MEXICO

Wednesday, May 13th

It took a while to get here, but even though everyone was exhausted, we couldn't wait to start our Mexican journey. I guess it's starting to sink in that we're at our final destination. It's a bitter sweet feeling, but we are going to make the best out of it!

Because we knew we would be exhausted of the long flight, we decided to land at the lovely 'Cabo San Lucas'. This place is popular for people who love long walks on the beach and sunbathing. 

After checking in at the hotel, we immediately jumped into the ocean. Unfortunately we discovered quickly that the ocean was very hard to swim in. At Playa Del Amor, the ocean has strong undertows and very turbulent tides! I had never seen such big waves! 

Back at the hotel one of the receptionist told us that Cabo San Lucas used to be a resort just for the Hollywood's elite of the seventies!

Forty years later, this destination on the southernmost of Baja California is still known for its luxurious lifestyles. 

After a lovely diner at the restaurant, we went to bed because tomorrow we would leave again to continue our active adventure.

Good night xxx 

Céline Van den Steen

Thursday, May 14th

Six a.m. and the alarm goes off. We still were a bit jetlagged, so we caught up on some sleep in our two-hour buss drive to the lovely 'Espiritu Santo'. 

Espiritu Santo, also known as La Paz' gems, is a part of Unesco World Heritage site. This Unesco site consists of more than 240 Sea of Cortez Islands and coastal areas. This place is well-known for its snorkeling and kayaking activities. So you can already guess what we are going to do today!

We hired three dive instructors, took a speedboat and went searching for whale sharks. These are the largest known fish in the Sea of Cortez.
After two hours of bobbing and sunbathing on the boat, the divers warned us and saw two magnificent whale sharks.
We immediateley got in the water and slowly started to swim along the animals. 

Although we couldn't speak, I could feel that everybody was exited and extremely terrified at the same time. What an experience! 

After ten minutes, the whales proceeded their journey into the ocean, so we got on the boat to look at the photos the divers had taken of us in the water.

We decided we had enough adrenaline rush for one day, so after the swim with our giant friends, we enjoyed some delicious tacos on La Paz's beach. 

At 4 p.m. we took the bus back to the hotel and enjoyed our evening at a local restaurant.

See you tomorrow!

xxx Céline Van den Steen

Friday, May 15th

I cannot believe this is already the last day of our adventure. It's a bittersweet day. On one hand, we are packing our bags because we are flying home tonight, but on the other hand we still have a beautiful day in front of us. 
So we decided to make the best out of it and make some more great Mexican memories!

After breakfast, we drove to the airport. At 9am we took a two-hour flight to Mexico City. At 7 pm we had to take our flight home in Mexico City, so we took the advantage to visit the capital as well. 

Because we are art lovers, we bought tickets to visit Museo Frida Kahlo. The museum used to be Frida's house. A local guide explained us that almost every visitor in Mexico takes a stop at the Casa Azul, to gain a deeper understanding of the artist. 

It was kind of overwhelming to enter the house of such a great artist. Lots of her personal items like her jewelry, outfits and photos were exposed. Even though I love her paintings, I'm more impressed with her inspiring and feministic vision of life.

After lunch, we went to 'Plaza Garibaldi' to visit the Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal, which has expositions explaining you the origin of Mexico's two most popular alcoholic drinks.
The tour ended with a tequila tasting on the rooftop bar overlooking the plaza. 

We stayed for a couple of hours at the rooftop bar and enjoyed the last sunbeams. We soaked up the Mexican atmosphere one last time and left to the airport.

At seven o'clock we got on the plane and took a ten-hour flight back home. 
These past weeks truly were a once in a lifetime experience and we will cherish those moments forever.

See you back home!

Love,

Céline Van den Steen

Source: http://www.worldtravelguide.net/mexico/things-to-do
            http://www.viator.com/Mexico/d76-ttd

CUBA

CUBA

Friday 8^th of May

Finally, we are in Cuba!!

