Waka waka esto es Africa

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I took my first trip out of Spain this past weekend and what a trip it was,  in just three days I went to two continents, three countries and five cities! It all started with me waking up really early (or at least according to Spanish time) and walked about 35 minutes to the Plaza de Cuba where I was to meet the bus and my friends. Miraculously, the bus left on time and we were off on our marathon journey, the first stop was the English province of Gibraltar. Something I bet you all didn’t know, because I certainly didn’t, is that Gibraltar is on the Spanish peninsula and was occupied by the Spanish for many years, until the 20^th century when the British took over. As a result all of the inhabitants are bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish, this was a little bit of a shock for us, it meant we didn’t have our “secret language” anymore and for better or worse, everyone walking down the street could understand us. We walked through border patrol from Spain into Gibraltar, we found out that some people send their kids to school in Gibraltar but live in Spain so they cross the border everyday. Once we were officially in Gibraltar we hopped on a bus for a tour of the city and the rock of Gibraltar. Despite obvious Spanish and British influences, Gibraltar had a distinct island feel that was all it’s own.  It actually really reminded me of the Cayman Islands, from it’s close proximity to large bodies of bright blue water and slower pace of life right down to its very own terrifying landing strip. 

A helpful reference map, and the flag of Gibraltar. 

Just chillin on the runway, with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background.

Walking through passport control.

Mediterranean on the left, Atlantic on the right.

Me and Zoe taking the classic telephone booth picture, we were in the UK after all!

After taking a short tour of the city and stopping to take in the view of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, we headed up the rock of Gibraltar to see the caves and monkeys. The caves were amazing; composed of giant stalactites and stalagmites it was like stepping back in time. Throughout the years the caves have been fitted out as a hospital in times of war and nowadays are used for concerts and the Miss Gibraltar pageant.

Stalactites and stalagmites.

Can you find me? :) 

More awesome cave action. 

Up next was a short visit with the monkeys who were very mischievous. I witnessed them run into a store and steal a candy bar off the shelf. They also stole a bag of cough drops out of one girls bag while she was trying to get a picture with them. Our tour guide told us that although the monkeys are a nuisance Winston Churchill declared that some number of them must always remain in Gibraltar because he believed if the monkeys ever left Gibraltar the people would too, so he ordered that thirty monkeys were kept on the island, today there are over two hundred. Our guide also told us that people can’t bring dogs up onto the rock of Gibraltar because the monkeys will gang up and kill them. This made me take the other piece of advice we got from our trip coordinator more seriously. He told us in imperfect English “don’t touch the monkeys, let the monkeys touch you.” The monkeys didn’t touch me or climb on me like they did for some people in our group but I didn’t really mind, I was kind of afraid of them so I was content to enjoy the experience from a distance.

Their feet freak me out. 

Me and my monkey friend. 

Monkey with a cough drop.

 Family of monkeys.

After our tour of Gibraltar we traveled to the Spanish port from which we would be taking a ferry to Africa. We took an hour-long ferry ride to the city of Ceuta, which is technically in Africa but is Spanish territory. Then we got back on our buses, which made the intercontinental journey with us in the belly of the ferry, and we crossed the border into Morocco. We had to wait over an hour to cross the border, but our bus (BLUE BUS!) passed the time with a singing contest and a sing-a-long to camp songs and some old school hits such as Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. Finally, after traveling for over twelve hours, we arrived at our hotel in Tetuan, Morocco at 9:30 PM. Tetuan is in northern Morocco and is a very popular vacation spot in the summer because it is right on the Mediterranean, think Club Med, and it doesn’t get as hot as some cities in the south, which can get up to 55 degrees Celsius. That night we went to dinner, which we were so grateful for because we were starving, it was delicious and I tried flan for the first time. Then we jumped at the chance to shower with unlimited hot water and good water pressure, and later we watched some Arab Idol. After watching Arab Idol we realized two things, one we couldn’t tell if the singers were good or not because we had no idea what good Arabic singing sounds like and two we had better go to bed because we had to be up at 7:30 the next day.

