Hicth 2012 - Day Twenty, Home

I had to get up early to get to my flight on time, and the hotel had called a taxi the night before so he was waiting outside the hotel for me, which made it a lot easier. It took about an hour to get to the airport, and then I had to wait for another hour and a half. Some guys from the party the night before were at the airport too, but I was so tired I'm sure my conversation skills were pretty shit. The flight was pretty uneventful, and it took me the rest of the day to get home. I was so exhausted, as soon as I got home I spoke to my family for a few minutes and then just went to bed.

Hitch was one of the best experiences of my life, it was amazing to see the types of people that were willing to pick you up, and how easy it actually was to hitch-hike. Seeing different countries in that way is totally different to the standard route of public transport, and the people we met could give us an interesting incite to the cities they knew so well.

Morocco itself was incredible - it was so dirty and dusty and yet so much culture. Despite occasionally feeling like I was in a bit of danger, and constantly feeling like people were trying to rip me off, I actually loved the constant arguments over money, and feeling like I could stand up for myself.

If anyone has the opportunity to do Hitch I would strongly recommend it. It's got to be one of the most unique experiences of my life which I'm sure I'll remember forever - AND it's all for a good cause!

I can't think of anything better than that...

Hitch 2012 - Day Nineteen, Marrakech

We spent most of the day walking around, shopping for presents to take home. At lunch we got pizza and a guy ran up to us talking about a hitch party that was going on later. We walked down towards the square when a group came up behind us asking if we were going to the party. We spent the afternoon looking round the medina with them, and then went back to the hotel for a bit. We went out and saw the guy from yesterday were we got the camilion from, and sat down with him for a while, then went for a 2d ice cream and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the 'party'. Turns out it wasn't really much of a party to be honest. We met a guy outside a cafe at 7:30 who took us to this pink hostel where there were loads of hats hanging from the ceiling and a guy with dreds greeted us, then ran into the kitchen. We sat for an hour and a half talking to other travellers before they bought some food out. All the hitchers there were pretty dull and a lot of them were new to Morocco so were pretty naive to the tricks. One girl had paid 120d for having taken a picture! They bought out bread, salad and tagene, and there was loads but it was hard to get to and it all disappeared pretty quickly. It was pretty good for only 25d though. They gave out strawberries too, and we left after that. We went to get take away pizza for me to eat for breakfast and then took it back to the hotel and grabbed some jumpers to go back out to the square. I was getting quite a lot of hastle walking around, but that's probably because I was only wearing leggings with no skirt. We went to see the chamelion guy again, and he was packing up but we bought some stuff anyway then had a little chat and said goodbye.
While we were there we saw a guy going crazy in the street, and another guy gave im orange juice which he ran off with and then tipped on the floor and then sat down and started kicking and shouting about something. Next we went to the guy who had wanted me to be his girlfriend's stall where he insisted we came for some tea. He and his friend sat with us, and his friend played us some crazy burber music. Aiden was pretty tired so we left after not too long to say goodbye to the 117 lot. As soon as we got there they came out to greet us, calling me 'their flower' and one boy dragged me to the back where he told me to sit down and eat with him (he was eating with his fingers so I didn't fancy it). The guy who called me his wife came over with a knife and asked if he should stab Aiden, and shouted at the other guy to get away from his wife. One of the guys peeling tomatoes showed me how they made the tagenes, and said that he could cook better than Jamie Oliver. Aiden said he wanted to go to bed so we started to get up and say goodbye but the guy just grabbed our glasses and thought we wanted to move for put the glasses at the front and tried to sit us back down on the bench. We stayed with them for a while longer, but they were trying to persuade us to go partying with them and we were so tired we just headed to bed.

Hitch 2012 - Day Eighteen, Back to Marrakech

We got the CTM bus to Marrakech and it was boiling hot. We got a taxi with some Polish girls who were studying in Lisbon. They went to the Wacka Wacka hostel and we went to the place we'd stayed before with Nick and Charlie. After dumping our bags we went out for a bit, Aiden got some food and we got some 2d ice creams. We looked round some of the souks and then the main square where I freaked Aiden out by walking too close to a snake. We went looking for a place to eat for later and had a nice chat with the guy from tent 118 about England. The prices there were pretty cheap but when we went to 117 where we'd eaten with Nick and Charlie and a guy who introduced himself as 'Jamie Oliver' and said I had beautiful eyes and asked Aiden how many camels he'd take for me. He said he'd give him the whole Saharra or 200d for one night with me. We laughed and then sat down for free tea and they made Aiden get up and try to get people to come and eat at their tent. It didn't really work but he looked pretty funny in the coat. 

When we left they wanted us to stay and sit with them but we decided to go and get orange juice instead and headed back to the hotel, where I sat on the roof and read for a while. When we went back out Aiden and I were chatting to a rather stoned spices sale man who sold him a dead chameleon. He was running around telling us lots of things, but Aiden was specifically interested in the leopard skin and I liked the tortoises. While we were all looking at it James and Lewis and Becky came and jumped on me, scaring the hell out of me.

