So, on Thursday, May 24, the “study abroad” part of our trip was effectively over, which means the group left and we kept going.
We took a TAXI to the train station in Lisbon…where we (ironically) boarded a TRAIN, which took us to Faro, Portugal. It was a bit difficult because (while I know this is hard to believe) due to our shopping excursions the amount of stuff we left with had practically doubled…so, getting off and on a train was a bit challenging…nothing we couldn’t handle though. We found a place to store our stuff because our next mode of transportation wasn’t leaving for 4 more hours. Then we set off to discover Faro. It is a cute little seaside town. We found the tourism office and got a map…we basically saw the entire “old town” in about an hour. It was awesome – the weather was perfect: warm and breezy with clear skies. The scenery was pleasant and the ambience of the town was comforting. It was the perfect spot to stop and take a rest. We sat down to eat something…Italian food…again, another perfect meal.
Then we walked back to the bus station (where we had left our luggage) and boarded our BUS to Seville, Spain where we’d pick up our rental CAR. Once we got to Seville bus station we had to take a TAXI to the train station where the rental car company is located. Once we got in the CAR we started our journey down to Cadiz, Spain (this all seems convoluted, but I assure, it was well thought out and researched and the most frugal). We dropped our friend Alex off at his hotel (he hitched a ride with us) and then went to find our hotel, which proved to be difficult…because you see, it wasn’t in Cadiz. It was in Chiclana de la Frontera …uh, ok…but here’s the deal, we couldn’t get it to pull up on our GPS so we found a taxi driver and asked him to help – his initial response was that it was a 50 euro cab ride – approx $65 – and then he said about an hour. So, we set off and got horribly lost…pulled in to a gas station (around 10:30 pm)…and an ANGEL told us to follow him…instead of trying to describe how to get there…he got us about 90% of the way there and then we kept getting lost, turning around…somehow we finally found the hotel…around midnight. It was a LONG day of travel, but we were safe, together and had a place to sleep (AND, we had more to see/do so we had to press on).
The next morning, we woke up relatively early to embark on what would be one of our favorite days…we drove to Tarifa, Spain and boarded a BOAT that would take us to Tangier, Morocco. We were SOOOOO excited and our day consistently confirmed our anticipation. When we arrived, we were greeted by a tour guide…he said he would show us Tangier for 20 euros a piece…without much hesitation we obliged…he had a badge. We got in a taxi and headed to our first stop…a camel ride…yep, you read that right. We each got on a camel on the side of the road and took a spin around for 2 euros each. We were dropped off in the heart of Tangier…walked around, did some sightseeing, ate an amazing lunch – with about 6 courses, and then the FUN began…we SHOPPED…and by shopped we most likely single handedly helped the Moroccan economy on that particular day – good for week-end stock market closing!
When we arrived back in Spain we decided to visit another country…Great Britain…I know you are thinking…What? How? Well, there is this little part of Spain that is owned by the British…Gibraltar…so; we headed that way for a quick visit (and stamp on our passport). We had a pint and fish and chips. It was a lovely end to our day…so, let’s recap: breakfast in Spain, lunch in Morocco and dinner in England (kind of).
The next day was less eventful – basically our goal: get sun (burned)! We spent the day by the pool of our hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of first real restful days aka it was perfect! That afternoon we FINALLY headed to Cadiz…checked into our hotel and decided to sit outside one of the local pubs (right next to our hotel) and enjoy the afternoon/evening before getting ready for dinner and our last late night in the Iberian Peninsula. We ended up not getting ready and going out but ordering Chinese food and watching the Disney channel (the only English-speaking channel besides news). You can tell our time was winding down and we were ready for rest…
Sunday was spent in Seville…doing some of our favorite things…eating, shopping, sightseeing (taking photos) and eating more. We had a wonderful last day in Spain. We didn’t hold back on our purchase or our food…our last meal was AMAZING! We each got pasta and also shared a pitcher of sangria, pizza, appetizer & dessert. We felt by stuffing our faces it was perfect way to end the trip!!!
The next morning our wakeup call came around 330 am…we had a 5+ hour drive to Madrid to catch our plane home. We made it in plenty of time…returned the car and boarded our PLANE back to America.
All in all our trip was a complete success… we drove 2,238 km of Spain countryside… no real hiccups that we couldn’t figure out…we ate well at practically every meal…we splurged and spoiled ourselves…we saw the most we could in 17 full days…we made new friendships…saw new sights…and didn’t want to eat dinner until 10 pm every night…we believe we fully embraced the culture of the Iberian Peninsula and not only are we still friends after…we are closer!
