How the heck did I get to Morocco?  Not actually, physically get there but how did it end up on my itinerary.   I’m not sure where the idea of going to Morocco first entered into my mind.  It may have been because a dear friend of mine in SD is visiting in November (note to self: remind her to ONLY drink bottled water and eat NOTHING that is not cooked. . but more on that later.)  Maybe because this friend was going I decided to look into it a few months ago.  I knew it was doable being only a short distance from southern Spain but I also knew I did not want to travel there solo.  It was one thing to be in Europe by myself but it was a whole other issue traveling to Africa alone.  Yes, it is the very northern part of Africa but it’s still AFRICA.  I looked in to a few budget tour groups but all were in the $1000 plus range for a week.  I just decided to table it.  I would be in Europe.  Spain!   I didn’t need to tack Morocco on as well.

Fast forward three weeks from that point.  I was still in San Diego; packing, trying to sell the car, having garage sales to sell my unwanted stuff, when I get an email from my friend Bridget.  Now Bridget is a true gem of a person who I have known since elementary school.  We played softball together and carpooled to CCD. For those of you not raised Catholic, CCD is the weekly religious education class many public school kids attend.  Nothing cements a friendship like carpooling to CCD! Anyway,  B is a travel writer who splits her time between Buenos Aires and the States.  Traveling is in her blood.  The email from B said something like “Hi! I’m traveling to the states in October for a wedding and I thought I could do a “stopover” to visit you in Spain. Think it could work?”  Um yes!  That would be amazing.  I would love a travel partner.  She continues “What if we met in Seville and crossed over to Morocco by ferry.  I’ve never been there and would love to go.  I’m probably blowing your mind right now.”  Nope not blowing my mind but definitely reading my mind a bit.  This was August 23rd.  I was leaving for Europe September 9th. Being flexible with travel plans has it’s pros and cons.  We essentially decided to go to Morocco one month before we arrived there. This is when being flexible worked in my favor and  that is how my Morocco trip came to fruition.

After two nights in Seville, B and I took a 3 hour bus ride to Tarifa Spain the very most southern point.  We were expecting the ferry ride to be under an hour but we booked a “high speed” boat that was 30 minutes flat.  We bought the tickets from a ticket office and as we were walking out the door the man called to us,  “Girls.  Be careful in Morocco.  The men there can be a bit. . . aggressive.”  30 minute ferry ride and aggressive men.  Got it.  Thank you kind sir.

All kidding aside, I knew things would be a bit different in Morocco  Bridget and I planned for it.  From our style of dress to our ability to navigate the cities.  I had read that most women are expected to be back in their homes by sunset (8ish).  In Spain you couldn’t get served dinner until 8:30 at the earliest; typically 9/9:30.  So yes I knew things were going to be a change from Spain.

After 30 minutes on a windy but quite large and comfortable boat, we docked in Tangier and there was an immediate sense of “We’re not in Europe anymore Toto.”  Things weren’t better or worse but there was change of energy.  Things seemed busier and more chaotic.

Our hotel was just a short drive from the dock.  We arrived and were greeted by a sweet young guy named Siyad who was more than happy to give us the “run down” on what to see in Tangier.  Another contrast from Europe was our money could go much further.  We stayed in a gorgeous room.  That night we went and explored the town included the medina.   A medina is a secion of the city with high walls, and narrow, maze like streets.  It is super easy to get lots so B and I stayed mostly on the periphery.

Afterward we went to a delicious restaurant that Siyad had told us was his favorite place.  We returned to the hotel and were heading back to the room when all of sudden we heard Siyad calling for us “Girls, girls!”  We stopped climbing the stairs, and looked back at him with anticipation.  “I must ask you a question.” Okay, this is probably important since he left the desk and followed us to the stairs to ask us.  ” I must ask you. . .what did you order for dinner tonight?” We told him everything we ate and how much we enjoyed it.  Siyad nodded knowingly.  “Ah yes yes. Very good. Goodnight girls.”

Spain.  Man oh man Spain is SO BEAUTIFUL!  I am going into my 3rd week of being on the road and I am so happy I made the decision to start in Spain.  It is just such a gorgeous country.  I ended my Camino walk in Ponferrada.  I thought about taking a train/bus to Santiago de Compostela but reconsidered.  Instead I would like to come back to Spain and finish the walk Ponferrada to Santiago.  I think it would take me another 7-10 days.  I will keep my pilgrims passport and hopefully pick up where I left off.    Next on the agenda was to meet a friend in Seville for a couple of nights before we  left for Morocco.  My route essentially backtracked: Ponferrada- Leon-Madrid-Seville.

