Portugal and Morocco
Portugal
I realized I never posted about my Christmas 2018 trip to Portugal and Morocco, probably because I didn't enjoy it very much. Granted, I met up with some nice people, but I also stayed in some sketchy places and burned my foot so bad I couldn't walk, so yeah, not my favorite trip.
So, let's start in Lisbon, which is very pretty, very hilly, and very closed over Christmas. Yes, I knew that going in, but I didn't realize how closed. As in I ended up eating Christmas dinner at the local Christmas market and missed church, because apparently it was only at 8am. Oops. So, fried calamari, apple cider, and chorizo for Christmas dinner while hobbling up the hill to my hostel where I sat in the rec room watching Kung Fu Panda with English subtitles. Yeah, not so much fun.
How did I burn myself? Well, it was so cold and damp in my room with no heater that I shoved a hand warmer in my socks and gave myself a chemical burn. Which kinda screwed me for the next day when I joined a couple I met going to Sintra. We also didn't realize that the bus stopped running at 4pm to go to the castle, so we missed that as well. We also found out the hard way that the restaurant in the Sintra train station cannot be accessed from the train side, so we missed dinner as well. Luckily I had snacks, because I always have snacks and water when travelling.
I also payed for the Lisboa Card, then promptly lost it, so I paid for nothing, but as I injured myself and things were also closed, didn't lose out on too much. I learned the train and bus system, enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner on the waterfront, found Starbucks-twice (lol), and ordered Portuguese custard tarts accidentally in Japanese and French, good job Portuguese-American. *head desk*
The good thing about Lisbon and all the hills is you can see the major sites pretty easily from pretty much everywhere and if you have a good telephoto lens (like I do) the pictures make it seem like you are a lot closer!
Sintra
After three days in Portugal I hopped a flight to Morocco where I met the lovely @hana_morocco who helped me navigate the trains. I met another traveler who was also going to the Marrakesh souk and we split a taxi which dropped us off a block off the entrance. I did not enjoy my time in Marrakesh at all. First, my riad was inside the souk and I got lost looking for it, then an old man grabbed my arm when I went out looking for dinner. I had made sure to learn how to say "no thank you" (La shokran) before leaving and after using French and English with everyone else (the default for non-Arabs is French), I used my angry Arab mom voice and he let me go and ran. I ended up finding a less crowded section of the souk to eat dinner in a restaurant in and when I got back to my room (which had a bunk bed and window that was easily accessed from the hallway, I booked a tour out to Essaouira for the following day.
The tour was late picking me up and then we transferred to another bus and waited an additional 45 minutes before leaving. It was highly commercialized with each stop trying to get you to spend money, but I saw goats in trees, an oil pressing company, and eventually made it to the port city where I saw camels on the beach and scary looking fish baking under the hot sun. It was a decent enough day trip, but not one I'd go on again.
I ended my trip with a day in Casablanca which also had me sleeping in the souk in a riad, but this time I felt more secure in the building. I had a lovely afternoon tea and walk around the Blue Mosque and a Spanish dinner and walk around several stores. I finished my day with a glass of soda up on the roof listening to the call to prayer from the mosque.
The only thing about Casablanca was my car pick up at 3am the following morning. First, don't do that. It was horribly sketchy waiting in the dark by myself. However, other than the one incident in Marrakesh, every male I met was extremely polite. While I was waiting for my car, two young (mid-twenties) guys walked past and stopped (a respectful 15 feet away) and asked (in French) if I was alright. I replied yes and that I was waiting for a car and they said to be careful and have a good night. It was a very good way to end a very not good trip. I won't be going back anytime soon, but I had a much safer visit than I thought I would, I also dressed appropriately and wore a head scarf the entire time and didn't act like a tourist, so I think that helped.
Marrakesh
I realized I never posted about my Christmas 2018 trip to Portugal and Morocco, probably because I didn't enjoy it very much. Granted, I met up with some nice people, but I also stayed in some sketchy places and burned my foot so bad I couldn't walk, so yeah, not my favorite trip.
So, let's start in Lisbon, which is very pretty, very hilly, and very closed over Christmas. Yes, I knew that going in, but I didn't realize how closed. As in I ended up eating Christmas dinner at the local Christmas market and missed church, because apparently it was only at 8am. Oops. So, fried calamari, apple cider, and chorizo for Christmas dinner while hobbling up the hill to my hostel where I sat in the rec room watching Kung Fu Panda with English subtitles. Yeah, not so much fun.
How did I burn myself? Well, it was so cold and damp in my room with no heater that I shoved a hand warmer in my socks and gave myself a chemical burn. Which kinda screwed me for the next day when I joined a couple I met going to Sintra. We also didn't realize that the bus stopped running at 4pm to go to the castle, so we missed that as well. We also found out the hard way that the restaurant in the Sintra train station cannot be accessed from the train side, so we missed dinner as well. Luckily I had snacks, because I always have snacks and water when travelling.
I also payed for the Lisboa Card, then promptly lost it, so I paid for nothing, but as I injured myself and things were also closed, didn't lose out on too much. I learned the train and bus system, enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner on the waterfront, found Starbucks-twice (lol), and ordered Portuguese custard tarts accidentally in Japanese and French, good job Portuguese-American. *head desk*
The good thing about Lisbon and all the hills is you can see the major sites pretty easily from pretty much everywhere and if you have a good telephoto lens (like I do) the pictures make it seem like you are a lot closer!
Sintra
After three days in Portugal I hopped a flight to Morocco where I met the lovely @hana_morocco who helped me navigate the trains. I met another traveler who was also going to the Marrakesh souk and we split a taxi which dropped us off a block off the entrance. I did not enjoy my time in Marrakesh at all. First, my riad was inside the souk and I got lost looking for it, then an old man grabbed my arm when I went out looking for dinner. I had made sure to learn how to say "no thank you" (La shokran) before leaving and after using French and English with everyone else (the default for non-Arabs is French), I used my angry Arab mom voice and he let me go and ran. I ended up finding a less crowded section of the souk to eat dinner in a restaurant in and when I got back to my room (which had a bunk bed and window that was easily accessed from the hallway, I booked a tour out to Essaouira for the following day.
The tour was late picking me up and then we transferred to another bus and waited an additional 45 minutes before leaving. It was highly commercialized with each stop trying to get you to spend money, but I saw goats in trees, an oil pressing company, and eventually made it to the port city where I saw camels on the beach and scary looking fish baking under the hot sun. It was a decent enough day trip, but not one I'd go on again.
I ended my trip with a day in Casablanca which also had me sleeping in the souk in a riad, but this time I felt more secure in the building. I had a lovely afternoon tea and walk around the Blue Mosque and a Spanish dinner and walk around several stores. I finished my day with a glass of soda up on the roof listening to the call to prayer from the mosque.
The only thing about Casablanca was my car pick up at 3am the following morning. First, don't do that. It was horribly sketchy waiting in the dark by myself. However, other than the one incident in Marrakesh, every male I met was extremely polite. While I was waiting for my car, two young (mid-twenties) guys walked past and stopped (a respectful 15 feet away) and asked (in French) if I was alright. I replied yes and that I was waiting for a car and they said to be careful and have a good night. It was a very good way to end a very not good trip. I won't be going back anytime soon, but I had a much safer visit than I thought I would, I also dressed appropriately and wore a head scarf the entire time and didn't act like a tourist, so I think that helped.
Marrakesh
Morocco: Essaouira Tour
Casablanca
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