Morocco

Well, I made it to my destination and what a crazy day it was! Early start of 4:15 to get to the airport by 5:30, flight at 7:45. All good. I arrived in Marrakech on time and got through customs no problem. Got to an ATM and found the bus to take me to the train station. So far so good. I met a young man from USA who was also going to the train stn and even taking the same train but going to Rabat. As it happens when travelling, you become fast friends very quickly. When we got to the train stn, it was just before 1:00 and I thought I would have just enough time to get my ticket and get on the train. We were met by huge crowds lining up for tickets and the kind of chaos one finds in a busy, economically challenged city such as this.we got in line, knowing the next train was scheduled for 3:00 and I hoped it would be on time. In the line up, we met another young man from Belgium who was stopping in Casablanca and who could speak French as well. I decided to stick to him like glue. Turns out he was a very nice guy and he helped me out enormously. At 2:15, a porter started yelling and whistling for everyone to line up for the train. I thought this was a little odd but along came the train and Jerome, who has been here for a month, told me to get up to the front and push my way in. There were hundreds of people on the platform and I was feeling a little claustrophobic. There are compartments that hold 8 people comfortably but we had 12 in ours. The windows wouldn't open and it was very hot and stuffy. People kept crowding onto the train and here we waited until 3:00 when we finally started moving. It was interesting to see the Moroccans dressed in wool coats and many women in full burkas. I couldn't imagine how hot they must have been.
It became clear that I was not going to make it to my hotel by 6:00 so I asked Jerome to call my hotel (at £1.75 per min!) and leave a message for my tour leader that I would be late. We didn't get to Casablanca until nearly 8:00 and it was absolute madness getting off the train! There were people and baggage everywhere, even in the aisles and we had to step over them with our bags, shoving our way through out into the dark platform. I needed to negotiate the petit cab and again, Jerome came to the rescue. It was insane! No seatbelts and I prayed I would make it to the hotel alive. Jerome and I parted ways amidst the chaos and noise, having exchanged emails on the train. We lost Mike on the platform getting on the train and didn't see him again.
When I got to my hotel, everyone had gone out for dinner but the host didn't know where. He gave me directions to a nice restaurant "around the corner". I set out, acutely aware that I was a very White woman walking alone in a busy city and felt for the first time on my travels, a little nervous. A lot of men tried to speak to me but I ignored them and did not make eye contact, almost turning around, but I had not eaten since a coffee and yogurt at 6:30 this morning and was starving. I kept going and ended up at a really nice quiet place where I had a beautiful lamb and couscous dinner. The waiter spoke French and kept coming back to my table and kept repeating the words "après" and "bise". I finally figured it out - he wanted to meet me afterwards and kiss. Needless to say, I got the hell out of there fast and he followed me to my hotel - I think to make me think he was getting me there safely. I finally shook him off and got to my hotel safely. Eventually I met my team, briefly, and am now in my room, safe and sound and ready to explore Marrakech in the daytime!

More travels

I left Bournemouth today and made my way to Gatwick by bus and then train. Staying at a funky little hotel about 20 minutes away. When I say funky, I mean a bit weird. When I booked it online - looking for something really cheap but close to the airport with wifi and a restaurant - I got that, but the restaurant is a bar and the wifi can only be used in the bar or the lobby. I was looking forward to getting into bed and sending a bunch of emails and order room service. Oh well, it will have to do. I have to get the 5am shuttle as I have an early flight and easy jet can have a very long check in as they tend to check in all the flights from one desk.
Travelling alone again, I am looking forward to the next adventure and who I shall meet. I am a bit nervous as I have to fly to Marakech and then get a train to Casablanca where my tour starts. I need to get money at the airport in Marakech (it is not possible to obtain MAD money before arriving in the country). That will be the first challenge. Then I have to get a cab, negotiate the fare before I get in, and get to the train station where there are trains to Casablanca every hour. It should take about 3 hours and then another cab to the hotel hopefully before 6pm where I will meet my group. I hope they are as fun and nice as the group I travelled in Italy with 5 years ago.
Wish me luck!!
Keep reading, next post from Morocco!

