STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR

Thursday, February 13th

Nick and I caravanned with 3 other cars and 13 people late Thursday night to Milan. Our flight to Spain was leaving at 7am the next morning. Nick's been wanting to do a guys kiteboarding trip, and it turned into 4 couples, 5 singles and a baby. (I think he would have been teased a little for having planned a man-trip on Valentine's weekend. We couldn't have that!) After spending the night at a hotel nearby the airport, somehow we got all 13 people to the airport on time at 5am...

and we were off on an adventure...

After we touched down in Spain, the guys packed all of their kiting gear and our suitcases in a 9 passenger van and they headed to Tarifa. It's one of the windiest places in the world. Nick checked the forecast right before we left, and there was absolutely zero wind predicted. Uh oh!

The girls also got in a van and we were off...to a very slow start. I was supposed to drive, but I ended up switching drivers with my friend Heather in the middle of a busy round-about because I couldn't get it into first gear. She also stalled the van a few times...AND THEN we were off to Gibraltar! We were also supposed to have a GPS, but one of the girls forgot it. OY! Luckily, I had brought some old fashioned maps just in case. They weren't great, but they did the trick!

After an hour drive, we parked in La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain, and walked across the border into Gibraltar. The wait to get through customs can take up to 3 hours if you drive. It was more exciting walking anyway. 

Our first sighting of the rock.

"Airfield ahead!"

To get to the town of Gibraltar, you have to walk across a landing strip. There's talk of building a tunnel under the landing strip, but for now you have to cross while there isn't any air traffic.

Gibraltar is an English overseas colony, which means that almost everyone speaks English. I stopped and talked to just about anyone and everyone.

It felt so good to be in the sun on a beautiful day! It's been raining almost non-stop in Italy. I'd almost forgotten what the sun looked like. It's still round and blinding. :P

Gibraltar is less that 6 sq/km. Not very big!! It's so small it can fit on this map! :P 

Ok...I'll stop with the corny jokes. :)

Our first stop was for lunch in Casemates' Square. 

The only person I found to take our photo was a toothless woman sitting on a bench nearby. It took her 3 tries to get this shot. Haha!

Our friend Leena is from Australia, and she was hoping to find a steak and ale pie in Gibraltar. Lord Nelson's restaurant in Casemates' Square was the only place that had it. Since she was so excited about it, several of us ordered it. Unfortunatly, it was just ok. :) The English are not known for having great food, but it was worth a shot!

Jamie and Lorelei playing peek-a-boo at our restaurant.

After lunch we strolled down Main Street.

I saw this policeman walk by and asked if I could get a photo with him. He was more than happy to, so I asked the girls to jump in too. :)

 It's one of my favorite photos from the trip!

Lorelei got a big kick out of these cannons. 

After Main Street, we wanted to see the top of the Rock, so we journeyed on to find the Cable Car. On our way, we spotted some of the famous barbary macaques. Rumor is that they were brought over by Arabs in the 1300s. They're supposed to stay on the top of the rock, but recently they've been venturing into the town. 

The apes love potato chips! This one had just been in the trash digging these out.

We couldn't figure out what a person from Gibraltar would call themselves, so we started calling them, "Gibronies." :) These grungy "gibronies" gave us directions to the Cable Car. A toothless man  offered to take a photo of us. I couldn't resist!

We found the Cable Car! We made it on one of the the last trips to the top. 

When we stepped off the Cable Car there were no apes to be seen. We walked up three flights of stairs (with a stroller) near the gift shop. A few dropped in on us while we weren't looking. :)

They say to not disturb any bags while you're around the apes because they'll think it's food and steal it. I realized I had a sandwich left over in my purse, so I held it really close to me just in case.

From the top of the rock on a clear day you can see Morocco across the Strait. It was amazing to me that we were standing on British ground while looking out at two different countries and continents. 

Heather was walking near a ledge and one of the apes jumped on her! She didn't even scream. He went straight for her necklace.

After realizing that her necklace wasn't food, he went for her hair. 

This one was a mother of one of the tiny baby apes. She looked pretty tough. I was tempted to pet the baby, but her look convinced me not to.

