Moroccan Travels

Hi Everyone,

We are back in Casablanca following some fun travels in Morocco!

As I mentioned in my last post, my first few days in Morocco were very nice and relaxing. It is so fun to get to hang out with Kevin and Keely, and such a blessing that they have enough room for me to have my own bedroom here in their apartment:-). I got sick about the time I got here, which was pretty much perfect timing (if I needed to get sick at all)... it would have been much worse to be traveling hard while not feeling great.

I mentioned before that we met an American couple in Aswan, Egypt. Michelle has been traveling for the last 9 months, primarily in the Middle East as a couch surfer, and met up with us here in Morocco (her boyfriend is now back in the states). Kevin and Keely hosted her for dinner on Tuesday night, and she, Ryan and I left Casablanca for Essouria and Marrakesh on Wednesday morning.

 Essouria

Essouria is a beautiful coastal town, and we enjoyed meandering through the streets of the Medina (old city), visiting the local port/fishing hub, and buying fresh and dried fruit and nuts. On Thursday afternoon, Michelle and I sat on the roof of our hotel overlooking the ocean (a wonderful view complete with sea gulls, surf hitting the rocks, and clear skies). In the late afternoon another traveler came to the roof to watch the sunset. He said that he had been at a Hammam (Turkish bath house), and RAVED about his experience there. Michelle said she's really enjoyed Hammams in the past, and I was feeling up for an adventure. We decided if they were still open we would go.

We ended up being at the bath house when many, many local women were there, in the early evening. A lady scrubbed us, and without being graphic I'll tell you it was quite an experience. A combination of events made the experience really awkward and completely hilarious. Overall a very fun memory, although not entirely relaxing:-).

The next morning we left for Marrakesh, a very popular European travel destination. It was really cool, seeming just like a maze of alleyways full of vendors. Behind the walls, however, were amazing Riads -- traditional mansions with rooms surrounding a mulit-level courtyard. We went to a few high end hotels in Riads before getting to our hotel, which was nice but much less pricey.

Marrakesh is famous for a large square with tons of street food and entertainers. Michelle and I had a great time trying the food. I had my first sheep's head (and since I know you're curious it was just skin and a little bit of juicy meat from the face area), escargot (I ate three or four snails), and very cinnamony gingery cake and tea. We also had a few glasses of freshly-squeezed orange juice, a real treat at about $0.25 each.

 

Escargot... yummmmmmmmmm

 

 The very spicy spice cake.

As we left the Medina for the train station I realized that I didn't have my jacket with me. I couldn't remember where I left it, but ran (literally) back to our hotel to check for it. I didn't find it, but we were then in a rush to get to the train station on time. We ended up jumping in a cab and our driver asked us if we were trying to catch the 7:00 train, which was in about 25 minutes. When we said yes, we realized that he had made it his personal mission to get us there on time. I think he did a 30 minute trip in 15 minutes, and did it like a pro. I wish I could recommend him to all of my friends -- it was an amazing driving feat. We even had time to pick up some dinner at the McDonald's at the train station before heading back to Casablanca.

Today has been relaxed -- all of us doing some catch-up on the computer and planning for the rest of our time in Morocco. I am officially headed back to Maryland from Morocco on the 11th of March. Because of the cost and some of the details not working as I had hoped, I decided to spend some extra time in Morocco and fly home from here rather than going to Europe from here. I would like to go to Haiti if I can be of help there in April (let me know if you have any suggestions about needs there), and/or might try to do some traveling in Europe this spring. I think I realized the "Laura Travel Adventure" will not be ending when I go home... so it made more sense to book that flight from here.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. I am looking forward to seeing many of you within the next month!!!

Laura

Morocco

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick note to say that I am in Morocco. It has been wonderful to stay with Kevin and Keely and relax a little (especially since I got sick about the same time I got here). I didn't have much to report from my time in Casablanca, but these last few days I have been traveling with Ryan and our new addition, Michelle, and have had some fantastic adventures!!!

I don't have time to write now, but did just want to check in (I realized today that I passed my limit between blog posts again), so I owe some stories... so please check back soon. I'll tell you about my first Hammam (bath house) experience, which was quite exciting, as well as my first experience eating escargo, lamb's head, and a few other things, and my experiences in several Moroccan towns. Please check back soon -- I'll post Sunday if not before.

