Baaaa

I just finished another super day of hiking (im beginning to feel my posts for the next few weeks will sound repetitive). The weather was quite nicer than yesterday...amazing views of mt.blanc and friends. Whoever said hiking in europe is too crowded has been going during the wrong time. Today, i spent the entire day surrounded by green valleys, snow peaked mountains, butterflies, a mountain goat and only passed by 5 other hikers.


Mt.Blanc (the white round hump) and Chamonix

Finally some mountains

Im in Chamonix, France...the best french town to explore the alps. Nice ended in a series of great parties with people at the hostel. Other than the expensive prices, Nice has a wicked vibe and great night life...ill be sure to return one day. Anyway back to chamonix. Today i spent the day hiking (what else?) up to the Mer de Glace (sea of ice) glacier. It's the 3rd largest glacier in the alps...about 40 square kilometers. What's cool, is that they have tunneled into the glacier itself and you can go inside it.


Inside the Mer de Glace

Lo-ong day

I never really slept yesterday (as i had planned). I began the day on the beach in Nice, which is really nice (except for the lack of sand). I went on a couple long swims in the ultra blue water. I also climbed up to the top of a hill with nice views of nice and the surrounding mountains...i could just barely see the beginnings of the Alps.


Nice

In the evening, i went for a few hours to monaco. The formula 1 grand prix was just last week, so there were remanence of that all around. After getting some really nice views from up above, we walked the F1 circuit until we came to the famous Monte Carlo Casino. Now this place is pimp. Ferraris, Bentleys, and a BMW once in a while that ruins the whole line up. On of the Bentleys had a "Boy" license plate with the playboy bunny drawn next to it. Anyway, it was quite entertaining to watch 60 year old men walk into the casino with their 25 year old, swedish, model girlfriends.


Looks like someone else in Monaco has "Playboy"

octopuses? octopi? octopodes?

Im back in france once more...this time in Nice. The bus ride from valencia was a very long one, i arrived here at 3am this morning. Instead of getting a hotel, i went to the beach (with a couple Israeli girls i met on the bus) and watched the sunrise. A old french dude came out at about 6am and we watched as he successfully fished out 2 octopuses (to read up on the correct pluralization of 'octopus' read this). Im bloody tired right now, so the plan is to sleep on the beach.


Sunrise in Nice

Last moments in Españia

Today is my last day in spain, so i decided to take it easy and spend it at the beach (which is quite nice). The sport of kite surfing is growing quite quickly throughout europe...today i saw about 20 of ´em. I keep convincing myself that it´s really fun and that i should try...but every time i see people doing it...it looks more frustrating than fun.


Kite surfing in Valencia

Hiking & Hot springs

The Alps have been in my thoughts recently, and the idea of hiking inspired me to spend all of yesterday laying down my footprints in the foothills of the sierra nevadas. Amazing views of granada, which im certain everyone who visits this places should experience (although few people do). At night, I went with some fellow backpackers to a some natural hot springs...the best way to end a day of hiking. Today i took a sight-filled bus ride up the spanish coast to valencia...mountains on the left, cities & Mediterranean on the right...nice.

Alhambra

Granada, what a beautiful town set next to the Seirra Nevada mountains (no not cali, im in spain remember). Last night i went out with a few people and had my first sip of alcohol in about 2 weeks...yum. Today, i spent the morning chillin in a hammock...then ate some home-made piaia and spent the afternoon visiting granada´s premier attraction, the Alhambra. This is the last muslim stronghold in spain before they where driven back into morocco...architecture is beautiful.


One of the many buildings in the Alhambra

mmmalaga

Today i spent the day exploring Malaga...again i somehow managed to find a nice german girl who has studied and lived here and was happy to give me a tour of the town (thanks Eda). I climbed to the top of Castillo de Gibralfaro, giving me a nice view of the town, mountains and coast. I then visited the cathedral (it´s been weeks since ive been to a non-islamic institution) and the beach. Oh, also had some great tapas. Im in Granada right now, staying here for three days.