From left to right: Jamie (holding Lorelie), Eileen, Heather, me, and Leena.

I wanted to get a picture a little closer, so I stood and let the baby come to me. I had seen that they like to steal hats.  I quickly walked away after this picture was taken so he wouldn't steal my hat and because its mom started dashing toward me. Yikes!

It was starting to get cold and windy, so we headed back down and grabbed a cab to the border for 5 Euro.

On our way from Gibraltar to Tarifa...

We made it to Tarifa with no issues; however, getting in touch with the guys was a different story. We drove around the town for about an hour. None of the guys had their phones on. We were loosing battery power and phone credit quickly. Finally, one of the single guys on the trip answered his phone! Praise the dear lord baby Jesus! We met up with the guys at a grocery store, and also met with the man that would give us keys to our rental home. He drove us 10 minutes out of town, and then 20 minutes down a very steep dirt road to our remote home for the weekend. 

Our first challenge once we arrived was getting heat. There were two wood fire stoves in the house. After buying wood, we discovered that the wood was too damp to light and the fireplaces had holes in them. So we had no heat and a ton of smoke in the house. Doh!

Each bed had a very thin sheet on it. It wasn't enough to keep warm. It was a very cold, smoky, first night but we were happy to be in Spain together.

The next morning we woke up to a sweet sunrise over Africa. We all got up early to catch a ferry to Tangier. The boat left at 9am. 

Whit and JD

I tried to warn everyone that Morocco is very different than anything they've probably experienced before. I don't think they believed me.

We were greeted by men looking to be our guides. We were asked repeatedly by the same men if we needed a guide. Whit turned and said that I was the guide, and that I had a degree in middle Eastern studies. We laughed about it later, after he realized we weren't in the middle east.

 We started walking though the medina, or old town, looking for the Kasbah. (castle) Several of the guys in our group realized that we had a few men following us. They were the same men that wanted to be our guide. They would walk in front of us and point to where they wanted us to go.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see materials like wires and rope. There are men standing behind them that are looking to be hired for the day. They're plumbers, electricians, and a carpenters. They'll stand here waiting until someone hires them.

We wound up here in the Grand Socco by accident while we were looking for the Kasbah. It divides the old town from the new town. 

Sidi Bouabib Mosque in the Grand Socco, Tangier

This square was redone in 2005.

We ventured back into the medina to try and find the Kasbah. Someone starting singing The Clash's 1982 hit sock, "Rock the Kasbah." I still can't get it out of my head.

These were the taxis in Tangier. 

We finally found it!! This was the gate leading to the Kasbah: Bab Kasbah.

We HAD to get a picture! 

From left to right: Heather, JD, Leena, Jared, Whit, Eileen, Randy and Jamie.

As we walked through the Kasbah we saw this sweet couple from Singapore. They'd lost their luggage on their journey over and their wedding attire with it. So they bought traditional Moroccan wedding attire. They looked so good!

We found the edge of the Kasbah with a view of the ocean.

The couple joined us, so I couldn't resist getting another photo with them.

At this point, we wanted to wander through the medina to check out the souks and do a little shopping. Unfortunately, the "guides" were still following us. I asked a few students that spoke English what we should do about the situation. They said to completely ignore them. The men must have thought that the students were their competition. They turned to one of our friends and said, "F*#& you! Go back to Spain!" 

We decided to hide in the Museum for a bit to let things settle.

It was only a Euro to get in, and much better than I'd anticipated.

Note: Do not lean against the walls in Morocco. :)

Leaving the Kasbah and heading back into the medina...

There were cats everywhere.

Jamie hauled Lorelei all over the medina up and down hundreds of steps. The guys traded off carrying her stroller and everything in it. 

I wanted to get a photo of one of the men in their brown, pointy, hooded robes. These are apparently called, "djellaba's," and they're worn by both men and women. They come from a mountain town in the north named Chefchaouen. 

As we walked through the main alley in the medina, Whit was having a hard time keeping an eye on all of the women in our group. He was turning in circles counting hair, "red, blonde, blonde, blonde, and brunette...ok, they're all here." He said it was like herding cats keeping us all together.

