We walked through the border check from Spain to Great Britain (Gibraltar - "We are British AND we have sun.") Once on the Gibraltar side, we divided up into local tour buses and headed up the rock.
We stopped off at a windy point where you could look out over the water and see Africa. We had a Scottish tour guide who gave a great deal of historical information as we traveled.
We continued up the rock through some pretty narrow tunnels and along some curvy roads to get to the entrance of Saint Michael's Cave where we spent some time both hiking around in the caves and enjoying the monkeys at the mouth of the cave.
The tour continued back down the rock to Main Street, Gibraltar where we watched a glass blowing demonstration and had some free time to take in the small downtown area.
Then, a walk back to the border crossing and short bus ride to Algeciras, Spain to catch the ferry to Ceuta, Spain (a Spanish city in the north of Africa). We could see Gibraltar from the ferry.
Once in Africa, our hotel was only about an hour drive away - except for the added two and a half hours that it took to get the bus and all of the passengers through customs. Thank goodness we had picked up a local Moroccan guide in Ceuta who navigated the transactions. Everyone was happy to arrive at our hotel were we sat at long tables and had a nice (albeit late - 11:30pm) dinner.
After a short night's sleep we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed out for Tangier. It was a short bus ride and then a panoramic tour in the bus.
Next stop, the Atlantic ocean. There were big waves and beautiful skies. We took turns - 6 at a time - taking camel rides along the beach. While we had a total of 7 groups, that meant that we also had time to dip our feet in the ocean, walk along the beach and enjoy the baby camels while other groups were riding.
Once everyone had returned from their camel ride, we took a short bus ride to Cape Spartel - the point where the Med meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, it was time for the long drive up into the mountains. Sadly, we had a bit of a delay when our bus was pulled over by the local police, luckily we were back on our way after about 15 minutes.
Our long mountain drive ended in the blue city of Chefchouan. We started with a fun walking tour and then stopped for a great buffet lunch. It really is a beautiful city. Then we had a couple of hours of free time to enjoy the city. Albert and I headed out to see one of the small rivers that runs alongside the old part of the city and then headed back in to the maze of shops to find him a T-shirt. After some bargaining at one shop, we couldn't get a price I liked - so we moved on. At the next shop, the poor guy kept trying to talk to Albert who just kept pointing to me - finally he figured out it was me or nothing and the bargaining began. After threatening to walk away, he gave in and we had a price. The shopkeeper thought it was hilarious that Albert had the money but didn't do the arguing. He called Albert "the banker". He was very pleasant, and we had our cheap T-shirt.
Then, another long bus ride down the mountain and to Tetouan (the city where our hotel was). But, it was not time to go to the hotel yet - we had a big dinner (with all three groups) where there was Moroccan food, of course, but also entertainment with dancers and musicians and a fake wedding (between two students from one of the other buses).
We got back to our room at a little after midnight and fell into bed. After another short night, it was time to check out and get breakfast before heading in to the old town of Tetouan for another walking tour. We had some more free time after the tour. I bought a jar of spices, and after a bit of bargaining we bought some small hand-carved wooden camels for the people in our "Camel Group".
Our bus ride back across the border was shorter - but not short - only about 90 minutes at the border this time. Then back on the ferry. Then a couple of hours on the bus for our last leg of the trip. Finally some quick goodbyes and a short walk home.
This morning, we stepped back into the routine - laundry, groceries, homework (I didn't do much on the road), and class. Three new students today made for a fun class - it flew by. After class, I took a nice indirect route home and enjoyed being back in my own beautiful city.