How to sneak over the boarder

First, get in line with everyone else. Then when the agent in the booth is busy, get on all fours and crawl to front of the line. Make sure to stay really low, so that the agent doesnt see you. Then wait, wait, wait, until both the agent in the booth and the ´safety´ agent are busy. Quickly standup and you´re in.

This is exactly what i witnessed today at the border crossing in spain. Needless to say, when i saw the guy on the other side he gave me a big hug.

Bye-bye Dark Continent

Today is my final day in Fez before i head back to spain. Ive had an amazing time in africa, i'll be sure to come back one day. This morning i went shopping in the old medina. I bought a Moroccan sweater (for hiking in the alps)...initial price was 650DH (65 euros)...i managed to get it down to 140DH after bargaining for 1/2 hour and walking out of the store down the street before the sales man caught up to me and made the deal. I also bought a rip-off La Coste shirt for 80DH (i suspect that if i was arabic i could get the price down to around 20DH) which looks and feels exactly like an original...just goes to show how much money these companies are sucking out of people.

Long day today

Hagi and took a day trip today and visited a few towns. First, in Volubilis we visited old roman ruins from the 2-3 century AD. I really enjoyed this place...and i actually liked the site more than the famous ruins in Rome. Although the roman structures are not as impressive, the setting is so much nicer than Rome. Picture old ruins surrounded by mountains, rolling hills, blue skies and peaceful silence.


Rome? Nope, much better.

Next we went to Meknes. The coolest adventure there was visiting a 17th century moroccan dungeon. We were the first ones to arrive and had the whole dungeon to ourselves...let me tell you this is one freaky place. It's underground, massive (held 30,000 prisoners) and dark (except for a few light holes they've created in the ceiling...for tourists so that they could see...back in the day...it was pitch black). Im not one to get scared, especially at a UNESCO site, but honestly i was frightened just being there...im quite confident that i would never go down by myself. All the walls had writings engraved...scratched on by the prisoners. I tried to imagine what it must have been like...really scary. Anyway, i felt really happy to be alive and free after i emerged. Below is a crappy picture that does not do it justice.


This picture is underexposed on purpose...this is exactly how it looks when you're down there.


Chillin' in Meknes

Japanese Girl

I get hassled once in while...ok, no problem. At the beginning of my trip in morocco, i travelled for a few days with a girl from new zealand. It was crazy, she attracted at least 10 times more attention to us. Now, im travelling with a guy from japan...again, at least 10 times more attention. I feel sorry for japanese girls. Oh, im in Fez.

Mountains! Gorges! Deserts! Oh My!

Just got back from by tour. Wow. We drove through the Atlas moutains, stopped and hiked through the Dades Gorges and the Todra Gorges and finished the trip with an overnight camel ride into the Sahara Desert near Merzouga (small town just south of Erfoud).


On the road again, can't wait to get back on the road again


Berber town

The ride into the desert was quite an experience. This part of the Sahara is famous for its massive sand dunes...a lot of hollywood movies (like The Mummy) are shot here. It's really hard to explain the experience...but the desert makes you feel really small. The whole time, i was fascinated by the dune patterns...the tops of dunes, create perfect lines that span hundreds of meters. We slept in a berber camp overnight...very cool. I must say, im very impressed with the Camel. Great animal, so much calmer than a horse. The highlight of the trip was climbing a huge sand dune (i estimate about 150m) and then running barefoot down the backside (shawn, ala mt. st. helens but much much longer) as a small avalanche of sand followed behind. Next time, im bringing my snowboard!


Must...climb...higher

Cascades

Last night was quite cool in the square. At sundown they began filming an arabic music video. Film crew, lights, big red carpet, band, 5 dancers and a beautiful moroccan girl (the singer). I had seen them filming earlier in the day at the souqs but at the time i had no idea what was going on. I actually got a picture of the girl during the day thinking she was some kind of movie star.

Today, i took an organized trip to Les Cascades d'Ouzoud, about 160km west of marrakesh. The waterfalls were some of the nicest i've ever seen, hiking was light but quite good. At the hottest point in the day, i took a dip in a natural pool (fed by the waterfall). Oh, i also ran into a group of monkeys...they were very keen on getting their pictures taken...i got some nice close-ups with my 50mm. Tomorrow im using the same tour company to cross over the Atlas mountains.


