The North African Adventure

"You come here with your laptop computers, your malaria medicine and your little bottles of hand sanitizer and think you can change the outcome, huh... TIA. This Is Africa."- Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond)

Train - Ferry - Bus - Taxi - Bus - Bus- Bus - Ferry - Bus. These were the means of transportation as I went on a rogue trip to Morocco for the weekend with a few friends. I was sure I wanted to visit Morocco before I came to Spain, because of many prior influences including movies and textbooks. Then later it was recommended to me through a wedding party planner and business associate.

Originally, I had an elaborate plan to do a week long trip into the desert that included many different cities, but when it was all said and done I wasn't able to do that trip, but it was still a good introduction to the third world. My plans of the desert, Marrakech, and the ancient city of Fes will have to wait for a future visit, because for this trip the time we had was too short, and the transportation too long, making what we did the best trip possible.

It began as we left Granada from the train station at 7 am on a crystal clear Friday morning. The train ride to Algeciras was in fact one of my favorite parts of the trip, as we passed through some of the prettiest parts of Andalucía that I have seen, and that I hope to visit in the future. After four and a half hours we reached the city of Algeciras, which is on the Mediterranean adjacent to Gibraltar.

Soon after arriving we were able to find the port, and there we waited in a complex area, similar to an airport, for our ferries to depart for Ceuta, a Spanish provincial city on the north coast of Africa. It was during this time that I was given a great chance to view the rock that is Gibraltar, although we were not on the side of it that makes it famous for its incredible views, we were still given many great views as we crossed the straits and headed towards the African coast. I could not help but think about where I was heading during this moment, a new continent, across the straits of Gibraltar, all things that seemed implausible.

Upon arriving in Ceuta and exiting the port area, we boarded a bus and headed for the border which was about 2 miles away. At the border we were herded like cattle into stalls to get our passports stamped before being able to cross. It was during this time that we met a man named Aziz, who was a part of the Moroccan government helping with tourists. I was weary at first of this man, as I had heard of many scams before arriving, but we decided to accept his help as he led us first to the wrong window, and then to the correct one. It was during this time that we were told Obama was a great thing for America by some French people. We then crossed the border, and entered a taxi for our 30 minute ride to the city of Tetouan. Upon reaching Tetouan Aziz lead us first to a hostel/pension hotel, which we accepted after inspecting it and comparing it with another hotel nearby. It was 5 euro’s a person. Then he took us on a walk of the old city, the Medina, which was built by Moors from Spain, in fact from the people of the Granada area after they were exiled. It was a beautiful maze of streets, filled with raw meats, such as hens with their heads still attached, raw fish with no ice in sight, and anything you could imagine buying. We then were lead to a building that sold rugs, where there were beautiful views of the city.

It was during this time that we realized there may be something wrong with this tour that we were being given, as we started what can only be called a rug viewing, where we were shown probably 50 rugs. We didn’t want these rugs, but not wanting to disappoint, we said we would think about a few of them. Then problems started. First they took us into separate rooms to begin the business transactions. I had a bed cover and a rug that I was interested in, although I didn’t really want either. He told me the rug was 170 euro’s and the bed cover was 120. I offered 10 euro’s for the bed cover, since it was cheaper, and he countered with 100 euro’s. Then I said 15, and he said 75. Then 20 and 60. Then I said 30 euro’s and he said sure 30 would be good. I don’t know why I drove my price up all of a sudden, I guess I was caught up in the thrill of the game, but still I was stuck. Not knowing what to do I first I told them I was low on money, so then they lowered the price more for me to 25 euro’s, and at that point I decided to accept the bed cover and end the charade. A bed cover, my luck. We did have tea at this rug outlet though, and that made it more worthwhile I guess, as it was the best tea that I have ever had.

Afterwards we left and headed back towards our hotel, just as an echoing siren sounded in the street, giving warning to all that prayer was necessary in the next few minutes, as it was Friday, their holy day, and Morocco is predominately Sunni Muslim. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at a restaurant, although we were not hungry, our friend Aziz told us it would be a great place for us to go. At this point realizing that we were being somewhat used for these different stops, we asked to go back to our hotel, which he took us kindly too, and then we paid him a few dollars for all the help that he had given us. It was during this time that I met a man that we code named "Wisconsin." That is another story in itself that I can tell on some rainy day, but to give a reader’s digest version, we were sitting bait. It appears that many lowly people look to make their livings by trying to help tourists, especially in these medina areas and then asking for money. Well Wisconsin even had some friends in on the deal, and we were new enough at the whole 3^rd world thing, that we didn’t know to say no, but eventually we did, although we had a few interesting moments. When we returned to our hotel the manager told us a few Arabic words for the future, and he was very kind in describing what is customary to do. After this we didn’t have any more trouble with people in the streets for the rest of our trip, it just took a few mistakes to learn. We even took to night walking through the medina and other parts of the city for a few hours, without any troubles, and we enjoyed the area thoroughly.