We went with them into town in search of a bar, but all we found was a shady looking place with bars on the windows. We got a taxi back and walked around the stalls for a while, getting some free Moroccan whiskey. We then moved onto our second free tea (third if you count the one we got earlier at about 5) where a guy asked me to be his girlfriend for the day and Aiden had to arm wrestle some guy. James and the others went home then so we said goodbye and then moved on to where we found ourselves at 117 again. We say down for more free tea and ended up staying until 1.30am! They taught me how to write my name in Arabic :)

There was a guy who had done kickboxing and could take out some of his teeth because they were knocked out. He did some magic tricks but all the others just laughed at him. One guy offered to buy me for a million camels and the whole desert but I said I'd rather go with the kick boxer who offered me a five star hotel and a pool! They wanted to take pictures so took Aidens phone but after a few picture the guy just ran off with it. All the other guys pretended that they didn't know him and that he'd stolen his phone. We laughed when we realised it was all a joke and he came back pretty quickly. They were all pretty impressed with Aidens scars and tattoos, and we all ended up having a pretty good night with them.

Hitch 2012 - Day Sixteen, Essaouira

I got up pretty late and ate the rest of that pizza for breakfast. Aiden was sleeping so I had a shower and went to buy ice cream. I went looking for a post office, and in a shop these guys (Eithan and Tom) recognised my hitch t-shirt. They had done hitch too so I chatted with them for a while, and they took me to the harbour where they showed me the island they were going to swim to. I got some pizza and bought them back to my hotel to give them my number. Aiden was a bit mad I'd been gone so long, so I gave him some pizza and then we went out to get some food for him. We got ice cream and then walked the whole way down the beach. Loads of people tired to sell us 'happy cakes' and there were people on the beach with camels and horses. Although I did want to ride them it seemed pretty expensive and Aiden didn't really want to. It was super windy and there were a lot of people kite surfing, and the walk back was horrible because the sand was getting in our eyes. The sand got in my camera too, so Aiden spent 20 minutes fixing it when we got back to the hotel. We went out for food, then wandered along the beach front of a bit. We got ice cream again - the woman had started to recognise us! - then I got some of my favourite 10d crisps and we headed back to the hotel. I was pretty tired, but for some reason it took a while to sleep.

Hitch 2012 - Day Fifteen, Essaouira

I got up and walked around for a bit and got some ice cream, but then I felt ill again so went back to the hotel. On the way back we saw kittens sleeping on a rug which was adorable. I spent basically all day in bed with a headache.
Aiden got me a pizza, which made me feel kind of sick but I went to sleep and when I woke up again at 2am feeling better the cold pizza way definitely appreciated.

Hitch 2012 - Day Fourteen, To Essaouira

We got up early and woke up Nick and Charlie to say goodbye. It was sad to know we wouldn't see them again, but I was too tired to realise at the time. We got on the bus to Essaouira which took a few hours. When we got out of the bus there were people crowding around asking if we wanted a hotel. The whole town smelt like fish, but it was pretty sunny so it was okay. The taxi we got in took us to a random hotel before the medina, and then charged us double but we found a nice hotel that should be 300d a night but we got it for 120d because it was basically completely empty. We wandered around for a bit, there were loads of seagulls and people selling fish everywhere. I felt ill after a while and spent the rest of the day in bed.

Hitch 2012 - Day Thirteen, Marrackech

We waited at the bus station for a few hours watching a really creepy man that we'd nicknamed 'Stabby Joe' keep trying to get into the women's toilet and then walk around with a stick. At about nine we got a taxi to Djenna El Fna and got pancake type things from a stand. We met Nick in the square - apparently Charlie had been hurting in the night - and then he took us to their hotel where we paid 50d each for a room, and had a nap. After we wandered around, a man put a snake round Aidens neck and then made him pay and there were monkeys on chains which were there for the same type of thing. Aiden really loves snakes, so it really upset him that they were being treated so poorly and being drugged up so they couldn't attack.
There were loads of people trying to sell orange juice from stalls, so we got some after lunch. We also went to a spice shop where Nick got it down from 60 something to just 20! We went to look for the palace but couldn't really see anything, and it was raining so we headed back to the hotel. We did see a guy trying to beat up a bus though, which was pretty weird. We all went out at about six and the square looked completely different. There were food stalls everywhere and little circles, some with music and a few with games - one which frustrated Nick and Charlie with coke bottles and a long fishing rod. We found someone to do their Easter egg challenge, and Nick had an egg and spoon race with a food stall owner they'd named 'Densil Washington.'
Nick lost, but Densil did cheat, and then managed to get us to eat in his stall anyway - although Nick did manage to get us free coke so I think we know who the real winner is! Nick ordered goats head which he thought would come as a tagene but it turned up just as literally half a head. Me and Aiden tried bits of the ear, and Nick did give me some credit, saying 'at least she's not squeamish, you can give her that much.' We got free tea as well - Moroccan whisky or something. It tasted a lot better than English whiskey! After eating we went on a search for cake, and everywhere we stopped wanted us to buy their stuff and I would just scream 'cake' at them and run off. Although before this we got hooked into sitting in a music circle where I took a picture so was then forced pay. While we were sitting some guy came up behind us and pressed his leg against me and Charlie as we were watching - Aiden said he was trying to pickpocket us (little did he know I didn't have any pockets!) So anyway, then we were searching for cake, we went to a few patisserie but there was nothing for less than 40d, so we went looking round the stalls for the cake man pushing a trolley of cakes. At Densil Washingtons stall they told us to sit down for free tea, and I asked them about the cake man. They said they were friends and he would be round in a minute, he'd even call him. We didn't really believe him but within seconds this cart appeared round the corner and we all ran towards the cake man laughing hysterically. We went and sat in the hotel talking until a French lady came out and shouted us into bed.

