Iran: The Next Big Travel Destination?

When I was in India, I traveled with a girl who had grown up in Iran, but moved to Toronto with her family when she was 15. She told me stories of her childhood and the differences pre and post revolution. The changes were drastic! Before the revolution, being a Muslim was as optional as being a Christian in the States. Her teacher wore short skirts to school. After, of course, was much different, and more in line with the Iran we hear about in the news. But with the election of a new president, one who is much more moderate in his views, could this mean a new Iran, too?

Today she invited me to visit Iran with her next year. Of course, I immediately jumped on it. Obviously it's a long way off, and as I mentioned in my previous post, I already have a lot of travel planned over the next year. But this is one of those once in a life time opportunities. How do you say no? Especially when several of your friends would be going, too. I will certainly try to find a way.

But it also got me thinking. I know there's a lot of people out there who would say, "Don't go there, it's dangerous! You'll get thrown in jail for being an American spy! Or worse!!", but honestly, this has never stopped me from going anywhere. Sure, the warnings on the state department site are dire, and the media blows everything out of proportion, but more often than not, the stories I hear from people who have actually been there are positive. The much more difficult question to answer is, should I be going to, and spending money in a country that is so at odds with our own? Is that being unpatriotic, or however you want to label it?

Personally, I don't think it is. I've always believed that more good comes of traveling than bad. You get to see first hand how different cultures really work. You get to meet everyday people, just like us and talk to them, learn why they think the way they do. You may not agree, but it goes a long way to understanding. And it puts a very real face to what you hear in the media every day. It allows you to make your own decisions based on your own observations. Most importantly, it helps you think for yourself. But one of the most interesting things I gain from travel is a greater appreciation of home.

So I may have another trip to plan in my future! Nothing is for certain just yet, but the opportunity is there. And what an opportunity it is! Taking politics out of the situation, Iran has a wealth of things to do and see. There's natural beauty, palaces and mosques. The ancient city of Persepolis and one of the oldest continuous major civilizations in the world. You can also visit the Treasury of National Jewels and towering mountains. They even have ski resorts! Only time will tell if our governments can sort things out, but hopefully traveling there will get easier sooner rather than later.

An Itch (Of The Traveling Kind)

Sometimes I get an itch. No, not that kind of itch. An itch that says it's time to do something different. Do something crazy. Jump off a cliff in Germany. Dive into a deep, blue hole in Belize. Ride a camel across the desert in Morocco. It's been 7 months since I came home from India (I survived the streets of Delhi!). When I first got back, I was relieved to be done traveling for awhile. I had spent most of 2012 flying somewhere in the world and home actually felt like the real vacation. But now that it's been 7 months, the travel itch has returned.

I've been trying to plan a trip to Iceland, Germany and Bulgaria with a friend around Oktoberfest since India, but for various reason, we never could set anything in stone. For months, I'd pester her, asking for dates, wanting to buy airfare. And she'd always put me off due to issues with her job. There really was nothing she could do about it. But finally tonight, we talked on the phone and we have dates! Though it seems like we'll have to shave a few days off the trip since she doesn't have as much time off as she originally thought. But I don't care. We're going to Europe! I can't wait to relax in the Blue Lagoon, buy a dirndl and drink beer at Oktoberfest, and see the country where one of my closest friends grew up!

As if Europe wasn't enough, another friend asked me a few months ago if I wanted to go to Thailand and Cambodia in February 2014. Um, duh! All you had to do was ask! Inspired today by having some solid plans for Europe, I started researching Thailand. It's so cheap! It's so beautiful! It's so tasty! Seriously, I think the original reason I wanted to go to Thailand was because of my deep and abiding love for Thai food. And what's more, we're going to take a Thai cooking class in Bangkok! We also plan to spend several days on the beach in Koh Phi Phi just relaxing, maybe do a couple dives. And of course, Angkor Wat in Cambodia is a must. The ancient temple complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and more than worth the time spent getting there. I'm pretty sure this trip will have everything a person could ever ask for in a holiday.

Finally, there's Brazil. One of my other passions in life is soccer (football, futbol, calcio, etc), and the biggest event in soccer is the FIFA World Cup. The US national team has all but qualified for a spot in the World Cup being held in Brazil in June of 2014, which means I plan to find a way to make it down there to watch. I've had a couple offers of places to stay as long as I buy my airfare. This is a huge deal! Accommodations are going to be outrageous for this event. Not one, but two places to stay in Brazil is more than I could have asked for. Well, the US winning the World Cup would be more than I could ask for, but I'm not even going there right now.