Today we arrived at the capital, Havana. It was always my dream to come here. I’ve seen the movie “dirty dancer 2” a thousand times. This movie was filmed in Havana, such a beautiful city!

First we checked in at our hotel, after that we searched for a nice restaurant. La Casa, the restaurant has been operating out of this gorgeous Californian-style home since 1995 and everyone from Matt Dillon to Diego Maradona has enjoyed its Spanish tapas, Italian pastas and French pastries. The current buzz is around sushi Thursdays; chef Yuki prepares the freshest sushi, tempura, nori and teriyaki dishes here each week. We couldn’t wait untill midnight to go to a salsa club! We were so excited, it was just as in the movie! Everybody is dancing, the music was fantastic.

Early in the morning we went back to our hotel.

Goodnight!

Xxx

Saterday the 9^th of May

We stayed for a long time in our beds, we were so tired after a night dancing. But in the afternoon we visited Cathedral Square. Surrounded by opulent mansions, this ancient square comprises the recently restored Plaza Vieja (Old Square) and Francis of Assisi square. On the former stands the San Juan de Jaruco mansion; on the latter are the church and convent of the same name. One of the convent’s cloisters houses the Museum of Sacred Art. This was really beautiful, you must see this!

 After visiting the cathedral we ate in a park. In the evening we went to a bar to discuss what we want to see the next day here in Cuba. After that we went to our beds.

Byee xx

Sunday the 10^th of May

Today we visited Trinidad. Our first thing that we wanted to do was visiting Yerette. It was not an easy place to find but well worth the effort so don't be put off by the lack of street signs. Yheo, the owner, is very good at giving directions over the phone if you get lost. After you arrive, Theo gives a presentation which gives you an idea of what amazing creatures hummingbirds are. It's not a brief presentation and small children might get a tad restless but it was very entertaining. Then you have time to wander through the garden and find yourself surrounded by a variety of the most beautiful hummingbirds!! You are also given some light refreshments and then Theo shows you a slideshow he has put together of some of his best photos...these are beautiful and you can buy copies if you want. A fabulous way to spend a morning.. we loved it !

In the afternoon we visited La Brea Pitch Lake. This place looks like out of world. You will see this place hides so much in it, rusitng iron, sulphur, fresh tar coming from earth and thena spring of water. You need to have guide which is from government and charge 30 TTD per person and its worth trying. I will recommend you to go in the evening as during day, it will hot with sun on and lake is all black so intensify the heat further.

After this we went back to Havana.

Goodnight x

Monday 11^th of May

Today we visited old Havana. I liked everything and disliked nothing. The sights, sounds and even smells combined to fascinate me as I strolled the streets with our excellent guide. We were able to engage in many different conversations on a variety of topics with local residents visit briefly in a couple of homes, and buy an item or two in the many tiny shops. Dodging taxis drawn by horses and bicyclists and 1950's vintage automobiles proved to be a lot of fun too. Any anxiety that I may have felt at the beginning of my time in Old Havana was quickly gone thanks to the friendliness and openness of the people I met there.

It was midnight when we were back at our hotel.
Now we go to sleep, tomorrow is our last day in Cuba!

Goodnight x

Tuesday 12^th of May

Now we’re on our way to Mexico! This morning we visited the university of Havana. What a beautiful campus! A must visit!! Education in Cuba is free and the population is highly literate. The campus is beautiful and they welcome students from all over the world.

Now I have to say goodbye, we write you when we are in Mexico!

See you soon!

Xxx Femke Raman

Sources:
- http://www.worldtravelguide.net/cuba
- http://www.reizen-en-reistips.nl/bestemmingen/noord-amerika-midden-amerika/cuba/
- https://www.gapyear.com/articles/193379/10-of-the-coolest-things-to-do-in-cuba

MOROCCO

Tuesday, May 5th 2015

After a two hour flight, we arrived at one of my favorite cities in the world: Marrakech. I had never been there, but this city was on my bucket list for many years.

