Arrival and Marrakech: One of the best days of my life 2/3/09

We are finally in Morocco! We had to wake up very early, and eat breakfast, and by 0730, Achal and I were on the bus. We didn’t really know anyone else on the trip except my roommate. We were supposed to leave at 8, but we had to wait for some late people. Ironically, one of them was Pamela, the lifelong learner I had met a few days before. We finally left, leaving one student behind who didn’t show up. That really sucks for that student, but we gave him or her more than enough time to show up.

Our tour guide was named Lotvi, and he was really cool. He was the only tour guide who was wearing a jaballah, a traditional floor-length robe, and he cracked some interesting jokes. We drove out of Casablanca and the drive to Marrakech was beautiful. There were huge green fields, and we saw several very small villages along the way. We stopped for a bathroom break about 2 hours in, and Achal and I met one of our goals: to pass as a local in as many countries as possible. One guy came up to us, and I greeted him in Arabic, and he thought we were locals, and greeted us back and then continued to speak in fluent, full-speed Arabic. We had to tell him twice that we were just tourists, and he looked very confused. I guess growing out my beard really helped. It was an interesting experience, and we climbed back onto the bus and continued to Marrakech.

Finally, we arrived. The city was amazing. We drove through several different parts of the city, including the new, developing section, and the Medina, or the old city, which was surrounded by the original city walls. We stopped and then did some sightseeing, and then walked to a restaurant for lunch. I was STARVING to death by now, so I couldn’t wait. We saw the restaurant, and it looked very normal from the outside. But then we walked in, and were shocked at how nice it was. There was very pretty Moorish architecture throughout, and the main restaurant had a very elaborate setup with small sofas to sit at. Again, Achal and I were afraid that there weren’t going to be vegetarian options. The first course was all vegetables, cole slaw, and a very spicy chili paste. I was so happy cuz I hadn’t had any spicy food in a long time. The first course was pretty good all in all. Then, they served some rice and the main meal, which was definitely not vegetarian. We asked the waiter if they had any vegetarian options, and curiously, most of the people at our table asked for the same. We were shocked, because all but 2 people at our table were vegetarian. In fact, almost 1/3 of the students on the ship are vegetarian. The waiter said, as they say a lot in Morocco, “No problem, I go get something nice for you.”He brought back a huge course of steamed vegetable and couscous. It was DELICIOUS, and we had a phenomenal dining experience. Definitely up there on my top dining experiences of all time.

Full, and very happy, we left the restaurant and took a tour of the palace. It was kinda boring, as we had already seen some beautiful Moorish architecture in Spain, and it was more or less similar. Afterwards, we made our way to the Medina, and the highlight of Marrakech, the Djma el Fna grand marketplace. At the entrance stood the Qut’mina Mosque, the tallest structure in Marrakech. In fact, there is a law in Marrakech that forbids any building from being taller than the Mosque. The entrance to the marketplace was huge, and then we saw the marketplace itself. It was larger than I had expected, stretching out in all directions before us. It was fairly empty, and Lotvi said it was not rush hour, when it would be packed like crazy. We found a bank, and I converted $40 and 20 euros to Moroccan Dirhams. Then, we roamed the marketplace for a bit before Lotvi gathered us and said we were going to walk through the souks (small stalls/shops). We entered the souks, and it was truly a labyrinth of small alleys lined with small stalls, selling everything from pirated DVDs to jewelery. It was pretty amazing, but now I saw how easy it would be to get lost. After making several turns, we went into a small bazaar, but the items were very overpriced. Achal and I had our first Moroccan bargaining experience…and it was FUN! Yea, we didn’t end up buying the item, but bargaining was fun.

By now, by the way, we had been stopped several times on the street because we stood out from the group, which was primarily composed of Caucasian SAS students. Some guys called out to us and asked, “India?”as we walked by. We nodded in agreement, and they all said, “Very nice!”Some even started singing Bollywood songs. I guess we really stood out from the crowd. It was really funny. This happened about 4 times while we were navigating the mazes of the souks. One girl ahead of us tried to take a picture of one of the souks, but the guy said, “No pictures.”Then, as we walked by, he looked at Achal and said, “That girl…not pretty…not beautiful”and laughed. Achal and I cracked up and could not stop laughing. Then, we realized that 2 students were missing, and we decided to return to the main marketplace to look for them. Yep, we did find them and they explained that they took a wrong turn, and got completely lost. The only way to find the marketplace again, and get any sense of direction is to find the mosque’s tall minaret. So, we came back to the marketplace, and then we had 15 minutes of free time. Achal and I took off and went looking through some of the nearby shops. We ended up buying 2 Morocco T-shirts after bargaining like crazy with the dude. It’s pretty crazy what kind of stories the shopkeepers come up with to rip you off, but I have been to India before, and they couldn’t fool me ;)