9 months, 6 countries, 3 continents. It will be exhausting. It will be expensive. My parents will hate having to dog sit so much. But every second, every penny, every parental complaint will be more than worth it. I can't believe how lucky I am that all this is even remotely possible, let alone probable. And I will be sure to share it all.

Making friends in Salema

If you ever have the chance to go to Portugal, I cannot recommend the town of Salema enough. I loved this place so much that I told my dad he had to move there when he retired. It's perfect for him (as a person who doesn't travel much) because they all speak English and there's a golf course just 5 minutes away. But that's not why I loved it.

Salema is a quiet, isolated town on the Algarve Coast in southern Portugal. This sleepy little village is historically a fishing community, but as the rest of the Algarve coast gets overloaded with tourists, some have found their way here. Now you can find sunbathers sharing the beach with fishermen unloading their day's catch. It's only accessible by car, but you can take the bus that goes out to Cape Sagres, get dropped off a kilometer or two up the road from town and walk in. Guess which option I took.

The walk was hot and my pack was heavy, but the views as I came around the corner were spectacular. A white washed town nestled into the hills, pushed up against the Atlantic. Fishing boats trolling out in the sea. This was definitely going to be my vacation inside a vacation.

Ok, there are no boats in this picture, but they were there!

I checked in to Pension Mare and found I was the only guest. My room was lovely, with a balcony looking out over the town and sea.

I couldn't wait to see the town. But first things first! Ocean!

After floating in the water for awhile and lazing about on the beach, I ate a late lunch at a nearby cafe before heading back to my room. When I got there, another couple had arrived. They were around my parents age, and turns out, they were from Portland, OR! It's always so interesting to me, meeting people from home so far away. We decided to have dinner together later than night, and they ended up being some of the loveliest people I have ever met while traveling.

We went to a cafe on the waterfront a short distance from the pension and ate amazing seafood while watching the Barcelona v Real Madrid match. They told me that traveling was something they had done together since college. Even once they had kids, they always tried to get away for a few weeks, and now that the kids had moved out, they were able to spend months backpacking. I hope that 30 years from now, I can say the same.

The next day I went out to Cape Sagres aka The End Of The World. Back in the days before Columbus discovered America, when everyone thought the world was flat, this was considered the ends of the earth. And it's easy to see why.

You may notice I have a lot of pictures of my feet. When you travel alone, sometimes this is the only way you can prove you were there!

Cape Sagres is neat, and the remnants of the old navigational school is interesting, but my favorite part was sitting out on the edge of the cliffs, watching the locals fish. Scary!

When I got back to Salema, I jumped in the water again and relaxed on the beach, where I met up with the couple from Portland again. That night we went out for dinner to a different cafe. While we were waiting to order, the catch of the day was delivered. Nothing like knowing your dinner is fresh!

For an appetizer, we ordered calamari. Nothing unusual about that. Until it was delivered...

Needless to say, we did not expect the whole squid. However, it would have been rude to not eat it and we made sure to clear our plates, sand and all. And honestly, sand aside, it wasn't so bad. After all, it's basically the same thing you eat in the US, just not fried. Or sliced. Or gutted. But good, none the less. 

We ate our delicious seafood dinner as we watched the sun set over the water, exchanging travel stories from years past before heading back to the pension for a quiet night of reading. I was headed to Lisbon the next morning and the couple from Portland were off to Spain so we called it an early night.

As I was leaving at dawn, a storm was moving in. Perfect time to be moving on.

Heat Exhaustion and a Camel Named Jimi Hendrix

One of my favorite travel adventures was a three day trek to the Erg Chebbi sand dunes of the Sahara desert in Morocco. It was rather touristy, but to be completely honest, I'm not sure I'd want to visit the Sahara any other way. Being alive is awesome.

We were picked up in the Djemma El Fnaa in Marrakesh. It's quite empty at that time in the morning.

There were ten of us total; five Americans and five Australians (what did I say about Australians?!). We had two vehicles, ours conveniently without AC. 

...

On our way to the desert.

...

Perfect.

Our first stop was Ait Benhaddou, where Lawrence of Arabia and many other movies have been filmed. It's a kasbah fortress made mostly out of mud and hay. Good thing it doesn't rain often.

 

We then headed up the winding road into the Atlas Mountains...

 

...to the Todra Gorge.

