Hotel Continental Tangier

... Our room had just
been freshly painted and the fumes made us feel sick. Two homeless men were
sleeping along the street the hotel was on, and looked at us strangely when we
passed them on the way to explore. We then decided to find a new place.

The next one was
family run, in the centre of the new town and was much nicer. When I explained
to the reception of the old hotel we weren’t staying he hardly looked at me –
maybe he gets it a lot.

We ...

... with the receipt. It was pretty funny. We just went to the ferry terminal and waited to leave. We just missed the ferry at 10am so had to wait to 12 (apparently the ‘ferry every hour’ thing was a lie too). Marty was a bit of a hero and found me some food, which tasted fabulous in the way that only ****** food in a shittier situation can. We are now on the ferry though, and very much looking forward to being back to a country that is open.

... hilly and windy the closer we got to the port. In fact the Rif Mountains opposite to Tarifa are a continuation of these Spanish hills. I guess at some distant time in the past the Pillars of Hercules were solid and in some fashion the ocean broke through to flood the Mediterranean valley. That would beat Moses and the Red Sea I'm picking. I include a picture of wind turbines from the hills. My sister has a strong association with wind turbines ...

... to the shopkeepers incase they realised they could do it too. Seriously, the pressure you're put under in these places is incredible, and if you're not used to it you could end up handing over a fortune. When I got back to Spain I met an english couple that bought a 60 Euro rug just to get out of the place safely because they felt so intimidated. Speaking of being intimidated, I'll admit it did cross my mind that I was now ...

... take a while for us to settle into. There is nowhere else like it. We walk out onto the street outside the port area to try and get a cheaper taxi deal. A faux guide tails us straight away and trys to lure us into a deal on a hotel. I ignore his questions of where you from? and Francoise? and keep walking. Everybody thinks we are French, perhaps because recently we ate 200 snails. We definitely have snail karma. Some people are legitimately friendly ...

... to provide some protection). Finally, after spending 6 hours up here I return to the refuge, and find that Toubkal was only 2 hours away directly above the refuge. It's another 5 hours trek back to my car at Imlil, then a 1 1/2 hour drive to Marrakech, and I arrive back at the lovely Hotel du Tresor exhausted, sunburnt and dirty. We leave Marrakech in the afternoon and drive through an extremely flat hot countryside - it's 47 degrees as we leave. It's melon country - town ...

... sandwiches consisted of stir-fried meat on a baguette with a home made mayonnaise and regional vegetables (olives being a very dominant flavor). And of course, the Moroccan mint tea was wonderful, and we made sure to have one to two cups a day. All in all, it was a bit of a relief to come back to Madrid because it was so much more comfortable. I had a great time, though, and it was nice to have a primer to Islamic culture before setting off to the Middle East.

... interesting as most any illness can be cured by one of the ten products he showed us. Most people bought a small item or two including me. Lee and I are both hoping the product I bought (I can´t remember what he called it) will help my feet and shoes smell a little better. I think the product is also good for memory but I´m not sure. Ali was really outstanding as a tour guide. He kept us on schedule despite slow service at lunch and made the most of our ...

... for children. Other than that last one, its a pretty romantic setting. Just north of the square are the souks, medieval-style markets arranged in an impossible labyrinth, lit from above by occassional rays of sunlight that slant through the coverings. These were a lot of fun too, mainly for being able to become lost. Around town I also visited the Ben Youssef mederasa and the Saadian tombs, two sites with breathtaking carving in stone and cedar. Also there was ...

... br>A small

problem trying to get back on the boat....apparently the police who

stamped it late the first time, was supposed to stamp the return as

well....but the immigration line was at least an hour--and mine was

supposed to leave in 30 mins.... SO our handy tour guide pulled me and

the other girl who was in the same situation aside, and told us to cut

in front of the hundreds of ...