Hitch 2012 - Day Twelve, To Marakesh

We woke up late and wandered down to get breakfast. I got a crumpet thing with chocolate and honey. We looked at jewellery for a bit and then went back to the hotel for a nap. At 12 we were told to leave, so got some snacks and walked up to a hill by the road. After a few hours a man came and told us to move because there were crazy people living around here and they would 'only see the woman'. He said he was scared for us, so we went and sat on the steps near the medina. In the late afternoon a kid came over with a dice type object and asked for money. After pretending to cry he left and tried to beat up some kids younger than him but when they ran away he just walked off. We went to get some street food and then made our way to the bus station, where we then waited for three and a half hours until we got on the night bus which then arrived in Marrakesh at 6am.

Hitch 2012 - Day Eleven, Fez

Nick and Charlie came round at about half ten to leave their bags in our room for the day. We went and got street breakfast from the place that was kind of like pancake with chocolate in it. We walked up through some other medinas, looking for the palace. We thought we'd found it, but when we asked the guard if we could go in he replied with an abrupt 'no' which made me and Aiden crack up laughing. We walked off pretty quickly, took a quick visit to the bank and then got roped into a free tour to a mosque by a student. We thought that he might try to scam us by dragging us through a maze of alleys and then making us pay him to find our way out, but when we asked he claimed that Aidens face was better than money! 

While on the tour I saw some kids being out a plastic bag with blood covering their hands. I heard on of them call to me and when I turned around they pulled out a sheeps head, grinning. I think they expected me to freak out but it was so surreal I just laughed and nugged the boys, who were a little surprised to say the least. 

After the tour we walked towards the posh part of town and sat in a cafe for a while. We'd eventually made it to the palace, which was basically just a big golden door. It took us a while to cross the chains because we weren't sure if we were allowed to go in there. After taking a few photos we moved in and made our way back to the medina. Here we went much deeper than before, and we walked through dark streets which were wet with rubbish everywhere. But before then we went to visit the 'most beautiful building in Morocco' which was a bit impressive, and even better when Charlie sheepishly stuck his head under a no entry sign. Charlie had got in trouble earlier too for taking a picture of the wall next to the palace. A guard had chased us down the street and then made us walk with him up to where the other guard was and made him delete the pictures. Poor Charlie, he only took the pictures because nick told him to! 

On our way down to the dark streets we saw tortoises in a box for only 50d each! I really wanted one, but apparently customs wouldn't approve. Down in the dingy bit we got kabab type things on sticks that were then put into bread, and tasted amazing. On the way back up he saw a shop selling a ps2 game - GTA Somalia, and there were sheep just wandering the streets. We got more street food and then the guys went to buy snacks for the night bus. Nick tried to take a bottle of water from the bottom of the pile and freaked the shop keeper out. We sat at our hotel for a bit then got a taxi to the bus station where we got tickets for Marakesh and hugged goodbye to Nick and Charlie once again.

Hitch 2012 - Day Ten, Fez

We ate breakfast in the same place again, then got on a coach to Fez. It took hours to get there, and once we stopped we had to look for a taxi. In Fez there are different parts of the city, and a guy offered to find us a taxi and then ran off. It was so hot we didn't fight and and got a ride to the medina. We half expected us to try to scam us but instead just told us that he owned a hotel and would give us a good price to go there, but we'd already texted Nick and Charlie and wanted to stay in their hotel. When we got to the medina we had a look at all the hotels near by but they all seemed pretty expensive so we ended up staying in the place the guy from the taxi owned, for 10d cheaper than Nick and Charlie! 

