Advertisement
Published: February 9th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Hello all,
Excuse us for the infrequency of our blog so far. It is not because we don´t have wonderful things to report but we´re finding it difficult to access cheap internet when we need it. Last week Amy wrote the blog but this entry you´ll hear the trip details through Bram´s voice.
We left the sleepy, welcoming town of Lagos, Portugal felling rested,rejuvenated and ready for the road ahead and the world famous Spanish capitals. Our discounted bus trip left Lagos at 6 AM, which was empty except for a few old locals and a friendly middle-aged Aussie who became a chatty companion who would accompany us all the way to the city of Seville. After an early morning bus change we headed for the Spanish frontier on a bus now filled with clamourous Iberians and the bus´radeo blaring Portuguese news and American top 40 hits from the last three decades. As we neared the border the bus driver was engaged in a seemingly interesting conversation with a young Portuguese couple who, we later noted, disembarked at the last stop in Portugal then re-embarked once we made our first stop in Spain, an indication of Spanish hospitality? As
we approached the non-existent border our bus was stopped by "La Policia"and we brought out our passports for our first dose of Spanish efficiency and hospitality. We waited a solid 20 minutes as four policemen checked and rechecked our passports, at one point one of the Policia had to run across a four lane highway to check with someone at headquarters so the rest of La Policia and most passengers took a lengthy smoke break. Despite the cross examinations, we all made it through to Spain and onward to Sevilla.
Seville was worth the six hour bus ride, as the narrow ancient alleys and hundreds of orange trees fascinated us immediately. We had little to no idea as to whre we would sleep that night but a seemingly helpful Californian approached us at the Bus station and assured us that the hostel she worked for had private rooms, free internet, breakfast, and kitchen. To good to be true? Upon arrival at the hostel we quickly found out that private rooms were very hard to come by without booking ahead, and at that time were full. Although the hostel looked fun and the other promised amenities did exist. The helpful
front desk clerk made us a reservation at a nearby guesthouse and we were off, hoping to return to the youthful atmosphere of this hostel. After a brief siesta we decided to sample the famous "tapas" bars serving up tasty morsels of delicious Iberian delicacies. Unfourtunatly, it was friday night and our muddled senses were not prepared for the onslaught that is Seville on a Friday night! The streets were as packed as a mall two days before Christmas with every shop open to eleven and not a sould who spoke English. After being tossed in the tide of shoppers of all ages we almost became lost in Seville´s narrow alleys but we emmerged on a main street near our guesthouse in front of what appeared to be a Spanish version of Quiznos called "Pans and Co." In our tired and now somewhat frazzled state we decided to dine on what turned out to be delicious baguettes of chicken, lettuce and tomato (we would learn to appreciate these most basic of vegetables in Spain) and I was fortunate enough to dine on a "fiesta combo" on my first night in Spain. Olé! The next day we searched the city for
another lively hostel but found none with the vibrant international atmospehere as Oasis, the afore mentioned Hostel shown to us by the Californian gal. We decided a couple nights in dorms would do us good so we checked in to an 8 person room of bunk beds and backpackers. That day we also explored the magnificent Palace and gardens of the Alcazar. The shade and scenery was a welcome respite and rejuvenated us for a night of socializing with our fellow backpackers. The hostel organized a a visit to two tapas bars and a flamenco show. After our first evening´s bewilderment, we figured a guide was a good idea. We had a drink in the hostal bar where it turned out one of the bartenders was Canadian. Furthermore she was a British Columbian who had attended UVic· And just to make things truly serendipitous she had just graduated in April with a BA in Geography! The little robots at Disneyland are right, it truly is a small world. We met a couple of adorable English girls in the hostal bar who turned out to be from the same corner of England as my relatives in Cornwall. They were from Bude,
the same small surfing town that my father´s second cousins call home. We had a great night with our new friends and the next day did a bit more sightseeing in Seville. We then caught a train and headed south to Tarifa a little surf town right on the Mediterranean coast with views of Africa. Amy caught a bad cold and we had to tuck in for a few days but decided being only a 35 minute ferry ride to Tanger that a day in Morrocco would be worthwhile. We headed over to Africa and met our guide. The first few hours were a bus and walking tour of the city followed by a Moroccan lunch of kebab and cous cous. After lunch we were taken to a carpet store and left at the mercy of the worlds most persistent salesmen. We escaped with a little lighter wallet as I made a clothing purchase and had to push through the crowd of street vendors who had assembled outside. Our next stop was an old traditional pharmacy. We got another sales pitch and again were strongly "encouraged" to take home some herbs and cures. We made it back to the boat
after a detour past some camels and goats.
Gibraltor was the next stop. We learned through some research that the Spanish town of La Linea de La Concepcion that borders Gibraltor was much more affordable so we found a hostal there. Crossing the border we were waved through with little ceremony and security and we were off up the rock in a wood and steel cable car. At the top we met our first apes immediately, a small familly of two adults and toddlers. As I clenched the rail high above the port the cutest little primate peeled my fist open and quickly checked my hands for anything tasty. We spent the day on the rock making friends with the apes and enjoying the views. I was lucky enough to enjoy a delousing by a young ape that climbed atop my shoulders for a quick look. We hiked down the mountain and enjoyed some satisfying fish and chips.
The following day we caught a train to the former moorish capital of Granada. We walked for nearly an hour through the tiny medieval alleys searching for a few hostels we had in mind. With no availability at the first
two we were finally directed to the "Funky Backpackers Hostel." Our room was a converted attic which did not allow much upright walking but was cozy. We shared a kitchen and bathroom with an adorable Aussie couple. Our big stop in Granada was the Alhambra. We waited in line for nearly an hour with around 80 other people as there was one ticket booth open, Spanish efficiency. The fortress was worth the wait though as moorish architecture and attention to detail made the fortress and gardens unforgettable. Granada was magical but we watned to move on. The train system in the south was full of gaps so our options were expensive bus tickets or renting a car. We decided to splurge and picked up our little blue Fiat in the morning. We took the long way to Alicante along the coast through both desolate and overdeveloped areas keeping the beauty of the Med close beside. We arrived in Alicante some 200 kilometers short of our goal of Valencia but already 150 kilometers over our alloted km limit. After some brief negotiations we were told we could leave the car there for no charge without racking up anymore extra km charges.
We found a nice quiet spot out of the city, got out our sleeping bags and camped out in the Fiat. This was the planned sleeping arrangement for the night as the saving in accomodation costs made the rental car affordable. We had surprisingly good sleeps, said goodbye to our Fiat and boarded a train for the cosmopolitan capital of Catalonia, Barcelona.
Until next time,
Bram and Amy
Advertisement
Tot: 0.514s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0991s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
zoe
non-member comment
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
it all sounds great!!! What an experience. Loved the pictures -- all is well here --Birthday season is upon us again. Keep having the best time ever. Your pictures and stories make me want to reitre and go back packing. You both write so beautifully well too! It's like reading a story and it is the next best thing to being there. Lots of love and best wishes mom Zoe