The following day we hiked to the top of the hill that the city was situated on, and from this vantage point, we were given incredible views of Tetouan and the surrounding area. We did see many interesting things up above the city, like sheep roaming near the city walls, the kasbah, trash everywhere, and the poor state of many houses that made us realize just how poor the area really was, no matter how close to Spain it was. To end our time in Tetouan we toured the medina once more, ran into Wisconsin, who told us to leave the city, followed by him offering to help me find an atm. I told him no thank you, we walked to the bus station, and shortly after we left Tetouan for the mountain town of Chefchaouen.

The bus ride was something else as well; on the way there we were actually in a really nice bus, for the 2 hour trip. It was a charter bus, and it only cost us 20 dirham’s, which is under 2 euro’s. The driver though was a friend of Formula One and he was manhandling that bus on this scenic mountain valley road. There were photographers from New York that sat in front of us that got sick during this ride, although I was able to remain relatively stable.
Upon arriving in Chefchaouen we headed out to search for the old city. We encountered many problems along the way, as the bus station was located in a far part of the city, and we spent what seemed like an hour searching for food and the tourist area. Finally we found a good place, that was nicely priced, that gave us plenty of food, and a splendid atmosphere. Then we began the trek around the old medina of Chefchouen. It was during this time that I began shopping for some fake items. I ended up buying a dressy shirt from a man, while Keith bought a Djellaba, the traditional garb of the region. I then bought a Spanish Soccer jersey from another seller of fine goods. Both of these sales that I made were with a complex process of working the Moroccans way down from their original prices, of 30 euro’s for the shirt while buying at 9, and 10 euro’s for the jersey, and buying at 6. Happy with my day’s purchases, at least more so than the bedcover of the day before, I was then content to tour the rest of the city with its blue walls and houses. Then, just as we were leaving we ran into a man that was selling Djellaba's, and since Shawn and Keith both had them, I bought one, this time for the ridiculous price of 4.5 euros. The reason for this we later discovered was because I bought one with a defect, but it does not matter to me, it serves well enough, and I can go about my day looking like a Jedi from Star Wars if I so choose.
At this point our time in Chefchaouen was ending and we then walked back to the bus station, boarded our bus, and headed three hours northwest to Tangier. Along the way Keith struck up a conversation in Spanish with a Moroccan that he was sitting near. They had a great conversation, and as we arrived in Tangier, he asked us if we would like to go get tea. We accepted the offer, and then went and got more tea. It was quite good, but in the middle of this time we had the unpleasant situation arise where this young gentleman asked us for money. The reason was because his friend was sick. This was the point where I decided that I couldn’t take this anymore, this being used feeling that I had everywhere. Shawn and I both got mad at the guy and let him know our thoughts. Keith gave him some money(2 euros), and we went separate ways not long after. We were then in Tanger just for the night, as we found another pension hotel down along the Mediterranean. The following morning we only had a short amount of time to tour, and we in fact got lost and ended up somewhere down along the water, as we climbed down an embankment of the city wall. We therefore did not get to some of the places that I was looking forward to seeing, but I did see a few places that I recognized from the Bourne Ultimatum. Around 9 we walked back to the bus station, and boarded a bus for the city of Fnideq, which is near the border with Ceuta. This bus was full of Moroccans, and in fact I believe the three of us were the only tourists aboard. It was an experience. It was not a rickety bus, but it still made me feel like a local. Soon enough we were in Fnideq, and into a mass flea market, with everything you could ever imagine, and more poverty than you could ever believe. I heard something about George W Bush on an intercom twice in the 10 minutes that we were there. Those views I had there were unreal as we walked through on our way to the border. It was at this time I was greeted by a small child, who I told La, which means no, but he decided against, and he grabbed my hand and asked me for money, and I had trouble shaking him loose. I felt bad, but then I remembered an instance from Seinfeld with the cashmere-janitor.

