9/11/05 Kansas City USA

Going home!

I had a bit of difficulty checking out of the hostel. It took them some looking to find the receipt that said I paid. When I reached the door, Sonia and Cesar were just pulling up. We stopped for a few minutes to get coffee and churros (a fried dough), then headed off to the airport through the quiet city streets.

At check-in, security was suspicious that I had been in Spain for two months. I had to did to the bottom of my bag to find something that said I had been a student for two months here in Spain, but not sure why. After that, I said a final goodbye to Sonia and Cesar. I'm really going to miss them.

The flight seemed pretty short, only 7 hours. But it always seems strange that I left Madrid at 11am and by the clock arrived in New Jersey at 1pm. Went through customs real fast and another security check before catching my final flight to Kansas City.

9/10/05 Madrid Spain

Madrid in a day

I must have been real tired because I slept late, getting up with just enough time to get cleaned up before Sonia and Cesar came to pick me up for more sightseeing.

It was a beautiful day, with a blue sky, cool temperatures and a light breeze. Great weather for walking, and walk we did. We went everywhere in the city center, with both of them giving me a running commentary. I'll have to look at the pictures again to remember everything we saw. The highlights included the King's Palace and the Botanical Gardens next to the Prado Museum. You could spend days here and not see everything.

The King's Palace

Hey, it's Don Quixote!

Puerto de Toledo

Museo del Prado

We had a great lunch, I had a wonderful pimiento stuffed with spicy ground beef. And later for dinner, we met an old friend of Sonia's for another great meal. This restaurant they told me has a waiting lines every night of the week. The bar was packed with people waiting for a free table. Afterwards we went for a drink at an outdoor cafe. Most of the conversation was in Spanish, but every once in a while, they took pity on me and translated the difficult parts. I was actually a little bit cold. There's a new sensation for summer. It was a good last night in Madrid, and in Spain.

9/9/05 Madrid Spain

Going to see Cesar & Sonia

Just full of nervous energy this morning. I should have gone running but didn't want to pack any sweaty clothes. Tessie got up to say goodbye. I hope they have a good time here in Málaga.

One last walk along the boardwalk

Thought I was going to have a bad day because my suitcase got caught in the door of the bus. Because I packed it so full, one of the pockets ripped almost completely off.

Had to mail a few more things but ended up waiting for an hour in line. Good thing I was early for the train. Not sure what I expected the station to look like, but it was pretty simple. They're doing a lot of construction on a new station so maybe it will be different later.

We left at 12:45 for the four and half hour trip. Most of the terrain we passed reminded me of the American West. I was surprised how fast we were going for an electric train.

It was good to see Cesar and Sonia at the station. Even after all this time, I cold easily pick them out of a crowd. We went to drop my stuff off at Hostal Mátin. Thought we had a problem with my reservation but they just didn't know Jim was short for James.

Spent the whole evening walking throughout the city center. Had a few beers and some special potatoes at one bar, then more walking and talking. We ended up eating dinner at a place called 'Ultreya' which had a Camino de Santiago theme. And the menu had foods that you would find along the Camino. Cesar ordered a ton of food but we ended up eating it all (Mmm good!) They dropped me off at midnight with a full day planned for tomorrow.

Everything is measured from here in Spain

With Sonia

And with Cesar

9/8/05 Málaga Spain

Ingvid's birthday

A giddy kind of day at school. I'm sad to leave my new friends and the wonderful teachers at Málaga ¡Sí!, but I'm also excited to be going, going home, going anywhere. Yippie!

My teachers: Isa, Ana, Ramón

Ramón said that in five years of teaching, he has quite a long list of students who keep in touch but no one from the USA. I've also amassed quite a long list of new friends from different countries to keep in contact with. I will miss them all.

A bunch of us went to the beach together. Today the waves were huge and the water freezing. But because it was a Málaga holiday, the beach was again full. Our group included Katrin (Germany), Julia (Germany), Ingvid (Norway), Veronica (Czech Republic) and Leanard (Germany). I just sat there trying to absorb as much sun as I could on my last day at the beach.

