¡Hola de España!

Well we made it to Spain! Megan and I crossed the Mediterranean on what basically amounted to a freight ship full of semis with one level set aside for passengers. So of course we elected to sit on the deck instead and were rewarded by the sight of dolphins and flying fish! We saw probably a dozen very large, very dark gray dolphins right alongside the ship, and then 3 flying fish that were blue with bright purple ¨wings.¨ I also got to talk in French to a Swiss motorcyclist on his way to a Harley converntion in Spain, which was cool. It was fun, except for the creepy captain staring at us. Morocco has made me infinitely more grateful to live in a society where men don´t treat women like walking meat. We didn´t really get to interact with many women in Morocco because they are so sheltered, but our last night in Chefchaouen (our favorite place in the country, and highly recommended you visit) we took a different route back from the juice cafe (AMAZING JUICES) and came across a neighborhood of children. The boys were playing a variation of soccer mixed with wall-ball, one boy hitting the ball with a board to put it in play, and the girls started Mary Mack-type game when we stopped to watch and invited us to join. It was fun, learning a new game while they sang in Arabic, and I even won once! Some older women saw us and and watched and smiled, which was nice for a change, since every time you pass a man--literally every time--you get ¨I like the skin¨ or ¨Hello sweetie.¨ You ignore it always--they don´t do anything more forward than cat-calling--but I almost never want to be called beauty or sweetie again. First thing Megan and I did once we got off the train to Ronda, Spain was change into tank tops and shorts, and we´re still in them. I wanted to walk around naked just to revel in nonrepressed sexuality, but repressed the urge for now... ;-)
If Morocco was a rebellious teenager, searching for its place in the world, Spain is a woman in her 40s, maternal and mature, but still full of spice and enthusaism for life. We spent a day in Ronda, home of the original bullfights, and saw the beautiful gorge and waterfalls the area is famous for. We were going to hike down to them before our 4pm bus, but when we returned to the hostel at 11am we discovered that Spain is actually 2 hours ahead or Morocco for some inexplicable reason, so we didn´t have enough time after all. We did get to see acres upon acres of olive groves, as thearea is famous for their olive oil, as well as acres of oranges. I could definitely see myself living there for a time, it´s a painter and photographer´s dream, and a perfect mix of bustling city and country charm. We are now in Granada, a beautiful city in the Spanish hills, and our hostel in within spitting distance of the Alhambra. For those of you who don´t know what the Alhambra is, it´s a Moorish palace/fortress about 142,000 m² (about the size of the Versaille palace). It looks amazing from our rooftop balcony, and we´re going up there early tomorrow to spend a few hours. Apparently the inside is truely astounding, so I´ll post some pictures when I have them.
Now some bad news: It looks like I might have to cut my trip short. Megan and I both underestimated how expensive Europe is, and I don´t know whether I can make it the extra 10 days at these prices, but I´m sure as hell going to try. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I´ll post some more photos tomorrow when we get a break in the afternoon. ¡Adios!