First view of Africa from the ferry.

Welcome to Ceuta, Spanish province in Africa.

View from our hotel window.

Saturday morning after a yummy breakfast complete with fresh squeezed orange juice and a quick romp in the Mediterranean, we left our hotel in Tetuan and got on the bus for a gorgeous ride to the mountain city of Chefchauoen.

A city we passed on the way to Chefchauoen.

Pretty mountain lake.

The tour of the city was amazing, each town in Morocco has its own colors, Chefchauoen’s are blue and white, the blue is said to keep away mosquitos and the white is to keep the houses cool. We also learned that historically the entry ways of homes were built to match the height of the man of the household so anyone taller who tried to enter would automatically have to bow and would be forced to pay their respects. While in the city we visited a blanket cooperative and saw some examples of their masterful weaving. It can take up to two weeks just to dye the silk or camel hair and weave each blanket. Later we had a little free time to enjoy the mountain views and of course shop. Some friends and I stopped for a cool drink, and since we couldn’t drink the water that left us with the choice of pop or pop. So we settled for some cokes and were pleased to find that they had Arabic on them! 

After an enjoyable morning in Chefchaouen we piled back onto the bus for the journey back to Tetuan for lunch and a tour of the city. Lunch was delicious, we had been wondering when we would get to try some authentic Moroccan food and we got our wish. They served us a soup, kabobs, a puff pastry filled with chicken and Moroccan mint tea.

Both the Arabs and the Berbers inhabit the city of Tetuan, we were able to see both of these cultures traditional dress. It is pretty much the same for men but the women’s clothing is very different. The Arab women wear the face veils and long dress, while the Berber women wear a more colorful dress and the sombrero-esque hat that their name is derived from. As part of our tour we visited a traditional Arab pharmacy in Tetuan, which was very interesting, they had all kinds of natural remedies and most importantly to all the girls, argon oil. Argon oil is the main ingredient in Moroccan Oil, which is prized for its ability to make hair silkier and shiner. The only problem is it is very expensive in the US, sometimes $30 for 6 ounces, however in Morocco it was about a sixth that price. We then toured the different markets in Tetuan, they have a separate market for each thing, including markets for produce, clothing and gold.

 

Although we were exhausted from touring two cities in one day we powered through and after a short rest we were ready for dinner. We experienced authentic couscous, although I have to say I preferred my Señora’s, and got a dinner time show of belly dancers and acrobats. After dinner we went to a private party at the hotels “discoteca” it was one room with a dance floor, and but they played decent songs and we all had fun dancing for a few hours.

 

The next morning, after a breakfast that paled in comparison to the last, we left the hotel to tour Tangier. We visited Hercules’ Grotto, where we saw the point where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet and had the chance to wash our faces with some Herculean holy water. Then it was the part I’d been waiting for, camel time! Our tour guide kept calling the camels the Rolls Royce of Morocco, which cracked us all up. There was the cutest baby camel, but it must have missed its mom because it kept crying. I got to ride a camel, and even managed to do it with no hands. Riding them wasn’t scary at all, it was easier than riding a horse, but getting down was terrifying. I only screamed a little bit. 

 

Finally, we were wisked away to our final desination, Ceuta. Although we’d been there before we hadn’t taken a tour of the city yet. After a “five minute” bathroom break, fifty girls and they thought we could be done in five minutes, yeah right, we took a bus tour of Ceuta. We stopped at a scenic lookout for one last glimpse of the ocean before it was time to leave Africa for good. Our guide told us the legend of Hercules and that he put the rock of Gibraltar and the cliff we were on in Ceuta in the ocean as landmarks so everyone would know where the land ended. 

Then all that was left was a marathon bus ride back to Sevilla, I slept pretty much the whole way, and woke up just as we were entering the outskirts of Sevilla. It was an amazing trip, the travel company I went with did a phenomenal job and I feel so lucky to have visited a part of the world not many people get to see.