I am in love. Spain’s majestic architecture and indigenous people’s gusto for life has mesmerized me to the point that I have decided to live here.

I have been in Valencia since Sunday and I have enjoyed every second of it. From the Paella Valencia to the Agua de Valencia — I have never known water of any kind to consist of orange juice, vodka and champagne but here that’s what it is — to the beautiful fountain in the town square everything is enchanting.

Less than two hours after arriving I met Osa, a Swedish girl taking a vacation from her vacation in Nice. Not to much longer after that we met Jeremy, a quite nice Australian bloke and Jeremy and I have been together ever since.



As Osa went back to Nice, Isabelle, from Quebec, seamlessly stepped into her place. Together the three of us have had great times cooking each other dinner, swimming in the Med and making six-liter jugs of Sangria.

On our last night together as a trio, we blossomed into a group of about 8 or 9 and went to a local Salsa club. I haven’t ‘Salsaed’ in quite some time but after dancing with a local man — who I later bumped into at the mercado — it all came back and I was cutting up the floor with Jeremy and another bloke in our group.

As I watched the crowd, I realized this country has its own pulse. Here en España, everyone beams with a vivacious passion that I have yet to see elsewhere in Europe. There is no leaning against the wall or sitting this one out. Eventually you will get sucked into the rhythm and let everything go.

Like I mentioned, I plan to live in Spain but on the Costa del Sol. Of course, it all hangs on whether or not I get this job at a newspaper in which I’ve applied.

Until then, I’ve been able to talk my new, good friend Jeremy into becoming my travel companion. I did this by talking a lot about wanting to go to Morocco since we are so close. After a few days of gentle coaxing, he gave in and we are off tonight on the 11 p.m. bus to Algeciras where we will catch a ferry in the morning over to Tangier.

So, I’m going to Africa. This I can’t believe but I am so eager to get my passport stamped that I would do just about anything. We plan to stay at a Morrocan’s house in Kenitra near the capital city of Rabat. We are also planning a trip to Marrakesh and maybe even Casablanca.

Here’s a prioritized list of things I need to do when I get there:

1)      Find the beach.

2)      Find the black African enclave in Arab Morocco so I can finally get my hair re-braided. Hopefully, I can do this for way less than the 30 Euros I paid in Paris.

3)      Take a camel ride through the desert and barter at the markets.

4)      Avoid the Islamic fundamentalists that have been conducting suicide bombings against western interests in Morocco, according to a U.S. Department of Justice Travel Advisory published earlier this year.

Maybe I should move the second one up on my list. I really need to get my hair did.