Many people fly directly into Morocco but we thought it may be more fun to cross over land but more on that later.  We had 2 days to explore Seville and oh how I wish I had more time there.  This appears to possibly be a trend for me in my travels thus far.  Wanting more time in one place. It is probably a good lesson to remember for this upcoming year.  Quality over quantity.  Traveling to places isn’t a bucket list of destinations to be crossed off the list.

On the first night, my friend Bridget and I went to the Seville Catherdral, and when I say “went to” I actually just mean walked around the outside.  It is the largest Gothic Catherdral and third largest church in THE WORLD.  Yikes.  Let that sink in for a minute.  This place was massive.  The cathedral is also said to be the burial site of Christopher Columbus.  However, this fact is disputed.  His remains were originally sent to the Dominic Republic, then Cuba and finally Seville.  Some DNA evidence suggests his remains never left Cuba so there is an air of mystery surrounding the whole situation.  As Bridget said “That seems appropriate for a world explorer.  This guy sure get around for being dead.”   Regardless if he’s buried there or not, the cathedral was beautiful and impressive.

The next day we headed to a royal palace called Alcazar of Seville.  It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  The best way to described the place is decadent.  Room after room of beautiful tile work and carvings.  It was originally constructed as a Moorish fort but it has been renovated numerous times over it’s long history.  The  Christian and Muslim architecture in it’s roots is so apparent throughout the entire palace. It’s really interesting to see how the two cultures and religions came together to create the place.

That night we went to the river front for a meal of traditional Spanish paella and red wine.  My first couple days in Spain I would order red wine as “vino rojo.”  That makes sense right?  Vino=wine, rojo=red.  I would get varied looks and then something different was brought out to me every time; pink wine with ice, sangria, etc.  I have since been informed that red wine is actually “vino tinto.”  This tidbit of information has been essential in optimizing my travel experience.  Now I can order my delicious red wine with no confusion!

The next morning TRUST was out the window.  I woke up at the crack of dawn (those of you who know me will know that is anytime before 7am in my book) and was a ball of nerves.  I woke up around 6am and thought Do I really need to do this today? I really could just start tomorrow.  I could spend one more day here in Leon gathering my bearings and planning.  Immediately after this thought entered my mind, I heard How is tomorrow going to be any different?  You’ll feel the same way-scared, unsure, lost.  Get up and try.

I quickly got dressed, walked downstairs, and ask the front desk to point me in the direction of the Camino.  “Well, the Camino is really all around us.” Not helpful, I thought.  “But head toward the square and you should see the path.”

With that I walked out of my hotel.  My temporary safe haven for the past three days.  As I walked out the door, tears streamed down my face  Seriously, what in the world am I doing? I don’t even know how to start.

I tried to pacify myself with a negotiation. We are going to just play this thing by ear.  First we are going to go get a café con leche.  Then we are going to sit in the center plaza and look for other people who seem like pilgrims.  Then we (sometimes when I get overwhelmed I refer to myself as “we” because things are always better when you’re in a group) are going to try to walk to the first stop in the guidebook.  If we can’t figure it out, we will take a cab back to Leon and return to the hotel.

I offered up a little prayer to God.  Please let me find someone who I can walk with on this first day.  I went to the plaza to get some coffee.  First step completed.

Second step: I went to the  tourist information booth to get one more map of the city so I could find my way out onto the camino.  Walking in I noticed a  couple at the desk asking for directions.  The guy left to go outside.  Hmm should I ask the girl if she’s starting today?  Sure.  Why not.  “Hey there, are you starting the camino walk today?” “Yeah I am,” she answered. “I just met this guy and we are going together.  Do you want to come with us?” WHACK!  That was the universe  slapping me in the face saying “I told you so.”  We proceeded to walk outside and introduce ourselves.  Dave from Australia,  Eva from Austria,  Theresa from America.  I dubbed us the A-Team and we were off.

Last weekend I spent a few nights in Leon getting prepared for my Camino de Santiago trek.  Leon is a beautiful city about 4 hours northeast of Madrid.  On the way from the bus station in Leon to the hotel my taxi driver stated “Leon es muy tranquilo.  Madrid es muy rapido pero Leon tranquilo.”  Good, I thought, I like tranquility!

Many people start the Camino de Santiago in Saint Jean Pied de Port and walk the nearly 500 miles to Santiago de Compostella.  I knew I only had a week to walk.   I decided to start in Leon which is nearly 200 miles from Santiago.   This is a popular starting point for many pilgrims.  I knew I wouldn’t make it all the way to Santiago in a week but I reminded myself this experience was for the journey not the destination.