Luckily we arrived at six o'clock in the morning so we could already spend the whole day visiting the "red city".

After taking a quick shower at the hotel, we took a taxi to 'Jamaa el Fna'.

It is a well-known main square at the heart of the Medina. First we soaked up the atmosphere by walking through the market to taste all of the various foods and fare. Afterwards, we went lunching on a rooftop restaurant which gave us a beautiful overview of the city. We also sat down with a cup of tea next to a snake charmer. A really great (but scary) experience!

After lunch, we drove by buss to Agadir to cool down and enjoy the lovely beach. It was a two hour drive, but is was definetly worth the wait. When we finally saw the Atlantic, we jumped out of the buss and ran immediately into the sea.

Later on, we noticed we were actually the only women in bikinis. All the other women wore their headscarves and their long robes while they were swimming!
We felt a bit ashamed and agreed to wear next time bathing suits instead of our tiny bikinis. After all, we enter their culture so we have to respect their rules.

After a few hours enjoying Morocco's natural beauty, we drove back to the hotel, drank some Moroccan tea and went to bed.

Good night and see you tomorrow!

Xxx Céline V.d.S.

Wednesday, May 6th 2015

7 o'clock and the alarm goes off! We got quick out of bed because an hour later, we were leaving for a day (and night) trip to the Sahara Desert. It was only a short car ride. When we got out of the car, the view was just breathtaking. We had our breakfast in the desert - How cool is that?! - and took off by camel. The dunes of 'Erg Chebbi' came to life in vivid shades of peach, orange and gold.

By midday we arrived at a small village in the middle of nowhere. That's where we would spend our night.

While we were playing with the kids, the women prepared our meals. Everybody was just so kind and hospitable! We ate some delicious briouettes, couscous and tangine.

After our meal, we sat around the bonfire. The women told us how difficult it was to be a woman in Morocco. It used to be quite peaceful. Until the extremists started to dominate the country.

They said that the Moroccan people got afraid living in their own country. Because if somebody doesn't live by the rules of the extremists, they could get punished or even killed.

Around 9.30 pm the sun set and what followed literally took our breaths away. We were stargazing out on Erg Chebbi. Millions of stars appeared. Because we were very tired, we got in our berber tents and fell asleep.

- Céline V.d.S.

Thursday, May 7th 2015

After breakfast, we took a taxi to visit the 'Grottoes of Hercules', also known as the Caves of Hercules.

They are situated 14 km west of the city Tangier. This cave is a significant tourist attraction. Something which often has a lot to do with its association with Greek mythology. Unfortunately there were already a lot of tourists, so there was a two-hour waiting line!
Luckily there were people selling drinks and snacks to kill time.

But once we entered the caves, it was really magical!

Hercules is believed to have slept in these grottoes before attempting one of twelve labours. These twelve labours were given to him by King Eurystheus of Tiryns and took Hercules twelve years to complete. Hercules traveled all over in order to complete these tasks. But what were they?

Kill the Nemean Lion, Kill the Lernean Hydra, capture the Cerynian Hind, Capture the Erymanthian Boar, clean the Augean Stables... Certainly no easy tasks there!

The Grottoes of Hercules are of archeological, historical and mythological significance as well as a great beauty. Clearly, anyone taking a trip to the city of Tangier, should make a point of visiting the Grottoes of Hercules.

By one o'clock in the afternoon, we continued our excursion with a visit to Casablanca. It was quite a long ride, but we had to take our flight there. So we took the opportunity to visit the city as well.
We really wanted to see the 'Hassan II Mosque'. Because the mosque is the second largest one in the world.

A French architect, designed the Hassan Mosque and its accompanying minaret. Pinseau designed the building in such way that it is able to endure earthquakes. At night, the minaret has lasers that shine in the direction of Mecca.
Today, the minaret is considered the tallest in the world, standing at 210 meters. Literally amazing!