We met up with them for supper and they took us round some of the stalls selling food. There was a guy who sold battered fish and chips in bread with chilli sauce which was AMAZING, and then we went to a guy who did chicken and noodles in bread. They took us down some parts of the medina where there was a camel head just hanging from the stall. There was a lot of places selling meat and animals in boxes at the side of the road. There was even a goose just wandering around! A man stopped us half way down the street and told us to come in and check out his carpets. We had some time, so followed him down an alley to his shop. He sat us on a sofa then sat on a chair in front of us and spent 20 minutes telling us about a camel tour from Fez down the East coast of Morrocco. We told him we'd already booked tickets, and so he put his tour folder away and then just chatted with us for a while. He asked which one was my boyfriend, and then when I said none of them, he asked which one was trying to get it on with me! I was laughing hysterically at this point, so he looked at the boys, pointed at Charlie and said he could in his eyes that at night he became sneaky, which we took to mean 'rapey'. He also then tried to persuade me to be his girlfriend, and said that he could just meet them at the airport when they leave. We then looked around his shop for a while, but didn't want to buy anything, so just looked around for a while then when we told him we didn't want anything, surprisingly he didn't seem to mind. We took a picture with him, and he said 'next picture she will be next to me' to which Nick agreed and shoved me next to Mohamed who put his hands around me, a little too low for my liking. We left after that and wandered around the medina a little more. We saw him again and he waved and asked me to go home with him again. I put my arm around Charlie and replied that I'd rather stay with rape eyes. Charlie didn't hear and thought I'd said something cute but Aiden and Nick cracked up and Mohamed left. We got some street cake and then headed back to our hotels to get some sleep, a arranging to meet up again in the morning.

Hitch 2012 - Day Nine, Chefchaouen

We woke up and got breakfast in the same place as before, and then went looking for some bus snacks as Nick and Charlie were leaving to go to Fez that morning. Charlie bought some crisps that looked like shit watsits but they were only 1d (about 7p) but when he took them he gave the money to a young boy, so we're pretty sure the kid was begging and he stole them by accident! 

So they got their snacks and we walked down to the bus station with them where we were charged 2d to use the toilet - I could have got two packets of crisps with that! We hugged goodbye and then headed back to the medina where we spent the day wandering around shopping. I bought some jewellery, a jumper and a lampshade made of rug. I got two henna tattoos as well, although they didn't look very good, she gave me a good deal on the second one and being painted was very relaxing.

We went to the restaurant next to where we went for supper the night before and got chicken, chips and rice (I love me some chicken!) There were some kids playing instruments and while I was eating I accidentally kicked a pregnant cat who was skulking under our table! We went to bed pretty early - it just didn't feel the same without Nick and Charlie there.

Hitch 2012 - Day Eight, Chefchaouen

We woke up pretty early and went looking for breakfast, ending up in a little shop just outside the medina where everyone got eggs and I got a pastry with freshly squeezed orange juice. I think this was probably the best breakfast I had the whole trip, and the orange juice was amazing. After breakfast we looked around the medina for a while, looking at all the stuff there was to buy and then coming out at the other side. We were looking for some fountains Nick said were around but all we found were some tiny streams. 

We decided to climb up a hill just on the outside of the medina, with a path that led up to a sort of church right at the top, which looked over the whole town. It was amazing, we could hear the call for prayer just spread from one side of the town to the other. While we were up there Aiden got offered something from a pot to sniff at; I don't know what was in there but he got a bit paranoid for a while. On our walk back down (with Charlie taking pictures of everything!) I saw some goats climbing in trees - more cactus type things than actual trees, but close enough. I cannot begin to describe my excitement - goats climbing trees had been what I'd wanted to see the most since googling Morrocco before we came. We also saw a little baby goat following some guys around, and then saw it again a bit later being pulled into a house in the medina; like having a pet dog. The medina was a bit confusing at times, and Charlie got in trouble for trying to walk into someone's house because he thought it was a shop. 

We left the medina in the afternoon and took a taxi 20km out of town to find some waterfalls. The taxi driver had given us two hours to get there and back, and after we'd been walking for 40 minutes we passed some guys who told us there waterfalls were at least another two hours walk. There was no way we were going to make it so we climbed into a stream and the boys played in the water (which was apparently freezing) and then we got the taxi back. The taxis were kind of terrifying - very close to the edge of high drops, all over the road and the car itself was falling apart. 

By the time we got back is developed quite a bad headache, so went to lie down for a bit. I managed to get up for supper and we went to a little open courtyard in the medina and got a meal for 45d each. I got a chicken tajine which was delicious. While we were eating a begger came to the table next to us and sat down and started eating some random peoples food - he ate like half of it! I felt pretty rough by the time I'd finished eating, so went to bed while the guys apparently ended up at a rock concert in the middle of a castle! I was jealous beyond belief when they told me.

