38 days on the road. 33 cities, 11 countries, 2-3 continents (depending on whether you consider Istanbul as part of Asia or Europe), 11 languages, a few thousand photos, and a lot of trains.
For the most part, good food, lovely cities, difficult communication, and good people (excepting the few bastard taxi drivers).
I would have liked to have the time to stay longer in each of these cities -- time to learn the culture, the language, money to explore more of the country, to try more of the foods... Perhaps someday I'll be able to go more into depth in my exploration of these places.
At this moment though, I'm ready to go home. I want to wash my clothes and take a shower without having to fight with my travel-size shampoo bottle to wash my hair. I want to cook my own food while watching a You-tube episode of South Park with Jay. I want to walk around my hall barefoot, to sleep in my own bed, to have free internet access, and to have absolutely no schedule (at least for a few weeks before classes start). I want to speak a language competently enough to be readily understood, and I want to not have to observe everyone around me for fear of committing some egregious social gaffe.
In the long run, however, this trip has only whetted my thirst for travel. My wanderlust remains undiminished. I've found that the people we've encountered are much more friendly and similar to ourselves than some *ahem, Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books* would lead us to believe. Istanbul and Morocco were very comfortable to travel in and I was never once harassed for being a woman or for being non-muslim. Rather, the most friendly and welcoming people have been those we spoke with in those two areas.
I would like to see more of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. I want to explore eastern Europe and Latin America more thoroughly. And sure, a few trips to Scandinavia, Benelux countries, and Oceania wouldn't hurt. First, however, I want to learn more languages. French, Arabic, Cantonese, and Russian seem a good, all-encompassing start -- you can get around in a lot of places with those. When I'll have time or energy to learn these? No one knows. But I'd like to. I have an urge to go explore the less-known areas, to see the cultures firsthand, thereby obtaining a better idea of how the world IS rather than how we're told to think it is. I want to break out of this fabricated western bubble of safety, see for myself what's really there. That process has started, and I doubt my wanderlust will abate until it's complete.
Watch out world, here I come... soon.
07 April 2006
JJ Conquers Africa Part V
Agadir, Morocco
We arrived in Agadir at 12 at night and checked into a hostel next to the bus station. In the morning we took a 6:30 taxi to the airport and are now sitting here waiting until we can check in at 10:00 for our 13:05 flight.
I'm still sad that we didn't have the chance to explore Marrakech, but most of all am disappointed that our trip in Morocco is ending on such a bad note - frustration with the train/bus situation, disappointment at not seeing Marrakech, and disillusionment at the swindling taxi drivers there... It's really not fair, as the taxi drivers in the other cities were helpful and honest, and the cities we did explore thoroughly were amazing.
We're leaving now, eager to return to Germany, when just two days ago I would have been leaving with a wish that I could stay longer.
I hope to visit Morocco again some day -- to better explore Fes and to give Marrakech another try, as well as to visit Chefchauen and Essauria, about which I've heard great things... As it is, au revoir, Morocco.
I'm still sad that we didn't have the chance to explore Marrakech, but most of all am disappointed that our trip in Morocco is ending on such a bad note - frustration with the train/bus situation, disappointment at not seeing Marrakech, and disillusionment at the swindling taxi drivers there... It's really not fair, as the taxi drivers in the other cities were helpful and honest, and the cities we did explore thoroughly were amazing.
We're leaving now, eager to return to Germany, when just two days ago I would have been leaving with a wish that I could stay longer.
I hope to visit Morocco again some day -- to better explore Fes and to give Marrakech another try, as well as to visit Chefchauen and Essauria, about which I've heard great things... As it is, au revoir, Morocco.
