Our Tuscan Kitchen

 The title above is a more couth version of how I really want to title this: food porn. I'm not going to say much here; I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Goodbye, Sengal; Hello,...?

 

Okay, our last few days of Senegalese life ended with us spending a lot of time in the airport sleeping (our flight was 2:30 a.m. in the morning!). Prior to that, we busted out the last few days by spending time riding a four-wheeler through the salt flats, seeing the Pink Lake with Maria Pia's step-mom (which is only pink outside of the rainy season, so epic fail there), eating our last meal of pasta (we stopped eating all street food and stuck strictly to pasta for many, many days), and seeing a few museums. Senegal, you have been fun, but have mercy, it's time to go.

But where, oh where, did we go? Surprise, surprise.....Italy!!!! After about two days in Senegal, we realized there was no way we could last five weeks there, so we pushed up our tickets. Nobody knew we were going to Italy because it was a surprise for Sila. So, if we talked to you and said Kenya was next, we're sorry. We lied. Kenya is next--after six weeks in Italy!

After a few days in Venice (how about some extinction tourism?), we got the hell out of expensive land and settled in a little town called Reggio Emilia, a town very close to Parma, which is the "home" of Parmesan cheese. Ah-maz-ing. It's a quaint town, complete with many parks, a kick-ass Saturday farmers market, and three weeks (maybe four) of snuggling in to some chilly weather and easy living. We're already stressing about the money, but hey, if we go with our mantra of "Go where we want to go; see what we want to do; stay where we want to stay; do what we want to do," how can we not stay six weeks in Italy? 

Senegal, Senegal

 

This Senegalese kitty sums up Senegal so well: scarred but still whole and beautiful. 

Senegal, Senegal is titled this way for a reason. You know when you want something real or specific you say it twice? Let's say you're craving pizza...but pizza, pizza. You know what I mean?

Anyway, I titled this post in this way because I wanted to emphasize the realness of what Senegal is (especially compared to the vacation destination of our surf camp on a little island off Senegal). Below is a picture of the street where our Airbnb is.

I want to point out a few things: 1) horse and cart, 2) unpaved roads (this is the capital, my friends).

The funny thing is that Senegal is a rich country; the problem is that the wealth is not going to the everyday people. As usual, it's going to the top 1% of the people who probably don't even live in the country. It's sad, but the people are really friendly and beautiful.

Yesterday, we decided to visit Goree Island, the place where over 33,000 slaves were taken to before shipped to South and North America. (Note: If you're reading this and feeling uncomfortable about slavery, sorry. It's real, and politicians are brainwashing you if you feel otherwise. It's okay to learn about our history and to recognize it happened). As usual, places like this bring about moments of contemplation and reflection. 

The images above are from the House of Slaves where people were brought before being shipped off. Imagine an airy, yellow house but filled with holding cells for humans. The doorway underneath the stairwell is called "The door of no return," and you can only imagine what people experienced once going through.

Throughout the city and island, though, there are reminders of the power of people. The below statue, entitled African Renaissance Monument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Renaissance_Monument, shows the power and beauty of people rising up, despite everything they have been through. 

I'm also reminded of how beautiful the human spirit is every time I pass a Senegalese and they look me in the eye (a lacking thing here in America sometimes), offer a hello and how are you (in French or Wolof, of course), and a smile. 

So, there you go, friends. It's rough here (and hotter than hell), but we're making do. I'm writing this the day after my hometown (Fort Myers) got hit by Hurricane Ian, so I know people's thoughts are elsewhere. That is okay. Rise up, friends. We are all very blessed.

Africa Stomach

(Conan sleeping in bed next to me)

Ugh. The dreaded stomach bug has hit me and Conan (thankfully not Sila). We are both still lying in bed (it's 4:00 p.m. here), and Conan wants me to tell you all he's passed out next to me and he doesn't even know what time it is!

I seem to be ahead of Conan in regard to my health because I am now able to sit up and type this. For me, it started two nights ago when C and I got a chance to go out solo (leaving Sila back at the surf camp) and visit an ex-pat club that had music. Beforehand, though, we stopped at a place for "the best hamburgers" (really, Senegal, the BEST hamburgers?). I was feeling a bit off and when I rose from dinner, I felt like passing out. Thankfully, I didn't, and it seemed to pass...until the sharts came. Not sure what a shart is? Google it. Anyway, yesterday wasn't too bad, and I was able to take another surf lesson, but then I started to decline and sleep last night was non-existent.

Conan's African stomach hit yesterday evening during sleep, and he said he "peed out his butthole" about seven times. Sorry, everyone--I know this is probably more than you would like to know or read, but it's real. Anyway, he is next to me, moaning and for some reason, we both can't lie on our right side (doctor friends...any reason that is?). He's eaten two bananas today; I've had one.

So there you go--that's what's happening on our glorious around-the-world adventures! I'd give you pictures, but I don't think you want to see what's going on here. Sila's enjoying taking advantage of both of his parents not monitoring his screen time, and I have a feeling he's played more than his allotted 30-minutes of Roblox. Oh well.

Send good, healing thoughts!

Hello, Senegal!

 

Hello, friends! I know it's been a week or so since I've posted--we're back in transition and have landed in Senegal. It's quite an adjustment here (as my surf instructor said, "it's Africa"), and we're back in that spot of uncomfortableness and uncertainty. Sigh. I guess that's travel, right?

