Hello Morocco

I had wanted to go to Morocco for as long as I can remember. I have a vague feeling that Adrian Mole may have planted the seed when he visited the north of Africa in the book Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4. Anyways ... whatever, I was going and my friend Kristen was going me for this adventure. Woo hoo!

I had taken the advice of many travellers I'd met along the way and had booked a tour with Intrepid. This is always a bit of a concern ... what type of people would be on the tour, would I want to travel with them or even talk with them???

 Kris and I landed in Casablanca the night before the tour kicked off. We checked in to our very decorative hotel and went downstairs for dinner.

Quite an average but expensive dinner as it turned out with the painful strains of some poor belly dancing women serenading us. We later found out this is a hang out for local men looking to pick up a lady of the night. Too funny. This place will now be forever referred to as hooker hotel.

We headed out the next day to see what the town had to offer. We jumped in the world's worse cab and laughed all the way to the mosque. The wood and rope door handle was very ingenious.

The Hassan II mosque or mosquee as the locals say, is situated on the coast and is a very impressive building. It is the countries largest mosque and the minaret is the tallest in the world. Call to prayer was about to sound so we couldn't go in, although I did peek through the doors.

We then jumped into another crazy cab and headed across town to see the palace ... although it was a bit disconcerting that none of that cab drivers knew what we were talking about!

We found a palace-looking building, bribed a guard and headed in for a squiz. Quite lovely really but the local medina was calling.

 Wandering around the stalls we checked out what was on offer. The colours, sights and smells were amazing.

Back to the hooker hotel for our team meeting. This is where we get to check out our travel buddies ..... and so far so good. We headed out to dinner, a few Aussies, a few Canadians, a couple of Yanks and the obligatory Kiwi. People who over the course of the next two weeks would become very good friends.

Back in sunny Spain ... Seville & Granada

I landed in Seville still slightly traumatised but oh so thankful to be away from Venice. The sun was shining and I was booked into a cheap but lovely hotel deep within the narrow cobbled streets of the old part of town.

I was a bit excited as I'd just discovered that my friends Kim and Duane from www.wright2travel.com were also in town. I met these crazy Aussies at Rawai Muay Thai camp and we had kept in touch, sharing tips and stories about our travels. We had hoped that our paths would cross in Europe but it seemed like we couldn't make it happen ... then hello! So obvs we needed a jug or two.... or three of sangria and maybe a bottle of wine to celebrate. Throw in some tapas and we had ourselves a very good night.

The next day I was back at the hospital ... not from a nasty hangover but from these bloody infected bites. Without boring you with the details, I will say the doctors in Spain aren't half as cute as their Italian counterparts but a few euros saw me jump to the head of the queue and the kick-ass drugs resulted in a big improvement within a couple of days.

I spent the next couple of days getting lost in the wonders of Seville .... the amazing cathedral, the windy cobbled streets, a protest, a religious parade complete with marching band and of course more tapas washed down with yet more sangria.

Then it was on the train to Granada to catch up with my friend Sal. Talk about reunion week!

We watched the sun set from the top of the hill above the old town then and a liquid dinner. But Granada is one of the few Spanish towns that provide free tapa with every beverage so this counted as dinner.

Granada is a very cool town, steeped in history and at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are not one, but three cathedrals in town ... all built next to each other. One of these magnificent buildings is home to the caskets of Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand.

The main attraction in Granada for most tourists is the Alhambra, the enormous hill top castle and fortress. But my favourite was the busker behind the cathedral who loved Crowded House ... his voice was amazing and I must admit I got a bit choked up when he sang 'Better be home soon'. You could pick the Aussies, even the guys were wiping tears. Was quite a moment. (Never mind the fact that the band are from NZ!)

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and jump on the bus south to the airport. My Moroccan adventures were about to begin.

Links to all photos

Spain - Seville

Spain - Granada