06 April 2006
JJ Conquers Africa Part IV
Marrakech, Morocco
Well, this day sucked. Our train was an hour and a half late getting into Marrakech, and then we had to get tickets to Agadir. As it turned out, ONCF, the train company of Morocco, which lists train schedules online and includes an 11pm train to Agadir, does not run trains to Agadir. In fact, no one does, so our rail pass was useless and we needed to find a bus. Fine. We went to the neighboring Supratours, the bus company affiliated with ONCF which does have an 11 pm bus to Agadir. The office was pretty much hell on Earth. No line, no order, just a cluster of moroccans pushing and shoving and yelling in Arabic. Lovely. This is at 4. At 4:30 we got noticed and the man told us to come back in an hour to get tickets. We ask if the bus is full, and he says no no, come back in an hour or so.
At this point, I'm frustrated -- this is the city about which I was most excited, the sun will set by 7 pm, and I'm told to sit another hour at or near the bus station, when I had expected to have been exploring the city since 2:30. So we start walking towards the main square, but have to stop a few times because Jay was feeling the results of a lack of food and sleep, combined with an access of heat. At 6 pm we were almost to the center, but decided it would be best to go back and buy the tickets in case they sold out. So we went to find an ATM (coincidentally within distant view of the main square I'd wanted to see), then turned around and found a taxi back to the station.
Upon my requesting that he turn on the meter, the taxi driver refused, so we paid twice what the ride was worth. I resolved to refuse to pay over 5 Dh in the future if there was no meter to prove a higher price. We go into the (now sane) bus station, and are told that there is no space in a bus to Agadir until the next evening. Aware that 7 busloads of reservations had not been made in the last 30 minutes, I inquired as to why we had been told to come back if the bus was sold out. Apparently because the man hadn't felt like looking at the computer screen before answering that the bus was not full - although it was.
Ready to either scream or cry (I couldn't decide which), I explained that we had a 1-o-clock flight from Agadir and that waiting for a bus the next day was simply not an option. He told us to try C.T.M. or the city bus station.
We left the station and were immediately descended upon by taxi drivers. Told our destination, they told us the charge would be 20-25 Dh. We refused and caught a taxi that we saw had a working meter. He also quoted 20 Dh, but we ignored that and then insisted upon the meter once he pulled away from the curb. We arrived, paid the 7 Dh that the meter indicated, and went into the C.T.M. station. Their busses were also full, so we repeated this process to get to the main bus station, where we were swept off by one of the touts for the Agadir bus.
Our attempts at explaining that we didn't want to leave yet, but just wanted tickets for a later bus, went ignored and we were ushered onto a very full, very hot buss. We got the last seats - the very back row, behind a chair for which the back was unhinged from the seat, so I spent most of the four-hour ride with the man in front of me lying his weight (and that of his useless chair back) on top of me. The rest of my attention was occupied by the mosquito that I couldn't see (but which feasted happily on my arm), the heated floor burning my feet, the lack of ventilation, and the overhead light that wouldn't turn off above us (no one else seemed to have this difficulty, and Jay fixed it by covering it with duct tape before returning to his don't-throw-up-or-faint position.
So it was that at 7 pm we left Marrakech largely unseen and unappreciated due to an unfortunate series of circumstances.
At this point, I'm frustrated -- this is the city about which I was most excited, the sun will set by 7 pm, and I'm told to sit another hour at or near the bus station, when I had expected to have been exploring the city since 2:30. So we start walking towards the main square, but have to stop a few times because Jay was feeling the results of a lack of food and sleep, combined with an access of heat. At 6 pm we were almost to the center, but decided it would be best to go back and buy the tickets in case they sold out. So we went to find an ATM (coincidentally within distant view of the main square I'd wanted to see), then turned around and found a taxi back to the station.
Upon my requesting that he turn on the meter, the taxi driver refused, so we paid twice what the ride was worth. I resolved to refuse to pay over 5 Dh in the future if there was no meter to prove a higher price. We go into the (now sane) bus station, and are told that there is no space in a bus to Agadir until the next evening. Aware that 7 busloads of reservations had not been made in the last 30 minutes, I inquired as to why we had been told to come back if the bus was sold out. Apparently because the man hadn't felt like looking at the computer screen before answering that the bus was not full - although it was.
