The ferry took us to Algecrias. It felt good to be in a country where you felt comfortable and everything is clean.
Morocco was expensive and I enjoyed some of it. If I felt comfortable I think I would have done more. The area close to the train station in Marrakech is very lovely, the tourist area. It is all built up with nice hotels and gardens. Certainly different than the old city.
We spent a lot more money here than we expected. We thought because it was a poor place things would be cheap. The rooms were cheap, but that is about it.
We walked from the ferry to the train station and again we have hours to wait. The weather was nice so I don't mind sitting and reading. We are taking the train to Granada. It is a 5 hour train ride.
We arrived in Granada about 8:30. We have about a mile or so to walk. It seemed longer because we weren't sure where to go. We finally found it. It was a nice hostal. I think we are the only ones here.
I wasn't feeling well so I just went to bed.
November 26, 2003 Granada
I didn't get going until 9:00. I really wasn't in a rush to do too much today. I wanted to relax a little. The first thing we wanted to do today was wash. The laundromat was not going to be open until 10:00. We walked there and had to wait until 10:20 before the man opened up the place.
We sat and waited for the wash to be done and then brought it back to the hostel. Some things weren't quite done so we hung them in the window.
We stopped in the cafe next to our hostel. I had hot chocolate. We realized that it was lunch time so we ordered lunch.
Our next chore was to go to the post office. I had some things to mail home. It was rather expensive and from now on I will carry everything I buy.
We stopped by the information center and got information on the areas to hike around here and also places to stay and how to get there. It looks like it might be nice. It is in the Alpujarra region where the Sierra Nevadas are.
We went to Cortes Ingels for a grocery store. On the way we saw a movie theater. We saw an Englih movie, but didn't know if it was playing in English. It didn't open until 4:00 so we had drinks at Cortes Ingles until 4:00.
The movie was not in English so we skipped it. We walked to the internet and I used it for awhile. We were trying to get information for our transportation back to England from Paris.
I also wrote my general email to people and updated them on my travels. It is Thanksgiving so I wanted to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.
We went back to the hostel and I organized my stuff. Later we went out to dinner at a pizza place. Laurie and I split a small pizza and a 4 cheeses pasta dish. I heard people speaking English. They sounded like they were from the US. I asked them and they said they were from Kansas. They were on a motorcycle tour. It sounded interesting.
It was after 9:00 when we left to go back to the hostel. When we went in, I noticed the woman that owns the place was doing a cross stitch. I stopped to talk to her about it. She said she got it in a newspaper Kiosk. I thought that was very strange. I will have to check it out.
November 27, 2003 Happy Thanksgiving
I do miss the smells of turkey cooking and the taste of pies, but I certainly won't miss the feeling of overeating.
Laurie and I spent most of our day at the Alhambra. The Alhambra contains a fortress, palaces, and gardens built in the 11th to the 15th century during the Muslim Kingdom. The architecture is of plaster, wood, and tile, with most of the plaster and wood beautifully hand carved. Water is very important to the Muslim and there are many pools, fountains, and baths throughout the place. It sits on a hill and there are nice views of the city and also the far away Sierra Nevada mountain tops. It was a great place to walk around.
One thing I learned was that Washington Irving's story of the "headless horse" takes place in Alhambra. He had a book called, "Tales of Alhambra" which I picked up. The book was nice because it has drawings of the things we saw there. That was the extent of our day.
November 28, 2003
Laurie and I had our alarms set to get up early to catch a bus. Laurie got up and then I had realized that the bus we wanted didn't leave until 10:30. So I went back to bed.
We had to catch a city bus to the bus station. I talked to a young man from Belgium. He is in Granada for one year going to school. He was all equipped to go snowboarding. The mountain opened last week-end for skiing. They ski in the Sierra Nevadas. We can see the mountains from Granada. They are beautiful.
We got on the bus to Bubion which is were we planned on staying. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride. It was a beautiful ride up the mountain hills.
We got off the bus and tried to find the hostel listed in our book. We found it, but found it closed. So Laurie and I went looking for something else. There isn't much here and besides it is the off season and places aren't open.