Hitch 2012 - Day Seven, To Morrocco

I didn't sleep much at the bus station. There was one point where I was sitting with my head on my knees facing towards Aiden and when I turned to look the other way there was a boy in the chair next to me sitting in the same way staring right at me. He said something in Spanish but switched to English when he realised I couldn't understand him. He didn't seem too weird, just a little starey. We got told to leave the bus station at about seven, so went back to McDonald's to make a plan. We got a taxi to the train station and then got a train to a little town where we then got on a bus to Tarifa where we could get a ferry across Tangier. Unfortunately we arrived a little too late for the 1pm ferry so had to wait until 3. We went to get some food in a little restaurant near the port and while we were there we saw Katie and Ben who said they'd been staying there since the day before. It was good to see some familiar faces, but before long it was time to say goodbye and we headed to the ferry. We got our passports stamped and by the end of the 35 minute journey Aiden had made friends with some boys sitting near us who were also doing Hitch; Nick and Charlie. 

Nick had been to Morocco before and seemed confident in everything he did. We said goodbye to them at the ferry port once we arrived and started walking into town. After a couple of minutes of trying to work out where to go we turned around and saw that Nick and Charlie were just behind us. We went with them to the bank where we put our clocks back by two hours, and then headed to the CTM (which Nick told us was the only coach service to be trusted - and after seeing some of the other ones I fully believe that). They were getting a bus to Chefchaouen, a small town up in the mountains where all the buildings were painted blue. As we didn't really have a plan we decided to just follow them, and so booked the same bus, due to leave in a few hours. The bus ride was pretty long, and once we got there, there was a small (very stoned) guy waiting to take us to a hotel. It was pretty dark at this point, and I was very on edge, partly through lack of sleep but mostly because he was taking us through a dark Medina and the first two hotels he took us to seemed very dodgy. The third was alright, although my tiredness and suspicion came across as slightly aggressive and the guy checking us in had a go at me for not liking him. For the record, I didn't like him. But we stayed there anyway with Aiden and I in one room, and Charlie and Nick in a room below. Although we'd slept a little on the coach we were still exhausted, so after giving over our passport details and them insisting that we 'pay later' we agreed to meet Nick and Charlie downstairs in the morning and went to sleep.

Hitch 2012 - Day Six, Easter In Seville

We woke up and had the breakfast that had been included in the price, which was pretty basic to be honest, but it did the job. We then walked for an hour to a roundabout which led to a road out of the city. We stood there for another hour with a sign but no one picked us up. We decided to walk further up the road, and stopped by a lay-by. 

Within minutes someone pulled over and picked us up. He was listening to Spanish rock music and told us that a guy on his own would never be picked up but because Aiden was with me, we always would be. He dropped us by a roundabout by the motorway where we stood for an hour trying to get picked up. I was getting pretty moody probably because I hadn't eaten much, and I was tired and I didn't even think we were on the right road. I'll give Aiden a lot of credit for dealing with it so well, and he suggested we went to walk up the road to get some food. As we were crossing the road a car pulled up as they'd noticed our sign, and said they'd meet us in a petrol station so they could pick us up. There was an Irish Londoner with his Spanish girlfriend who were heading further South but wanted to stop in and see family on the way so they'd take us a bit further and then we could hitch the rest of the way. We spent the whole trip listening to an old Now! CD which they didn't know any of the songs from because apparently English music takes a while to get to Spain. 

They dropped us off in a tiny little petrol station and said they'd be back in four hours so if we didn't get picked up they'd take us the rest of the way. We thought it'd be pretty likely we'd still be there as there were hardly any cars coming through, but we felt pretty relaxed so we weren't too bothered. It was nice to feel like we had a safety net in case we didn't get a lift. 

After about 40 minutes a couple in a smart looking car pulled over and to Seville. They dropped us by the bus station so we went in to look if there was somewhere to put our bags. We made a trip to McDonald's so Aiden could use the wifi and I found a place that was like a cross between subway and McDonald's. We looked online but couldn't find anywhere to stay, so we left our bags in the lockers in the bus station. The couple who dropped us off had said that there was a festival for Easter on tonight in this city which was the most impressive over the whole of Easter. But it didn't start until 1am. So we wandered around the shopping centre burning time, but there wasn't much to do. We went to the cinema and watched Clash of the Titans in Spanish which was actually pretty good. Then we went out to look for the cathedral, and although it was only half ten, the streets were packed with people. There were chairs everywhere so people could sit down and watch later. We even found a shop which sold little figures, and I know it was supposed to be the religious thing, but to me and Aiden they just looked like little KKK figures. We saw a few people dressed like it so followed one down some side streets until he went into a church. At that point we heard some drums and followed the noise to a procession of guys with feathery hats marching along. At the end we joined in and matched to a square where it became too crowded to continue. We wandered and longer until we found the entrance to a church where people seemed to be gathering. We stood here until 2am, watching more and more of these hooded black figures going in through the doors. Eventually everyone went dead silent and as the doors opened, a nun started singing from a balcony above. 

