well i’m on my way…

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 left behind. 

Bus from El Jadida to Casablanca was eh, we coudln´t get a seat until the CTM (Moroccan bus company) guy started taking order.  Got to Casa and my bag wasn´t in the pile, just sitting on the bus, I was afraid someone was going to take it, or plant something in it, I got yelled at by the baggage handler.  The people around had to translate for me:  I´m only one person, blablabla. 

The ride from Casa to Tangier wasn´t that bad.  We got dropped off at the port, which was unexpected, but we had a bit of a hard time finding tickets.  We purchased tickets for a ferry leaving a half hour later, had to wait at border patrol and got pushed by more little men sneaking through!  Stamped, got through security, headed down a portish runway, some man tried making us run, took Ryan´s backpack, tried to take my purse (no way!), showed us to a bus, I wanted to know if it was GRATIS?!  We got on, and he wanted a Euro for carrying Ryan´s bag.  Ryan said no, the busdriver and tout got into it; I seriously thought someone was going to pull out a gun.  The bus filled up, we got on the ferry, and we instantly felt relieved.  We sat, ate crap food, and exchanged our money. 

We arrived in Tarifa Spain for the easiest border crossing I´ve ever experienced,  after getting mad at a Moroccan woman for cutting the line.  I wanted to kiss the ground once we got off the ferry, but with my top-heavy backpack, I would have never gotten up.  I got to practice my Spanish, got on the free bus to Algecerias to get a bus to Malaga, bought ticket, went online, left for bus station at 1015, realized the bus was for 10, thankfully it was still there, got on, dozed in and out of sleep. 

When we arrived in Malaga we were in the middle of a commercial hub.  Great.  We found a taxi, who took us to the cheap hotel, it was full, went to another one, they were full as well, but their sister hotel wasn´t, went there, thanked the taxi driver.  All in Spanish.  Good thing I took a year of it before I left, otherwise it would have been a long rough ride.  Once we checked into the nicest room we´ve stayed in yet, we passed out.  Welcome to Spain.

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 being able to follow someone and not have to do all the navigating!  The hotel was super nice, we paid 100 Durham each, cheapest we´ve spend anywhere so far.  Our room had hot showers, a fridge, and tile on the walls. 

We all went out for lunch at a nicer restaurant, since the budget was nonexistant, where I had a cheese omlette and fries.  We walked around the edge of the median up high by canons.  El Jadida is an old Portugese Port, UNESCO owned. 

Simon was in search of a bar, we found one, we all walked in, but I noticed instantly Ursula and I were the only girls in there.  The bar was a big dark room with men clustered in groups around little tables.  We caused quite a commotion about wanting to purchase beer, and then to take it out of there.  We walked out, beer in hand, Ursula and I went to the beach while the boys went back to the hotel to put the beer in the fridge.  We chatted and read for a good hour or so all the while wondering what happened to the boys. 

Once we all met up we didn´t stay at the beach long, just enough time for all of us to take a dip in the sea, which wasn´t that much bluer than Essaouira.  They wanted to eat at some fish place, I went to watch, but coudln´t stand the smell so I left for a cheese and bread dinner.  There was a guy at the stand drinking hot unpastuerized milk probably fresh from the animal that was not cool for my nostrils nor my stomach.  Got bread and cheese after a lot of pointing, back to the hotel for dinner and to watch the only English channel on the TV.  We drank in our room with Simon and Ursula, played card games that we each took turns teaching the others how to play.  They liked Bullshit, and we liked their version of Asshole.  We took shots of their homemade schnapps/rubbing alcohol.  I showed them my Europe on A Shoestring so they could laugh at what it said about Slovenia, and then they started asking us about Chicago.  They both seemed really interested and said we´d see them in America soon.  They were leaving for Fez in the morning, and us for Tangier, to the get the F out of Morocco.

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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 ... [Continue reading this entry]

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