Winter Travels Part I

I had an absolutely amazing time traveling over winter break. I started in Barcelona on December 2nd, then headed to Fes, the Sahara Desert, and Marrakech in Morocco, crossed the strait of Gibraltar back into Spain and spent a bit of time in Tarifa and Seville, then flew to Milan, took a train to Venice, and spent several days in Prague before heading back to the UK on December 19th. I decided to start a travel journal when I left (thanks again for the brilliant gift Professor Sato!) and managed to write a bit in each city. Actually I managed to write alot, and I am glad I did because it is so much fun to go back and read it. The pictures on my picasa site (see the links below) tell most of the story about what I saw, but to give you more of a flavor of my experiences I have included a couple interesting stories and a quick overview of some of the highlights:

Barcelona

I met up with four of my friends (Ben, Brad, Christian, and Nick) in Barcelona. It is a great city to visit with a big group of friends. The weather was beautiful as well. We saw a few sights but spent most of our time eating tapas and paella, hanging out, and having a good time. Barcelona was also the first and only city in which I have ever been solicited for drugs in Punjabi.

Fes

Our time in Morocco started particularly auspiciously. At the airport, our cab driver was pulled over and arrested for reasons we couldn't deduce. The policeman politely asked us to take public transportation (a bus with holes in the floor that picked us up on the side of the highway) instead. When we arrived downtown, we relied on Christian's French skills to help us find a decent, but cheap hotel. The man who directed us to our hotel also introduced us to his English-speaking, Moroccan-American uncle - Mohammed Jene a.k.a. Gino. Gino was in Fes for a few weeks of vacation before heading back to work in the states. He volunteered to show us around for the time we were in Fes and serve as our English-speaking guide. From the very beginning I was HIGHLY skeptical of Gino. I just couldn't understand why he would want to spend all his time taking care of 5 random guys for two whole days in the middle of his own vacation. But he didn't end up doing anything but help us out and watch out for us the whole time (at one point even making going and getting Brad he found out Brad had gone to an internet cafe in the middle of the night). Its nice to see that kind of genuine hospitality. He showed us his house, the neighborhood he grew up in, the main market, several mosques, organized our trip to the Sahara, and took us to a Hamam (a Turkish bath) - the highlight of my time in Fes. As we were washing up and taking in the steam, our masseuse, a 5'4'' 250 pounds Moroccan man in a speed, walked in, grabbed me from behind, and put me in a painful arm lock of sorts. He proceeded to twist my body into shapes I didn't know were possible, manhandle me like a little rag doll (literally lifting me in the air at times), and make me practically hyperventilate because I'm so ticklish. He then proceeded to do the same to the rest of the guys. All the while, the locals in the bathhouse watched, laughed, and pointed at us. Just as I thought my experience was over, he poured a bucket of freezing cold water on my head with no warning!

Sahara Desert

We left Fes at 5AM and headed through the Atlas Mountains towards Merzouga. We stopped a few times along the way to take in some panoramic views of the mountains. We arrived at a base camp at the edge of the desert around 4 in the afternoon. After a bit of tea, our guides tied Bedouin turbans on us to shield the sand from our faces. We watched the sunset over the mountains; got on our camels and headed out into the desert as it got dark. The night sky was absolutely unbelievable. Words don't do it justice. For almost the entire two hour journey into the desert we all were silent, awestruck by the stars. The sky was so clear that we saw 10+ shooting stars during those two hours alone. After we arrived at the campsite in the Sahara, we got situated in our tent, played hearts and ate dinner. After awhile we went back outside, climbed up the nearest sand dune, and stargazed for a good while. It was a bit cold, but the view and utter silence were amazing. Complete and utter silence can be a rare thing. It was a bit surreal at first, but definitely added to the experience...it was just me, my own thoughts, and the stars for a good 45 minutes or so. We woke up early enough to catch a stunning view of the sunrising over the desert horizon and then headed back to the main base camp on camel back.

Atlas Mountains & Marrakech

I spent most of my time in Marrakech bargaining in the city's wonderful markets and sampling local cuisine. After a brief couple of days we took an overnight train to Tangier.

Strait of Gibraltar & Tarifa

We crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier to Tarifa via ferry. Our original plan was to head straight for Seville, but when we got to the bus station in Tarifa we discovered that a bus strike was scheduled that day. It was quite fitting to have my first trip to mainland Europe delayed by a strike. At the same time, it ended up being a blessing in disguise as we had a great time spending the afternoon in Tarifa relaxing on the beach and watching the dozens of kite surfers there.

Seville

Seville was a wonderful change of pace for my trip. Rather than doing anything adventurous, I spent a few days relaxing, reading, writing, and walking through the cities wonderful parks. My friends and I were all a bit tired of eating out everyday, so we took a couple evenings to cook for ourselves (the hostel we were staying at had a nice kitchen).

Milan

Venice

Both cities were visually unique: Milan because of its stark contrast between gorgeous buildings (i.e. the Duomo and Teatro Scalla) in certain areas and pervasive graffiti in others and Venice, obviously, for its canals. The food was excellent (the gelato and coffee in particular). It was nice seeing both cities for a short time. It will be better to visit both for longer stays later on in life when I am older (and have more financial liquidity ;) ).

Prague

Prague was the most aesthetically pleasing city I visited. It wasn't bombed during World War II, and maintains a beautiful "old European" feel because of it. Unfortunately my camera broke, and I wasn't able to take many pictures. I had a bit of a cold the first couple of days I was there, and spent a lot of time in the hostel. After that my friends and I split our time between sightseeing, and relaxing in random cafes. Prague at night gave me a it of a flashback from my Las Vegas trip senior year…we visited a casino or two and were offered free rides to cabaret's every 100 yards we walked. At one point in the early evening a drunk man yelling in Czech put a knife up to my friend Drew's throat for no apparent reason. The man apologized, lowered his knife, and moved on after Drew told him he was from England. Late in the evening on December 19th, I caught a Ryanair redeye flight back to the U.K. a bit weary from all the traveling.