We reached the border, got stamped, and crossed back into Spanish Territory. Then we walked to the ferry station and arrived early at only 1245. We split ways at this point, Keith and I to our ferry, and Shawn to his. Keith and I just made ours, and we were off across the straits to Algeciras. Upon arriving I looked up at a clock and realized my mistake. It was not 2 pm, but in fact 3pm. This problem arose because Morocco is in fact an hour behind Spain, and we had been living on that time for the two days we were there. I then turned on my cell phone and found I had a message from Shawn saying he missed his ferry. He ended up catching the next one, and because of this we stayed behind and missed the train. There was a bus though that was available and Keith and I took it a few hours later, but Shawn was determined to stay behind and get his money back, for the train ticket he had already bought (Keith and I never bought the return ticket). We arrived in Granada after following a beautiful path along the beach and through Malaga at 915 pm, and we got home just after 930. I showered. Then I ate dinner. Then finally, I slept. Shawn arrived home the next day on the train.
This trip was incredible in many ways for me, although mainly because I had planned many parts of it, without the help of a travel group or basic knowledge of a trip of this nature. I always like to do these sort of things, and to be able to put together buses, taxis, ferrys, etc, and to make it all work out, in a third world country was fun for me to do. I really enjoy doing things like that. I also was given a good taste of poverty, something I never have dealt with to this extent.
In the future when I return a little further south, I will know the most important things about Morocco, how to say no, how to take a bus, and how cheap the hostels are, and it will be marvelous just like this brief trip.

Solo In Barcelona

"The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create...he discovers. Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator. Copiers do not collaborate. Because of this, originality consists in returning to the origin." - Antoni Gaudi

Before going on this trip, which I am about to tell you about, I had some doubts about Barcelona. I had heard great reviews from others that had studied there in the past, but I still was not on the bandwagon, but now after visiting it I can say that it deserves the praise. Let me begin my tale.

I had been looking at my calendar for a while, realizing that I wanted to visit Barcelona, but now with only a few weekends left here in Spain, I had a problem. I could make my visit the next weekend that was coming up, or I could wait and hope to go just before I left. Not wanting to chance miss a visit, I decided I would go as soon as possible. This caused a few problems as most other people had their schedules booked, but I didn’t find this bad, because I occasionally like to travel solo, getting lost and wandering in the direction that I think is right, without consulting someone else, and above all without causing hostilities because of this aimless wandering. I also enjoy the peace of it and being able to do exactly what I want to do and see, whenever. So I got online and found out that the train was a better option to reach Catalonia than plane. This was because Ryan Air, one of the low cost carriers in the area offered a great cheap rate that left Friday and came back Sunday for only 70 euros with all the fees added in. The problem with this was that it left Friday at 10pm from Granada, and arrived an hour outside Barcelona in Girona at 1130 pm. Then the return flight was Sunday morning out of Girona at 8am. That would leave me with only a day in the city, so I decided to do the night train, which ended up being only a little more than the flight, and ended up leaving Thursday night, and coming back late Saturday night. The train was about 12 hours both ways, but it was during the night, so I was able to save some money that would have gone to hostels, and I slept actually pretty well, as I am getting this transit sleeping pattern down (before I could never sleep).

The story begins last Thursday, as I left my apartment at 920pm, running behind as always, and hoping that I could still make the 945 train that was leaving Granada. This was the only train that was leaving for the next 9 hours and I had already bought the ticket, so I walked pretty fast. I arrived at the station in time, and was able to get to my seat before all the usual problems started occurring. This time is was my neighbors as neither spoke much English but it looked like I was separating the two of them and it was causing them distress. After a few minutes we switched places, and I left my wonderful seat, to sit next to a gentleman that reeked of foul odors, and was eating a large assortment bag of candy. Shortly after he asked me to move so he could use the restroom, or so I thought. This pattern happened four more times in the next two or three hours, a few of the times I was asleep, and eventually we decided to switch places. So I was able to get his seat that smelled, and the greasy cover his head had been on. Oh well. I flipped the cover and went back to sleep, waking a few times later in the night. When I finally came to we were in a town called Tarragona in northern Spain, and it was dawn. I was able to watch the sunrise, without my neighbor, as we passed between beautiful views of the vast Mediterranean, and long stretches of concrete condominiums. Eventually I decided to sleep some more, and I then woke up as we entered Barcelona.