Unfortunately, this was where our Moroccan-journey ended.

We had a blast, but we were also very excited about our upcoming adventure: Cuba!

Lots of love and see you soon,

Céline Van den Steen

Source: http://goafrica.about.com/od/moroccotopattractions/tp/best-things-to-do-in-morocco.htm

ALGERIA

Hello bloggers

This morning we arrived in Algeria. Algeria is not an obvious tourist destination. After the devastating civil war in the nineties, the country gets only the news as an abduction occurs or bombing perpetrated.

We stay here only for four days, because there’s a lot of criminality out here especially in the border areas, at night and early in the morning. So we will visit the country only during the day, at the evening we decided to stay at our hotel.

Thursday the 30^th of April 2015

So we arrived at ten o’clock, we checked in at our hotel and then we went outside. Beforehand we made a plan of what we want to visit, to spare some time. On our first day we visited the capital Algiers.

After visiting the capital we went to the Kasbah of Algiers. The Kasbah, meaning citadel is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a Kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns. The name made its way into English from French in the late 19th century.

Th Kasbah was very beautiful, we were happy that we put the citadel on our number one to visit list! It is a really must see!

After lunch we went to Le Jardin d'Essai du Hamma.

In the garden was it very quiet and peaceful, quite the opposite of on the streets. It is a beautiful place of peace and tranquillity with a plethora of fauna on offer. Some rare specimen. Ticket purchasing is a major put-off. Chaotic scenes at the booth with crowds shoving a shuffling - no organisation whatsoever. Trees and their fallen foliage (often rare varieties) not managed - kids climb branches in view of security staff (lack of awareness?). 

Restaurants on offer: OK but with major hygiene and cleanliness issues - rubbish strewn everywhere.

In the evening we ate at our hotel and after we ate our meal we immediately went to our beds.

Goodnight xoxo

Friday the 1^st of May

Hi bloggers!

We decided this morning that we’ll stay at the capital for four days, it’s too dangerous to travel on the road.

Today we visited La Grande Poste d'Alger, it’s the most beautiful post office I’ve ever seen!

Its true beauty is in the inside. Neo-Moorish architectural beauty that is aged. It's a throw back in time as you step through the doors. If taking pics, don't take shots of the counters or people or the authorities will stop you. Stand near the entrance for a general overall shot which is acceptable to them.

For the rest of the day we just walk through the city and bought our gifts for our family.

Goodnight Bloggers

Xxx

Saterday the 2^nd of May

Today we had a good sleep, we slept untill 12 o’clock! You get really tired of traveling around. So today we visited only one thing, Tombeau de la Chretienne.

It is built like a domed pyramid. The crosses on the doors of its four entrances gave it the name "Tomb of the Christian", but most likely it is the tomb of King Juba II and his wife Cleopatra Selene (the daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony). A very unique looking structure. There was a time one could go inside the tomb but unfortunately it is now closed to the public. It was looted in antiquity and there is no vestige left that could identify the purpose of the tomb. An interesting historical enigma.

After a long walk we went back to our hotel.

Xxx

Sunday the 3^rd of May

First we visited Memorial du Martyr.

We took the cable car up to the monument then you had to get your camera ready. Amazing views from the top and be sure to go into the military museum. Nice to see all the Algerians there to celebrate all they sacrificed to be Algeria. Wonderful landmark that is bigger than life that memorializes life and sacrifice.

After lunch we went to a bar to discuss our next trip, because tomorrow we’re going to Morocco!

Goodnight!

Monday the 4^th of May

This morning we packed our bags and went to the airport in Algiers.

Now we’re still waiting for our flight… We’ll write you after landing!

Bye!

Xxx

Femke Raman

Sources:

- http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/algeria-travel-warning.html
- http://www.worldtravelguide.net/algeria
- http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Africa/Algeria/Things_To_Do-Algeria-TG-C-1.html