And that began the 40 minute procession  of black hooded guys carrying floor length candles leaving the church. There were also some floats; gold with loads of candles and figures of Jesus and Mary. Throughout the whole thing everyone was completely silent. After the procession we got pretty lost trying to find our way to the bus station. All the routes we'd previously taken were blocked by the procession, so we had to take strange routes and ended up wandering around for hours. It was 4am by the time Aiden eventually led us back to McDonald's, and we crashed in the bus station for a few hours.

Hitch 2012 - Day Five, To Salamanca

We woke up pretty late and wandered out to a small child playing with jigsaws in the kitchen. The truckers wife bought us a cup of tea and we were able to use the laptop to check our tracker, which was looking pretty impressive. She told us her husband would be back soon and started to make us some food.

When he returned I was offered more beer and then we ate what was basically fried potatoes and green beans but somehow she made it taste amazing. After eating we got our stuff, said goodbye and made our way back to the truck where we were directed to get in once again. He stopped to fill up petrol and then drove for another 20 minutes and dropped us off after a toll booth and highlighted a route on the map for us to take. After standing there for a while we were told that no one would stop if we stood there and that we should go down to a roundabout just before the toll booth.

After about twenty minutes we got picked up by a couple going kayaking on an adventure holiday, who'd left their children (who were the same age as us) at home. They took us miles into Spain, and all along the motorway we could see what looked like strip clubs (we were later told they were whore houses) by all the stops and service stations. They eventually dropped us at a stopping place which had nothing but benches and boarded up buildings that I assume used to be toilets, but now people had just started urinating around them. We crossed the bridge to look at the other side which was even worse. We quickly crossed back and waited for just under an hour - there was a brief lapse were a girl came over and gave us free redbull then drove off in her redbull car - until we got picked up by a weird oldish guy who drove us to a tiny desolate town where the windows were barred and there was nothing but a flat dusty road ahead of us. It didn't look good, but we walked towards the main road holding up a sign anyway. Only four cars went past while we walked, but luckily the fourth one picked us up. 

It was an adorable Spanish boy who didn't speak a lot of English, but drove us to Salamanca and then called his sister to translate for him so he could work out if we wanted to be dropped off in the middle of town or be driven out to where he lived so we could try to hitch out of the city. We eventually decided on letting him drive us to a place we could stay, which turned out to be a youth hostel. It was pretty expensive, but it was nice to have a bed again, although all I ate was vending machine food and the woman got mad because I complained that no one spoke English. (I was only half joking!) After calling my mum and looking over the map for a while I decided to get an early night for once.

Hitch 2012 - Day Four, To Spain

We got packed up pretty early, and within a few minutes of standing next to a main road we managed to get a lift to Orleans with two political men and a teenage girl. They stopped at some traffic lights, where we jumped out and after deciding that Orleans was massive and probably impossible to hitch out of, made our way to the train station. In the train station we went searching for a place to buy tickets and accidentally went below the main platforms where we found a woman in short shorts staring at us and making crazy motions with her hands. I think she was a prostitute. Safe to say, we made a quick exit. Once we'd got ticket to Blois, I went to get a sandwich before settling down to wait an hour for the train. In Blois we ended up walking for hours and hours, it was a tiny little town and we managed to trek through some gypsy town where a guy on a motorbike came over and said something in French, laughed and then drove off. We walked to a little town where Aiden got some apple juice, and asked then about the main road. They'd never even heard of it, despite being near a main road that supposedly lead to it. I spotted a petrol station so we headed for that, but there was a river in the way of the path so we had to take a massive detour to find a bridge.
We finally made it to the petrol station and after 20 minutes of holding a sign a man pulled over in a Mercedes. We found out that he was the president of a petrol company for Paris. He drove us just past a toll booth on the A20 at around 6pm. We weren't sure if we'd get a lift as it was getting late but Aiden stood with a sign saying 'sud' anyway. After ten minutes or so, I told him that I wanted a go, because I wanted a trucker. In under five minutes a truck pulled over and I asked where he was going. The reply was 'Espana', so we jumped into this truck with the French lorry driver who really didn't speak a lot of English, Aiden in the seat and me on the bed behind the seats. I was ecstatic. Riding in a truck to Spain was basically my dream. The radio was on so there weren't many awkward silences and we did manage to work out that he was married with a to year old daughter. We stopped at about nine because (from what we could gather) regulations meant he had to stop for an hour. We stopped again at eleven so he could jump up on the front of his truck and wash the windscreen. There was one point at the beginning of the journey where he pushed his steering wheel back and stood up to shut the window above him. He was obviously pretty skilled at this; he made coffee for Aiden with a kettle that plugged in into the power socket thing. He had a whole draw full of apples and biscuits and just stuff that one might need if driving a lorry. When we got to the Spanish boarder the authorities stopped us for a while, and the driver got in trouble for having three of us when there was only supposed to be two. I think he had to pay a fine but when we asked him he said there was no trouble. He then drove to a little truck stop literally five minutes from the boarder and told us to get out with our stuff.

