Free Food!!!

We left Tarifa carrying an illegal amount of Dirham & clown shoes & headed for Granada. The campsite we came to was conveniently situated about 2km from the old city centre so, after cooling down with a few beers & a dip in the pool, we put on our walking sandles.

Exploring at night has become our new fav thing, as the temperature has normally dropped & it's much quieter in the streets. The old town of Granada is exceptionally pretty & has an amazing water feature that's lit up in different colours at night (lucky for us). However, we quickly became disorientated by all the Moroccon restaurants & shops & had to keep reminding ourselves we were back in Spain. There's a very obvious Northern African influence in Granada.

When we reached a bar that wasn't serving the same food that we'd been eating for 5 days straight, we pounced on a table. We were confused when the waiter brought us sardines on bread with our drinks but we ate it anyway because we were hungry. We also ordered a main meal each. To our astonishment, we found no trace of our surprise entre on the bill - free food? Not possible! This was our initiation into traditional tapas.

Though there was a lot left to see, we said goodbye to Granada the next morning, unimpressed with the shower situation at our campsite - it doesn't take much with our tightening schedule!

That afternoon we tackled a 5 hour drive until finally settling in Toledo, another UNESCO world heritage site. Toledo's medina reminded us of Le Mont St Michel, as it's similar in shape & rests on top of a mountain surrounded by water. I'm sure we'd have had a different experience by day but our impression after a moonlit visit was that it had something uniquely peaceful & authentic about it.

Fortunately, we stumbled upon a good ol' trusty Maccas & used their hotspot to locate a traditional tapas bar in the medina. Soooooo good!! Every drink we bought earned us a ration of food & each one was a decent size - I was worried Alex might steal my title of 'alcoholic in the relationship'! As far as we know, this was the only bar serving free tapas in the area though. Other places were making a mint off the tourists (cheeky).

After another short & sweet visit, we've taken to the road again. We left the free food for a food fight - that's right, it's La Tomatina time!

Stay tuned =)

Sarah

TIA

I'm struggling to find the words to describe Marrakech, aka The Red City. 'Hot' is what first springs to mind, followed closely by 'intimidating'. No amount of googling could've prepared us for the last 5 days.

To pick up from where we left off, we were getting ready to change trains & move down a class at Casablanca station. I know I expressed concerns about the comfort level but we had no idea. The last leg of the journey was not only uncomfortable because of the heat, we didn't even have a seat for half of it! We were crammed against a shadeless windows in the hallway with our luggage hanging above us. I think we were more excited about leaving the train than arriving in Marrakech!

One ludicrously priced taxi ride later we were standing wide-eyed outside the walls of the medina, being herded inside by the traffic. The sneaky driver didn't take us all the way to our Riad so we began feeling our way in the dark. Having done a bit of research prior to the trip, Alex & I expected to be hassled by locals trying to take advantage & make a few Durham so we'd made a point of memorising "no thanks" in Darija (Moroccon Arabic). Even with our heads down & a "lla shokran" every few steps, we were offered at least a dozen guided tours & several stories about areas of Marrakech being closed. When we realised that we were actually lost, we were lucky enough to get help from an honest local, who assured us he wasn't after any kind of payment.

Our Riad was a beautiful & tranquil space with the sweetest, most welcoming staff. Breakfast was generous & delicious & our room felt perfectly Moroccon. To be honest, the place had me at 'air conditioning', lol. We certainly made the most of our accomodation, as we made a habit of returning from the old town after lunch at Toubkal (our fav restaurant) for a nap & cold shower. It was the 50 degree temperature that really prompted the routine. We were also a bit nervous venturing outside at first, having found the local sales tactics very confronting.

Once we managed to overcome our initial fears, mirandering through the streets within the medina became wildly exhilerating. A simple walk down an alleyway could see you mowed down by several motorbikes, taxis, donkeys, horses & carriages. Anyone who let their guard down was mercilessly heckled & honked at, if they managed to stay standing.

The souks were another world entirely, although still had motorists & animals that you had to work to avoid. Bartering is a fun game but also a bit stressful. My first attempts either ended in us being shooed away or chased down the street. Alex later scoulded me for not buying a hat that was offered to me for a tenth of the price it started at. My exhaustion had me wondering why bartering hasn't become a sport!

We were tempted to go on an excursion in the Sahara but ended up getting the sleeper train slightly earlier than planned. Dory was our main concern & we were also eager to escape the heat. Our journey back to Tanger was relatively pleasant, once we'd relaxed into the fast pace of the train - although, I do remember waking up scared that our carriage had detatched at one point. Coincidently, we shared our compartment (& some stories) with a fellow Aussie travelor, who was sporting even more facial hair than Alex! To be fair, he spent 5 weeks in Marrakech & climbed a mountain.

