Free Day and Catch Up

So as of right now, I'm a little behind on my day-to-day updates so I'll make this one a long one and fit everything in that happened since the caves! Well after a late night out drinking cervezas and eating tapas (a free random assortment of appetizers given to you when you buy a drink) seven of us (Hunter, Kate, Bukky, Corinne, Joe, Amanda, and I) decided we wanted to get up early and catch the bus to the top of the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. We weren't planning on skiing or snowboarding but we all knew we wanted to get up to those beautiful snow covered mountains. But in order to get there we needed to catch a local city bus to get to the main bus station in Granada and then buy tickets to get to yet another bus that would then take us up to the mountain top. Little did we realize that we were cutting it a bit close, as we needed to run through the bus station in order to catch the bus. Man were we lucky!! We made it with about 30 seconds before the bus left and there were only seven seats left on the bus... Spain must love us!
When we got to the mountain top, it looked like we were in the Alps. All of the hotels, apartments and condos were styled like places you would expect to see in the Alps, this did not look like Spain anymore. We were SO excited to finally be there and not stressed about catching a bus that we decided to hike on a groomed snow trail that went on for miles just wrapping around the mountains. There are really no words to describe how amazing the view was. The best part of the trip to the mountain was the fact that Bukky (who is from Houston, TX) had never been around snow before. Ever. So of course we wanted her to have a fabulous time so we suggested she make a snow angel and throw some snow balls. She absolutely loved it. Did I mention that we were over 2000 kilometers high and I didn't wear any sunscreen? You do the math... I got by far the WORST sunglasses and forehead sunburn I have ever gotten so I was looking pretty sweet for the next couple days. After a really long, but awesome, day on the mountain, we headed back to the city where we had a classroom meeting about what to expect while in Morocco, especially Meknes. There was so much information to take in, but it all seemed so cool!
The next day we woke up early and headed to the Alhambra which is one of the things Granada is known for. It was an old castle and palace for the ruler and is now a great place to visit. It is located on the top of a big hill and it overlooks the city which of course offer amazing views. After visiting Alhambra we decided to take a leisurely lunch and sat outside at a great little cafe and just visited for awhile. We had another meeting that night about the academics at the university, so now it actually feels like we're going to school!! YAY! We then went into Albaycin and went into a cave and watched Flaminco dancing. It was spectacular! They were SO good! It was pretty sweet to get to see live Flaminco in the country where it originated. After Flaminco was over, most of us went out for a drink since it was our last night in Spain. It was a great time.
So today (and tomorrow) was/is a big travel day. Today we woke up early and drove from Granada to Algeciras (a port town) and boarded a huge boat that took us to Tangier. It sounds easy... but of course the boat ride was delayed for 4 hours so we spent most of the day in the boat terminal. The Mediterranean Sea was very choppy and rough today so it took us around 3 hours to go about 15 kilometers... it was pretty awful. After hearing all about the hastle at the port in Tangier, I thought I was in the clear with moving my luggage around when suddenly a man insists on helping me (assuming I'll pay him) by carrying my luggage up a huge flight of stairs. I did not want him to take my luggage but he grabbed it from me and carried it anyway!! I could not believe it. I have never ran up a flight of stairs so fast in my life! Oh and he wanted money of course, but I was not about to give him money for taking my bags so I told him in a strong voice that I did not want him to help so I was not giving him money. It was crazy and I got a little shaken up! But hey, now we're safely in Tangier and taking a walking tour of Tangier in the morning and taking the 5 hour bus ride to Meknes tomorrow. Whew! We're pretty busy but it has been an awesome trip so far.