We started to walk away to find somewhere to sleep, but he told us to wait by the truck. He unpacked some things and then motioned for us to follow him. He took us up the road and to a car which he told us to get in. He then drove for about ten minutes to a little town area where he told us to get out and follow him up to an apartment. At the door he told Aiden to go up the stairs while he opened the door, and then invited me in. Inside i met his wife, who was tiny compared to him, but the way he looked at her was so adorable. He then suddenly remembered Aiden and told him to come inside, and his wife heated up some food for us; a delicious risotto type of meal with chicken in it and roasted peppers. Aiden ate like he'd been starved for a week. After we were told to shower and then given a bed to sleep in. It was such a strange experience to be asleep in a strangers house in a country we'd never been to where we didn't speak the language and yet still feel totally safe, and almost at home.

Hitch 2012 - Day Three, France

So we were in Paris, kind of. The camp site was technically in Boulogne, just outside of Paris and we didn't really fancy wandering around Paris with our bags, so decided to just move on. We tried to hitch out of Paris but after walking for an hour we realised it was how they said; impossible to hitch out of Paris. So instead we got a train to Versailles, which was beautiful, and it was a double-decker train. We walked out of the station in Versailles straight to a Starbucks to charge our phones and get some food. There was a password on the receipt for the toilet, which I thought was pretty awesome, and seemed to happen everywhere in France.

William

We walked for another hour to the outskirts of Versailles where a lovely 27 year old called William picked us up. He was listening to French rasta music, and took us to a supermarket to buy us beer. He even offered to buy us a bottle of wine. He then took us to his dads house, where we slightly freaked out his dad because he saw us before William, just a kid in a monkey suit and some girl standing in his house. William showed us around and told us that he and his father had built the whole thing, everything but the beams in the ceiling. It was amazing on the inside, although I think I'd probably bang my head a few times on the ceilings. He then pulled out a sock and offered us a smoke, to which we declined. He drove us to the train station, where he saw some chavy looking boys he used to TA at school with. They seemed really nice considering how intimidating they looked and we sat and drank beer with William and one of the boys. They kissed me goodbye, French style, and we got on the train to Rambouillet.

When we got there we walked around for a while looking for a main road, and stood with a sign for the A10, but apparently it was the wrong road so we had to walk a little further but the man who had to us swung around in his car and picked us up to take us to the right road. After another half hour a man on a bike told us that the A10 wasn't down that road and that we should put a town name instead. We decided on Chartres, although it was getting pretty late so I wasn't sure if anyone would be going that far. However, it did't take too long before a 21 year old plumber in a boy racer car pulled over. He didn't speak much English, but he seemed pretty cool. He dropped us off in Chartres and then we went to get some food. It was getting pretty dark outside, so we went to wander around the chapel which looked beautiful lit up. We then walked for another hour to find a place to camp and ended up in a hedge next to two very main roads. Although it was a bit scary and surreal at first it ended up being pretty cosy.

Hitch 2012 - Day Two, To Paris

We arrived in France at 6.45, freezing cold and in a tiny little village near Caen. We walked up to a roundabout with a sign for N10, which we thought was close, but apparently was not. After it had taken us about an hour to walk up there, we then had to wait another half hour for someone to pick us up. Although, after a few minutes some French kids pulled over and asked us if we wanted a lift, but they were going in the wrong direction. Eventually a business type guy pulled over and gave s a lift to a roundabout just outside Caen. After a while a guy named Mortimer pulled over. We opened the door and just as Aiden was about to ask 'Parlez-vous Anglais?' Mortimer said 'put your stuff in the back..' His mother was English, so he spoke it very well, although he did joke about speaking French as we should be trying to learn. He was only going to take us as far as Lisieux, but after a while he offered to take us as far as Evreux, but he needed to pick up his dad first, so we agreed and he drove us through these beautiful villages to his fathers house, where at one point we even saw a castle, similar looking to a Disney one.

When we were driving we noticed all these beautiful houses, and Mortimer would say that they were not as nice as his fathers, which was true. They invited us in for a cup of coffee, and the inside of the house was as stunning as the outside with pictures of Mortimers children and dozens of postcards in the kitchen. The outside was tudor-style with things hanging off the walls. Although cluttered, it really was beautiful. There was a moment where his dad started getting out pretty sharp looking tools, and I swear if they'd brought out a spade too I would have made a run for it. But no, everything was fine and they dropped us in a little village somewhere where we got some lunch and I got a cake with cream and raspberries wrapped in a pancake. We then got picked up by a French woman who had seven children! She wasn't going to take us all the way but then decided that she wasn't late so took us to the outskirts of Paris.