Did you know there's snow in these mountains? There's even a ski resort! You can stop off for a few turns before you head out to the desert. Crazy.

We saw oasis's.

 

And "Monkey Fingers".

 

And herds of wild camel roaming the desert.

Remember how the AC was broken? Apparently riding in the front seat of the car with the Saharan sun beating down on you from multiple angles can lead to heat exhaustion. By the time we made it out to the sand dunes, I was feeling quite ill.

But then I saw my camel...

...and he was so handsome. His name was Jimi Hendrix. He probably sings Castles Made of Sand. It made me feel better.

A castle made of sand. Kind of. Also in Morocco.

Then we trekked across the dunes.

There was even a race!

And we all watched the sunset.

 

Some of us happier about it than others (me!).

That night we stayed in a traditional Berber tent camp.

 

We played drums around the campfire.

In the morning we watched the sun rise over Algeria.

Then we drove back to Marrakesh.

The end.

More Spanish Shenanigans

Another ridiculous post to add to my embarrassing adventures in Spain. Now, this is the last stupid thing I did on this trip, but the fall in the metro station certainly wasn't the first. That distinction goes to my other fall. The one where I was on a walking tour of Lisbon, Portugal when I stepped in a pothole in the  middle of the street, landed on my hands and knees, surrounded by the five hot Australian guys also on the tour. One of them rushed over to help me up and make sure I was alright. Only my ego was bruised. Like I said in my earlier post, if there's a hole to trip on, I will trip on it.

Anyhoo, this story happened on my last night in Spain, before flying home. I was at a restaurant across the street from my hostel. I had packed up everything earlier in the evening, had my clothes ready for the next day, my electronics charging and my alarm set. I was just going to grab a bit of dinner before heading back to the hostel to read and sleep. My flight was early. I had to get up even earlier. But I was ready.

Ready, that is, until a couple of Australian guys sitting next to me (different from the ones I met in Portugal. And is it just me or does it seem like Australians travel a lot? Every trip I go on I seem to run into them! But that's beside the point) asked me to take their picture. They could tell I was American and started up a conversation. Eventually the said they were going on a pub crawl around Barcelona and would I want to join? Having traveled a good half of this 3 week trip alone, being able to hang out with people was a treat!

We headed down Las Ramblas to the first pub to start drinking. I guess this was a guided pub crawl, so we had a set amount of time to drink in each place before we had to move on. We decided to make the most of it. At the second pub, we met a girl from Belgium who joined us. Then we were off to the third pub. The time (and the drinks) flew by. The next thing I know, I wake up in my bunk at the hostel an hour after I was supposed to leave for the airport.

In a blind panic, I raced around the room collecting my things (and waking everyone else, I'm sure) and ran down to the shuttle stop to get to the airport. By the time I got there, my flight was leaving in less than 30 minutes and they wouldn't let me board. I was hung over and suddenly without a way home. I was able to purchase a ticket on a flight back to Madrid for later in the day, but I still would miss my connecting flight to Chicago. I took it and when I got to the Madrid airport, spent another hour trying to get on another flight home.

Originally I was told there wasn't a flight available for another week. As much as I would have loved to stay in Spain, I was willing to bet I'd be fired if I didn't return to work soon. And seriously? What is this, 1955? Are you really telling me there are no flights to America for a whole week?! Pretty sure there are options. Fly me to Berlin, London, Paris, Rome...pretty sure they all have flights to somewhere in America! Pretty sure there's SOME way to get me home in less than a week! As it turned out, there was room on the very same flight I was supposed to be on, the next day. $800 later, I finally had a way home. But where to stay that night?

Fortunately, if I had to be stranded anywhere in the world, at least I was stranded in Madrid, where my friend lived. But with no way to get a hold of her, I had to just show up on her doorstep. I buzzed her apartment and had one of her roommates let me up. When she opened the door to let me in, she greeted me with a, "What are you doing here?!" I couldn't help it and finally burst in to tears. "It's ok, nobody died!" she told me. Leave it to your friends to put it in to perspective for you.

After a walk in the Parque del Retiro (wearing my FC Barcelona jersey, which garnered many comments, chants and criticisms, to my endless entertainment) and a hot shower later, I was feeling much more positive about the situation. So I had to pay a lot of money and miss another day of work? I got to have another day in Spain, spend time with a wonderful friend and have a funny story to tell. And who doesn't want to miss more work? But yeah, I could really use that $800 back.