After 15 minutes, we met the group again, and reluctantly everyone left the marketplace to go to the hotel. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the hotel, and it was very nice. I was rooming with Achal, so we went upstairs, dropped off our stuff, and came back down to go roam around the city. It was about 1800, and dinner didn’t start until about 1930. As we were walking out, we ran into a group of 3 kids (Brian, Lindsay, and Emily), and they decided to follow us. So, for the next hour or so, we just walked around the city. It was very interesting, and we had some crazy experiences. First, we saw a pretty bad accident. A pedestrian was crossing the road and got nailed by a motorcycle. He went flying, and hit his head hard on the asphalt. On the motorcycle, a guy was driving, and a girl was with him. She got up, looked around, and fled the scene, holding her head. A huge group of people gathered around the pedestrian, and he finally started moving again. We were terrified, and hoped he would be all right. We left, and about 2 minutes later, heard an ambulance go by. That was a damn good response time. Next, we ventured into a small market, and were just walking through, when one of the shopkeepers came up to us, and started chatting with us. The conversation went on for quite a while and he told us stories about his life, and his sister, and how he respected women, and lots of other stuff. In the end, he invited us to come to his house and have some mint tea. We were tempted to cuz it sounded like fun, but resisted the urge cuz it seemed too sketchy. We said Shukran (thanks in Arabic), and walked away. I think he was looking for a chance to practice his English, actually.

We kinda got lost then, and started wandering in circles. We walked by the Moroccan McDonald’s three times, and Lindsay asked for directions in French a few times. We finally got back to the hotel, and ate dinner. It was really good, not as good as lunch, but still really good. We were done by about 2100, and decided to go back to the Djma el Fna, cuz it was supposed to be AMAZING at night. We packed into a 4 person taxi, and got to the Djma, and boy was it packed. From a distance, we could see a huge throng of people…I was sooo excited. As we got closer, we started to hear all the sounds. From street performers, to small bands, to snake charmers, to loud Arabic music, the Djma was very much alive and awake. It was completely transformed from the semi-empty marketplace we had seen earlier in the day. Next was our marketplace experience, which I will say was some of the best hours of my life. I have never had so much fun in one place, and never have I interacted so much with the locals.

So, let me describe the Djma el Fna, which is actually impossible to do. Apart from reading this blog, you readers must check out my pictures on my site (they will be up ASAP), and some videos I will eventually upload to You Tube. Only then can you get an idea of how insane it was. Basically it was a huge marketplace filled with shopkeepers who were trying to sell their stuff to mainly tourists. The shopkeepers thus knew several languages. Once again, at several souks, they asked Achal and I if we were Indian, and when we said yes, they proceeded to name off Bollywood actors, and sing Bollywood songs. It was great. I bought several things, and bargained like crazy for all of them. For example, I bought a knock-off Ronaldo jersey for 100 dirham, when the shopkeeper started with 300 dirham per jersey. I can’t even describe all the encounters we had, because there were so many. At almost every shop we wandered into, we had a different experience. Near the end, Brian wanted some fresh orange juice, so we stopped at a small stall. The owner gave us some juice, then started screaming, “America! Obama! Very nice!”and gave us a big thumbs up. We all took several pictures with him. By now, it was about 2200, and we were thinking of leaving but didn’t want to. We walked towards the center of the square, where all the restaurant stalls were. As we walked by each stall, one person would run up to us and try to convince us that his stall was the best. The one that left the best impression was a guy that ran up to us shouting “you from India? Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan”Then he started singing and dancing. We laughed and kept walking.

After a while, we reached a stall that was selling DVDs (they were of course legitimate and not pirated ;) ) and I bought Transporter 3, which I don’t think is out on DVD yet in the US. But hey, in Marrakech, anything is possible. Then, we were craving some more mint tea (the best thing EVER), so we went back to, you guessed it, stall 65. The guy saw us, and everyone at the stall started clapping. It was interesting to say the least. We all ordered some tea, and joked around with the shopkeepers. They loved Obama and Bollywood movies. We had a great conversation. One of the guys slapped my hand and said, “Hey! My brother from another mother…welcome to Morocco! Go India!”Then, Lindsay wanted a picture of all of us, so, very reluctantly, handed her camera to the main stallkeeper (I guess that’s what he is called…lol). He looked at it, took a few steps back, and then TOOK OFF running. Lindsay freaked out, threw her bag of purchases, and got up to run, screaming. He stopped, turned around, pointed at her, and just started laughing. He was joking the whole time. By now, we were all cracking up too, except poor Lindsay, who was laughing and crying at the same time. In a minute or so, everyone in the area of stall 65 was pointing and laughing too. I could not stop laughing…my stomach was hurting. We finally calmed down, but the stall keeper kept making fun of her for the next 10 minutes. We finally paid, took some pictures, and left. We walked towards the taxis. Then, we saw an interesting game. There was a fishing rod and a bunch of soda bottles. If you hooked the end of the fishing rod on a bottle, you got the bottle. Brian went fishing for soda, but failed miserably for about 15 minutes. By then, we were all very tired, and it was 2300, so we decided to head back to the hotel. We jumped into a taxi after negotiating a reasonable fare (10 dirhams/person) and got back to the hotel, called Hotel Imperial Holiday. And thus ended one of the most amazing days of my life. I love Morocco so far!