He had noticed that the souks were all communicating to each other as we were meandering through the medina. It was a little disconcerting. 

As we left the medina to find some food, I spotted these kids playing next to their dad. I hid behind a friend to get their photo.  They were so cute playing together. And I was shocked that the little girl had red hair!

A few of the guys bought some produce while we were there. JD bought dates, and Jared bought some of the best strawberries he'd ever had. We all questioned what type of fertilizer had been used to make the strawberries so plump and juicy. :)

While we were trying to decide what to do next, we sat in the Grand Socco and took some photos.

I took this photo as a joke because Whit was sitting by himself looking sad, but I love the taxi's in the background with the men in their robes.

Whit spotted a cafe called Art Et Gourmet up on a rooftop so we decided to try it out. Our group walked up and it was then we realized we didn't have Heather with us. She was still in the square. She wasn't hard to spot though. :)

The cafe had menus printed on the back of paintings. Such a cool idea! 

I didn't order any food after my last experience in Morocco, but I did get some hot mint tea. It's so good! If I ever came back to Tangier, I would stop at this restaurant again. It was voted #4 of 69 on trip advisor. It was a little pricier, but I would pay more to insure I had safe and delicious food.

The meals actually looked really nice.

After a quick lunch we walked back into the medina to head to the ferry. A few of us still had dirham to spend. This cat drew me into this shop. Heather and I starting looking around. The souk didn't bother us at all! Finally, we could look around in peace without someone haggling us. Heather picked up two wooden boxes and handed them to the souk. He immediately placed them back on the shelves where she had just gotten them. She started laughing. I turned to him and asked if he spoke English. In perfect American English he said, "No, I don't speak English." Heather and looked at each and started laughing. She said, "I think he might be sexist." By then JD and Jamie were with us as well. We all set down anything we had in our hands and left. It's a different country, and mentality. So we moved onto the next souk.

I found a mirror and bag that I liked. The souk wanted 700 dirham for them both. I told him I was running late to my ferry, and I only had 400 on me. He was ok with than, and I got a great deal! As the souk was bagging my things, a man walked in and claimed that he was my guide and that he wanted commission for my sale. He was begging the souk. He did not end up making any money, but it was interesting seeing them interact. They are so accustomed to bartering for anything an everything. It is still so mind boggling to me. I wouldn't like to have to deal with that on a regular bases. 

 We were wandering the streets when we all realized that the ferry was supposed to leave at 2:30 and it was 2:28. We booked it! We were the last ones on, but we made it. The security at the gate were the nicest people we'd met in all of Morocco. They told us not to worry, and even gave us time to catch our breath. They said they wanted to leave us with a good impression. It was really refreshing. 

Whit and Eileen had had a much different experience walking back to the ferry. 4 boys between the ages of 10-12 were following them very closely. They tried to get Whit and Eileen to talk to them, but they wouldn't. The boys started getting angry. Eileen said she'd never been so scared. The boys asked them, "Do you know what happens to Americans over here? They get killed." As they approached the ferry, the security saw what was happening so they ran after them. 

We had only spent 5.5 hours in Morocco. In those few hours I had met my quota for Morocco for at least a year. It is mentally exhausting. 

...really exhausting. :)

When we arrived back in Tarifa, we all headed over to the beach to see how the kite boarders were doing. They had 5 minutes of wind total for the whole day. Nick said, "Those 5 minutes made up for the rest of the day."I don't know if I believe him. :)

We asked a few locals where they recommended eating for dinner. They mentioned Picoteo and Chilimosa. Picoteo had tapas, so we made a reservation for the 13 of us. It was some of the most amazing tapas. Nick's friend Jorge, from Northern Spain, was with us so he ordered all of the food. He was such a blessing to have on our trip! Ordering food was just one of many times he helped us, since none of us really speak much Spanish. 

