Kabila Tetouan

Morocco.  Marruecos!  Sorry to everyone who has been patiently waiting to hear my some meaty thoughts on the experience and the sights, sounds and smells, but unfortunately time and internet only permits me to post pictures and this short little description.  I'm also not sure if I've wrapped my brain around it all still anyways.  Brief description: The CIEE Language and Society program's 27 students ventured down south ...

... all the cooking and cleaning up and get up early for to prepare breakfast the next morning. Due to the large group we will end up cooking about once a week. My group consisted of Lene, Heather and Sabrina. We were given a budget of 60 Euros to feed everybody. With plenty of fresh vegetables and good quality cheap chicken the plan was to make a Chicken and Vegetable Stir fry. Being the first time buying food for the group the quantities were ...

... their independence so there is a big Spanish influence on the city. Most of the people there speak Arabic and either Spanish or French, but Spanish is the main second language. In Tetouan we went on a walking tour through the city and saw many Muslim mosques and a few churches because the Spanish are obviously Catholic but 98% of Moroccans are Muslim. Our first stop was the Kings palace, which represented the point where the new and the old city met. On one side the buildings are newer ...

... Ramadan ends in one month there is a festival called Aid-al-Fitr that lasts for five days and basically involves everybody ending the famine by feasting on alcohol and previously forbidden foods, cant be good for the system. All of Morocco grinds to a halt at this time and we want to be out before this occurs. But, does all this Holy week business mean we will not be seeing any bellydancers on show? After the sunset happens and the daily fast is broken ...

... from strength in numbers; we accepted and we were treated to a traditional Berber meal in the shop which also doubled as their house. They even went through the trouble of making Virginia a vegetable tagine and spent most of the night telling us about life in Morocco. Thus, though we got the 'tourist price' for the shirts, even after negotiation, we still felt that it was worth the experience. Chefchaouen is a town that could have a lot of potential ...

... sun set over Algerciras with mountains in the background and dolphins jumping in the green-blue water. We arrived in Ceuta, a Spanish city in Morocco. We took another bus to the border of Ceuta (Spain) and Morocco. It took quite a while to get through because there were a ton of cars and they had to stamp all of our passports and then hand them back to us. Our Moroccan tour guide made the whole ...

... touts either, just a few overly friendly men attempting to lead you into their cousins carpet shop. It's a very crafty town with men working in their tiny windowless rooms. These cells open out onto the street with wooden shutters and act as a work studio cum shop. Often you could see them weaving, making clothes, doing woodwork or decorating frames.

... around in. They also had some ancient dresses and drums and guns fron the past. It was like having a free museum included with the Kasbah. After that we walked around the city some more before heading back to the hostel to meet our new roommates. We then all went out for dinner at this great restaurant about 3 levels above the square below. It was another fantastic dinner and the great views of the square and mountains made it even better ...

May 6th KM START = 12,204 (Trip = 1,834 ) KM END = 12,408 (Trip = 2,038) Route: Valencia > Denia > Xabia > Benidorm (eek) Breakfast with Federico, Estrella and the kids, a few photos and we are off down the coast. On the road and it feels like the first day of holiday riding - sun on our backs and amazing views of the coastline from twisting coastal roads. Road from Denia to Calpe is fantastic. No desire to head to the big smoke of Alicante so we decide to crash ...

... me, I love that sort of hustle and bustle. I just don't want to buy anything. I'd like it if I did, but with only a rucksack and an empty wallet, I can't just buy everything thrust at me... Wish I could say more about Morocco but returned back to Gibraltar the same night, as I didn't have a Visa that would allow me any longer. Yet again, I find myself wishing I could spend longer somewhere...