Heaven!!!

Went down to El Centro later to watch the procession from the cathedral. The city was celebrating the reconquest of Málaga. Actually a very solemn procession.

Later I met Victor and Tessie along with the rest of the gang to celebrate Ingvid's birthday. It was very interesting to eat Chinese food in Spain, but it was the birthday girl's choice. While they went out for a more energetic celebration, I decided to head home.

Happy Birthday Ingvid

9/7/05 Málaga Spain

Having a beer

It was actually raining this morning. The temperature stayed cool all day (~23°C) with the clouds rolling in all day. I actually saw people carrying umbrellas.

This afternoon when the sun came out for a bit, I was literally the only one on the beach. One more day, and I go home.

Headed down to the boardwalk to meet Hilary for a drink. While waiting, got a chance to talk to David again. He was telling me about his friends who were headed to Nepal this winter and he introduced me. I really wish him good luck both in medicine and traveling.

Hilary brought her flatmate, Ceri, who is from Birmingham England, but goes to school in Manchester. We had a good time but we all still had class in the morning and it was already past 1am. So I said a final goodbye to Hilary, but maybe I'll see her tomorrow night.

Ceri & Hilary

This trip hasn't been what I planned but for all the people I've met, I wouldn't have wanted it any different.

9/6/05 Málaga Spain

Walking tour with Katrin & Hilary

Went this afternoon with Katrin and Hilary on a walking tour towards the city center. I wanted to get some pictures of the varied architecture. I had a good time talking with the girls.

Ah, the beach...

Met my new roommates today – Victor and his girlfriend Tessie from Sweden. Victor's here for three months of beginning Spanish. But he's looking for another apartment on the beach.

Victor & Tessie

Went down to the boardwalk for a beer tonight. And I ended up talking with David, a Spanish med student. He had worked as a waiter this summer and had served me a time or two. It was a good conversation talking about our various health care systems and the patients we treat. And it was all in Spanish. Then his phone and he talked in perfect English. Turns out his girlfriend is from Amsterdam and doesn't speak much Spanish. He's leaving Málaga on Thursday but I might catch him one more time before we both leave.

9/5/05 Málaga Spain

Recover from Morocco

Just didn't want to do much today but recover from the trip to Morocco. It's amazing how exhausting that short trip was.

In hindsight I really shouldn't complain much about the trip. The merchants have been dealing this way for hundreds of years. And, since I was traveling with a tourist group, I was 'a tourist'. I th ink the Moroccans would have been less hostile if the tour leader had prepared everyone better when entering a Muslim culture. But we were a group of young people living in a beach culture of Málaga where you wore as little clothing as possible. I'm sure our attire, especially the girls, was unacceptable to a lot of the people who saw us.

My Moroccan carpet

Met everyone, including a few folks from the Morocco trip down at the Tortuga for drinks. Kelly was there with homemade chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

9/4/05 Málaga Spain

Into the mountains to Chefchaouen

We had breakfast at 6am and were on the road by 7. Today, we would travel up into the mountains to a city called Chefchaouen. It was a long bus ride made more difficult because of the twisting roads as we went higher and higher. It was nice to see more green, more trees and even some small streams.

Chefchaouen itself is built onto the side of the mountain. It was so steep that even the bus struggled to take us to the hotel/parador in the center of town.

The city is built into the side of the mountains

Just like before, a local guide took us all over the village, up, down, and across. It was actually a beautiful place, with all the buildings whitewashed with a lot of blue thrown in.

They had a lot of streams running through town because of the mountains. It was wash day for many families and it was interesting to watch. But a few women clearly didn't want their picture taken.

Doin' the wash

The whole town was painted blue

Like stepping back in time

After the tour, we had a good hour and a half of free time to wander through the shops. They were actually more expensive than in Málaga, but then again I'm not a good bargainer.