While most of the group was drinking red or white wine, I went for the pitcher of fruit juice that had been set in front of me. I realized after I had taken a drink that it had alcohol in it. A friend leaned over and said it was Sangria. I must admit it was pretty tasty! It's probably good that I don't live in Spain; otherwise, I might be an alcoholic! Haha!

This was the only picture I got of our house. It was a tight squeeze having all 13 of us there. There were 4 bedrooms that the couples slept in. 3 single guys slept in the living room. A single girl and guy slept in the kitchen area with a straw room divider between them. It was tight!!

Sunday morning Nick and I were the first ones up. So we went for a little drive along the dirt road. There are herds of cattle, goats, horses and sheep all over. I could definitely live here. We had the beach in front of us, the mountains behind us, and livestock grazing all around us. I think I was born to live in a place like this. 

Nick snapped these funny photos of the cow. We could not stop laughing! They're crying out for a meme.

That day I had planned to drive up to Seville, but Heather and I were the only ones that wanted to go. It was a 5 hour drive round trip. We ended up deciding against that and went to some roman ruins just outside of Tarifa.  

After you've been to the Colosseum in Rome, no roman ruins will ever be the same. This snail was about almost more interesting than the ruins.

We headed back to get the girls and go out to lunch in Tarifa. 

After having some of the best Spanish food the night before we wound up at one of the worst restaurants in Spain for lunch. The sign outside the restaurant claimed they had a meal for 10 Euro. When we sat down and ordered drinks, the waiter informed us that they didn't have that menu any longer. False advertisement!! We decided to get food anyway. Jamie ordered fish. When she got her food, it was so pungent she couldn't eat it! She said the taste was 5 times stronger than the smell. Ick. 

By chance, the guys walked into the very same restaurant we were in. We told them the food was terrible, so they walked to a different restaurant to have some Paella. 

With the guys just sitting down to eat, we decided to stroll around Tarifa and maybe do some shopping. 

Just inside the main gate there was a painting. This was not just any painting. This is a painting of Jesus...naked...in water. Only in Spain would they make a sexy Jesus painting.

We kept looking for stores that were open. We stumbled upon a building completely done in a mosaic-style. Even the mailboxes had ceramics on them! It looked like it must have taken someone a very long time. 

We came across the main church: Iglesia de San Mateo. This street was bustling with people. There were parrots on the balconies above us doing wolf-whistles as girls would walk by. It was such a funny scene to come across in this sleepy town.

We wandered through the sea of white buildings without a map. We came across some stairs that led up to the castle.

We never did find a shop that was open that day, but we got a great tour of Tarifa. 

We met up with the boys again. They'd had some delicious Paella. I wish I had taken a picture of their waitress. She was a 40 something year old wearing a shirt as a dress with no bra. But she at least had control top panty-hose on. :) Ha! When she would hand the boys their food she would lean almost completely on top of them. We got a chance to witness this when we met up with them. Oh, Spain!

On our way back to the house after a long day, we decided to take a "short cut" recommended by Nick. We would all beg to differ that it was a short cut. It seemed bumpier and longer than the other route, but we did happen to stumble upon these cannons! Who could resist this photo op?!

It took us about 5 minutes to all get on. I have at least a dozen more photos of us attempting to get on here. 

What are the cannons aimed at you ask? Just Morocco.

JD was nice to take our photos while we were struggling to get on the guns. So I had to get a photo of him with them too. :) Didn't take him nearly as long as it took us.

We had to leave at the crack of dawn for the airport Monday morning.  We somehow got all of us moving and out the door by 7am to drive 2 hours to the airport and check lots of luggage. I really don't know how we did it!

We had a great and quick trip! I think the only way I'll go back to Morocco is if I go with someone who knows the area. 

I'd love to go back to the Andalucian area again. I'd like to see some Flamenco dancers and the city of Seville. Southern Spain reminded me a lot of California. The weather, the laid back attitude of the locals, and the 3 lanes of highway in each direction all made it feel more like home. I loved it! I hope we can manage to get back there before we leave for our next assignment. 

I'll also have to brush up on my Spanish before going back. I kept saying, "Ciao" out of habit; instead of "hola" or "adios." Haha!

Adios for now!