Safi, El Jadida, the departure from Casablanca, and VERY rough seas 2/5/09

We got to sleep in a little (we got up at 0800…lol) and departed from Safi. We drove along the coast once again, and I fell asleep. We arrived in a town called El Jadida after about 1.5 hours, which had been used by the Portugese. We visited a cistern inside the town, and then wandered around the fort on the beach, complete with ramparts, old cannons and all. Then we went to lunch, which was, no way, MORE SEAFOOD. I had seen a Free Wifi on the restaurant, so I took out my laptop and went on the web to finish some stuff. I didn’t eat too much cuz I was tired of eating the same food for 3 days. After the lunch, we left to go visit a post office (we needed stamps to send postcards). I sent out my postcards with a huge group of people and we departed from El Jadida for our return to Casablanca. I fell asleep for a portion of the drive. Lotvi continued to tell us about the history of Casablanca and said we had time to quickly stop by the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, which made me very excited. It is the 3rd biggest mosque in the world, and the only one in Morocco that allows non-Muslims to visit. Also, its minaret is 200 m tall, and like Marrakech, is the tallest building in the city. We got closer to the mosque and I could not believe my eyes. The mosque was HUGE, way bigger than I had imagined. We stopped for 10 mins for pictures, and I ran out with my camera to capture pictures of the mosque. It was spectacular, the architecture was amazing, and I took LOTS of pictures with a lot of my friends. We ran back to the bus and got there with 10 seconds to spare…phew! The bus left, and we were back at the port in about 15 minutes. We did drive by Rick’s Café from the movie Casablanca. We got off the bus, thanked Lotvi, took a picture with him, and got in the LONG line to get back on the ship. We were all sad as we had an absolute blast in Morocco and did not want to leave. I got on the ship and waved goodbye to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Back on the ship, I quickly unpacked and checked my emails and wrote back to several people. Then, we ate dinner and shared our Moroccan experiences with other students who had been on different itineraries. After dinner, at about 2000, the captain came on the PA, and announced that we were departing soon and that there would be HUGE swells as we left the port. So, Rory and I secured all our valuables and decided to go upstairs to experience the rough waters. We met Z and Achal and went to the union. Soon, the ship departed, and the rolling began. I thought the last time (when we entered the port) was intense, but this was RIDICULOUSLY INSANE. We were sitting on the floor in the union, and people started sliding back and forth. Then, we hit an enormous swell, and everyone went flying to the port side of the boat. The chairs in the union also came loose and went flying into the mob of people. Some people who were standing and being stupid went flying and rolling, and a few of them got injured. I got up as quickly as I could and got out of the warzone. The ship had tilted a significant amount. I did not feel good at all, and I decided to go down and sleep in my room. I ran down the stairs as I felt like puking, and got to my room. I swiped my card, and opened the door, but it would not open. So, I pushed as hard as I could, and got it open a little. I looked inside our room and saw a disaster. Our beds had unbolted from the wall and were 10 feet from the wall. The small personal drawers we had next to our beds, had unbolted and tumbled across the room into the door, preventing it from being opened fully. It was a mess. There was stuff everywhere. I quickly cleaned up a little, and jumped on my bed. I felt extremely seasick, and I passed out. Rory came back, and put some more stuff away, and I couldn’t help him because I was still extremely seasick and felt like I was going to vomit any second. I quickly changed into pajamas and went to sleep. It was an insane day!

Back on the ship 2/6/09

Today was fairly uneventful. Going to class after 9 days sucked a lot, and we also had our first photo drop day for the voyage book. We only got about 20 people to come in and drop off photos they had taken in Spain and Morocco. Hopefully we will get more next time. I am really tired right now, it’s about 2300, and I am going to go to bed soon. I need to wake up again for 8 AM class…yay! Alright guys, hope you enjoyed all those Morocco posts…I just finished writing all of them…phew, my hand hurts from typing. Alright, good night everyone, or rather, it’s more like good afternoon to all u West Coast US people, good evening to you East Coasters, and good night to Arielle and Teja in Italy and Spain…lol. Until later, this is Yash signing out…

Essaouira and Safi 2/4/09

Today was another great day in Morocco. We were up early, ate breakfast, and departed for Essaouira. The drive there was BEAUTIFUL. Green fields as far as the eye could see, with several small villages along the way. Right before Essaouira, there was a panoramic viewpoint and we took lots of pictures of the city and the beach from above. Also, there were several camels there, so some of the people on our trip went camel-riding. Then, we came to Essaouira. A local guide named Rasheeda climbed onto the bus. Essaouira is a beautiful, small coastal town. We saw a few small monuments, and then had some free time to go shopping. I was not interested in anything there (it was an expensive silver store), so we wandered around. There was a HUGE tree near the store, so we took some pictures, and then waited for all the shoppers. Next, we went to lunch. It was a seafood restaurant on the beach, so once again, Achal and I were screwed. We ended up eating steamed vegetables and couscous. I ordered the local soda (called Hawai, it’s a tropical soda), and we ate some food but I was not full. Then, we walked outside and checked out the beach. The water was brown from sediment from the river, so it looked very strange indeed. There were a lot of people windsurfing and Rasheeda told us they had a world championship here once a year, which was very interesting. Our time here was limited, so we waved goodbye to our guide and the town, and departed for Safi.

