Just recently I returned back from an interesting trip which included a couple nights in Tarifa, Spain, and followed by my first(maybe last) trip to Africa as well as a short stop in Gibraltar. When I say that it was an interesting trip, that is just the tip of the iceberg. All in all, it was exciting, funny, and full of surprises!
I will begin with my time in Tarifa. This was a small, chill beach town right on the Mediterranean. Down the main strip, you will find an infinite number of surf shops, with little cafés and shops between. The best part about this place would have to be the beach. Although surprisingly we had some great food there which was an added bonus. OK back to the beach. There we found that clear blue water of the Mediterranean, and some enormous waves! GNARLY BRAH! Of course we saw loads of surfers, so that was cool to watch. At one point a girl rode by on a horse! Yes, a horse on the beach! It felt like something out of a movie. All in all, that time hanging on the beach, was just perfect.
As I mentioned, this trip also included stops in Morocco, and Gibraltar. Let me put my experience in Morocco into one word for you: Insane! Oh, and let me add this, Morocco is the shadiest country that I've ever been to. Yes, my time in Morocco was crazy. Now when I say crazy, it's both good, bad, and well, crazy. As I expected, things were different, but I had no idea just how different they would be. We took a paid tour for the first part of our stay, and it was alright, however, I wasn't happy about some things. For example, it was very obvious from early on that the tour and several local shops had a contract together, so basically the tour set us up trying to buy things. When we came out of the stores, we were mobbed by street people trying to sell us things, and they would follow you down the street all over.
The poverty level there is nothing I have ever seen before. With that said, almost every native that we came across spoke at least 3 or 4 languages fluently. This was incredible to me, yet sad at the same time, because all of that ability was going unused.
So now a quick story of a shady event that took place. I stopped to buy a newspaper as a souvenir(Newspapers from other countries make cool souvenirs). Anyway, the guy who helped us then began to follow us, but in a non creepy way. In fact, now that I think about it, he was very sneak, he almost popped up out of nowhere. He basically offered to be our personal tour guide without really saying, but we knew that was what he wanted. Well, we knew it was shady, but we thought what the heck, lets do it. We only walk about 50 yards before police siren goes off. The "tour guide" freaked out. He ran to the cop car, trying to explain himself. I knew at that moment what was up, and the cops confirmed that thought. He was known as a shady local who tries to scam tourists. How dumb I felt at that moment I cannot describe. At the same time, I just felt lucky that the police actually did that for us. With all that said, I think I won't ever be back in Africa, well, at least not in Morocco, but I'm glad I went.
Last but not least, Gibraltar. This was a short but fun experience. Of course the main reason to go there is to see the monkeys, and that we did. If you don't know already, English is the language spoken in Gibraltar, and it was cool for me going to another country where they speak the same language. The entire country basically consists of this big mountain, I mean that is what it is known for. So we spent most of our time there, chillin with the monkeys, and just enjoying it all.
So that pretty much sums of the weekend. Like I said, lots of good, exciting things, all of which I won't forget. You begin to see it more with each time you travel, that it is truly an awesome thing. Sometimes things get a little crazy, or they don't work out the way you planned, but it's all part of the adventure, and that's what makes traveling so much fun.
The poverty level there is nothing I have ever seen before. With that said, almost every native that we came across spoke at least 3 or 4 languages fluently. This was incredible to me, yet sad at the same time, because all of that ability was going unused.So now a quick story of a shady event that took place. I stopped to buy a newspaper as a souvenir(Newspapers from other countries make cool souvenirs). Anyway, the guy who helped us then began to follow us, but in a non creepy way. In fact, now that I think about it, he was very sneak, he almost popped up out of nowhere. He basically offered to be our personal tour guide without really saying, but we knew that was what he wanted. Well, we knew it was shady, but we thought what the heck, lets do it. We only walk about 50 yards before police siren goes off. The "tour guide" freaked out. He ran to the cop car, trying to explain himself. I knew at that moment what was up, and the cops confirmed that thought. He was known as a shady local who tries to scam tourists. How dumb I felt at that moment I cannot describe. At the same time, I just felt lucky that the police actually did that for us. With all that said, I think I won't ever be back in Africa, well, at least not in Morocco, but I'm glad I went.
Last but not least, Gibraltar. This was a short but fun experience. Of course the main reason to go there is to see the monkeys, and that we did. If you don't know already, English is the language spoken in Gibraltar, and it was cool for me going to another country where they speak the same language. The entire country basically consists of this big mountain, I mean that is what it is known for. So we spent most of our time there, chillin with the monkeys, and just enjoying it all.
So that pretty much sums of the weekend. Like I said, lots of good, exciting things, all of which I won't forget. You begin to see it more with each time you travel, that it is truly an awesome thing. Sometimes things get a little crazy, or they don't work out the way you planned, but it's all part of the adventure, and that's what makes traveling so much fun.
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