So you know, I am doing well, having a great time here, and am getting excited about coming home before too long. I'll write more about that as well!

Laura

Egypt Adventures!

Hi Friends!

After our "underwhelming" experiences (as a fellow traveler so eloquently put it) with our visits to the Valley of the Kings and Queens, I didn't expect too much from the remaining sights in Egypt... but I was wrong!

Our final day in Luxor (Wednesday), however, I had a great time. Ryan and I decided to rent bikes in the early afternoon and rode along the Nile to Karnak at the recommendation of some other people at our hotel. It was a nice ride and the breeze was wonderful since it was about 100 degrees there.

I wasn't sure if we'd be able to see Karnak from the outside, so we tried riding around it. We ended up riding through a residential village. At one point, I went to put my camera in the side pocket of my backpack and dropped it. I stopped my bike to get it, and a group of guys working on a building got our attention and asked me to take a picture of them. They were so fun... posing for the camera:

Ryan didn't want to go into Karnak. I thought it looked cool from the outside and felt like I should see it since we were there already, so I went in alone. I am soooo glad I did -- it is one of my favorite things I've ever seen!

(My attempt to "walk like an Egyptian")

Karnak is a fantastic temple built over the reign of many Pharaohs and more than a thousand years (I think). And it was AMAZING. I was in for about an hour and didn't see the whole thing... and I was moving pretty quickly. You walk in through a row of statues, and into this room with hundreds (again, I think) of enormous pillars all covered in pictures and hieroglyphics. Then there are rooms and rooms off of the sides, all different and interesting... With pictures like in The Prince of Egypt. From the pictures you could probably get a gist of the story being told even without being an Egyptologist. I was moving too quickly to come up with too many stories, but could have been entertained for a long time.  I like places where you can just explore, and it was like that:-).

While I was there, the cutest group of pre-teens came up and asked to take pictures with me. They practiced their English (What is your name?, Where are you from?, etc). And waved and said hi every time I saw them afterwards. I was continually impressed wih the gracious openness and kindness of every Egyptian I interacted with who was not trying to sell something, and even many who were. Apparently while I was in Karnack Ryan was getting his picture taken with 30 Cairo University students in the visitor center area:-).

After riding our bikes back, we went to buy train tickets -- intending to take an overnight train for the 11 hour trip back to Cairo. However, we found that there were no tickets on any train that evening, and foreigners were having trouble buying tickets for the next few days of travel, also. We went to the Tourist Information Center where an extraordinarily helpful man there tried pulling strings, and called the bus companies to see if we could take a bus back. Ultimately, we had two choices. The first was to take a bus to another city and then another bus to Cairo. The second "adventurous" (according to the guy helping) option was to get on the train and buy tickets en route. The risk with that option was that we wouldn't have assigned seats, so we might end up standing or on the floor. Neither of those options sounded good (especially knowing what the train was like)... but we opted for the train anyway since at least train travel was familiar, and because the guy called it the adventurous option (haha, if you know me that will make sense) :-).

I am soooo thankful that, by the grace of God, things worked perfectly on the train. We had to move a few times, but were in seats the whole time, and slept pretty much the whole way. Turns out trains lull me to sleep no matter how awake I am when I get on... what a blessing!!! We got to Cairo about 8:30 yesterday morning and easily found a good hostel with rooms. We were able to check in early, eat some breakfast, and shower before beginning our Cairo sightseeing. So nice!!!

Everyone kept warning us against high expectations for the pyramids, and we ultimately decided to see them more because it seems criminal not to go once you are in Egypt. I had lowered my expectations more than necessary... I thought they were really cool. They are absolutely huge!!! 

 (I'm the little pink and black person in the middle)

We decided to go in the smaller of the two large pyramids. I didn't expect this, but you have to walk waaayyyy down through a steep tunnel, crouched over because it is only about 4 feet high, and probably 4 feet wide also.

Once we started going in (with many people in front and behind us, and with no end of the tunnel in sight) I realized that I might have a problem with claustrophobia:-). I realized I was starting to panic... and then started imagining what would happen if I did lose it completely (which seemed quite possible at the time). Realizing how irrational my panic was but not sure if I was going to make it I started thinking of scenerios where people had to sedate me to get me out. Haha! Praise God that He gave me calm long enough to see the room in the middle and get back out. I was SO glad to see the sunlight again!

