http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Talia-Atkins/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Talia Atkins en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:31:49 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:31:49 +0000 DISCLAIMERgtgtgtgtSorry for the lack of travel blog entries....I have had a difficult time spending time on computers to record my travels. Soon to come... who knows whenSPAINPORTUGALGrenadabeach in PortugalLondon flight....forget London...on to IndiaINDIA rishikeshhigh northRamana's Garden OrphanageNEPALstuck due to strike breakoutsAma Gharhome for children in Kathman http://www.travelblog.org/Antarctica/Antarctica/blog-397074.html After a week or so Drew and I departed from Tagazuit on a solid mission to achieve a visa for India . During our stay in the surf town Drew blew out his eardrum in a gnarly surf fall. Our good friend Sylvain gave us a lift to Agadir so we could visit the hospital and request a diagnosis. The effect was not too harsh but would have to keep Drew out of the water for at least a month. After obtai http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Rabat-Sal-Zemmour-Zaer/Rabat/blog-384071.html We bid our farewells to Khalid who headed back to Casablanca. I was sad to see him go left in a blur of travel opportunities to company my plane ticket issues for the holidays. I was already missing Anja and Vanessa good friends who had also left Imsouanne the day before. Not knowing what to do or where to go I sat on the beach with a blown up globe in my hands carefully spinning it with my h http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/blog-365076.html Morocco is wonderful. I have been to Casablanka to Marrakech to Essaouira to Sibiceoki and I now reside in Imsouanne a small surf town. I have been living in a Moroccan cave beach front shack on a sandy cliff ledge right next to the ocean. To me it is a much more than an exotic castle in paradise. I fall asleep to the music of the ocean every night and try to swim in it every day. We cook tagi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-353377.html I bid my farewells to my new family in Komga. I have never felt so emotional and torn to leave so many people I love in my life. Open Arms is not just another volunteer opportunity to cross off the list. It has become my lifetime commitment to follow up on these children and do everything I can to see that they have some of the same opportunities I have had and will have. I hid my tears and said g http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/blog-347843.html With a 12 hour layover a backpack and a mandolin in Frankfurt Germany... I made the educated decision to escape the airport and my comfort zone to forge my way into the big city. I eventually figured out how to exchange euros for a train ticket and boarded the underground train. I held onto a scratch piece of paper with scribbled letters emphasizing my German destination. The train eased to a st http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/blog-336465.html MOLOI am in South Africa at an Orphanage called Open Arms. I reside in a tiny town called Komga about 45 mins away from East London. I absolutely LOVE it here. I am part of one big family...a family of 30 kids that is We live on top of a hill that overlooks the town rolling mountains and even the sea. Africa is beautiful in every aspect. The culture is wild and people are generally friendly http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Eastern-Cape/East-London/blog-336468.html In may I set out on a journey to Cambodia with 7 girls and 3 chaperones from our Interact Club. Our mission was to bring seeds to the villages build water filters for the Trailblazer Foundation teach english and bring art projects into the elementary schools. Our trip turned out to be even more than we had all anticipated... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-308411.html