Morocco, Málaga, Cádiz.... our own 12 day vacation!

So we made our own puente to go to Morocco. Jenny and I went to Tarifa, which is the southern most tip of Spain where you can see Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic all at once. It's a beautiful city, but a little too windy. It also really didn't feel like Spain: tons of foreigners, English everywhere. We met Sydney and Talisa in Algeciras, an ugly port city. So ugly. We arranged our trip to Morocco with the help of Erin and a travel agent there. It included the ferry, shuttle to and from the port, two nights in a hotel, and breakfast. After a night in a slightly sketchy hostal and some excellent Moroccan pastries, we ended up going back to Tarifa to catch the ferry. I love ferries! We got to Tangier and our hotel, the Solazur. Not bad. We went to the Medina, bartered a bit, struggled with the money (11 dirham to 1 euro), ate some amazing food. Oh, and rode camels. There were camels on the beach (tourist trap!) and we couldn't not do it. Not super comfortable but definitely an experience. The next day we went to Chefchaouen (someone please correct my spelling!), a mountain village. It was so incredibly gorgeous: all the walls were whitewashed and painted blue to ward off evil spirits. The people in the shops were less pushy and overall it was more calm. However, we all felt awkward as part of a large tour group disrupting the peace in the city and clogging the narrow streets. The rest of the group was mostly Spanish, so super loud too. It was incredibly hot and but the end we were dying. The next day, before the ferry, we went to the Medina again to barter some more. It's very apparent that the shopkeepers really enjoy it, as some bartered with glee. Glee! The food was such an excellent change from disgusting Spanish food. I ate (forgive the spelling everywhere) falafel, tabouli, baba ganouj, hummous, crazy Moroccan salads, tagin. So much flavor! And the tea.. Mint with lots of sugar. But actual mint. Absolutely amazing. It was so strange to be in another culture, entirely distinct from any I have ever experienced. I had been warned by many Spaniards to be incredibly careful, to always be on guard, that everyone would try to rip us off. But I've had more overwhelming experiences in Mexico, honestly. The men were a bit much, with their comments (Hola guapa, Hello flower, etc.) and their staring. There were restaurants and cafes that were very clearly for men only. They would sit with their chairs turned toward the street, just staring. We would walk around looking for a place to eat saying, "Oh there's a woman in that one, let's eat there." The shopkeepers and waiters were all very polite to us, though. I'm still unsure as to where the women spend their days because we saw so many men but fewer women out in public. On the beach, there were maybe two women and the rest were males of various ages. I also saw several men praying outside at various times, pointed toward Mecca. Me parece que one has to have a good sense of direction to correctly position the body toward Mecca several times a day. Mosques everywhere. So different from Spain, with its churches and cathedrals at every corner. Overall, a great experience. I would love to go back and spend more time there.

We spent another night in Tarifa upon return and set back toward home. The bus to Sevilla broke so we had to wait awhile for another one to come. We met two Americans there, waiting for the same bus. Katheryn is on her way around the world and Alfredo came to visit here. Talking to them really makes me want to travel and travel and travel and never work. At this point, Jenny and I started inventing stories about why we couldn't come to work, as we only had 2 days of it until the next puente. Finally in Sevilla we waited forever to get a cab, a lady cut the line, everyone was outraged and yelling and after about 5 minutes the lady finally got out and someone else got in. She had to go to the back of the line. It was so funny. On the cab ride to the other bus station (to go to Cáceres), Jenny and I decided to text in sick. Or rather, I texted in saying I got ill from the food in Morocco and Jenny just said she wasn't going to come in. I felt guilty for a little while but after being back all guilt has evaporated once I remembered how much I hate the job...

Jenny and I spent the night in Sevilla and headed to Málaga the next day. We had mistakenly booked a hostal in Torremolinos, about half an hour outside of the city of Málaga. It turned out to be fine, more tranquilo with a beautiful beach. Also not like Spain with tons of foreigners, Indian restaurants and bars with foreign beer (unheard of in most places). We also had an excellent roommate: Tuomas from Finland. Super funny. Málaga is beautiful (reusing the same adjectives repeatedly). I loved the Alcazaba, a fort from the 11th century during the Muslim rule. I love Arab architecture; so different from the usual Spanish designs.

Then we went back to Sevilla, then to Cádiz to meet Sydney. The most wonderful beach. Our second day we went to the beach and swam and swam in the Atlantic. It was a bit cold, but no colder than any lake in Washington. Amazing. And we got terribly burned on random parts of the body. Typical. The next day we layered up to go to the beach, swam, then ran home to get out of the sun.

And now I'm back from the 12 day vacation. Seriously, how many more jobs will I have where I can do this and get away with it? And there are less than 4 weeks left here. Crazy.