I first learned about the Camino de Santiago last summer from a friend.  She walked the camino for nearly 2 weeks and I saw all the beautiful pictures on facebook.   I  hadn’t  talked to her in quite a while so I sent her an email to get more information.  If she got back to me great, if not no big deal.   I didn’t have a strong feeling either way.  I figured when I got to Madrid it would be good for me to have something to do.  A mission of sorts.   Two minutes after sending the email she wrote back- “CAMINO!!! The Camino is amazing!  Life changing! Let’s talk about it more!!”  Wow.  That was encouraging.

The first day in Leon was spent running around the city trying to get things ready for the trek.  All “pilgrims” need a Pilgrims Passport.  This document gets stamped throughout the journey and allows a person to stay at Alburgues (or “hostels” along the way.)  Something about the Camino de Santiago seemed mysterious in a sense.  No one could give me a clear answer on certain questions I had.  Where do I get my pilgrims passport? Where exactly do I start the trek? How will I know where to stop?  A thousand questions were running through my head.

For a moment of silence I decided to go into the beautiful Leon cathedral.  I kneeled down to say a quick prayer.  Why are you so upset? I heard in my mind. Because nothing is working out and I don’t know how to do this alone that’s why I am so upset!  Don’t you know everything is going to work out? You just need to trust.   Trust I thought.  Why is trust so hard? Why do I have a constant need to control the things around me when it is completely obviously that I have no control?  With trust in my mind  I stood up and walked to the back of the church.  I asked an attendant if she knew where I could get a passport.  She directed me to an alburgue a couple of blocks away.  I walked there and was able to get most details figured out.

On my way out an older guy asked me where I was from.  He had heard me tell someone I was from the states.  I told him California.  Where? He asked.  Southern California, I told him. What part? Um, Encinitas.  Cool he said, I’m from Escondido.  What!? Small world! Of course I had to ask him if he knew one of my very best friends who was born and raised in Escondido (as well as her husband.) Nope he didn’t know them but it was a little sign.  Trust I thought again.  One step at a time.

That night I went to a Pilgrims mass.  It was a beautiful mass ending with a prayer for all the Pilgrims.  We were asked to come to the front of the church to be given a blessing for a safe and healthy journey.  On the way out all the little old ladies smiled at us and said “Buen Camino!” the typical greeting from one pilgrim to another while walking on the way.   I smiled to myself and thought “Trust.”

I finally made it to Madrid!  As I walked out of the airport I hear someone calling my name.  “Theresa over here!”  My friend Stacey’s sister lives in Madrid and she met me at the airport which was utterly amazing. How lucky am I?  After traveling for 15 hours the last thing I wanted to do was try to figure out how to get from the airport to my hotel.  It was so nice to have someone guiding me through the metro and busy streets.  I dropped my luggage off at the hotel and we went for a quick bite to eat.  I have met Lena (Stacey’s sister) one time before and she is a true gem just like her sister.  She moved to Madrid from CA nearly 35 years ago and never looked back.  She is an incredibly interesting and intuitive person.  She treated me like family while I was in Madrid- emailing me suggestions of what to do, explaining the metro in detail, and having me over to dinner one night.  I can’t possibly repay her and just had to say “thank you!!” over and over.

I spent the next day in Madrid wandering the city and taking it all in.  I love doing that on the first day in any city.  No place to go, no place to be.  I saw a sign while walking around: Celebrate little things.  Collect beautiful moments. I’ll be sure to remember it this year.

I departed the great USA from Dulles International Airport on Tuesday September 9th.  My parents took me to DC and the butterflies were flying in my stomach!  I was prepared and ready to go but still so nervous!  The fear of the unknown will get you ever time if you let it.  I kept repeating to myself “Only be concerned for today.  Take it one day at a time.”

A couple months ago, I booked my flight through United using miles.  I wish I could go back in time to when I signed up for that credit card on a whim and give myself a high five.  Totally worth it.   After a bit of searching, I found a decent flight to Spain.  Pros: I booked it for $100 including an upgrade to economy (yay extra leg room,) Cons: I had a 7 hour layover in Zurich.  No big deal I told myself.  I had some free passes I could use to gain access to the United Lounge.  Perfect.  Layover rationalized.  Flight booked.

Hello hello!  Welcome to my blog.  It has already been a work in progress!  The first step was picking a name.  All my cutesy ideas were taken and I was stumped.  Right before I set off, I was complaining to my brother that I couldn’t come up with a good name.  “What are you gonna win a Pulitzer for this thing?  Just pick a name already.”  What is it about siblings (most especially older brothers)?  My four siblings are some of the most supportive people in my life and also the quickest ones to serve up a piping warm slice of humble pie.  “Just pick a name already.” There you go: tmwtravels.  Easy to remember and to the point.  Thanks for following along as I embark on this adventure.