Despite being relieved to return to western society & a cooler climate, we already miss the raw beauty & vibrant character of Marrakech. It's unlike anything we've ever experienced. With a fresh perspective (& newfound courage), we've continued our journey North through central Spain, almost immune to the heat. Nothing can touch us now, lol.

Sarah

Mo-rockin' it...

Yesterday was loooong! We managed to make it to Tarifa without any fuss - the journey was uncomfortably hot but it wasn't too far a drive so we were still in relatively good form when we got there. The events to follow, however, really tested our nerves & our patience.

The first obstacle was finding a decent car park in Tarifa, as we've had to leave Dory to fend for herself for a whole week. To Alex's horror, Tommy (our trusty sat nav) lead us right into the city centre & then to a hill that took Dory several attempts (& unsuccessful hill starts) to mount. Eventually, we parked down a side street near Lidl, where Dory has another GB campervan to keep her company. The only valuable we've left behind is our stuffed monkey, Money, and we're pretty confident he won't tempt anyone to break in.

Next, we had to wait an extra two hours for our ferry to make it into the port, thanks to a thick fog that seemed to descend upon our arrival. The silver lining was that we ended up befriending a young British couple, Hayleigh & Alex, while we were waiting in queue. We arranged to share a cab to Tangier train station where we were all supposed to get the night train to Marrakech.

Our plans went well out the window once we realised we wouldn't be arriving at the station in time to make the last train, so we were forced to hunt for a budget hotel in Tangier instead. A2 seemed eager to work on his bartering technique & we were happy to stand back & watch as he earned us cheaper rooms & cab fares. To be honest, we were more grateful for the leadership, being in a state of confusion with our failed plans & a severe case of culture shock.

It was a wrestless night of shallow sleep, interrupted by motorcycles, cats, & religious singing that came blaring through a loudspeaker during the wee hours of the morning - we later learned that this was intended as a wake up call for prayer. I'm sure it goes without saying that we were more than ready to leave that hotel by morning.

At last, we reached the train station this morning with our newfound friends. Hayleigh & A2 now have their tickets for the overnight train & we're currently aboard the day train to Marrakech, trying to get our heads around the high temperature of first class. I shudder to think what it'll be like in second class, once we've changed trains at Casablanca. It might make me look like a bit of a princess but I'm so glad I bought my souveneire fan in Seville!! Sarah

Sweltering in Seville

We thought we knew what it was like to be hot, being from Australia & extremely good-looking (hehe), but this has been a whole new experience! When the temperature reached 40 yesterday we were forced to take refuge in McDonalds for the afternoon... It was the perfect excuse for a McFlurry!

Seville has possibly been the most beautiful city we've been to so far. Around every corner was another impressive building & example of splendid architecture, from way back when (lol). The Cathedral was huge with so many worship rooms & even a treasure room, that reminded us a bit of an Indiana Jones film. Despite the heat, we climed 34 ramps (it was strangely wheelchair friendly) to the bell tower at the top of the mammoth cathedral - the view was well worth the effort.

The Plaza de España ('Spain Square') looked like the centrefold of a fairytale book! You could even take a horse & carriage tour through the gardens & hire a rowboat for the water feature out the front of the building. I made my own fun by falling down a stone staircase - well, Alex enjoyed it, at least.

Now we're driving towards Tarifa where we'll get the ferry across to Tangier & from there we'll get the train to Marrakech. The car ride is difficult in this heat but I guess it's good training for what's to come - we're headed for highs of 45 degrees! Ahhhhhh....!!!! Sarah

Cats & Castles

After being given a thumbs up from Iveco (or a, "come back tomorrow if not fixed", at least), we left Quarteira/Faro & began our drive towards Seville. We thought we'd better go easy on poor Dory for the time being so, to break up the trip, we spent last night at a free aire in Castro Marid, which is located right behind the Spanish border.

Alex found out the hard way that Castro Marid is mostly occupied by wild, domestic-sized, Portuguese cats. As we made our ascent to what appeared to be an ancient castle (& was), Alex innocently tossed his empty Sumol can into a nearby bin. To Alex's surprise (& my delight), a black & white cat came leaping out mid heart-attack & almost gauged his eyes out. Luckily, Alex managed to regain control of the situation with a, "sorry cat".

All in all, we enjoyed our brief stay in Castro Marid, despite it being a bit of a ghost town. I'd say it was the cheap, yet generous, seafood rice & free accomodation that really won us over. Oh, & the castle was pretty nice too =). We even made friends with some fellow travelors (JJ & Frankie), who kindly shared their beer along with their knowledge of Portuguese toll roads - would've come in handy a few weeks ago!

We've just crossed the border into Spain & Alex is having the time of his life driving over bridges bigger than Avoca Beach. Back to Carrefour & "ablo oosted ingles?". Sarah