3 Countries, 2 Continents, and 1 Unexpected Place

*Sorry for the delay, I was having technical difficulties uploading this one. I should have another two up soon (hopefully) as I am now a little behind.*

So I thought that three countries in one day was a good idea; overall it was. It might just have been too much at that point in time during my travels. In the end, it was a good day and everything worked out well, it just was not my most calm day. To start the day, I got ready to leave Spain with a good solid breakfast of churros, coffee, and orange juice - with all the huffing I do each day I should be able to eat some of the treats along the way and not puff up too much. The churros were not quite quite what I thought they would be (could have been the place or just my expectations) as they were rather greasy and without much taste. In good Spanish form, I think, I dipped them in my cafe con leche as I failed to order chocolate and from what I've seen the Spaniards dip everything in their morning coffee - example one guy dipped his bread with butter and jam!

Next up was crossing the border from Spain into Gibraltar. I was rather curious to see this crossing as I had read some countries need visas and that relations with Spain have dramatically soured in the last little while. So in good traveller fashion, I watched to see what the folks in front of me were doing (the locals, of course) and pulled out my passport for the lovely passport control officer, who looked as if she was enduring a polar climat - it was a nippy 10 degrees. Then walked by the next border police who took as good a look as one can as five people walk by with open passports (to the main page) at an upbeat pace. Considering it now, I could have probably stopped and gotten my passport stampted, but I was rather certain that could not be all they would do. Not only to 'rigorously' enforce their border and country, but I was also the one carrying a rather gigantic sack on my back (unfortunately none of you have been privy to my self made, turtle-inspired, walking tunes). I suppose in 7 square miles, it's not as if you're going to disappear off their radar.

I'm not one who typically experiences culture shock per se. I might have issues at times dealing with a new environment but usually I have a understanding of what they might be like and that food, shelter, and transport are all, for the most part, attainable in some sort of fashion. That being said, Gibraltar was a shock to the system; it is a unique and eclectic place. It is a mixture of Spanglish - heavy on the Spanish, but English is perfectly acceptable; British cuisine and heritage - military, police, phone booths, "look left" at crosswalks, the pound; bartering - when I hesitated to buy something she dropped the price by 3 pounds; German buses - "wagon halt" in the buses; and Arab fashion - much better than the British outfits. Meld all those aspects together, as well as a hardy dose of Gibraltarian nationalism, and you've got quite an interesting and perplexing culture. After flying through the border, I went across the way to the airport as I had earlier researched and found that for a few pounds, and an x-ray, you could leave your bag with them. Once liberated from my pack - which weighs in at 15 kilos for those of you who were wondering, as was I - I skipped off to the bus to take me downtown. Another quirk of Gibraltar is that the road between the border and the airport, and town crosses the runway! There were no planes taking off while I was crossing it, but not surprisingly, planes have the right of way.

The main attraction, and by no means disappointing, were the apes! I had bought a one-way cable car ticket to get me up the Rock, but ended up getting a pass to the nature reserve attractions too! Unfortunately, taking into consideration time, I focused primarily on the apes, the view, and briefly the caves - skipping the historical, military tunnels and Moorish castle. The apes were plenty entertaining and very enjoyable to see. As with all creatures, the young ones are the most curious and open to check you out. A little guy, who seemed to be a loner, came to check me out and grabbed my arm and then carried on by playing with part of a balloon. I hadn't quite realized it, but apes and humans do share similar characteristics, and a desire to spend more time with them has developed. Despite the signage, some people do not heed the advice to not have food outside as the apes are very apt at getting thefood, as well as quick and bitey. Therefore, I watched a rather pleased ape have a snack of oreos and a kid be rather scared of the apes. Despite lugging food with me, I had a cheese and sausage sandwich as I didn't want to tempt fate and wasn't allowed to eat non-store bought food. Having bought a one-way ticket and wanting to get in some physical actitvity, I hustled my way down the hill.

At this point, I hadn't bought anything that wasn't consumable but there were a few things that I wanted and/or needed. In La Linea, I had found a camera shop and managed to point my way through buying another 16 GB SD card for my camera. In order to get my camera pictures onto my tablet and blog (and Facebook), my plan is to get them onto a computer from my SD card and put them onto my micro SD card (or email them to myself) but I didn't bring an SD to USB adapter so I found an electronics shop and found one. When I asked how much it was, she told me that it was 9 pounds, not wanting to pay that much I was getting ready to leave when she brought the price down - I was not anticipating that bartering culture had entered Gibraltar. I had also been looking for a pair of silver, stud earrings as I forgot two out of three pairs of earrings I had meant to bring. One of the shops had some earrings that looked to be along the lines of what I wanted so I went in to check out  their selection. I found that the selection that I had been looking at were 50% off! After getting more pounds (as I hadn't anticipated buying things), I bought a pair of round, silver earrings with cut out pattern as I decided, despite being more costly, there was no reason to get the exact same ones that I have. After my "shopping spree" it was time for a good British staple - fish & chips with peas. I also decided a beer would be an appropriate addition, and subsequently found out I highly dislike Foster's.