A few minutes later I exited the train and reached the main area of the Barcelona Saints Train Terminal. I got lost for a few minutes right at first. Everyone was speaking English to me, which was crazy, hostel people, information people, I hadn’t experienced this anywhere in Spain before, although most of the rest of Europe is more like this. First impression, it definitely isn’t Spain.

Five minutes later I stepped out into the city, and began walking in the direction that I thought looked correct. After a few minutes I stopped and surveyed my map and the street signs, and then kept on in the direction I was heading. Then I looked again ten minutes later and I had only walked a quarter of the way to where I wanted to go, so I took a break and ate a small breakfast, and then continued on. This was how my time in Barcelona began, as I realized that it was a big city, but soon enough I ended up in center at Plaza Catalunya, and at that point my time as a tourist began. I started by walking Las Ramblas, one of the most visited foreigner spots in the city, with street vendors, performers, and the typical people that you find at any famous place.

So after a few minutes of enjoying the atmosphere, I continued on to the harbor area at Port Vell, and there after having been in Barcelona for two hours I decided I liked it. The harbor was beautiful, and because of the Olympics it was updated in a way that I loved. There were beautiful boats, and views of the city, as well as a cool bridge and marina area, and just like that I wanted to just sit there the rest of the day enjoying the endless sun.

Sadly, I could not, and after an hour with more breakfast mixed in, I continued on to my first work of Gaudi, the Palau Guell, which is just off Las Ramblas. Palau Guell is a very cool house that is free to tour, although I could only see a small part, I was still caught off guard by the designs, and it gave me an urge to see his other works throughout the city. After this I went and found a hostel to stay in for the night and then walked the old and gothic city of Barcelona without my backpack. Eventually I ended up at the Picasso Museum, and checked that off my list. I still think that Van Gogh may be my favorite painter and artist, but this museum helped me to respect Picasso much more, as it showed what a great artist he was at such a young age, before he adopted so many modern styles(if that’s what it was), and it also showed some of the slow transformations that he began making, which were interesting to witness. I will confess that the rest of my day, post Picasso, was not that interesting, but I did walk around quite a lot, and I spent some time people watching and in different clothing stores admiring the prices of different items, although making no purchases.

Then Saturday began very early for me, as I woke up just before 8am, in my hostel room. There were 17 others deep in sleep as I woke, yet no one was snoring, which was a great plus. I headed out for a run down along the harbor, to the beaches, and then along what I believe was the Olympic Village area, before returning to my hostel. All in all it was a great start to my morning, and after showering, I checked out and headed via metro to The Sagrada Family. Wow.

It’s tough to put it into too many other words than wow, but the whole time that I was there I just was wondering if my brother could be designing this type of place in the future; no pressure Thomas. It was incredible though, and just the intricacy, and the size, I am still amazed by it. I have no idea when or if they will be able to finish the plans that they currently have, but if they do it will be hard to find a better structure in the world. I went on a tour of the Sagrada Family, then hit the metro again to go to Park Guell, another area designed by Gaudi. During this time I had to switch metro trains via walking outside and I ran into another Gaudi work, the building called La Pedrera, which I did not tour, but took some pictures and studied it for a few minutes. Then on to the Park, which again was out of this world. Right when you reach the entrance to the park, you feel like you are in some sort of fairytale wonderland, that can’t be real, and yet it is, and it just keeps going, that is how pretty much how it is throughout the park. There were many parts that were unbelievable, but the part that still gets me was this road that was elevated.

The whole park was good though, and the views of the city were great. It was at this point that I decided that Barcelona was pretty neat. I moved it up on my list then and there. The events that followed continued to help it. First I metro’ed down to the last of Gaudi’s houses called Casa Batilo, where again I didn’t take a tour, but I did take pictures from outside. Then I headed back down Las Ramblas to the Port. At the port there was a yacht show going on, and I admired both the enormous and petite boats from a close proximity, and spent some more time enjoying the sun and the water. Then I headed up the hill that is nearby called Montjuic. It was on this hill that many of the Olympic events took place, including the main Olympic Stadium, swimming, and basketball.

I took it all in, just as the sun was beginning to set, followed by a slow walk back towards the train station as my time in Barcelona was coming to a close. The train ride home was enjoyable as well, and I arrived at my house at 9 am on Sunday, in time for a full day of recovery in Granada before my week of midterms.