11.11.11.

This just has to be an auspicious day. I can't help but think that there is something to it when the numbers line up like this. I wish I knew more about numerology, or astrology because I think it probably has some significance. For me, it is another day of possible adventure. My last day in Bournemouth and hoping for a long walk on the beach again. I have now been in England nearly 4 weeks (is it really 4 weeks since I left Spain??) and am starting to feel like I live here. What I love is the anonimity I experience every day. I walk down the street and know not a single soul. For some reason I like this. You can't beat the dairy here - cheese especially. Sarah, you would be in heaven, the aged white cheddar is to die for! I try not to eat it too often because, well, it's just not good to do that. This way, I can savour it when I do have it. I have mentioned my addiction to tea already and I indulge in that (as my aunt Susie and uncle Terry can attest to) as often as I like. I had a cadbury chocolate in Liverpool - another thing that seems to taste better than anywhere else, as do the toffees, which I have yet to indulge in. I love the old churches, cobblestones, narrow streets, and earthy, lush green that is evident only as a result of the rain and dampness. Oddly enough, it hasn't rained much but I'm told it will....
I am looking forward to my trip to Morocco. I am carrying my pack with only a few things - I now know how to pack light. It was more difficult to pack for this trip as I needed to have both warm things for my time in England as well as cool clothes for my trip to Morocco - all fitting into my little orange pack. I need to take a sleeping bag too which takes up a bit of space. I recently bought an iPad (I now understand the merits of it) and will try and write as often as I can depending of the availability of WiFi. I have just uploaded all my photos and will post them to FB in the next day or two. I continue to ache for Spain so have applied to volunteer for a week in Madrid teaching conversational English. It sounds great - they put you up in a nice place and you just have to have conversations with Spanish people who have learned English in a classroom setting, but need to practice their conversation skills. They pay for all your expenses and the only skill you require is to be able to talk to people. (Hehehehe)
Other than that, I am still exploring the idea of going to India for a few months. I don't feel ready to go home and feel that this time has been given to me and I must do something extraordinary with it. Time has a way of slipping by and I have become acutely aware of how much time can easily be wasted doing what we think we ought to do instead of taking a risk and doing what we really want to do.
Time will tell.

Bournemouth

I am now in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England staying with my mom's eldest sister Jennifer. It is a very beautiful place - isn't it always beautiful by the sea? I decided that I needed a long walk yesterday so took the bus down into the town square and walked down to the pier. It was windy, but not too cold and the sea was rough and alive. I walked for a couple of hours, over to the other pier. I walked up the windy zig zag path that goes up to the road and didn't even feel out of breath, so I did it again! The sea front is lined with tiny little beach huts in matching colours. For instance, there will be a block of about 10 in all the hues of blue, and then another one in yellows. They are great and I want to paint them someday.  I had a cup of tea in a cafe on the seafront and made my way back to the town square to wander around the shops.
Speaking of painting....I went to my aunt's art class with her today and did a watercolour painting. It was absolutely awful, but it was fun and I learned how to use frisket. The teacher was great and inspired me to do a class....someday. Maybe. I come from a long line of true artists and I must say they are all rather intimidating.
Tomorrow Jen and and I are going to meet Mary, the daughter of my late grandfather's brother George for lunch. She lives in Poole and Jen sees her regularly.
On Saturday I go back to London and will fly out to Marrakech early Sunday morning. Stay tuned for adventures in Morocco!

