Spain and Morocco

Jason and I had another wonderful weekend adventure - this time filling our days with the cultural experience of Southern Spain and Northern Africa - Morocco. Friday night in Spain we ate Tapas in an open courtyard and watched a Flamenco concert at midnight in a small town called Jerez (home of the prancing Andalusian horses). Saturday we ventured down the eastern coast of Spain via trains, buses and taxis through Cadiz on to Tarifa, the most southern tip of Spain. From there we could look across the Straight of Gibraltar and visible see Africa.

We took the 35 min ferry across the water to reach the north African coast. With views to the left of the Mediterranean and to the right the Atlantic, it was wonderful journey. Once in Morocco we went out for a traditional (touristy) Moroccan meal, drank red wine with a Spanish doctor in a bar along the beach, then danced with the Moroccan 20-somethings till 3am at a club.

Sunday we spent the day touring the Medina (the marketplace) and the kasbah (the old city) of Tangier. Although not as vibrant as the pictures we have seen of Marrakesh, the market was alive with stalls filled with everything from spices and fruit to CD's and tennis shoes. We felt a bit out of place (to say the least) and were so obviously American that many people came up to us trying to beg for money or ask us to buy their goods. When we could not shake one guy who offered to be our guide for the day, we agreed and followed him on an impromptu tour of the city. He actually was a good addition to our day, as we would probably never have found the old French castle, the walled edge of the city, the "international view" from the edge, the rooftops filmed in the Bourne Ultimatum, or the best shops in town that cater to Americans.

We bargained for goods with the locals ("Gentleman, let us talk") - or i should say Jason bargained, as the Moroccan men would not speak to me directly. We left with a beautiful rug made by the Berber people, a mirror with local dyes and bones in the frame and an African mask. We also enjoyed seeing all of the apartments in the old city that are being bought up by Europeans as holiday homes (only £4000). They each had lovely doors and entrance courtyards...but needed work on the inside to add running water!!

On Sunday we took the early ferry back to Spain, enjoying the view and imagining the huge sailing and trading ships that passed through this famous Straight hundreds of years ago on their way to the Americas. We landed back in Tarifa and enjoyed the morning in this funky surfing town. This coastal area is getting famous for its wind and kite surfing and the main straight in the "new" part of town is lined with cool surf shops and cafes - it had a Spanish San Diego feel to it. I loved the signs on the stores so took lots of colorful pictures.

After breakfast we made our way to the lovely Hurricane Hotel - see photos, and spent the next hour or two horse back riding through the Spanish countryside. We saw donkeys and pigs, as well as lovely views of the ocean and the African mountains in the distance. Jason and I both rode well for not frequenting the stables, and we loved it when we were allowed to let the horses run up the hills. We celebrated our ride with a cerveza at the pool bar and relaxed in the sun before beginning the trek back to London

Overall, we had a great weekend - filled with adventures, new sights and sounds and multiple languages. We both enjoyed speaking Spanish as much as we could and are inspired to begin classes to improve our rusty vocabulary :)