Ready to either scream or cry (I couldn't decide which), I explained that we had a 1-o-clock flight from Agadir and that waiting for a bus the next day was simply not an option. He told us to try C.T.M. or the city bus station.
We left the station and were immediately descended upon by taxi drivers. Told our destination, they told us the charge would be 20-25 Dh. We refused and caught a taxi that we saw had a working meter. He also quoted 20 Dh, but we ignored that and then insisted upon the meter once he pulled away from the curb. We arrived, paid the 7 Dh that the meter indicated, and went into the C.T.M. station. Their busses were also full, so we repeated this process to get to the main bus station, where we were swept off by one of the touts for the Agadir bus.
Our attempts at explaining that we didn't want to leave yet, but just wanted tickets for a later bus, went ignored and we were ushered onto a very full, very hot buss. We got the last seats - the very back row, behind a chair for which the back was unhinged from the seat, so I spent most of the four-hour ride with the man in front of me lying his weight (and that of his useless chair back) on top of me. The rest of my attention was occupied by the mosquito that I couldn't see (but which feasted happily on my arm), the heated floor burning my feet, the lack of ventilation, and the overhead light that wouldn't turn off above us (no one else seemed to have this difficulty, and Jay fixed it by covering it with duct tape before returning to his don't-throw-up-or-faint position.
So it was that at 7 pm we left Marrakech largely unseen and unappreciated due to an unfortunate series of circumstances.
05 April 2006
JJ Conquers Africa Part III
Fes, Morocco
Although I was initially warned away from Fes by a fellow traveler (in the women's bathroom of the Algeciras train station), I am glad we came - it's been my favorite city in Morocco so far. We arrived at around 3 pm and, as the train station had no left luggage facilities, wandered off in hopes of stumbling upon one. We were talking to each other (in English) and after a while a kid (about 15 or so) that we were walking behind turned around to us and said "excuse me, my family has a hotel near here if you need to stay the night." We said we were not going to stay overnight in Fes, but rather were just looking for a place to leave our backpack. He responded that we could leave it at the hotel, and that they could provide us with a guide for the Medina as well. We followed him to the hotel, and then decided to inquire about the price of a room, as it would be nicer to stay the night than to wait until 1:0 am for a night train.It was cheap, and the people there were very friendly, so we opted for a room as well as a guide to the medina for a few hours.
The medina (old city) is a sprawling maze of 9000+ narrow alleyways filled with tanneries, restaurants, shops, bakeries, weaving houses, butchers, candy shops, grills, and wood-carvers. The streets are wide enough to allow a few people through (side by side) at a time. Our guide showed us the main mosque and pointed out a lot of architecture within the palaces/city walls, and he also led us to specific shops. The first was a weaver's shop, hidden upstairs, where our host explained the different items and gave us sweet mint tea while he tried to convince us to buy one of their beautiful blankets. Unfortunately, our budget did not allow for such extravagance, but it was an educating experience. We got a similar tour in a tannery, with an explanation of how the leathers are dyed and a shorter visit to shops selling work of wood, silver, silk, and embroidery. After the carpet-weaver's shop, most of the shop keepers were less aggressive and more respectful of our wish to just look.
All these shops crammed together, the alleys filled with people and distinct sounds and smells - the medina was amazing and overwhelming. Afterwards, we went to find a taxi to take us back to the hotel. The road was apparently once a mule-road, and the mules and donkeys still felt they owned the place, walking down the street (without an owner), forcing cars to drive around them.
Our taxi took us up the hill for an overview of the city before returning to the hotel.
All in all, I would have liked more time to explore Fes on my own -- days to lose myself in the maze of the medina -- but time was limited. Perhaps I will return here someday to better acquaint myself with the city I've only just met.