I hate when tourists ruin a nature pic.


Feed me

Dirty feet

Marrakech...my favorite place in Morocco thus far. I'm getting really good with dealing with the people here...at first it's quite hard to figure out who's a faux-guide and who's actually a nice person. After purchasing a berber tool to clean my feet with (they get dirty real easy in this hot, dusty place)...i spoke to the sales guy for a while...told him my story, he saw that i liked photography so he introduced me to his uncle who owns a big antique shop next door...he took me up to the terrace where i could take some cool pics of the city...we sat and talked for 1/2 hour and i went on my way. But the whole time, im always wondering if he's gonna try to sell me something.

Anyway, the souqs (covered marketplaces) are really an experience not to be missed. They're so colorful...filled with people selling everything from slippers, to olives, to cameleons. The main square is crazy at night...you got about 200 outdoor food stands (a typical line from a guy standing in front is "My friend, i have a reserved spot for you, air-conditioned"), about 50 orange juice stands (shawn...hand squeezed), musicians, dancers, snake charmers, and hundreds upon hundreds of people. Great place.

Smoooooth

Yesterday i went into a barber shop and had my first authentic shave. For the equivalent of 1 euro, the man spent 15 minutes attending to my face. I left the barber shop feeling like a star. Most of the day was dedicated to relaxation at the beach. Im reading "The Da Vinci Code" which is a hard book to put down, but kinda cool reading it since just a few weeks ago i was in paris.

Today is my final day in Essaouira, this evening im heading back inland. Since many people are not too familiar with the geography of Morocco, below is a map with my itinerary.


Morocco

One of those moments

That's very hard to describe, but i'll try. Last night i climbed to the roof-top patio of my hotel to watch the sunset over the city. My building is one of the tallest in the town, so i had a 360 degree view of the city, ocean and moutains. There was a layer of clouds above me, but there was also a large gap for the sun to shine through close to the horizon (perfect sunset conditions). A small sprinkle of rain created a beautiful rainbow in the distance. As i watched the sun go down, luminating a red african sky, a flock of birds took flight. The moment the sun set, all the mosques in town broadcast prayers from the towers. It was really amazing hearing chants from every direction, ending another day of sun over the dark continent. Ok, tried my best...


Mosque at sunset

Essa-what?

Essaouira. Pronounced 'Essa-wera'...that's where i am (Marjolein, thanks for the recommendation). It's morocco's most popular beach town, with a nice white media, lively fishing port and a 10km long beach. I've come here to chill out for a few days and eat some seafood. I saw my first camel today...on the beach...but i didn't want to be the typical tourist so i declined an offer for a ride. I feel if im gonna ride a camel, i better be in the desert.


Gramps


Ride Me

Casa

That's the local way of saying casablanca. Today is my last day here. Ive had a good time, met some cool people and now im heading south. Today i visited the Hassan II mosque...the 3rd largest mosque in the world. Built only a decade ago, 6 years to complete, 10,000 people working 24/7. Its quite amazing inside...and a nice change from visiting churches.

Every meal has been a pleasure...for 2 euros i eat a really large meal. Of course, i had shisha (john i have a new tip for you) and the mint tea here is to die for. The people here are so friendly, yesterday i got a lesson on pouring tea. Oh, i also had camel...yum.


Hassan II

The Alchemist

Well, im officially a spanish speaker. Ok, not exactly, but yesterday I had to act as a translator between my landlord (nice old spanish senora) and a german tourist who had just arrived. His bagages did not arrive at the airport and he needed her to call the airport and give the name and address of the hostel. Sevilla really grew on me. On the final day I felt at peace with the place. In the evening, I went to a bookstore, bought a couple english books (more on this later) and sat outside on the curb in front of a quartet playing classical music as people hurried by doing their shopping.