The drive to Safi took us along the coast. It was amazing! There were tall cliffs with the beach below. We also saw some huge phosphorous plants. Morocco is the number 1 exporter of phosphorous actually, and it is mainly used as an ingredient in fertilizer. After about 2 hours, we arrived in Safi. The city is famous for its pottery, so we checked out a few shops, and then a local guy took us on a tour to see how the pottery is made. We saw a man making the pottery from scratch. It was really cool. Basically, he had a huge mound of clay that was spinning (he used his foot to spin the base with a foot pedal), and he used his hands to mold the clay and make pottery. He even let one of the girls try it out to make her own small pot. It was a great experience. We returned to the bus, and realized 2 people were missing, Lindsay and Emily, actually. We waited about 10 minutes, and had to send out a small search party. Finally they came back. Our trip leader was upset, and gave us all a lecture on how we shouldn’t be late. I felt really bad for the 2 girls, though, because they had a legitimate reason to be late. They were buying something, and the shopkeeper gave them back fake money as change. So, they argued, and had to wait to get their money back. So, it was a pretty embarrassing experience for them, and we all told them it was ok. We drove to our hotel, called Atlantique Panorama. We had to fill out some forms, and then Achal and I headed up to our room. It was very similar to the last hotel, just not as nice. We also realized the hotel was in the middle of NOWHERE. We went down to the front desk to ask them if there was anything to do in the area, and after every question we asked, we got a “No.”Actually, the only thing that existed near the hotel was a building that said “Night club”which we thought was hilarious. So, we got a group of SAS kids together and played cards for several hours. It was a good bonding experience with the other people on our tour, and had a great time. Soon, it was time for dinner, and we went upstairs to eat, you guessed it, more couscous and steamed vegetables. After dinner, we decided to play more cards. Our guide told us the “Night club”opened at 0030 (12:30 AM), and several of us were curious just to see what the heck was inside (it had no name). We played more cards, and it was great. We played a new game called peanuts, and it was like 8 way solitaire in teams. It was a LOT of fun. At about 0015, we decided to just walk to the building (it was pretty much part of the hotel) and see what was inside (there were about 7 of us). We walked inside, and saw some stairs that went down into the basement. We took them down, and then saw another set of stairs, so we went down again. And there, 2 floors below ground there was a large room that was pretty nice. It was very interesting and very weird at the same time. But, they had a LIVE Moroccan band playing. We sat there for a while and listened to the band. They were singing in Arabic, and the music was excellent. We left after a while, came back to the hotel, and passed out.

Rough day at sea 2/2/09

Today was a rough day. We were supposed to be in Morocco, but instead I woke up to find us several hours from Casablanca. For some reason, I was also very homesick today. Moreover, the ocean was VERY rough today, for the first time. The ship was rolling like crazy, and I felt motion sick the whole day. I went to eat lunch at 1300, after taking my meclizine, but I ate quickly and came back to my room and passed out again, because I felt very sick. I spent most of the day in bed, until dinner, when I felt a little better and went upstairs.First, I ordered a ginger ale, which really helped, and played cards with Achal. They were showing the Season 5 premier of Lost, but it just looked really weird, and the quality wasn’t too great, so I decided I would watch it later. Then we ate dinner, and I went back to my room to update my blog. Soon, I heard the captain announce on the PA that we were arriving in Casablanca soon, but told us that there were huge (15 foot) swells at the entrance to the port, so the ship was going to rock like crazy. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, it began. For about 5 minutes, the ship rolled back and forth like CRAZY. Books were flying off my desk, glasses were sliding back and forth, and drawers were opening and closing. I quickly ran around my room and secured all loose items that were valuable (e.g. my camera). I went to sit in my bed right as we caught a huge swell (probably around 20 feet), and almost went headfirst into my window. The ship tilted almost 15-20 degrees. After several minutes, it was finally over. It was pretty intense, and everyone on the ship was running around talking about it. Then, I came back to my room (I went out to see us pull into the port) and finished up my blog, which took about 3 hours. And here I am now, typing these last few words. It is currently 2220, so I need to pack and go to sleep by 2300, so I can wake up tomorrow by 0700. Our trip tomorrow departs at 0800, so I will be away from the computer for a while. Our trip goes to Marrakesh on Tuesday, and then goes to Essaouria and Safi along the Moroccan coast, before returning to Casablanca on Thursday, when we depart for a 9 day trip to Walvis Bay, Namibia. I will try to access wifi in Marrakech, and get in touch with some of you via Skype/AIM/Facebook. Alright, everyone, take care, and I will update this blog with my tales of Morocco in 3 days time. Until then, this is Yash signing out.

