Si's Year Out! (Plus Europe! Plus Morocco!): España

So it was time to leave Morocco and head to the south of Spain, but not before another Moroccan bus journey.....

Joe was heading to Spain too so we headed off early to catch the bus to Tangier then the boat to Tarifa in Spain. We had just missed a bus (but overtook it 2 hours later while it sat on the roadside...with only 3 wheels attached!) so we had to wait a while. By the time we boarded it was 36 degrees outside and about 56 degrees inside the bus. Everyone piled on the bus and we headed off. After a few minutes we noticed that the three children in the seats opposite were staring straight at Joe. As he was the only white person on the bus (I was cultivating quite a nice tan by then) we thought nothing of it. After 20 minutes they were still staring. After 30 minutes they were still staring....

While I was dying with laughter Joe was getting quite uncomfortable at being stared at so told them to look the other way. Anyway, their mother came over and shooed them into a different seat....and then stared at Joe! This went on for the rest of the journey much to my amusement.

Anyway, we got over to Tarifa on the boat quite late and ended up staying there for the rest of the day. The place had a beautiful beach and windsurfing so I was in my element! We had some beers and met a couple of Dutch girls who were cycling all around Spain then headed out for tapas and paella!

The next day Joe was going to Seville and I was going in the opposite way to Granada. However, I was thwarted by a group of French School children who had bought all the tickets for the only bus to Granada....cheese-eating surrender monkeys (I stole that insult form Joe). Anyway, the obvious thing to do was...to go the completely the opposite direction to Seville!

Seville is BEAUTIFUL. The city centre is full of nice parks and amazingly intricate buildings towering over the many palm trees planted all over the place. It has a river running through it that reminded me a bit of the Thames...except it was emerald green...and had lots of fish in it...and it wasn't cold outside...

There is also quite a pretty old quarter which leads out to a large square that contains the Cathedral of Seville. The cathedral was built over 500 years ago and looks masterfully over the city with its main tower, the Giralda, soaring high up into the sky. We climbed up the Giralda to hear the bell ring and look out over the city - a truly beautiful sight....

Probably the most amazing thing we saw was the Plaza de España, a spectacular building constructed for the Spanish-American exhibition in 1929. The building curves round a huge courtyard to form a semi-circle and has a tiled alcove for every province in Spain that it decorated with wonderful paintings that represent the area.

More tapas (and lots of beer) were consumed and the next morning I headed off to Granada, the last city on my trip. (I'm actually back in the UK now but I'll write all about it tomorrow anyway!).