I came I saw I spent all my money.

In late 2002 I experienced my first true journey abroad.  Armed with inter-rail tickets and a backpack and passport each, my friend and I boarded the Eurostar to Paris.

Within a few hours we were the victims of a ticket scam, but that didn’t stop us checking out the Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame cathedral and Montmatre.  Paris perhaps deserved more of our time but after a day and a half we caught the overnight train south to Spain.

My first night on the train was an experience in itself, a bumpy ride through the French countryside with the chugging noise of the train constant.  By the following morning the Spanish border approached, first came the sleepy town of Port Bou and two hours later the vibrant city of Barcelona.  It was here that I learnt an important lesson when on the road: Look at a map! Finally after getting our bearings, we used the city’s excellent subway system to find the Nou Camp and do a tour of this amazing stadium.  Before the day was out we managed to see the spectacular Sagrada Familia cathedral and take a walk down Las Ramblas promenade and enjoy a good meal.

Thursday began with great weather despite November looming, so I took the opportunity to take the funicular railway to the mountain of Tibidabo overlooking this great city, the highlight had to be ascending to the foot of the replica of Christ the redeamer statue, there is also an amusement park.  Later I visited the Picasso museum, this is more of an acquired taste I feel, there is a very wide collection but hard to appreciate.  Before leaving I took another trip down Las Ramblas checked out the street performers, the best was an Australian acrobat.  Then after a good meal nearby, it was time to venture further south to Andalucia.

Saturday morning brought sunny Seville, with the sun came beautiful architecture.  A must see is the Plaza de Espana a great example of Moorish style palaces. The beautiful courtyard and fountains provided lots of camera moments.  In my short stay here I  checked out the Art Museum and had to wash down my tapas with some fantastic orange juice made locally.  There are orange trees all around, filling the air with a pleasant fruity smell.  Seville was my first opportunity to let my hair down, unfortunately we got pretty drunk on brandy early on and had to call it a night, what a shame, as there is lots of eye candy in Andalucia!

Our plan to get to the Sahara was taking shape, the next step was to cross the med, our next stop was Cadiz.  An interesting place with good stretches of beach, but unfortunately the ferries only go to the Canary Islands, so the next day we went two hours down the coast to Tarifa.  Tarifa is the southern most point of mainland Europe and also the entry point to Africa by ferry.  Two hours and a slow passport check later we had set foot on a new continent.  I felt electric but wary of the vastly different surroundings.  By night the first thing that struck me was the blanket of darkness that envelopes the city.  Upon arriving we headed straight away to the train station by taxi as we heard unsettling stories about Tangiers (there is now a new modern station in Tangiers).  We purchased our sleeper reservation but still had four hours to wait in this remote part of the city.  It wasn’t the most inviting of areas, a long dark road over a foul smelling bridge of sewage and lots of glares, I was able to try the amazing mint tea and chicken and chips wrap in hot sauce.  After contending with the snores of our German traveller in our compartment I got some much needed rest racing across the Moroccan terrain.

The intense Moroccan sunlight greeted us as we stepped off the train and we were surrounded by dozens of touts and taxi drivers.  After checking into the Grand Tazi Hotel, and taking a swim out in the November heat.  We explored the souks, tried more mint tea, and roamed around the majestic Jamaa El Fna, we had come during Ramadan so the atmosphere was especially unique.  There were snake charmers and acrobats milling around not to mention a series of boxing matches, which my friend somehow managed to get involved in surrounded by a two hundred strong crowd!

The following day was spent bartering in the crowded souks a little disorientated by the traders’ persistence, and just generally aclimatising to the new culture and scorching heat before our trip south to the desert which our hotel organised for us.  We spent the evening relaxing in the hotel bar drinking mint tea and listening to a pair of talented local musicians.  

The trip south started at 7am after checking out of the room, we jumped into a car with two local drivers, who I could communicate to with my broken French.  Soon we were being driven through the impressive Atlas Mountains, occasionally with our hearts in our mouths racing round corners.  After lunch and bartering for souvenirs we pressed on towards the town of Ouarzazate, reknown for the location used in Star Wars.  The heat was starting to make me weary, remember to drink enough water and don’t eat dodgy fish like me!  The road ended at Zagora and the desert began, it was here that we were greeted by a Berber and a couple of camels!  I had always heard about riding camels but didn’t expect to ever climb on one.  The terrain got steadily more and more sandy and flat and with it came the long shadows from the rapidly setting sun.  After a good hour riding/walking over the sand we reached a campsite where we met the hospitable Berbers.  They prepared dinner and a sleeping tent for us.  I conversed with them for quite a while, genuinly interested in their way of life.   The temperature had rapidly dropped by the time the camp was shrouded in blackness.  The sky was clear black illuminated by beautiful twinkling stars.  What a view!

Early morning signalled our trek back to Zagora before the temperature got too uncomfortable.  The trip back to civilisation felt shorter compared to the path into empty desert and by 10 o’clock we were ready to ride back through the Majestic Atlas.  By mid afternoon we had reached Marrakesh, tired and a little weary of the country, we hurried to the train station and started retracing our steps to Europe.  We decided to break up the journey in Casablanca, found the nearest hotel and got some much needed sleep.

Morning brought the bustling city of Casablanca made famous by the film.  Unfortunately the city has lost the magic shown in the film, it is now a sprawling urban animal, with little to keep us entertained.  Next stop was Tangiers followed by the ferry early the next morning.  Whilst Morocco is a fascinating country with some beautiful landscapes and rich culture, six days was approaching our limit and we were relieved to be back in Spain.  We enjoyed the seaside town of Tarifa and decided to unwind there for two days.  Tarifa is reknowned for kite surfing and picturesque coastline.  Before we left Spain, we decided to make a quick stop in Gibraltar.  Crossing on foot from La Linea, Gibraltar stretches south for about 3 miles where the famous rock stands tall overlooking the bay.  The hotels in Gibraltar were not cheap, perhaps we could have seen all in a day.  Gibraltar felt overwhelmingly British, like being back in the 1970’s.  The highlight of the day was seeing the acrobatic Barbary apes on top of the rock. 

Following a hearty breakfast we decided to make a big push to see more of the rest of Europe, so we jumped back on a number of trains back to Barcelona.  Somehow within 24 hours of waiting, stressing and sleeping in an upright seat, we were in the cold surroundings of Geneva.  This was probably just going to be a daytrip and after changing our money and looking at prices we were sure of it.  Geneva was quite picturesque and had a good energy to the place so it was a shame to leave so soon, again after several train connections we passed through Germany into Eastern Europe and the Czech Republic.