Today i spent the entire day on a bus-ferry-bus traveling from sevilla to Casablanca. A few interesting things to note, first the arrival in Tangier and second the volume at which Moroccans (or maybe arabic people???) listen to music or watch TV. It's about twice the normal volume of western countries...almost painful at times. The whole day on the bus, they played arabic music (gets very boring after 3 minutes) and TV at almost speaker-distorting volumes. As i wrote this blog (on paper on the bus) i was listening to my ipod at 95 percent volume (sweet home alabama) with the voice of an arabic comic piercing through. Oh, forgot about Tangier. Ive been warned by many people about this place so i was well prepared. Essentially when you exit the ferry, a swarm of people approach. Some are legitimate port workers, others are conartists, others want to sell you something, some beggars, and some people who are willing to do anything or help you with anything for a few coins. Add to this the boatload of arabic people who just come off the boat, one polish-canadian and a japanese guy and you get the picture. Like i said, i was prepared. My first line of defense was 'La shukran'...no thanks. The second line is pretending not to know english or french or spanish...polish comes in handy in all sorts of situations.

Finally (i know this is getting long), id like to tell you about a book i purchased yesterday in sevilla and read on the way to Morocco. Its called The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. 177 pages, over 27 million copies sold. Its a story of a young sheppard who gives up his stable job to pursue dreams of travel (sounds familiar?). The story begins in Andalusia...a region in southern spain (sevilla is in andalusia) and continues into tangier (must be an omen). Anyway, it's a good story about the discovery of the meaning of life,love,destiny by following one's dreams.

Shop at Amazon :)

Getting tanned

Last night was really cool. Me and the boys found an awesome bar, hidden away in a small side street (it was recommended to us by locals). They had a flamenco dancer...the place was packed with people, quite a few english speakers as well.

For the last 4 or 5 days i´ve experienced some really warm temperatures...mid 30´s. The sun is way too strong in the middle of the day, so i usually spend my lunch breaks under a tree by the river. Great place to meet people as well. Today i met a couple torontonian girls who are teaching english in sevilla...will meet up later tonight.

I like this place so much, i´ve decided to stay a few extra days :)

Ole!

Some cool things have happened in the last few days. My final day in Cordoba ended with a free Flamenco show in the city´s main square, there was about 600-800 people packed late at night watching the show.

Yesterday i arrived in Sevilla (Seville). Found a hostel no problem, met a german girl who gave me a tour of the city (she had studied/lived here a few years ago). After which, i attended a bull fight in the main stadium. It was pretty entertaining. The stadium was essentially sold out, i had a decent seat (cost 9 euros). I don´t know much about the rules of this 'sport'...but i thought the bull has some chance of winning his freedom. Like the first bull for instance, on a number of occasions his tore out the cape from the matadors hands (boos from the audience). Then it took about 5 sword stabbing attempts before the sword actually stayed in. Maybe they should change the rules...three strikes for the matador and the he´s free. Anyway, the climax of the event was when one of the matadors got completely destroyed by the bull...the next paragraph recounts the event:

We pick up the action after the bull is a little tired and has gotten a couple big stabs from the horsemen. Now it´s time for the guys with the 3-foot long sticks they try to jab into the back. Well it doesn´t go as planned. The first guy tries, and the sticks don´t stick. Then the next guy makes and attempt...gets them in, but the bull smacks straight into him, knocking him back a good 5 meters onto his ass. The bull then proceeds to smack him around, trample and all kinds of other great things for a good 10 seconds. At this point the entire crowd is on its feet, everyone is yelling and all the matadors with their tight paints and funny capes are running to the rescue. The dude, is on the floor and clearly injured, and finally another one of the guys distracts him and the bull gets out of the way. Now the guy, tries to get up...very slowly since he´s pretty beat-up...and by the time he gets to his knees the bull turns around and charges him from about 8 meters away...lifts the guy on his horns...a few bounces in the air and throws him another few meters. Needless to say, the guy was unconscious...6 people carried him off the field. At this point, i honestly thought the bull had won its freedom...nope...stupid sport. Anyway, i got great picture of the guy being impaled on the horns...will post ASAP.

Last night im met up with a friend from seattle, Fritz and his younger bro James. Today we spend the day walking around the city...more tapas and beer later tonight.


Ouch