Again, lots of sights , smells & sounds

Had lunch at the parador before loading up the bus for the long drive back to Ceuta. I guess my beard is too distinct. One of the waiters chased me down because someone at our table hadn't paid for his drinks but he didn't know which one, so he demanded I pay. I did, but reluctantly.

Even the air conditioning couldn't keep up with the sun beating down on the bus. We were all sticky with sweat. It was such a relief to get off the bus and head for the boat for the crossing back to the European continent. This time we were on the fast trimaran that did the crossing in half the time – really, really fast.

This time we loaded onto another bus for the last leg of the trip to Málaga. And just as their schedule said, we were back at 10:30pm.

9/3/05 Tetouan Morocco

I hate being a tourist

What a long day!

This morning after breakfast, we loaded onto the bus for a trip across town to the old quarter to visit the medina. It was an amazing two hours of walking, sometimes single-file through the narrow streets full of people selling and buying everything – fish, lamp, spices, shoes, clothing, vegetables, candy ad gifts. It was as if you stepped back in time. Only when our guide pulled out his cell phone did you remember we were in the 21st century.

Walking through the medina

Amazing sights and sounds

I wonder what he thought of us

Sewing on hand braiding

One of our group in traditional dress

We were hot and very tired when we stopped at the Berber Cooperative. They made a big show of the various carpets they sold. I said I was curious about one, and the next thing I know is that I bought it. Not happy about it even though it probably is a good deal. I believe I was taken advantage of. They wouldn't let me go without wheeling and dealing. Very, very high pressure and I think they picked me especially because I was older. I hate being a tourist.

At the carpet sellers

Ho ho silver!

We had lunch, then loaded back onto the bus for the drive to Tanger. We stopped at the oldest lighthouse on the North African Coast before heading down to the old quarter of Tanger. A lot like that in Tetouan but I really feel like we were on display. Everyone stared. I hate being a tourist.

Tanger

Then we finally drove back to Tetouan. After dinner and a swim in the pool, I felt a little better about the day. But I hate being a tourist. The bright part of the day was getting to know Hilary. We spent the day looking after each other in the tight busy streets, and talked on the bus. Another person I'd like to keep in touch with.

9/2/05 Tetouan Morocco

Heading to the Casbah

A very hot day today in Málaga. A fitting temperature for my excursion into Morocco. Looks like we have a full bus of about fifty students. Already, I've met more people than I can remember; Hilary (USA) of course, Richard (Holland) and Kelly (USA). It was at least a couple of hours through the mountains of Spain, from Marbella to Algeciras. There we got on a ferry to cross in front of the Rock of Gibraltar. The boat took us to Ceuta, a Spanish port city on the North African coast. There we loaded onto a different bus to head to the 'frontier'. Going with a tour group sure makes border crossings easier.

Rock of Gibralter

Our Moroccan guide, Abdula, gave us a lot of info about his country and our trip. He said everyone told him he looks like Michael Douglas. So he'd answer to either Abdula or Michael.

Driving through Morocco reminded me more of Kenya but the buildings are still very Spanish-looking. Lots of people walking and little vegetation. But the coast road was busy.

At our hotel, we were greeted by a trio dressed up traditionally playing for the 'tourists'. Actually kind of worn out.

Rockin' the Casbah

Had dinner of soup, chicken kabob, rice and potatoes. Kelly and Richard wet out but I ended up staying in. Not a bad place really. Sort of like a Best Western Hotel.

9/1/05 Málaga Spain

Tragic news of New Orleans

Since everyone has left or is leaving this weekend, I decided (with a bunch of goading by Cameron) to take a side trip to Morocco. This afternoon, went to sign up and get a little more information. Met Hilary, another student from the USA who is also going on the trip. She's from Colorado. But part of her family is from Nevada MO. Looks like a fine trip: three days and two nights. We leave on Friday afternoon and get back late on Sunday.

Lots in the news about New Orleans, and also about gas prices going up because of shortages. Nature isn't something to underestimate. We seem to be getting payback for all the harm we've done to the environment. The universe always seeks ways to maintain balance.

Málaga newspaper article about New Orleans