http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:54:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Arrived via bus in Alicante around 430.  I went to the info center in the bus station and asked 'Tiene una mapa?'  The guy smiled and handed me a map.  I located the street my hostel was on and went on my way.  I ignored the sweat pouring down my ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/stick-a-fork-in-me-i%c2%b4m-done.html We got out of our 60 Euro a night fancy hotel and booked into Hostal de Palma, near the thick of things in Malaga for less than half the price a night.  Combined.  There was no air con and we had a shared bathroom, but otherwise it was fine.  Who ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/sunburn-siestas-and-picasso.html Leaving El Jadida was a bit hectic- I think because both of us were done with Morocco mentally and we were sick of the crazyness.  We witnessed many near fights today.  I almost got in a few when little men would work their way through lines to ensure they weren´t ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/out-of-morocco-out-of-africa.html Essaouira looked super dirty without any of the shops open.  The bus to El Jadida was hot and puke-smelling.  We were late arriving at El Jadida, but Simon and Ursula were still there.  Bought tickets to Tangier, the port city, and followed Simon to the hotel.  It was so nice ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/el-jadida.html Our bus to Essaouira on the Atlantic coast was airconditioned, a nice change from what we had travled in the last three days.  When we arrived in the middle of a clusterf***k of what they called a bus station, I realized I had thrown out the directions, but didn´t feel ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/essaouira-morocco.html We arrived at the meeting point for the tour early, even though we woke up late.  There were 15 people in our 2 night 3 day tour of the Sahara:  3 Japanese fashion students who spoke perfect French; 1 brave Japanese female solo travler, Yuko; a Korean guy who just ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/moroccan-sahara-tour.html We had breakfast with some English girls who told us the tanneries smell sooo bad.  We went, and it wasn´t that bad.  We keep on getting told horror stories that we have yet to encounter-do these people want to seem worldly, or that they´ve been to battle and survived, or ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/day-3-in-marrakech.html Woke up and had a breakfast of bread and a 'pancake'-spongy, holy yellow bread that had the consistency of a sponge (yes I have chewed on a sponge before, don´t ask) with butter and jam, coffee, and OJ-fresh OJ.  We headed out to book our desert tour and to call ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/day-2-in-marrakech.html When I woke up it was still hot out, but it was obvious the sun was setting, so I decided to take a shower.  I noticed the water pooling up around my feet, and then into the bathroom, but I just figured the drain was slow.  When I finished, I ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/culture-shock-in-marrakech.html I had Crosby, Stills, and Nash´s Merrakech Express in my head the entire flight to Morocco, that is, when I wasn´t sleeping.  The landscape was so clear, as there weren´t any clouds in the sky-I could see desert, more desert, squared off sections of land, and cities every once in ... http://blogs.bootsnall.com/lauracat/yet-another-border-crossing-morocco.html