Travel Journal
Day 5 (21/03/08)
We kept our promise and left the hotel by 7.30 a.m! :) Our target was to reach Malaga/head straight to Algeciras.
Hence, we started walking from our hotel towards a nearby petrol station.
It was still 'Sunday' of the Easter weekend so there was barely any traffic that day. I think during the whole time we stood at the petrol station, we only saw 5 cars going in.
We tried to entertain ourselves by singing~
Singing worked wonders! It lifted our mood and we managed to keep ourselves jolly and entertained.
After an hour, we decided to go to the main service station and wait there instead.
In order to get to the main service station, we had to walk along the highway and even jumped over the barriers. It was a very memorable experience.
Walking along the highway...
Still managed to pose for the camera along the highway.. V^_^V
It took us about an hour to get there. As we were approaching the station, we spotted a Mercedes.
Jimmy jokingly told Sze Nee, "Eh, go ask him.. this could be our 2nd Mercedes this trip."
Just as Sze Nee walked over to ask, I spotted a very familiar car driving up behind us.
I looked back and saw Jose!
Wow, we were so surprised..and just as Jose got out of his car to talk to us, Sze Nee came back and told us the man who owned the Merc said he would give us a ride to Malaga!
We immediately told Jose the good news and he went over to talk to the man. I couldn't make out what he was saying.. but it didn't look like anything bad.
With that, we bid Jose goodbye.
When we got into the car, the man said it would be hard to communicate with us. We assured him we knew a bit of Spanish. But to our surprise, he said he didn't know much Spanish..and that he was from Morocco!
Our eyes lit up when we heard Morocco. We told him we were going to Morocco and from then on, the journey was filled with endless conversations.. about Morocco, his family and current affairs. He could speak English..although he was not fluent at it, it was understandable. Besides, he could speak French and I could understand a little.. so conversation was no problem!
Whenever he can't find the right words to say, he would laugh his 'signature laugh' and say "OOh my God!" haha.. he makes us laugh everytime he says that!
We stopped at a cafe for a drink before moving on. Not long after that, we stopped at another petrol station..and guess what we did?
We stopped by to wash his car at one of those automated machines.
It was so cool. There were 4 steps and you had to slot a 'one euro' coin for each step. I had fun trying to wash his car.
After the car was 'spic and span', we moved on.
Rai (the kind Moroccan man) was supposed to meet his friend in Malaga but when he tried to call him several times in the car, nobody picked up. So he decided to drive us further.
He asked where we wanted to go..and we said we would just follow him!
Upon hearing that, I think he was delighted he found holiday companions. So he said we would go to Tarifa! A beautiful town at the tip of Spain where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean!
We took a short spin around Tarifa and Rai said he would bring us for a nice meal at Facinas.
At that time, we had no idea that the restaurant he was gonna bring us belonged to a bull-fighting champion.
There were many customers in the restaurant when we arrived, although it was situated in the middle of nowhere.
There, we tried deer meat, pigeon meat, calamari, beer and some wine. Ooh lala~
The beer I had was the best I've ever tasted.. which isn't probably very significant coz I haven't tried much others to make a well-informed comparison~ But it suited my taste bud very well and I was tempted to finish it in one big gulp.. Yum yum!
The total price came up to about 90 euros. I thought we were going dutch, but nope! He said it was his treat...and before he said that, they played a little trick on me. I really thought we had to split the bill among us 3 and I thought "uh oh..after spending so much on a meal, we have to scrimp and save for the next few days."
We stayed in the restaurant till about 5pm. The owner even gave us a complimentary 'after-meal wine' in a shot glass. It was delicious.
From there, we set off to Bolonia.. with an aim of finding a place to stay for the night.
Rai took us to an apartment facing the beach. At first we thought we were going to bid him goodbye there.. but he said he was going to stay with us for the night.
Upon hearing that, we felt a bit uneasy. I quickly brushed off the uneasiness coz I believed he was a good person. Jimmy wasn't that optimistic. We talked it through ..
We couldn't possibly tell him, 'sorry, we don't want to stay with you tonight', that would be very impolite and so, we decided to just go along and take things as they come.
Deep in my heart, I believed he was a good person. Maybe I have too much faith in humanity.. and I could very well be wrong.. but that day, I decided to trust my instincts. Besides, there really wasn't much we could do anyway..
That night, Jimmy, Sze Nee & I slept in the room while Rai slept on the sofa in the living room. I felt bad for him but I thought the arrangement was the most appropriate in a situation like this..
Before we went to bed at night, Sze Nee & I played cards in the living room while Jimmy watched Slam Dunk on tv, with Rai watching us. At that time, we guessed he was lonely because his children were all not by his side..
We went to bed quite early that night, but unfortunately, I did not get a good sleep that night coz there were mosquitos feasting on me! Grr... >.<
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