Weekend Tours - I'm Exhausted

Friday 8/11/06 I went to the Bodega and Flamenco Show; otherwise known as winery tour and dinner. Flamenco, in general, consists of three artistic elements: Singing, (cante), dancing (baile) and the famous Spanish guitar (guitarra). The dancers physically interpret the words and emotions of the singer through the dance. It was an incredible evening. I even played with horses! Noemi and I had a great time; the food, wine, and entertainment were fantastic.


Saturday I went on the Gibraltar Rock Tour. This was actually very interesting; I traveled two continents and viewed three countries. We first visited Europa Point, then onto St Michaels Cave, The Ape’s Den, and finally the Great Siege Tunnels. St Michaels was the best part; the cave was believed to have been bottomless, giving birth to the story that Gibraltar was linked to Africa by subterranean passage over 15 miles long under the Straits of Gibraltar. I definitely got in my exercise on this trip. There is only one way into the tunnels and one way out; they don’t tell you this of course. The last tunnel was the hike from hell and I will never do that one again.


Sunday, I traveled by ferry to Morocco; Tangier to be exact. We hired a tour guide and traveled to parts of the city most tourists don't go too. I did a little shopping and dived into the history.
At the crossroads of Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, Tangier has an individual character. It is one of the oldest cities in Morocco. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians established trading posts there. The Romans made it a capital city. It was occupied by the Arabs and invaded by Vandals and Visigoths. Before the Spanish, the Portuguese controlled the town. In the early part of the 20th century, Tangier was an international city whose tax-free status and cosmopolitan image attracted European and American artists and writers. Although it has lost a little of its glamorous image, it is still a bustling city with an air of mystery surrounding it.



Turns out, I'm worth about 2000+ camels and a few beautiful carpets. We were told "I'll give you 1000 camels for the blonde" I said "I'm worth at least 2000", Juliet said "I want those big carpets and the guy said "Ok, the carpets and 2000 camels for the blonde"!!!!!

With all the walking I did this weekend; my bum hurts!