It was a perfect day and we enjoyed walking to a lookout point before seeing the Sphinx and leaving.

Finally, we took a taxi to the biggest mall in Cairo to meet Sherin, an Egyptian friend of Cara's, for a late lunch. She was so sweet and it was a wonderful finale for our time in Egypt!

Now I'm on a plane headed for Morocco, and look forward to seeing Kevin and Keely today! Hopefully I can get this posted this afternoon.

Laura

Egypt

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are well today! I'm sitting on the rooftop of my hotel in Luxor, Egypt, and am SO hot! It is now 95 degrees (but feels like 98, according to weather.com). I was prepared for warm weather but WOW!!! This heat wave is quite the opposite of what has been going on in my homeland!

Ryan and I have covered a lot of ground over the last few days. We flew into Egypt on Friday and after finding a potential hostel decided to opt for a sleeper train and head south to Aswan immediately, and then work our way back to Cairo for our last day. I think I wrote something about that in my last post... the sleeper train was a no-go but we made it anyway.

Aswan was nice -- a fairly large city on the Nile with several islands. On our second day we took a ferry to the main island and decided to walk around rather than take the recommended (by boat captains) course of sailing around and between the islands. We started walking and were soon climbing some stair-like rocks, suddenly finding ourselves in what seemed to be the island's Egyptian ruins. We kept walking and came upon a poor village, with trash and animals around everywhere. We wound through some streets trying to get back to the ferry, and eventually made it onto a small street (about eight feet rather than the former four feet wide).

As we walked we met some other Americans who are traveling through Egypt. The girl has been traveling for about 11 months all through this region as a couch surfer, and her boyfriend met up with her for a few weeks of vacation. She seems to have had many interesting experiences! It was fun to hear stories and connect a little with others on the road.

Yesterday (Monday) we got up at 5am to go to the train station. We traveled for about 4 hours, during which we were moved to different seats in the train twice, and arrived in Luxor in the late morning. We came to our first-choice hotel and had to negotiate for two rooms, and then hung out on the rooftop for a while while they decided if they would let us stay. This hotel is not very nice, but has wifi and a nice rooftop where they serve cheap food and many travelers hang out. It is where I am now

We went to a western-style cafe for lunch and walked around to see the city for much of the day. At sunset we joined the other guests on the rooftop for a "sunset tea" included in our stay, and used the internet more.

Today we went on a tour to see most of the main sites in Luxor's West Bank. We had a guide and about 15 others on our tour, and saw the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and the temple of one of the few women who reigned in Egypt "as a man." It was interesting. Haha, I admit one tomb looks like the next to me. I guess I'm not cultured enough for Egypt:-).

During lunch we ran into our friends from Aswan again, which was fun. There seems to be quite an international backpacking community, and it makes sense that you'd run into each other fairly frequently.

Tomorrow we plan to rent some bikes and see more of the city, and then take an overnight train back to Cairo tomorrow night. Thursday we plan to see the pyramids, and Cara and Luke have an Egyptian friend who now lives in Cairo who we hope to meet up with. Friday morning we will go to Morocco to see Kevin and Keely. I'm really excited for that!!!

Thank you so much, again, for following my trip, for your prayers and for your encouragement even from a distance. I have needed it this week and I have been really blessed through you.

Love,
Laura

PS: In case you were worried... the henna tattoo is not permanent:-)
PPS: I'm having trouble uploading pictures right now, but will do it when I have a better connection (possibly soon)

Pictures to correspond with the last post...

 Hi everyone,

Here are some pictures to go along with my last post.

These are from the desert safari:

 I thought it was SO beautiful!

  

These guys were crazy... the driving was so fun. You can't tell, but that is a REALLY steep hill.

  

Desert sunset.

  

We got to dress up as locals.

  

I liked hanging out with the camels. They were actually pretty sweet:-).

  

I also got a henna tattoo on the safari.

  

 This is today -- my first Egyptian ruins!

Traveling to Egypt

Hi Friends,

I hope you are all well.

