"Hola,
We´re now in Granada. This town is AWESOME. Not sure if it´s this way because I just got out of Morocco (very different way of like...one needs a few weeks to adapt to the culture and feel comfortable), but regardless, it´s beautiful here. We´re tucked away in the Sierra Nevadas, but no snow is here yet. Supposedly there´ll be good skiing soon. Lots of hippies, hookah bars, tea cafes, and incense in one area of town...the other sells Burberry (yes, Julia! we thought of you) and the euro-fashion trends, like tight sneakers, shoulderless shirts, and j.lo sunglasses. Meanwhile, they have X and me trekking around, not really fitting into any style, just constantly asking, "Donde esta la lavanderia?" in very poor Spanish. We really need to do laundry right now (I´ve gone four days in the same outfit), and of course we find one and it´s closed due to a holiday we were totally unaware of...and still are. (Supposedly these peeps get countless 4-day weekends every year for so-called fiesta celebrations, and these Spaniards celebrate EVERYTHING, no joke).
Anyways, back to Morocco. We visited Chefchaouen for a couple days, literally raced through Rabat, and spent another couple days in Asilah. Like I said, very different. VERY cheap, however, so we came across multiple backpackers who were there simply because they wanted to continue their travels but were short on cash. 10 dirham (DH) = 1€ = 1.28 USD (as of yesterday), and we were getting accommodations in Morroco for 120 DH, meals for 25 DH, cafe for 5 DH...unreal. We did pay a price for cheap accommodation, however, by spending two nights in a room that is little better than a jail cell. I won´t go into details or you all will really think I am a dirty person for staying there, but from Morroco forward, any accommodation we get is going to be like a 5-star resort...or at least 4-stars. I guess my main complaint about Morocco was the way kids were living. We ventured into towns, which were TOTAL chaos, and you´d see slums like nothing you can imagine, and kids are playing with sticks, running around barefoot, and eating with their hands. Their immune systems must be tough as nails, considering the septic systems in these towns are so poor. Note: Don´t step in the water flowing down the streets! Otherwise, there was a bit of humor to be found in these places. People bought live chickens, which had their feet tied to prevent escape. Our last bus ride in Morocco, the baggage compartment flies open, and our bags are thrown on top of a chicken. My jaw dropped, X started snapping pictures like a madman, smiling like a joker. The locals got a kick our of our reaction to the whole incident. I wasn´t too happy when my jacket was retrieved at the end of the ride stinking something putrid, and was wet. YUCK! I don´t have a jacket at the moment as a result because we can´t find a darn lavaderia in Spain!!! Enough on Morocco...oh wait, both X and I did get upset stomachs there. I haven´t quite recovered, still feeling a bit of nausea.
Tomorrow we leave Granada for Murcia. We have a WWOOF gig in that town with a family, and supposedly we sleep in tipis. I hope we stay for a couple of weeks because traveling is starting to wear on me, looking for a place to sleep every night, etc. I want to throw my backpack somewhere and stay for a while, get regular meals and such. Speaking of, it is very difficult to survive as a vegetarian in Spain. Everyone likes to put jamon (ham) on everything, so basically I am surviving on tortillas (in Spain, they´re like potato omelettes, not like those in Mexico), queso bocadillos (cheese sandwiches), and cafe solo...er, black coffee...but Spain has really, really good coffee, although I can´t wait to go home and have my 12 ounce mug filled to the brim with Peet´s. Nobody in Spain will fill my mug. Mui grande, they say!!!
I hope you all are doing really well, and I miss you.
I will write more later...
gg
p.s. We just bought tickets to Rome for a week (for 40€ each, not kidding), so we get to see Omar and spend a few days with Carolyn and Foster. Can´t wait!!! After that, I think we´re heading into southwestern France, i.e. Biarritz, for the rest of our trip, heading home 11/18.
p.s.s. I just sent in my first batch of pictures to Snapfish, so hopefully they´ll be online soon. Will let you know."
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