Gibraltar, Morocco Day, Disappointing news, and the Superbowl 2/1/09

The ship left Espana and went through the Strait of Gibraltar to get refueled. The waters were kinda rough, and it was raining, but it cleared, and I went up to the top deck to see the rock of Gibraltar. It was really cool. There were small boats all around us, and we could see the HUGE rock of Gibraltar. We were on the Europe side of the Strait, and Africa was only 8 miles away, so it was a pretty great view. Later that day, we had a pre-port meeting for Morocco the next day. We learned some important logistical things, but then we got disappointing news. We were supposed to arrive in Morocco at 0800 the next day (Monday 2/2/09), but the ship had not been refueled due to rough waters, so we were not going to arrive on Monday morning. Instead, we would probably arrive Monday late night, and our ship would be cleared by customs Tuesday morning. Which means we were going to lose one entire day in Morocco. I was really bummed out by the news, mainly because I was so excited to see Morocco, especially Marrakech. Also, Achal and I were on a SAS trip that was supposed to leave the first day. So we were going to lose one day of the trip, probably without a refund. It wasn’t very good news. But it was beyond our control.

Next was the Superbowl. The A/V team was trying hard to find a satellite feed of the game so we could broadcast it. Achal and I thought of using his Slingbox, and streaming the game through the internet. So Achal went to talk with the A/V team, and we finally got it to work. By 2300, several students were gathered in the Union, eagerly awaiting the game, including our administrative dean, who was a HUGE Pittsurgh Steelers fan. We hooked up the equipment, and as soon as the live feed came on the screen, everyone cheered. Yeah, Hemang and Abhi and Akshay, and everyone else involved, we got him a pretty awesome gift. Almost 700 people could watch the game because of Achal’s Slingbox. The game finally started. Since the ship has limited bandwith, the video quality was very choppy, but most people were happy enough to be able to watch it. After about 10 minutes into the game, they finally found a satellite feed from a local German station, and it had AMAZING quality, so we could actually see the game. Everyone was very happy, and we enjoyed watching the game. But of course, the game tipped into Pittsburgh’s favor, and I was very tired by the 4th quarter, so I went to my room and passed out. I only heard the next day that Arizona went crazy, got a lead, and lost it at the end, just like the Patriots did last year. Achal was really upset.

Last day in Cadiz 1/31/09

The last day in Cadiz was fairly uneventful. I woke up kinda late, and joined Achal and his roommate, Z (no, his real name isn’t actually “Z”, its Zachary…lol) in going to downtown Cadiz once more to get some gifts. I bought a few small things, but the prices were really high, so I ended up not buying too many souvenirs. Morocco, and the markets of Marrakech will probably be a better location to buy stuff, I hope. We ate some more snacks, and then found another wifi hotspot. I logged in, and decided to finish my application for med school. To my shock, I discovered there were parts that were not complete yet, and I got very scared. I quickly refilled the entire application (apparently it did not save properly), and got it done. Z and Achal went to get lunch, and brought back a few slices of pizza for me. I was very thankful, cuz I didn’t have enough time to come with them, as I was filling out my application. By this time, every SAS student had heard about this free wifi plaza, and there were at least 20 students in the plaza, all on their laptops. Every local that walked by just started, amused, of course, by all of us. Several times while I was there, also, some salespersons walked by, advertising internet. I was approached 3 times, and they thought I lived there. I responded in Spanish that I was only a college student from the US, and had no use of a monthly internet plan. They were surprised that I wasn’t from there, and one of them complimented me on my Spanish and said I could almost pass for a local, which was nice.

On-ship time was 1800, so at about 1500, Achal and I returned to the ship. We stopped at the wifi terminal by the port, and I tried to upload some more pictures to my website (yeah, I know that Sevilla and Cordoba are up, but Cadiz still has to be uploaded). At 1630, we left and got in line to get back on the ship. We were just in time, cuz a huge group of students came back after we got in line. We got back onto the ship, and I went to my room to relax for a while.

At 2000, the ship left Cadiz. I walked up to the top deck to take pictures, and joined everyone in waving goodbye to Spain. Thanks for the memories, Espana, I had a wonderful time. I will definitely be back soon!

Cordoba and the return to Cadiz 1/30/09

I woke up refreshed for the first time. I got ready, and went down to eat breakfast. I ran into my group, and they told me they went back to the playground and had an interesting experience. While they were riding the see-saw, climbing the jungle gym, etc… some locals walked by and were laughing at them. One of them grabbed an orange off of a tree and threw it at them..hahahahah. Then, they ran off as fast as they could. I told my group they probably said, “Turistas!” before they ran off, and we laughed about it for a while.

We didn’t have too much time in Cordoba, so our tour moved very quickly from monument to monument. The highlight was definitely the Mezquita, or the old mosque. We got our tickets and walked inside. I was instantaneously amazed. The inside was a picture I had seen in every history and art book in middle and high school. There was a huge hall, with double arches made of two different types of stone. Again, it’s so hard to describe, so check out my pics under Cordoba on my website. It was fairly dark inside though, and taking pictures was quite difficult. So, I used the pillars as a tripod, and balanced my camera sideways along the pillars, which worked perfectly. After a long tour and history lesson of the Mezquita, we emerged into sunlight once again. We got a little bit of free time, so a group of us ventured into the shops to pick up a few souvenirs. None of us ended up buying anything, though, cuz it was REALLY expensive. One T-shirt cost 13 euros (~15 dollars), and one postcard cost about 1 euro. We also some pretty interesting and messed up items on sale in the shops. For example, one shop was selling bottles of Absinth, which ranged from 70% alcohol to 85% alcohol. This drink is actually illegal in the US, and a few popular movies have shown people drinking it and hallucinating. But there was a whole shelf of just Absinth in a few shops, which was very interesting. It didn’t look like it was being sold very often.