The medina (old city) is a sprawling maze of 9000+ narrow alleyways filled with tanneries, restaurants, shops, bakeries, weaving houses, butchers, candy shops, grills, and wood-carvers. The streets are wide enough to allow a few people through (side by side) at a time. Our guide showed us the main mosque and pointed out a lot of architecture within the palaces/city walls, and he also led us to specific shops. The first was a weaver's shop, hidden upstairs, where our host explained the different items and gave us sweet mint tea while he tried to convince us to buy one of their beautiful blankets. Unfortunately, our budget did not allow for such extravagance, but it was an educating experience. We got a similar tour in a tannery, with an explanation of how the leathers are dyed and a shorter visit to shops selling work of wood, silver, silk, and embroidery. After the carpet-weaver's shop, most of the shop keepers were less aggressive and more respectful of our wish to just look.
All these shops crammed together, the alleys filled with people and distinct sounds and smells - the medina was amazing and overwhelming. Afterwards, we went to find a taxi to take us back to the hotel. The road was apparently once a mule-road, and the mules and donkeys still felt they owned the place, walking down the street (without an owner), forcing cars to drive around them.
Our taxi took us up the hill for an overview of the city before returning to the hotel.
All in all, I would have liked more time to explore Fes on my own -- days to lose myself in the maze of the medina -- but time was limited. Perhaps I will return here someday to better acquaint myself with the city I've only just met.
04 April 2006
JJ Conquers Africa Part II
Asilah, Morocco
Asilah, though not quite as bright as Tangier, was warm and humid, but also relatively quiet and tranquil, as most of the students were still in class when we arrived.
We found a hotel, dropped off our bags, and proceeded to explore the city in search of food. The Moroccan exposure to Western culture, especially in Asilah, provides for an interesting mix in the streets and signs. Some people are dressed traditionally in muslim cloaks or in an otherwise conservative manner, while others wear jeans and miniskirts and high heels (not all at once). Although i should have expected this globalization, especially after our time in Istanbul, I had been led to imagine a more cut-off Eastern culture. Additionally, although English was rather uncommon, many Moroccans speak Spanish in addition to French and Moroccan Arabic. Arabic is, I have to add, a gorgeous and at the same time terrifying language, as the alphabet is so different from our own. I would like to learn to read and speak it, though. Another addition to the list of languages I want to know.
We found a restaurant near the water where the menu was in Spanish and the restaurant specialized in seafood. Not only was the waiter we spoke with extremely friendly, but as we stood there, two other chefs/waiters walked through carrying a giant bucket of fresh shellfish straight from the ocean (only meters away). They weren't ready to open yet, so we wandered along the beach for an hour. We saw other men collecting seafood (presumably for the other nearby restaurants), as well as two children beating a plastic bucket, 3 men knocking old glass shards out of an intact window frame, and an old man throwing rocks (and yelling) at the waves. To each his own.
When we returned to the restaurant at noon, we ordered fish soup, paella and a cheese tortilla (omelet). We were also served bread as a complimentary appetizer, along with small, mild fish in an oil-garlic sauce. Together with the bread, this was delicious and the paella was amazingly full of seafood - prawns, clams, calamari, and other fish meat that I couldn't identify, along with freshly roasted peppers... delicious.
After eating, we had to nap for a few hours to allow all that food to digest, but returned outside in time to view the gorgeous (if short) sunset before finding an internet cafe and a small dinner.
The next morning we set out to catch the 9:40 train to Fes (we'd vetoed the 6:40 train at 5:00 am -- pre-dawn is no time for decision-making), and are now on the second leg of said train. The landscape here is gorgeous -- plenty of lush vegetation, and in places where earth was cut away to make room for the train tracks, red-orange dirt contrasts with the bright green bushes and yellow flowers on top of it. We've passed streams and farmlands with goats and donkeys, and cities baking in the sun, with children running happily through the streets.
In the change-station (Sidi something), we met a very nice Moroccan man who spoke English. He introduced himself by making the ever-popular commentary that Jay looks local and I look German or Irish or otherwise very foreign (gee, I love this conversation starter) and proceeded to chat with Jay as I silently fumed a wee bit. They spoke about the Arabic language (read from right to left, apparently), and he wrote both our names for us in Arabic. He had apparently learned English at an American school in southern Africa, and his accent was amazing. He spoke highly of Fes, but cautioned that it is easy to get lost in the Medina. He suggested that we find a guide when exploring that part of the city. Our train came a few minutes later, and we will be in Fes in about an hour - then we can see how the situation looks.