I now rank Barcelona as one of my favorite cities that I have ever visited. The mountains, architecture, ocean, port combination just took me for a loop. I guess you could say I enjoyed it. Now I am home in Granada, getting ready for my next big adventure; and yes I am still glad that I chose Granada. It is home and I don’t think I could survive my time here in Spain someplace else; at least not for now.

The View

"First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle." - Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell)

This is the view just a few blocks from where I live. Ignore the ugly train station area, its actually much better than it looks.





I am excited for the Ski Resort to open. Lets hope early.

A few weekends ago...

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt

This past weekend my API group had the pleasure of going on our second of three excursions, this time to Sevilla. Sevilla is a city that is about three hours west of Granada, over some mountains, in a valley on the river Guadalquivir. It is in a very beautiful area, and most of the year it is also very hot there, with highs well over 100 all summer long. Sevilla is also a very historic and old city as it has been a key place in Spain since the Roman era, and has played a vital role in Spain since its reconquest in the 11^th century. In Sevilla we visited the grand Cathedral and its Muslim tower, as well as the Alcazar Palace of the King of Spain. Both were spectacular and we were given a large amount of free time to roam the rest of the city which I enjoyed thoroughly.

The adventures began when we arrived in Sevilla on Friday night and headed out on a walking tour. During this time we walked around a part of the city that can only be described as picturesque. Beautiful. We also went to the Plaza de Espana, which was built for the world’s fair in 1911. It is an incredible structure, and probably my favorite building in Sevilla. It has been used in many movies and today you can roam all over it any time you want.

We then went next door to a fair that was going on that had booths from all over the world including many from Arab and Spanish countries. The food there was pretty killer as well, and the music they were playing really made it feel like we were far from Spain. I then decided to retire for the night as we had a big day ahead of us.

The next day dawned and Keith, Shawn and I went on a run around the city. It was a fun time, we got a little lost, but we managed to get back to the hotel in time to have a huge breakfast before we departed for the Cathedral. At the Cathedral, one of the largest in the world, we were guided through all of the sections, including where there are the remains of Christopher Columbus. I would say some of the remains, as they say after shipping his remains back and forth to many burial locations after his death what is left today is only part of ole Columbus. Sevilla is also a very historical city, as this was the location where many voyages departed from, including Columbus’ primary expedition.

Next we climbed up the old Muslim tower that is connected to the Cathedral and were given beautiful views of the city, as the tower is the highest point in the city. After the tour we were given free time, and I spent this time going to a few museums and touring more of the city on foot.

Then on Sunday morning we went to the royal palace and grounds that were next to our hotel. This palace the Royal Alcazar was beautiful. I had no idea what it was before we went, but it is kind of a mini Alhambra. The Christian King of Castile, before Spain was whole, wanted to build a similar palace to the Alhambra, and he was on good terms with the people of Granada, so they helped him to build something, that was very beautiful, although not quite as grand as the Alhambra. The tour was great, and then our time in Sevilla had come to a close.

My few observations about the city are that I had not quite given Sevilla enough credit before I visited it, similar to Salamanca. I had always thought yes, it’s a pretty city I am sure, but not really believed it fully. I can now say there are parts of Sevilla that are prettier than anything that I have ever seen before, and yes some of these areas are touristy, but I really liked the central city. The colors of the buildings are incredible, and the central promenade with its tram line is great and really innovative as well. The weather was also very warm, and that made it a fun time.

Having left Sevilla mid day we headed west back towards Granada, and when we reached the town of Antequera we headed up into the mountains for the park called El Torcal. This part of our trip was stunning. I think that myself and a few others enjoyed it too much, but I found this park a great adventure to say the least.

I cannot explain it other than the limestone in this area has been shaped through millions of years in ways that I have never seen before, and today it makes for a great place to visit. During our few hours there we hiked, did some rock climbing, and enjoyed another great place in Spain that I had no idea existed, but yes it is now on my mind as simply incredible.

Now I have many things ahead to do. Life. It is very cold in Granada. This is real cold, not the type that I had described before. I guess the weather fluctuates in Granada a lot, and you never can be sure how it will be at one time or another. Anyways, after leaving the 90 degree heat of Sevilla, we returned to a peaceful Granada. Then the next day storms came through and the temperatures dropped. Since that fateful Monday we have now had 10 days of temperatures somewhere near 50 degrees as a high, and 30 degrees as a low, with it being very brisk for most of the day. So the winter jacket is out. This past weekend it rained for two straight days as well. I am ready for a change. You are caught up on my life. Snow on the mountains.