Final Wrap Up--and Video (Winter Holiday, finale)

I've found a few extra images from this trip I'd like in our own personal record.   Also a few stray memories.  A screen shot from my instagram account showed me a fun checker-board pattern of blue hues and brown hues from our travels. 

Davy was very busy writing an adventure story in his travel journal whenever he had a minute of down time, reminiscent of his beloved Famous Five in Enid Blyton's style. 

Our plane time was well spent.  I'm so glad we have a policy of limited screen time in normal life so that the travel policy (of free for all) works magic.

Collin and the boys were into panoramas.  It's so hard to keep that thing steady but there was plenty of trying.  The boys were much more insistent on their fair share of camera time.  Some of the time it was good to indulge.  Eliza had a few hard days, but Daddy makes it all better.

Family photos when they happen.

Morocco was less stressful overall than we thought it would be, but there were still moments when I was sure we were going to die.  Collin's years of driving in Haiti saved us.  The driving was intense, especially through the city roundabouts and the mountainous country roads.  There are no car seat laws and even though we had booked car seats in the rental car they did not appear.  So we looked at each other, buckled the kids in tight, and sent up prayers.  Kids coming out of school were crossing the main highways at random and hitching a ride on a truck.  It was wild, seeing life the way I think our grandparents remember it.  A little more risky and a little more fun, to be honest!

We saw this billboard right after I'd just said to Collin, "So now we've ridden camels.  Next up, elephants!"  And he rolled his eyes with a great old snort.  So the guy on the lion made us both laugh because at least I haven't gone that far. 

Arabic is so elegant, even on a Coke bottle.  The food in Morocco was so affordable we ate like kings.  We even ordered soda at several meals, which is a huge treat.  (We then watered it down half and half with bottled water, because we can't spoil our kids, now, can we.)

 

Eddy's face when he was getting his cereal out of the dispenser was priceless.  I love when simple dreams are fulfilled. 

We came home with and to lots of laundry.  We'd let some friends of friends stay in our place for some of the time we were gone, so we'd cleaned like crazy and stashed any last minute dirty things in the back of a closet.  It was wonderful to come home to a very tidy house but not so nice that so much laundry had piled up.  I dreaded doing countless loads in our tiny washer and running out of space--literally--to hang things to dry.  So we loaded up a bunch of baskets and bags into the stroller and rolled it to the closest laundromat.  After a few hours we had stacks of clean clothes and linens.  Good call.

We were up until midnight rather against the desires of the kids.  We rang in the New Year at Victoria Station.  We'd been traveling then for over eighteen hours and Eddy was positively sleep walking, zombie style.  They were the most incredible troopers, carrying their own back packs and walking through all the crazy transport transitions and delays caused by the holiday. 

 

Ferry and Ronda, Spain (Winter Holiday, Nueve)

Our last day was the longest travel day I think we've ever done (except, perhaps, moving to the UK in the first place) over three countries and two continents.  In any case, we racked up the most modes of transportation we've done in a 24 hour period: feet, ferry, car, plane, train, subway, and bus.  If only we could've gone on some motorcycles and animals' backs . . .  Maybe we'll have to fudge and count the camels from the afternoon before!  I admit this was the day that I was most dreading, seeing on paper all the things we'd have to do and get just right to make the next connection.  It sounds exhausting typed out all black and white, even though I remember the day as being very enjoyable and even relaxing.  Ish.  Some time and pretty pictures smooth out everything.

We woke up in Morocco's port city, Tangier, and walked down to the dock.  We boarded the ferry and said both goodbye to Africa and hello to Europe in just over an hour. 

Goodbye, tippy top of the African continent!  Hope we'll see more of you again soon.

Land ho, Europe! 

 

We heard about Ronda after I'd already planned the places we'd sleep, which in turn determines where we go for how long.  (I think I plan trips like I do puzzles: doing the outside pieces first quite methodically, then working on the inside in a free, lackadaisical manner.  I have a few key places I want to see or experience which is the whole picture, then I do transport and hotels, then fill in with whatever.)  Then I heard Ronda talked up from several people who know what they are talking about.  And I was like, why haven't I ever heard of this little jewel before?  Just gotta know who to know, I guess.  Ronda didn't really fit in at that point, so I put it in the "would be nice if it works out" category.  

On our way to the airport--after no major delays with the ferry or other transfers--we decided we had just enough time to take the longer route through the mountains and stop in Ronda for an hour.  I'm so glad we did!  It was a holiday (New Year's Eve) and we were so lucky to catch the last ten minutes the bull ring was open.  This one was amazing.  We got to run around inside the ring, where the bulls and fighters actually are.  We felt like we were the only ones there, the last few other people hurried through and left us to it.  The kids and Collin played riotously but no one got injured.  Eliza dug in the sand like she was in the biggest playground sand pit known to man.  We were all in great moods and life was just as sparkly as is possible at the end of a long family trip.