We found a hotel, dropped off our bags, and proceeded to explore the city in search of food. The Moroccan exposure to Western culture, especially in Asilah, provides for an interesting mix in the streets and signs. Some people are dressed traditionally in muslim cloaks or in an otherwise conservative manner, while others wear jeans and miniskirts and high heels (not all at once). Although i should have expected this globalization, especially after our time in Istanbul, I had been led to imagine a more cut-off Eastern culture. Additionally, although English was rather uncommon, many Moroccans speak Spanish in addition to French and Moroccan Arabic. Arabic is, I have to add, a gorgeous and at the same time terrifying language, as the alphabet is so different from our own. I would like to learn to read and speak it, though. Another addition to the list of languages I want to know.
We found a restaurant near the water where the menu was in Spanish and the restaurant specialized in seafood. Not only was the waiter we spoke with extremely friendly, but as we stood there, two other chefs/waiters walked through carrying a giant bucket of fresh shellfish straight from the ocean (only meters away). They weren't ready to open yet, so we wandered along the beach for an hour. We saw other men collecting seafood (presumably for the other nearby restaurants), as well as two children beating a plastic bucket, 3 men knocking old glass shards out of an intact window frame, and an old man throwing rocks (and yelling) at the waves. To each his own.
When we returned to the restaurant at noon, we ordered fish soup, paella and a cheese tortilla (omelet). We were also served bread as a complimentary appetizer, along with small, mild fish in an oil-garlic sauce. Together with the bread, this was delicious and the paella was amazingly full of seafood - prawns, clams, calamari, and other fish meat that I couldn't identify, along with freshly roasted peppers... delicious.
After eating, we had to nap for a few hours to allow all that food to digest, but returned outside in time to view the gorgeous (if short) sunset before finding an internet cafe and a small dinner.
The next morning we set out to catch the 9:40 train to Fes (we'd vetoed the 6:40 train at 5:00 am -- pre-dawn is no time for decision-making), and are now on the second leg of said train. The landscape here is gorgeous -- plenty of lush vegetation, and in places where earth was cut away to make room for the train tracks, red-orange dirt contrasts with the bright green bushes and yellow flowers on top of it. We've passed streams and farmlands with goats and donkeys, and cities baking in the sun, with children running happily through the streets.
In the change-station (Sidi something), we met a very nice Moroccan man who spoke English. He introduced himself by making the ever-popular commentary that Jay looks local and I look German or Irish or otherwise very foreign (gee, I love this conversation starter) and proceeded to chat with Jay as I silently fumed a wee bit. They spoke about the Arabic language (read from right to left, apparently), and he wrote both our names for us in Arabic. He had apparently learned English at an American school in southern Africa, and his accent was amazing. He spoke highly of Fes, but cautioned that it is easy to get lost in the Medina. He suggested that we find a guide when exploring that part of the city. Our train came a few minutes later, and we will be in Fes in about an hour - then we can see how the situation looks.
03 April 2006
JJ Conquers Africa Part I
Algeciras, Spain and Tangier, Morocco
Algeciras was bright, warm, and humid - an introduction to the continent we were about to enter. We booked tickets for a ferry that was supposed to leave at 4 pm and arrive in Tangier 2.5 hours later. This was, unfortunately, not the case. The ferry didn't actually leave until around 7 pm Spanish time and arrived around 8 pm Moroccan time. Arg.
It was already dark when we arrived, so we changed money and found a hotel for the evening.
After settling in, we went to a nearby cafe to purchase food (1/4 chicken and a soda) and had to wait for about 20 minutes while the various waiters ran around trying to get change for 100Dh (the equivalent of about $12). Food and change in hand, we returned to our hotel room and ate dinner before getting ready to depart early in the morning for Asilah.