Well, I had started this entry while I was on the train to Marrakech, but decided sleep was more pressing and have now finished it sitting in a dark (power went out) hostel's common area (a riad type building) surrounded by a bunch of very loud and lively Bosnia-Herzegovinians (I think that's a word). I must now plan the next city and get ready to carry on, I will try and get Tangier and Marrakech's entries done while on the move to the next depending on my transport choice and options.

-Alex

A Quest & the Low Season in Granada

Well at least I can say that Granada was an experience. After catching the city bus to the city centre and actually getting off at the correct stop, I managed to wander in the wrong direction, which lead to quite the adventurous route. As my research and use of maps in the previous cities hadn't steered me wrong, I thought I would be fine here too, apparently I was mistaken. So I scampered up the hill (also everything on this route was uphill and steep), weaving my way up, up and around until I reached a quasi dead end. Thankfully some bus stops have maps and even indicate which stop you are presently located at. I ended up using two different ones to give me a sense of where I was - very far west of my objective, I was. Finally, the last part of my quest was to follow a hiking path that opened up to a really good panoramic view of the city, as well as an apparent dead end, again. In reality, it was a group of hillside, gypsy homes that are caves and yards on very steep ground, just above the more typically built homes (still steep and hippy-esque).

I realized as I walked back and forth along the same route (u-turns) that bringing a neon, yellow jacket might not have been the most subtle idea for being lost. Despite all the stories that are told about gypsies/Roma (they could be true as well) I didn't have any issues despite feeling as if I were trespassing and most of the dogs held discontent attitudes towards me. I even ended up going back to one of the homes to ask one of the women how to get myself off the hill. As she had already seen me go by once when I wandered back she beconed me to come in (through the fence) and then pointed me in the right direction of the stairs down. In reality, I was practically on top of the hostel, but it still took me a good while to weave my way through the alley roads and ask for directions a few more times. In the end, I wandered for two hours across an unknown amount of kilometres with an unknown amount of kilograms stuck to my back through both a pristine, posh community and a neighbourhood of gypsy, cave homes (more like dwellings). Despite having a background that makes backpacking easier, or more usual, that trek was the closest I've dragged myself to a breaking point (that I can remember at least). Also it took me a few days to realize that I am "backpacking" because to me, I am just travelling. No heat, no problem; shared room & facilities, I have a bed with blankets and a kitchen; carry all my stuff, pack what I want; no laundry machine, soap and a sink; no dryer, use spare laces as drying apparatus; no cell plan, use Wifi for everything. All in all, it's good.

Typically to go see the Alhambra, tickets must be booked and bought in advance. I had tried to book one, but their website (well, ticketmaster) was being finicky so I chanced it and went relatively early the next morning. Thankfully, between the weather (rainy, cold), the weekday (Wednesday), and the season (low/winter), I was in luck. I was even able to get the time slot that I wanted! My plan was to join the walking tour of the city in the morning and make my way back up to Alhambra in the afternoon; however, I never managed to find the group so I went and checked out the cathedral. It is a very impressive structure, but also very cold. Every time I would run into a ray of sunlight I would pause and attempt to say in the heat - at least Granada didn't have the howling wind of Madrid. Before I went inside Alhambra, I stopped part way up and had a midday picnic. I got a few weird looks but enjoyed the sights and watched an older, gypsy lady try and sell sprigs. I even managed to both not give (say I didn't know) and give directions to people in Spanish...why those who can actually read the signs and directions need assistance was beyond me  (tourist area with lots of maps and signage). Once inside, I visited the palace, alcazar, and gardens - the latter being the least impressive, probably because by that point I was rather soggy and tired. The Alcazar provided fantastic views of the city and it's surrounding areas. The palace was an impressive Moorish styled construct and they provided information on the manner in which restaurations had been completed and the way that those currently under progress were being done.

After another day of walking and taking in the sights, I decided to take it easy and ended up reading on the couch with the dogs. The hostel was a very stereotypical backpacker lodge, not quite the chill vibe I was looking for, but overall it was good. My first night, I ended up going to see a flamenco show with one of the Aussies. It was a good time, there was one singer, one guitar player, and one dancer. The setting was pretty neat as it was a tiny white cave (typical of the area) that was only about 7 or 8 feet high.

My diet has gone somewhat downhill, I think. Between the ease of pasta and pastries, and accidently buying fruit bread for my meat and cheese sandwiches, it's been a good stack of refined food (carb/wheat). To try and compensate, I've been carrying around mandarins, and either buying baked goods or adding spinach to my food. I'm hoping  that once I get to Morocco that my diet might consist of more beans, meat, and produce.

We are now driving between Malaga and Algeciras, which is quite a scenic drive as it is along the Mediterranean coast with a number of white towns and the North African coast line in the background. I will be staying in La Linea de la Conception tonight and then walking briefly across the border to Gibraltar where I'll be spending the day before I cross the Straight into Morocco - here's to smooth sailing, in a variety of ways.

-Alex