It then took us an hour to walk to the Eiffel tower where there was a massive two hour queue to go up, and so we fell asleep under it instead. After a few hours we went about looking for somewhere to stay, and decided on the camp-site near where we'd been dropped off. It ended up being uch further than we'd thought and we walked for hours to get there, but at around 7pm we had the tent up and were pretty happy with the idea of a shower and sleep. There was even an English girl at the desk! Aiden went to sleep pretty quickly, and I wandered off to check out the shop and buy some pizza before trying to sleep on the not-so-comfortable floor.

Hitch 2012 - Day One, To Portsmouth

sleepy monkey

The beginning started with a champaign breakfast at uni at around 8am. I got there slightly later after not getting much sleep and waking up at 7.30. After a few photos and a lot of standing around we eventually hit the road at about 9.45. It took us a while to get picked up, but by 10 we had our first lift. Julie took us all the way to a service station near Cardiff, and it was quite surprising how nice her car was and how easy it had seemed to get picked up. So we'd been standing there holding a sign for around five minutes before I noticed some green shirts wandering up the road towards us. It turned out to be Chris and Natalie who'd been dropped off just down on the

motorway. After a while they decided to start somewhere else, but then as they were walking away these guys from the petrol station started shouting at them. They'd walked over and managed to get both us and themselves lifts to Newport. Newport was awful. Aiden and I ended up waiting an hour because we were on the wrong road and there were even little messages from other hitchers saying that Newport was hell. We ended up being picked up by some religious people interested in our charity sign. They took us to Bristol where we got picked up by a crazy Russian guy who tried to take us back to Wales! We managed to get out reasonable quickly on the edge of a junction to the motorway. I thought it would take ages but within a few minutes this guy pulled over with a polystyrene plane in the back which was remote controlled. It had a camera on the front and you could wear these glasses so it was like you were in the plane. He had crazy hair, and you could tell he'd done hitch-hiking as a kid too.

Aiden's Banana
(he carried it all day!)

He dropped us at Newbury service station where we bumped into Chris and Natalie again! We got some food then got picked up by a guy from Somerset playing first Fallout type 50's muic then some quite excellent dubstep. He was heading to Winchester to pick up a chair, so he dropped us at a roundabout where we eventually got picked up by a guy in a pretty fancy car who took us to Southampton. From there we got a quick lift in a 'bus' with a woman and her kid and then while we were standing by the roundabout, only 15 minutes from Portsmouth a car with a young couple pulled up As soon as the door opened you could smell a huge amount of weed had been smoked in that car. Turns out that they had stopped because they liked Aidens monkey suit and despite living near where they picked us up, they drove us the whole way to the ferry port. We were the second group from Swansea to arrive, as an engaged couple Ben and Katie were already waiting with a couple of hikers from Exeter uni.

We bought our ferry tickets for about £30 and proceeded to wait for five hours (we arrived a five and the ferry didn't start boarding until 10.45) with a quick walk to McDonalds and a group photo to pass the time. Within this time many more groups had turned up, mostly from Exeter and Leeds. I called my mum for a bit to let her know how i was doing, but the battery died and she got worried and called Aiden to check that i was okay. We boarded the ferry with a load of French school children and Aiden and I stood on the deck and watched ourselves leave England. A French boy came over and we sat with him for a while. He was fourteen and with the school trip. Aiden went to bed after a while, and I sat with the boy who wanted to buy me a drink. I saw a bunch of Hitch people who were wandering around the shop and made a quick exit, which the boy was not happy about. Everyone went to bed after a while, but i wasn't really tired so I stayed up talking to Joe for an hour or two in the bar. At about 2.30  I decided I should probably try to get some sleep, but accidentally stood on a girl on the way to my seat so couldn't make it to my sleeping bag. It was pretty cold, and I ended up getting less than two hours sleep.

Hitch 2012 - Booking Plane Tickets

Me and Aiden met up today because we decided it was finally time to work out when we were going to leave and come home ect so we could book plane tickets while they were still reasonably cheap(ish). i was thinking we'd only be away for about 10 days, but then Aiden pointed out that i was assuming that we'd manage to make it to Morocco within 5 days, which apparently is quite unrealistic.
To be honest, i think Aiden could quite happily have decided to just stay there forever, but i'd quite like to pass my exams this year, so we decided on the 26th/27th. i was going to leave earlier, but then i imagined the amazing tan i wouldn't get the chance to achieve here in *sunny* England, so now i'm thinking the longer we're there the better.. i just hope i can afford to stay there for 27 days!
It took me a while to work out how to book my flight so that it didn't land me in London at 9pm with a 4 hour train journey to get me home in the middle of the night, and i managed to find one that would mean getting up kind of early (9am check in) but meant i would get home at a reasonable time, and only cost 1709 dirham.. and it's not on RyanAir! :)

Hitch 2012 - Beach Party

So today to show a bit of love for the Hitch organisation (and to celebrate Mark's birthday) we had a little get together on the beach, with a bonfire and marshmallows.. it was super fun and a good chance to meet other people who were doing Hitch, but after a while it got freezing cold and the fire just wasn't enough to keep me and Charlotte there..