Bristol

I am now in Bristol with my Camino bessie mate Arlene. She is kindly putting me up at her place for a few days before I go off to Bournemouth to visit my Aunt Jennifer. The train journey from Liverpool started off with a cancelled train but I was able to get on one that went through Birmingham and then on to Bristol making me only a half hour behind schedule. Arlene picked me up and we went out for an Indian meal before going back to her place to drink wine and catch up. Today was a beautiful sunny day and we went down to the docks and had a very british, very naughty brunch of bacon butty's and chips. Hell, you only live once right? It was delicious and well worth queuing up for. There is a beautiful bridge that goes across the Avon river and we walked across it and then up to the little fortress at the top of the hill. We have had a great time catching up and philosophysing about the effect the Camino has had on us and trying to work it all out and make sense of it all. We looked at photos and reminisced about our friends and all the good times we had together. We called Gerry from Ireland and it was good to hear his voice. We had the idea of meeting up doing a walk in the lake district or even Scotland - maybe the Coast to Coast....
Tomorrow we are driving to London to see a screening of a film Arlene's cousin has edited. Not sure if I can get a ticket, but if not, I'm sure I can find something to do in London...! Back to Bristol and then on to Bournemouth Tuesday morning where I will stay until I leave for Marakech next Sunday.
It is so good to re-live the Camino with Arlene. It is something that doesn't easily fit into "real" life and it has been a challenge to not talk about it with others for fear of boring them to death! We never seem to tire of talking about it and it's so good to talk about it with someone who has experienced it with me.
Well, off to cook dinner now and possibly drink a glass of wine : )
Hasta Luego!
Jena

Musings

It's amazing how time slips by without you even noticing it. I've been in Liverpool nearly two weeks now. This past week was half term and everyone was off school. As it often is, at the beginning of a week off, it seems like you have time to do all the things you want to do and at the end of the week you realise the list was rather longer than you thought. I feel the same way with my time in Liverpool. 've had a good week though and have been doing the things I've  wanted to do. I love walking on the beach-it seems to go on forever, sort of like Tofino and Vancouver island. Sort of. One of my favourite things is the "Iron Man" exhibition by Antony Gormley entitled "Another Place". 100 life sized iron men spread across 3kms of Crosby beach facing out to the sea. Here is the link: http://www.sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=6216, you must check it out...though you can't get the power of it unless you see it for real. I was walking there one evening at dusk and though I was almost the only person there, it felt eerily as though I wasn't alone. I never get tired of looking at them, they are unusual and fascinating.
A funny thing happened the other day. I was on my way to the beach and decided I needed my hair trimmed so I stopped in at a hair salon on South Rd near my Aunt's place. I settled in to the chair and asked for a quick trim. The young woman commented on my accent and asked me where I was from. When I told her, she said "I have an aunt who lives there", and, naturally, I asked her which part of Canada. She said she really didn't know. After a pause she asked me "where is Canada"? I was stunned and when I regained my composure I asked her if she knew where the United States was and she said, yes, is it near there? Bless. Though she may not be the brightestest girl I've ever met, she was smart enough to charge me £12 quid for a 5 minute trim!

Endless cups of tea!

It's true. A cup of tea seems to make everything better. Whether you've already had 2, or 5, or 10, when someone says "shall I put the kettle on"? the answer is always yes. I don't know what it is that makes the tea here so good. It could be the water, or the fact that the electricity is 220w which makes the water seem to boil even more fiercely than at home. Or it could be the milk because everything dairy is just better here. Whatever it is, I am always up for a cuppa.
Now, onto other travel plans. I have booked a trip to Morocco from Nov 13 to 27th which is pretty exciting. I'll be landing in Casablanca and ending up in Marakesh. Activities include camping in the desert and riding camels. I have decided to change my ticket home and will be staying here longer because, well, I just don't have a reason not to really. I feel like I have this amazing opportunity to travel the world. I'm relatively unencumbered and just feel like this is the right thing to do. I am a bit homesick at times..... I miss my kids, my friends and my Georgie boy, but I know everyone understands and supports me.
I spend my days with my family, walking on the beach and going to the gym. Today I ran 5km.
I am very blessed to have my aunt and uncle put me up so graciously and I am enjoying my time with them immensely. Just need to sort out a visit with Arlene now and after that.....who knows!