the Camino (18.9KM) Towns: Castrojeriz, Itero de la Vegas, Bodilla del Camino)We had a fantastic nights sleep. With the economy like it is and less than half the usual pilgrims we ended up with an entire house to ourselves…yes, a living room and all. Grabbed a bottle of wine and settled in for a bit of Texas Hold em’. Little Man Nate taught us an Cort and I cleaned the floor with him. It was good fun.
It would appear that 30km did us in as I had a nice big blister and all of us were quite the gimps. I heated the end of a needle and sewed a piece of thread through my blister (leaving a bit of the tread in the blister to drain it). By the am our bodies were healed and my blister was no more. Time to hit the road. As it turns out we slept in until 9:30, which is crazy late on the Camino. Typically someone wakes you by 6ish to be on the road no later than 8am. I must say we got the best nights sleep ever. Nice and cool in the room and so ridiculously quite. It was fantastic.
Any who when we finally made it to the reception, bar area the owner said Buenas tardes to us, meaning good afternoon. He was giving us crap for getting up so late. I figure we might as well take advantage of the chance to sleep in. I have a strange feeling it won’t happen often on the Camino.
We ended up hitting a road block of sheep today. I bet farmers think it bizarre that tourists grab for the camera when they see sheep in the road. We did stop for coffee is some itty bitty town and ran into everyone we have seem along the Camino. They all stopped for the night but we were tough and carried on another 8km to Boadilla del Camino and stayed at a beautiful private pilgrims hostel. This beauty had a fantastic common outdoor area with a small pool (not warm enough yet) and the staff was super friendly. We ate olives, bread, cheese, and ham along with two bottles of vino. Played Texas Holdin’ and chatted with the staff.
At these Pilgrims Hostels they turn out the lights at like 9:30pm (these places do only cost 5 Euro). Everyone, I am talkin’ 20 plus people in the dorm where already in bed by nine For some reaon this struck Cort and I as just about the most amusing thing ever. Will an entire room of adults sleeping before dark, Cort and I began a 30 minute laugh fest. One of those can’t stop no matter how hard you try. Even went to the bathroom to try and contain it by to no avail. We tough we had done a good job of controlling it, which meant stuffing blankets in our mouths but Nathan informed us the next morning that everyone hear us. Couldn’t help it,
From Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de los CondesApril 23 \ Day 4 on the Camino (25.3KM) Towns: Boadilla del Camino, Ista, Poblacion de Campos, Villovieco, Villalcazar de Sirga, Carrion de los Candes)
I really only have one thing to say about today…we walked, and walked and walked. It was hot and we walked. Later in the day we ate and walked. Then after walking for a while we drank some water and then walked some more. One fun thing that happened when we got water was that there was an army of caterpillar crawling up the fountain we got our water from. Cortney and I are quite sure that we have some strange caterpillar amoeba brain bacteria now. Nathan thinks we will start pooing butterflies within the month. Over the horizon we say Carrion De Los Condes so we walked into town got a room (no Pilgrim Hostel this time) and stuck needles in our blisters then walked around town and ate.
Over dinner we realized that the only way to get our full month in Morocco is to cut a few days off the walk. Looking at things it seems that now is the best time to jump a bit of the walk as it would be several days of walking along the main road anyway, and seeing a ton of the same thing we have been walking through. Will look at jumping on a bus to Leon in the am…that should cut two and a halfish days off the walk and give us our full month in Morocco. Cool!
(next morning) There is a bus at 12:45 and we bought tickets at the bar this morning over coffee. Many people waiting for the bus with busted up feet, wow. Nathan and I just have a couple blisters.
Very glad we took the bus in the end. The Camino followed the motorway most of the way to Leon. Feel like we picked the best bit to skip. Looking forward to Leon.