In pursuit of pomegranates: Spain = Sangria and Siestas!

Last time I wrote about Ramadan, so now it’s time to write about my trip to Spain which was basically the opposite of Ramadan! You can only get a 3 month tourist visa for Morocco, so if you want to stay longer like me, you have to leave the country and then re-enter to get a new stamp in your passport. And seeing as Spain is only 14km away, it seemed like the obvious choice!

My friend Katie (who I met last year in Madagascar) had come to visit me in Morocco and decided she wanted to come with me to Spain, so off we went – first to Tangier and then the quick ferry ride to Tarifa, Spain! Such a short distance, but a world of difference- I was definitely not in Africa anymore! Pavements without potholes or rubbish, transport that ran on time, wide, clean streets with road rules adhered to, zebra crossings that cars actually stopped for, recycling bins, manicured parks and gardens and no cats! Although I did kind of miss being told I was beautiful every second by boys on the street. You have to hand it to Moroccan boys – they go for every opportunity!

Tarifa was a really cool little town, a relaxed beach vibe, cool shops, tasty restaurants and tonnes of Spanish tourists enjoying their own country. We didn’t really encounter one other English speaking tourist! And the food! And I could eat it during the day! And ham and bacon! And eating that during the day! We became locals at the ice-creamery where we discovered the joys of dulce de leche, one time having ice cream before dinner in case we couldn’t fit it in after our meal! And to top it all off, jugs of sangria in the balmy evenings.

We had decided to go diving in Tarifa as we had heard it was some of the best diving in mainland Europe. We hadn’t heard however that the water temperature was 16 degrees – quite a lot colder than the 24 degrees we were diving in in Madagascar. I’m not sure if there were even fish down there, I was too busy trying not to die of hypothermia. We both bailed on the second dive in favour of going to the beach where we were able to thaw out in the beautiful Spanish sunshine.

Lazy days in Tarifa were followed by action packed days in Seville, although not too action packed that we didn’t find time for our siestas! So did I do a walking tour, bike tour, explore the cathedral and Giralda or go to the Alcazar palace? None of the above – I went to Zara and H&M! Normal clothes! On sale! I went back a good three times, just in case I had missed any bargains in the first 2 visits! And then a trip to the supermarket – heaven! I bought a bottle of champagne to take back with me to Morocco – patiently waiting for the end of Ramadan so that Karim and I can finally toast our engagement!

Our last night in Spain we were joined by Ness and Haylee (Ness had come to visit me in Fes too, but her sister Haylee arrived the day after I had left) so it was nice to catch up again over a jug or 2 of sangria. But all too soon our time in Spain had come to an end. I had an amazing time – Spain was great, but I was ready to go home to my fiancé. Hopefully one day we will be able to go together! And finally, coming home one of our connecting trains was 2 hours delayed – so we were stranded on a platform in the middle of the night, less than 2 hours away from Fes. Morocco’s way of welcoming me back!