We piled onto the buses, fairly exhausted from an extensive walking tour and returned to the hotel for lunch. Lunch was even worse than dinner the previous day, as far as vegetarian options go, so Achal and I ended up eating a lot of bread and yoghurt…oh and French Fries as well. After lunch, we said goodbye to Cordoba and started the drive back to Cadiz. I was sitting with my group, but had an empty seat next to me. A girl that was on another trip which was continuing to Granada had gotten sick, so she had to return to Cadiz on our bus. So, we had an extra passenger, so there would be no empty seats. A Lifelong learner (older students who are on the voyage with the college crowd) came and sat next to me, and introduced herself as Pamela. We ended up talking for the duration of the bus ride home, which took about 3.5 hours. I had a great time talking to someone who was older, and getting her perspective of the voyage so far.

We finally arrive back to Cadiz around sunset, and I went to my room. I downloaded all my pictures and videos to my hard drive, ate dinner, and then a few of us (Achal, Sonya, and I) set out with our laptops to access the free wifi and upload pictures, go on Skype, etc… Right when we walked off the ship it started raining. We were pretty pissed off. There was a small terminal near our port that was rumored to have wifi, so we went there. After about 10 minutes of fiddling around with the connection, none of us could get on the wifi. By now, it had stopped raining, but the clouds still looked threatening. I decided I really wanted to go on the internet since I had nothing else to do at the time, so I was ready to walk to the city center to get on the wifi network. The others soon agreed, and we quickly walked toward downtown Cadiz. And once again, we got lost. I swear, it is almost impossible to navigate the city. Finally, we found the plaza with wifi. But all the chairs and tables had been put away due to the rain. We walked desperately into the Ben and Jerry’s, and asked if we could sit inside and access the wifi. They said they were closing soon so..no podemos (we couldn’t). So…we ventured back into the plaza, and looked around for a place that was semi-sheltered (it was still drizzling). We finally saw the cathedral steps, and decided to set up camp there. So, we walked as far up the steps as possible, until we were sitting against the huge doors to the cathedral. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around my laptop to make it water-proof. It was pretty hilarious, since all 3 of us, were huddled against the cathedral with jackets around our laptops. People who were walking by were all staring at us.

I checked my email, and signed on to AIM. Akshay IM’d me right away, and I chatted with him and Hemang for a bit. Then I decided to try out Skype to call landlines. I purchased $10 of credit, and called home. It worked really well, and cost me $0.02 a minute. I called several family members, and heard their voices for the first time in over a week. It was really nice. I talked for a long time, and used about $0.60 total! I was pretty happy, cuz my calling card didn’t live up to its expectations of low rates…lol. I was going to make a few more calls to friends in Boston (yeah, Akshay and Hemang, I didn’t forget you guys were still on Aim waiting for me) but the connection got really slow, and stopped working, which bummed me out. We all packed up our stuff, and left. After getting back, Achal and I were pretty hungry so we left again to go grab dinner at the same place that we went the first night. We were joined by Achal’s roommate Z. On the way to the restaurant, he was complaining that he was disappointed with Spanish food so far. We told him this restaurant was amazing. We arrived and waited a few minutes for a seat at the bar. We ordered some drinks (I decided to be really risky and tried the Spanish Sprite), and our food. We shared our story about the mysterious moving platform with Z, and got another good laugh out if it. Finally, our food was ready, and I devoured my meal. Z thought the food was amazing and thanked us for bringing him. Afterwards, we headed back to the ship. I passed out soon on the ship, not believing that we only had one more day in Spain.

The beautiful city of Sevilla and day one in Cordoba 1/29/09

After returning late from my late-night navigational experience, I chilled in my room for a little while, wrote down my blog entry about the experience, and then went to sleep. Once again, I didn’t get enough sleep because I had to wake up at 0700. By 0730, I had eaten breakfast and was in the Union with a HUGE group of students who were all signed up for the SAS-sponsored trips to Sevilla and Cordoba. We waited for everyone for a while, and then piled onto the buses. Our trip leader was an awesome guy, and I was sad to find out that he would be leaving us in Morocco.

The bus ride was 2 hours long, and I….uh, well, I don’t remember much to tell you the truth. The thing is, I was soo tired that I fell asleep as soon as the bus departed, and I woke up in Sevilla. Apparently, most people on the bus joined me in taking an AMAZING 2 hour nap. I heard from the guy sitting behind me that I was completely out, my mouth was open most of the time, there was drool on the side of my mouth, you get the picture. Anyways, I woke up and was stunned. The city was beautiful…there were very pretty buildings all around us of all different sorts of architectures, from Spanish to Gothic to Moorish. I had read in a city guide that the city was spectacular and IT WAS.

Our first stop was the Plaza de Espana (Spain Plaza). The guide explained that there was a cultural conference in Sevilla several years ago, and each country had its own building/plaza. Of course, the Spanish Plaza was the best, since the conference was held in Spain. Then we saw the plaza, and it was stunning. It was very large, with tall bell towers, and a large courtyard. Pretty impressive for a cultural conference center.

