This weekend, four of us skipped the Friday morning trip to El Escorial (which turned out to be boring anyway, we heard), and go to the southern-most point of Europe, and possibly take a ferry over to Morocco. We miraculously got up at 6 AM to catch our train to Madrid, and then had to take a 5.5 hour train to Algeciras, where we took a taxi to our hotel. The travel was long, but relatively uneventful. Something that is funny about the train rides--- we get to watch movies in Spanish (I guess "get" is in quotes). Usually they're action or children's movies, and this time, it was Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa.
When we got to Algeciras, we grabbed a cab, and rode the 9 km to our hotel, Meson de Sancho (www.mesondesancho.com). We were surprised at the quality of the place... and it was cheaper than a hostel! We got a quadruple room with 4 beds (we were convinced that we would have to share), a patio with a table and chairs, and an amazing bathroom (with a great shower!). We threw our stuff down, and departed for the beach.
Tarifa is nestled between mountains and the Strait of Gibraltar, and you can see Africa from the coast. The hills are dotted with windmills, and you can see the beach from miles away. The sand was a lot finer than it was in Barcelona, but the water was a lot dirtier with seaweed. We laid out for a while, but then realized that we hadn't really eaten all day, and went in search of food.
We found a small restaurant in the town, and all ate for about 10 Euro, including a bottle of wine. We stopped by a supermarket, and bought some stuff for the evening, and then returned to the hotel. We sat out on our patio, listened to music, and had tinto de verano, and then got ready for our trip to Africa in the morning.
We decided to take a private tour that included the ferry each way, lunch, and the tour for 80 Euro, while the ferry itself would have been 70 Euro anyway. We missed the first ferry (but it wasn't our fault... they told us the ferry was full a half hour before it left), so we had 2 hours to kill in Tarifa. We grabbed coffee and toast and then went back to the ferry. The ride was only supposed to be 35 minutes, but it ended up being about an hour and 15 minutes in extremely choppy water. Motion sickness set in, which really didn't mix well with a lot of rowdy Spanish and Moroccan children and a crowded boat.
We finally arrived in Morocco, and met our guide, a kind of quiet man named Ali ("like Ali Baba," he said). We first went on a van tour of Tangier, a city with no real landmarks, so we just saw roads and got a little background information about the country. For a while, Morocco wasn't a real country, but rather a "world country," so France, the United States, Spain, and other countries all have areas that they built restaurants, houses, and other buildings, effectively making a French Quarter, an American Quarter (called California), etc. We got out at the top of a hill, and we were told we could ride camels for a Euro. We each got a turn for about 45 seconds, and then we were ushered back into the van.
We went and walked around a Moroccan neighborhood, where they have a community oven for baking bread and community running water in the square for the residents of the neighborhood. I had been in Ecuador, where this stuff really wasn't common in the city, but we were in a large Moroccan city... interesting to see that kind of poverty.
Our guide took us to a Moroccan restaurant, where we had a Moroccan soup, kebab, cous cous, and a baklava-esque dessert. The best part was a sweet mint tea, sort of a hot, non-alcoholic mojito. During the lunch, they had a band playing music, which was really cool.
After lunch, we were told that we were going to go shopping, which really just ended up being a huge scam. We were taken to a Persian rug store, where they showed us how the rugs are made. After a flashy presentation, we were asked, "So, what are you buying?" I guess this was a real-world application of the open-ended questions we ask on the phones at work. We didn't want to buy anything, but Alex was swindled into buying a rug. Their price negotiation wasn't even over before the shop owner told an assistant that Alex was buying it and to pack it up. The whole thing happened so fast, we were all just looking at each other with bewildered looks before we even knew what was happening.
The owners kept trying to trade camels in exchange for Sarah, and even were trying to get some of our clothes off of us (the owner told me he would give me a "very good price" in exchange for my hat... and you all know that's a no deal). We wanted to get out of the store as soon as possible, but our guide was nowhere to be found. The shop had a lot of expensive Moroccan things, and all I wanted from the country was a flag and a shot glass. When we told our guide, he "kindly" took us to a small gift shop, where they tried to sell me a flag for 8 Euro, when I had bought a flag that is twice the size in Spain for 5 Euro. I really played hardball with the guy, and got the flag and a leather camel (with someone riding it) for 10 Euro. I know I still got ripped off, but the bargaining was really frustrating.
We went to a jewelry store after that, where the same thing happened again... everyone wanted Sarah to be their wife, in exchange for camels, of course. It was so bizarre. We all bought a little bit, but it was more uncomfortable than fun to be in that kind of situation. Our guide then led us through the streets, where people approached us every 5 seconds trying to sell camel toys, drums, or jewelry. Moroccans just don't take no for an answer.
Probably the weirdest place we visited was a "pharmacy," where a Moroccan named Sayid showed us Moroccan spices and aphrodisiacs during a presentation. Then, like in the rug store, he asked us what we were buying. Nobody really had any need for saffron or dyes, so we took pictures with him (he insisted on taking about 20) and then left.
We were escorted back to the ferry, which was a much smoother ride this time, grabbed some doner kebab to take back to the hotel, and passed the evening sitting outside and talking. I jumped in the pool at about 4 AM, and then went to bed. We got up at 7:30 to get to the train station, and then had another 5.5 hour train ride back to Madrid.
When we got to Madrid, I was convinced that I knew where a Domino's Pizza was, but I apparently was wrong. We ran around the streets for 2 hours until our train was to leave, but ended up pizza-less. We got back to the Fund, and heard stories about Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls, which I am ultimately glad I didn't participate in. I got to see another country, and another culture, and actually got some relaxing sleep in what practically was a resort, instead of sleeping in a park where people were seen getting robbed in their (most likely) drunken slumber.
This weekend, we have to visit Madrid for a class on Saturday, but then Sarah and I may meet up with our friends in Valencia for two nights. We do have a trip planned with the school to Segovia to see the Roman Aqueducts, so that will be cool (and free!).
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