In the morning, we walked along the main street by the beach for a ways, before asking directions to be sure of whether we'd passed the station or not. As designated sort-of-French-getter-by-er, I asked a group of women where the station was. There seemed to be some discrepancy regarding the best way of getting there and one of the women nearly fell over from tripping over herself in her excitement/exuberance while trying to explain the route to us. We understood enough to be at the station in a few minutes though, thanks to the sweet women, and all was well.
It was already dark when we arrived, so we changed money and found a hotel for the evening.
After settling in, we went to a nearby cafe to purchase food (1/4 chicken and a soda) and had to wait for about 20 minutes while the various waiters ran around trying to get change for 100Dh (the equivalent of about $12). Food and change in hand, we returned to our hotel room and ate dinner before getting ready to depart early in the morning for Asilah.
In the morning, we walked along the main street by the beach for a ways, before asking directions to be sure of whether we'd passed the station or not. As designated sort-of-French-getter-by-er, I asked a group of women where the station was. There seemed to be some discrepancy regarding the best way of getting there and one of the women nearly fell over from tripping over herself in her excitement/exuberance while trying to explain the route to us. We understood enough to be at the station in a few minutes though, thanks to the sweet women, and all was well.
02 April 2006
JJ Conquers Europe Part XXII
Sevilla, Spain
Upon arrival in Sevilla, we asked the lady at the train station about hostels, and she found us a cheap nearby hostel and provided a map to help us get there. The door of the hostel was opened by an older man whose mother owns the hostel, and whose old, tiny dog (with a bow in its hair) seems to run the place. They were all very friendly and welcoming, and after dropping our junk off, we set out to explore the city.
Sevilla was, for the most part, hot, touristy, and over-priced. We walked around for most of the day, pausing for meals, and sitting in a park by the water for a while. We watched the people in a plaza near our hostel, next to the cathedral, for a few hours until sunset. After that, we had Chinese food (yes, again - it's cheap) for dinner and returned to our hostel.
Sevilla was, for the most part, hot, touristy, and over-priced. We walked around for most of the day, pausing for meals, and sitting in a park by the water for a while. We watched the people in a plaza near our hostel, next to the cathedral, for a few hours until sunset. After that, we had Chinese food (yes, again - it's cheap) for dinner and returned to our hostel.
01 April 2006
JJ Conquers Europe Part XXI
Valencia, Spain
Valencia presented us with many lovely churches and pretty plazas from the moment we left the station. Some of the plazas had huge trees with root systems so complicated and large as to form miniature caves within them.
In one of the plazas, after we'd been sitting on a bench for a while, a homeless man came up and started talking to Jay. He got angry that Jay wasn't responding, and I explained that he didn't understand Spanish. The man asked what he spoke and I replied by asking why it mattered. He said he wanted to talk to him and then went off on a rant that Jay was a racist bastard (plus a couple of choice words I suspect I only know the Chilean equivalent to) and marched off spitting. Friendly.
In a restaurant in Valencia we tried arroz negro - a type of Paella (a classic Spanish rice dish) cooked with squid meat and dyed black with the ink of the squid. Dark and scary-looking at first glance, but absolutely delicious. Although it must be said, the dish has an unfortunate tendency to dye your teeth, tongue and lips black. But oh, it is so worth it.
In one of the plazas, after we'd been sitting on a bench for a while, a homeless man came up and started talking to Jay. He got angry that Jay wasn't responding, and I explained that he didn't understand Spanish. The man asked what he spoke and I replied by asking why it mattered. He said he wanted to talk to him and then went off on a rant that Jay was a racist bastard (plus a couple of choice words I suspect I only know the Chilean equivalent to) and marched off spitting. Friendly.
In a restaurant in Valencia we tried arroz negro - a type of Paella (a classic Spanish rice dish) cooked with squid meat and dyed black with the ink of the squid. Dark and scary-looking at first glance, but absolutely delicious. Although it must be said, the dish has an unfortunate tendency to dye your teeth, tongue and lips black. But oh, it is so worth it.
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