Next, we went to the Alcazar, or the old Moorish fort. I thought it was also very pretty, with amazing Moorish architecture. It’s hard to describe what all this architecture looks like precisely, so I think it’s much easier if you go to my website, and check out all my pics of Sevilla. The site is http://picasaweb.google.com/yashbhatt

Finally, it was time for lunch. We were starved to death. Lunch was included in our trip fee, so I had a bad feeling about vegetarian options. And I was correct. We sat down, and ate the bread, and everyone ordered drinks, which were also included. I decided to go with just water, although most people around me went with the vino tinto (red wine), which was supposedly really good in this restaurant. So many people were surprised that I had never had an alcoholic drink, and many more even said that I would try one in Spain. But I think if you have some ideals or rules that you hold yourself to, it’s important to maintain them. I still had a blast in Spain, even though I didn’t have any alcoholic drinks. Some people had told me it would be very hard, because everyone has a drink with meals, but if you really want to, it is possible to drink water or get a soda instead. Just because everyone does something in a certain country does not mean you have to. Most people understood that, but I definitely met some people who thought I was stupid. Of course, they were the ones who were trashed later, and didn’t remember their experience in Spain, which I think is very sad. Also, alcohol is not cheap in Spain, and many people spent a ridiculous amount on alcohol over the 4 days we were in Spain. I guess I saved a lot of money in that regard that I can spend on buying gifts for family and friends, which, I think, will be a lot more meaningful. Anyways, that’s enough said about the drinks…sorry about that. The meal started, and Achal and I realized that the veg. options were going to be very limited. Of the 18 million courses that were served through the meal, only a few were vegetarian, and, to my dismay, they were all things I did not like at all. So, that restaurant experience kind of sucked.

After that, we continued sightseeing Sevilla for a little while, and then got on the buses again to go to Cordoba, another 2 hour road. Once again, don’t ask me what happened during that trip, because I was out cold most of the time. I woke up shortly before we reached Cordoba, and saw huge green fields on all sides of the road. They were gorgeous, and although the roads were similar to the US, these fields looked nothing like I had ever seen. We shortly arrived in Cordoba, and dropped off our bags in the hotel. It was a lot nicer than I expected, and we even had a balcony. I was rooming with a guy who went by TJ. He was pretty cool and nice, and I introduced myself and talked with him for a few minutes. Then, I joined a group of people and we ventured off to check out the city. It was very different from Sevilla. It felt like more of a modern city, but that was because we were in the modernized region. Our group of people included Sonya, Achal, Adam, Ruth, Andrew, Jerry (the trip’s videographer), and of course me. We had a great time walking around, and we pulled a “turista” (read my last post if you don’t know what that means) move once again. We were very hungry, and dinner didn’t start until 2045 at our hotel. It was still 1900 (yes, you have to convert that into non-military time if you have no idea what 2000 means ;) ), and we walked into a small restaurant. The waiters looked at us and chuckled, probably whispering “turistas” under their breaths, since it was way too early for dinner in Spain. I didn’t order anything, since dinner was included in our trip fee and was less than an hour away, but we all enjoyed a great conversation.

Afterwards, it was dinner time, so we started walking back towards the hotel. But the story doesn’t end there. We found a playground on the way back, and all memories of our childhoods rushed back to our heads. I busted out my camera as everyone else climbed up the huge jungle gym. Then, we found a large see-saw that was powered by a huge spring. It looked awesome. We took turns riding the see-saw. I had not ridden one since I was in elementary school, and it was SO MUCH FUN!! Because of the spring in the middle, whoever went up would almost fly out of the seat. After several minutes, we reluctantly left the playground since we were getting late for dinner, but we promised the playground we would be back after dinner (yeah, not such a good idea riding a see-saw after eating dinner, I know).

Dinner was all right. It was buffet style, but there weren’t too many vegetarian options. Achal and I did our best, and ate a lot of pasta and salad as usual…lol. After a long conversation with everyone at our table, we headed out. I went up to my room, and I was exhausted. I decided it would be a better idea to get a good night’s rest, so I told my group I wouldn’t be going out. I took out my laptop, downloaded pictures from my camera and camcorder, and then passed out. Not going out was the best thing I did, because I woke up the next day feeling GREAT and rested, for the first time in over a week.

Arrival in Spain and Cadiz

Hey there blog readers...sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Let me start with Espana (yea, the tilde over the n isn't gonna work on this email)!!!! Tuesday night (1/27) was the night before our arrival. I tried to go to sleep early, but once again failed. i dunno why its so hard to get to bed before 11. I finally packed some stuff, and plugged in all my chargers (laptop, camera, video), and went to bed at 12. But...once again I couldn't fall asleep. On my mind was the fact that we were going to see land after 9 days, and that when I woke up, I would be in Europe, in Espana. I tossed and turned, and I was sooo tired. I finally went to sleep at 4:30 or 5. It really sucked. I woke up at 6:45, really tired, but I got hit by a sudden surge in adrenaline. I looked out my window, and saw ORANGE LIGHTS!!! AND LAND!!!! YAY!!!! Needless to say (if my ALL CAPS doesn't speak clearly enough :) ) I was pretty excited. I grabbed my camera and ran to the top deck. We were pulling into port, and I have never been so glad to see land. I could see the coastline of Cadiz, Spain. A lot of people were on the top deck, cheering and taking pictures. I joined in on the celebrations and then grabbed some breakfast. I joined a group of students, and we shared our excitement about Spain. We couldn't wait to get off the ship.