Today I am in Aswan, Egypt. Here is the update:

Thursday Luke, Cara, Ryan and I went on a "Desert Safari" in the desert near Dubai. It was awesome. A local man drove us in a land rover from their house to the desert where we did some great off-roading on the way to the desert camp. We saw camels and experienced many local traditions in one shot, which was great. I'll post pictures when I can.

On Friday Luke and Cara took Ryan and me to the airpot early, and we flew to Kuwait and then to Egypt. When we got to Cairo, we decided to hop on a train for Aswan (way south) and then work our way north, ultimately seeing the pyramids in Cairo on Thursday. We tried to get on a sleeper train, but there were no spots available, so we got "first class" seats and decided to travel all night anyway.

It ended up being a six-person room -- not exactly the most cumfortable place -- but was an OK trip for being 15.5 hours long -- at least for me -- since I slept (uncomfortably) about 14 of those hours (I didn't really sleep the night before we left Dubai). I don't think Ryan slept much so I felt bad about that.

Yesterday we arrived in Aswan in the afternoon. After unsuccessfully trying several hotels we finally found one with a few rooms available, and I was SOOO thankful to get a shower! Then we made our way to McDonalds, which was supposed to be the best place for wifi in the city. Sadly, it wasn't working, but we did at least get some food. McDonalds ice cream and various types of bread have been the majority of my diet these last few days. We hired a falucca (sailboat) and went out onto the Nile around sunset, which was nice. Well, it was nice until our captain changed the price at the end of our ride. I'll post the pictures... it really is beautiful here.

We walked through a bizaar in the early evening and then tried to find a resturant, and were amazed that everything was closed at 9pm -- even though there were TONS of people out! The only resturant we could find open was... McDonalds:-). Apparently it is the place to be... it was packed with local people!

This morning has been good so far. Our hotel served breakfast, which was OK, and then we came across the street to an internet cafe. We plan to see the rest of the sights in Aswan today before heading north to Luxor tomorrow.

I appreciate your prayers. I have been feeling pretty homesick the last few days, and am realizing that I enjoy traveling to see people rather than sights quite a bit more. I want to enjoy this trip and need to have a better attitude to do that. Thanks for reading my blog and for your friendship. And have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Laura

Final week in Dubai

Hi Everyone!

I apologize for my shameful delay in posts. This has been an eventful last week in Dubai! Three weeks seems like a long time until the end when you realize you have left quite a bit to do!

This has been another great week. A highlight for me was on Friday when Luke and Cara left me with some friends from church for the day while they went to a childbirth class. I had a wonderful day visiting with some wonderful families and getting some great insight on what life would be like here if I were to move to this part of the world. I'm very thankful for that -- as it is one of my primary objectives for my trip.

Here are some pictures with a few stories:

Last Thursday Luke and Cara took me down to the Creek -- the oldest part of Dubai. We first went to the great museum (entry was less than $1) about the history of Dubai, and this is me in a traditional hut. It was hot for me in the middle of January... I was trying to imagine it in hot summer temperatures! Really... I can't imagine.

After the museum, we went to the textile souk, where we did a little shopping in the traditional barter style. We felt like we got good deals about half of the time.

On Sunday, Cara dropped me off at the beach while she tutored. Beautiful, isn't it?

Luke met me there and we visited a "historical village" set up for the shopping festival which is going on right now, and we saw some great traditional things like this Arabian horse, falcons, and ate some traditional food. Cara met up for us and we went to On the Border for dinner :-).

Ryan, who will be traveling with me for at least the next few legs got to Dubai on Tuesday and I met up with him several times to see parts of the city and plan our trip. We were right next to the Burj Kalifa, so here is a daytime shot.

This is the historical part of the city, the Creek, which you can cross on abras. I really liked this part of the city (it felt more authentically international to me).

This is the whale shark in the aquarium at Atlantis, the beautiful hotel at the top of the Palm. We went with several friends. It was really nice!

I'll write more later... I'm running out of time in Dubai, so I'll need to fill you in on the rest soon. I have made a commitment to never wait so long to blog again while on this trip if at all humanly possible (which it should be), so you can hold me to that. Thanks for those of you who have emailed and commented. I really love hearing from you!

Laura