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Published: July 12th 2007
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Well, a view of Africa and an Africa update anyway. . .
My last day in London I went on the hunt for a bookstore that carried “Learn to Speak Swahili” to help me prep for my Africa trip (I’m supposed to learn Swahili while I’m trying to speak Spanish in Spain . . . riight). Strolling the streets of London always turns out to be dangerous for me; one, because I somehow end up in the shopping districts and two, I tend to trip a lot because I’m always looking up at all the cool things around the area. Anyway, when I got to this bookstore I headed to the travel section and found this great book called “Body and Soul Escapes”. Talk about my kind of travel book! It is a guide of places to stay around the world that range from Yoga retreats, spas, cleansing clinics, outdoor adventures, to just chill out places. I was in the bookstore for about an hour writing down all the places in Spain and Portugal and I finally decided to just buy the book. One of the places was this Bed and Breakfast in Tarifa. . . Voila! Al and
Amy’s place!
Kate and I drove up a small dirt road outside of Tarifa to our little oasis on the hill and were immediately greeted by Al and Moe, the dog. I’ve only stayed in a B&B once, last year in Provence, and it was not the best experience. I have now been reborn into the B&B world with Al & Amy. Their place was wonderful and I can’t wait for them to come visit me in San Francisco to return the hospitality.
Tarifa is know as the Kite Surfing and Wind Surfing mecca of Europe and the closest launch pad for trips to Tangiers (we chose not to go, but had great views of it). Tarifa gets A LOT of wind and the beaches and water are beautiful. Definitely a surf town, probably half the size of Laguna, with the same low key vibe and about twice the amount of surf shops. Kate and I got right into the groove, sleeping, reading, eating, beaching . . . and pretty much rotated through those four categories for the week.
Kate left a day early, so after driving her to the airport (I got to see Gib one
more time!) I took a drive along the coast to Vejer de la Fronterra, a small little hill town squeezed between the sierras and the sea. This hill town is a perfectly preserved example of what many Andalucian towns were like during the Islamic occupation. A maze of white washed houses & winding cobbled streets, it reminded me a lot of Mykonos with a little wider streets and minus all the partiers.
The next morning when I was packing to leave, I was a little bummed out because I didn’t want to go. After six days I had started feeling a little like I was home, with Amy and Kate my new girlfriends, my dog Moe, and my favorite, Crumble, the cat (we bonded). I saw Al and Amy in their chill home, hanging out with each other, having their routine, and I wanted it. But after I left and started my drive to my next destination I realized there’s always times we think the grass is greener. I guess we just need a reminder to take a good look at our “grass” because we’re sure find lots of green. Whether it’s the puppy sitting by your feet, the
friends you get to see at work each day, the kids, wife/husband you get to come home to, or traveling new places in Spain, we all have a ton of great greenery, we just have to remember to keep our eyes open to see and appreciate it. :-)
Africa Update!
I just talked with my Arusha Advisor from Cross Cultural Solutions. I should find out my work placement within the next week, and based on my background, she thinks it is likely to be something around women or community empowerment. Last time I talked to her was right after I signed up for the program, and in that conversation she had mentioned “tissue” as part of my packing list because “some of the work placements do not have bathrooms”. Needless to say, this has been in the back of my mind since that conversation. So, this time I asked her if my likely placements had bathrooms (not that I can’t handle it, I just would like to know and mentally prep). She said, as far as she recalls, no. It’s all about finding a bush. Good times! Anyway, I’ll let you know my placement as soon as I hear
and thanks again for all your support!
Ciao for now!
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