 

So, we finally got off. I walked down the gangway and stepped onto land for the first time in 9 days. The ground was STABLE! It wasn't swaying back and forth. So... we had a trip that was leaving later, so we ventured through the city. First, we exchanged some dollars for euros, which was, actually, much more difficult than we imagined. Achal and I went to 6 or 7 banks and were turned away because we were not clients. Finally, one bank asked for our passports and we showed them a copy, and they agreed to exchange the currency. They charged a pretty hefty fee, but we had no choice. I got 100 euros for about 140 dollars. We ventured off into the city, euros in hand. The first thing I noticed was how different the city was from US cities. There were plazas everywhere, and a labyrinth of narrow streets (calles) that were near impossible to navigate without getting lost. We walked around, and grabbed some snacks, or tapas, at a local place. In Spain, the meal times are very different from what we are used to. Breakfast runs late, lunch starts at around 2, and dinner isn't even served until 8:30 or 9, and that is considered early. They eat tapas in between all the meals.

 

We made our way back to the port, and I took some pictures of the ship. We met our group at the pier and set off on our city orientation. What was hilarious was that we all loaded onto 4 buses, and we though we would go through the city in them. Instead, literally 2 minutes after we got on the buses, we arrived at the drop off point and the start of the walking tour. We spent about 30 minutes loading buses for a 2 minute bus ride. We got a laugh off that, but then we started out tour of the city. It was fun, and we saw a lot and learned about the history of Cadiz. We came back to the ship, and then decided to venture off again. We were accompanied by our "turista" friend Smith (more on that in a second). We used our mad Spanish skillz and asked a local which restaurant we should go to and ventured off. So, the turista thing... basically, we were at a restaurant for lunch, and the waiter asked us which drinks we wanted. I said agua (water), and when it was Smith's turn, instead of replying cerveza (beer), he said uh.. beer. The waiter chuckled, and walked away. And we looked at him, and said, "Dude, he probably just muttered 'turista' (tourist) under his breath." And that was the start of the turista joke, that we constantly referenced everytime we did something stupid that only a tourist would do (e.g. going into a restaurant and requesting food before lunch was actually served).

 

Anyways, so we went to the restaurant that was recommended to us, and it was AMAZING! Achal and I ordered some cheese pasta and it was delicious. And then something interesting happened. We were seated at the bar, which is much different than sitting "at the bar" in the US. In Europe, people are very responsible with their drinking habits, and all restaurants have a bar, where adults, kids, children, and families all sit together. It is pretty cool. Plus, as an added bonus, the menu at the bar is significantly cheaper than the menu if you sit down at the table. ;) So, Smith had his jacket on this stand below the bar table, and it suddenly started moving. He started freaking out, and picked it up. To our amazement, there was a moving platform below the bar table for collecting trash. We obviously thought it was the coolest thing ever. That was perhaps the highlight of the restaurant experience.

 

Then, we ventured off into the city again (it was probably around 10 by this time), and I made some phone calls. I quickly realized that the rates printed on the card were NOT the rates I was being charged...lol. By this time, Achal and Smith had walked "around the corner" and told me where they were going. I finished the phone calls, and ventured around the corner, but couldn't find them. I walked up and down several nearby streets and realized I was probably not going to find them, and that I was alone. I needed to get back to the ship, which was about a 20 minuted walk minimum through a maze of narrow streets. I started my walk back. There was almost no one on the streets. Probably the sketchiest thing ever. So, I started walking back alone. I walked down one street that was kinda dark, turned around and went back to the plaza. Then, I went another way. After 10 minutes, I somehow returned to the same plaza. Shit. So, I took another street, and walked for 10 minutes. It was kinda dark, there was no one on the street, and by this point there were definitely scared thoughts running through my head. I took some random turns and, thank God I have an amazing sense of direction, because I saw little landmarks i recognized from earlier in the day, and took turns accordingly. If I had a bad sense of direction, I do not think i would have made it to the boat. Anyways, finally after several turns, I saw the road that runs around the city along the beach. I knew I was still really far from the boat. Instead of taking shortcuts, I walked along the beach all the way back to the ship. I was completely alone the whole time, and very sketched out by this point. When I finally saw the main plaza, next to which the ship was docked, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and got back on the ship. So yea, that was pretty bad. Thank God I am brown, tall, and grew out my facial hair. I'm pretty sure i walked by some very sketchy people who gave me a look, and then looked away and continued what they were doing. I don't fit the "muggable" description too well, I guess. Who knows? All in all, a truly unforgettable experience.

 

The rest of the night was uneventful. We were going to leave for Sevilla the next day, and I was very excited. I couldn't sleep well and finally fell asleep at around 4. Which was bad cuz we had to leave at 8 AM the next day.