Friday, September 28, 2007

Finally

As most of you have already guessed, I am more than thrilled to finally be out of Egypt and I'd prefer to leave it behind me forever!
Belgium, no doubt was a culture shock for us and Morocco is a lot different than I had expected it to be. For some reason I had always imagined Morocco to be flat, desert with dirty beat up cities and dark African people...Boy was I ever wrong for it's quite the opposite! I was surprised by it being so hilly, green, clean and quiet(it's so nice after months of having the prayer blaring in our window in Cairo. Poor you, Rhiis!). The air is fresh, the sky is blue and the cities have clean streets, white buildings and friendly people! What a great change!
In Tangiers, the first city we visited, it was right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and it was so pretty. I have yet another body of water to add to my list. We took a day trip to Asilah, an hour south of Tangiers and it was very nice. Lots of school kids, murals on the walls in the crazy medina alleys which are so clean and quiet it's almost unnatural! We are now in Tetouan and it's really hilly like the other towns....which can be a pain in the butt when we have to hike up 4-5 steep staircases and streets with our big packs on to find our hotel. When we were at the airport we weighed our bags and mine is exactly 1/3 of my own weight!!
Our experience here has been surprisingly good and I really like it so far. I must admit, the filth of Egypt hasn't quite worn off me yet. I'm constantly watching my back, I don't trust anyone, I feel like every hand that goes by is a lethal predator and everyone's trying to scam me one way or another. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a new country and to give it a chance before I start judging too much. I have been quite shocked with the different attitudes and behaviour of the locals. "Did that kid just take a picture with us and not ask for baksheesh after?!!" "Did that guy simply just walk away when you said "No thanks"?!?! They understand the meaning of NO here?!" and so on.

I love being back on the travel schedule. #1 Wake up early #2 Pack your bag #3 Walk to the bus or train station #4 Arrive and scout out the cheapest hotel in the city #5 Explore and see the sights #6 Stay a night or two then keep moving on #7 REPEAT!
Wahooo, let's see where this crazy road takes us!!

Today we visited Ceuta, Spain (on the very northern tip, directly south of the rock of Gibralter) for the day. It didn't seem all that different from Morocco to be honest. Hhaha, no doubt, it rained on us in Spain....I feel a bit guilty for that one, after my non-stop singing of "I'm going to Spain in the morning, I hope it will rain..." Curse you Mr. Rogers for being stuck in my head,hahah!!

Still alive and scratching these bed bug bites,
Savannah
P.s. Graaady you need to be with us!! Drinking dad's coffee pot underwear!! HAHAH

2 Comments:

At 9:27 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alright, it's gotta be said - if whiny Savannah says it's alright, it's gotta be amazing. Sounds beautiful, eat some Moroccan waffles for me. If they have waffles. Yes.

- Rh.

 
At 6:46 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I also didn't expected that Morocco is such a beautiful country. I liked it a lot. Morocco brims over with contrast, colour and mystery and all you can do is simply catch your breath in wonder. It has a timeless quality that no longer exists in the modern world. Most of all in Morocco I liked Tetouan, it is a picturesque city with one of the oldest old towns in Morocco where local traders sell traditional crafts in the intertwined streets with its marble fountains, royal palace and orange groves.

 

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