Anyway, we landed in Senegal after going through so many lines at the Casablanca airport. Of course, the two ATMs in the Senegalese airport didn't work, so we couldn't withdraw any money. Thankfully, we arranged to have the surf school (check it out: https://www.gosurfsenegal.com/) pick us up, so no money was needed....until it was time for lunch. Thankfully, there are two Brits staying at the school who easily lent us money because, they, too, have been in that same spot (empathy at work--see my work blog for a post--eventually--on that).

We spent the day yesterday "learning how to surf." Sila had a few opportunities prior to this to take lessons (Coco Beach and Costa Rica, 2x), so he was up and running quite easily. I had a pretty easy time getting up (thank you, yoga), and I would say I averaged getting up every one out of three times. Not bad for my first time. Conan isn't as limber, so he didn't have so many wins, but he did manage to get up once or twice, so a successful lesson overall.

Today, we're finally settling in and have adjusted well enough to not be panicking and thinking "what the hell are we doing?" Sila and I plan on doing another lesson, and Conan is going to stay back and do some work.

I'll write more about Africa, Africa (meaning West Africa vs. easy-peasy Morocco) later this week but wanted to update everyone as to where we are! Much love, the Griffins.

Where are we now?

Still in Morocco, my friends. Still in Morocco. We're doing better though--we've finally slept off our jet lag, have found our groove (temporary, I'm sure, as most travelers know), and are actually beginning to enjoy Morocco...just in time to leave.

Where were we this past week?

Good question. As you know, we left to stay in a hotel in Casablanca to work with the downtown branch of the British Language Academy (where we are currently volunteering). The hotel was nice but the wrong choice; we should have rented an Airbnb (see below for current accommodations). However, we persevered. I got sick (just a minor head cold) and recovered just in time to take a 5-day trip with other volunteers.

How was traveling with fourteen 18-22 year olds?

Another good question. As I wrote a friend, you might initially think this would be a lot of fun, but you have to remember brains aren't fully developed yet. And, they're experiencing the world (for some) for the very first time. And they're a bit unsure of how to work in a group. Meeting the bus at 8:00 a.m.? Sure, if 8 really means 9 (because they all went out the night before and got home at 4:30 a.m.). Did they eat or get water or anything? Nope. Because.they.were.still.drunk. Hah! Anyway, we did have some highlights, and some taught Sila how to further his quest with his Rubik's cube. 

But where, oh where, did you go?

So many good questions. You're on a roll. Well, we started off by hitting a little seaside town. It wasn't that spectacular (think El Jadida but smaller). Then, we hit Tangier for the evening. This is the town where you can cross into from Spain, and you just have to take a ferry through the Strait of Gibraltar. It's nice, but we've been before. 

Then, off at 8 a.m. (really, 9:30--see section above) to some waterfalls (a little rock jumping and swimming in a slightly trashy river for us) and the blue city, Chefchaouen. This city is an iconic tourist city that paints its buildings blue. Some highlights included walking up and seeing sunset, buying a painting from a street artist, and then sitting on some chairs in a man-made river. It was weird but Sila seemed to enjoy climbing the rocks. The problem, though, with a city such as this is, as Conan astutely captured, "it's a shell city." In fact, he compared it to Key West, which is a great comparison--yes, people still live there but it's for the entire purpose of tourists. Chefchaouen has the same feel, and it's a place that made me realize there are so many places around the world where they are just selling stuff. The same old stuff. Anyway, I digress.

The next morning, the group decided 11:00 a.m. was a more realistic departure time because we were heading to the city of Fez for two nights, so why not get a later start? They're funny bunnies, I tell ya. Funny.bunnies. Fez is the place where there are famous tanneries, and men work 12 hour days to produce very soft leather for all your leather goods. It reeks, but it's still cool to see. The Medina is also a very large one (over 10,000 streets), and we learned so much about the city by taking a walking tour. We also saw sunset from up above before snuggling into our very comfy bed and cold room (ac is not standard here).

Great, but where are you now?

Back in Casa, my friends. Smartly, we decided to book an Airbnb, which is exactly what we needed. Space, routine, and quiet. The place is HUGE and all for a very whopping $55 a night. We're here until Tuesday, which is when we fly out to Senegal. Tomorrow, we plan on a Fun-day Friday, and we're going to the biggest mall in Africa! Who would have thought that a mall is something we would want to do? Actually, there is a lot of comfort in malls--they remind you of home. This isn't just a mall, though. There is an aquarium, atriums, and a movie theater (hoping to hit the release of The Woman King!). Check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco_Mall 

What did you eat for dinner tonight?

A relevant question, indeed, especially since I am finishing up this post right after dinner. Well, we did the classic "ooh, that looks good" (from someone's plate) and ordered one. The man repeated and almost seem to emphasize the dish to make sure we wanted it. Oh, yes. Yes, we do. What was it? Cow hoof. Slippery, slimy cow hoof. But, in true traveler style, we ate it. Well, some of it. Sila tried one bite, Conan a few more, and I probably ate the most (thanks, Ma, for raising me on cow parts--you were preparing me for some good eats abroad). Anyway, we forgot our phone, so you'll have to do with visiting this site that captures what we had: https://tastymorocco909421219.wordpress.com/2020/11/18/cow-feet-with-chickpeas/

Thanks for following along, friends. We miss and love you all!