Me, Kathleen, Danielle, Grandma Denise and Grandpa Gerry at the Alhambra
Danielle at the Port of Cadiz
Approaching Cadiz (Cathedral in background)
It’s been 12 days since my last entry! We spent 5 days in Spain (in port at Cadiz), one day in transit to Morocco, and then another 5 days in Morocco (in port at Casablanca). When at port, everyone goes off to do different things in each country. Semester at Sea organizes a lot of trips but many of us simply do trips on our own. In Spain, we spent two days in Cadiz and then rented a car to drive to Granada, stopping a few hours at one of the so-called white towns, Arcos de La Frontera. The drive was very easy, since the roads in Spain are excellent and very well marked. Granada is a beautiful small city that is home to the Alhambra, the beautiful remnants of Moorish castles and palaces. In 1492, the year Columbus sailed east and “discovered” the Americas, the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, re-conquered Granada and helped to create what we know as modern Spain. We then left Cadiz and sailed to Casablanca, a less than 24-hour voyage. There we saw Casablanca (the largest city), Rabat (the capitol), and then spent three nights in well-known Marrakech, taking, yes, the Marrakech Express … all aboard, the train … (if you remember the song). After we left Morocco each faculty member spent one hour with a group of students sharing our experiences. It is of course very interesting to travel but even more interesting to hear how different people experienced the same country. For the most part, however, we had good, enriching experiences.
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