Ronda also boasts a beautiful bridge.  We did not have the time to explore that nearly at all, though we did admire the deep gorge it spans for literally no longer than two minutes.  No pictures, just memories.

Just outside of Ronda we filled up the car's tank for the last stretch of our trip.  At the gas station we saw a good old fashioned car wash machine.  We figured we had five more minutes to  introduce the kids to the wonders of a car wash.

Caves and Camels in Morocco (Winter Holiday, 8)

We were reluctant to leave Chefchauen, we'd all had such a lovely time in the town and knew that as we left our whole holiday was drawing to a close.  We were all finally in the rhythm of traveling together, after the normal tricky start.  Luckily we had a few more stops and surprises ahead that sweetened the last bit. 

First, we drove up to Tangier via the Caves of Hercules (that guy really got around) and explored the caverns the sea had made long ago.  They were the perfect pirate caves.  They were huge!  Large enough for us to plan our underground mansion with rooms for all of us and visitors too.  Some even had secret passages between.

We walked down to the very little beach at the foot of the caves and were about to consider that our Moroccan beach experience.  Then Collin spotted some camels in the distance at a beach a little ways off.  We went back to the car and figured we'd just drive that direction and see where the road led us.

And then we saw the camels and did a cartoon pull over (just kidding.  Collin is a safe driver.  I mentally did a screeching wheels pull over.) to say salaam.  The camel guy was really friendly and when Collin asked the price and we did a quick exchange rate to pounds to dollars in our heads.  We realized that a camel ride on the beach was far more affordable for us than we would have thought.  We didn't even barter down from there, probably surprising (but not disappointing), the camel tender.  While we waited a few minutes for another family to finish their ride the boys began building a sand city with minarets and mosques and houses very close together.  You can see it in the lumps behind the camel ^^. 

Then we hopped on and held on as the camels, named Mustafa and Salima, lurched to their feet.  Whoa that was scary and exciting!  (Eliza and I rode together and the boys and Dad--this picture was purely for show).  Our guide, Mahmoud, proceeded to give us, what I can only consider "the deluxe tour" perhaps because we paid his first full asking price?  He brought us down the beach a lot farther than we'd thought, stretching from the fifteen minutes promised to more like thirty.  He led the camels in to the low tide and let the waves rush over their legs while the kids (and I) shrieked with joy.  He clearly had a future profession in photography and videography because man, he clicked away with abandon.  He took more angles and poses than I would have ever asked for.  (Unfortunately I was wearing a skirt that rode up and my blinding white calves have me reluctant to show any.  I'm that vain.)

I love these views that could only be from astride a camel.  The kids' feet and the cloven hoof, too cool.

I feel like this spontaneous adventure made a wonderful trip into an epic one.  The kids, I hope, will be talking about "that time we rode camels" for some time to come.  Just ask Eliza, she'll give you the blow-by-blow.

Chefchauen "The Blue City", Morocco (Winter Holiday, 7)

Forgive me while I go completely overboard.  Suffice it to say that our time here far surpassed expectation and was the highlight of our trip.  Driving the two hours from Tangier was its own adventure, but once in the little mountain town we were as safe and charmed as could be. 

We parked outside the walls of the medina (old city) and walked our things into the riad.  The old city was pedestrian traffic only and the kids took full advantage of that, running from place to place with wild abandon.  The city is shades of blue like you wouldn't believe.  Collin described it as walking around in a dried up swimming pool.  I took so many pictures you wouldn't believe.  Okay, maybe you would.  I've tried hard to narrow it down.

The boys and I agreed that we should find all the cool doors and take pictures, some with someone in front, some just on their own.  They got so into the game that eventually I had to say--probably for the only time ever--"no more pictures!"  I was running out of room on my card while they were still gong strong.

We found ourselves some rugs for our future home.  The merchants let the children go completely crazy while they were laying out the options.  They played around in the piles of carpets.  Once Eliza wouldn't get off fast enough as I waved one away.  They picked up the corners and gave her a hammock ride, then both the boys as well.  It was all part of the price we paid, I figured!  We found three we really liked, liked enough to negotiate for.  Ugh, I hate bartering.  Luckily Collin likes it fine and is good at the game.  Also, Eliza got stung by a bee and I think that hurried things along.  They felt a little bad and I was in a rush to get out to help her calm down.  In any case, we came away with the three rugs for just over our hoped for price.  Happy Christmas, birthday and anniversary to me three times over!

Collin and I celebrated nine years of marriage with an amazing dinner and time with our kids.  Best date ever.

In addition to too many pictures I was inspired to make some art, albeit app art.