The Wandering Journalist

11/07/2024

Days 55-62: Portugal w/ Em 🇵🇹

My flight from Morocco to Portugal was lovely. For the first time in a while, I kept catching myself taking airplane window photos. 😂 but I loved the views of flying over Morroco and into Lisbon!

Once I made it to Lisbon, I headed out of the airport and towards the bus station so I could meet up with Em to catch our bus to Peniche! Luckily, I made it there with about an hour or so to kill, but Em was running behind. I got us some snacks for our journey as I waited, but soon the time grew closer and closer. With about two minutes until departure, I was about to ask our driver if there were any other busses there for the night, but then appeared Em!

We were both so ecstatic that we actually were able to catch the bus! Once we made it to our little home for the week, we headed out for some late night dinner and had amazinggg nasi gorang!

On our way to dinner, we came across a small hangout place that seemed to have immaculate vibes so we made a pit stop & hung out with the most wholesome people, singing with them, drinking ciders, and checking out all of their crafts that they were selling.

We spent our first full day exploring our little town; Ferrel. That evening, we got the most DELICIOUS dinner. We stopped at a more upscale pizza place and got pizza, sangrias, and this insanely amazing feta cheese appetizer. We didn’t stop talking about that meal for the rest of the trip. 😂

The following day, we went to our neighboring surf town; Baleal. (This was personally my favorite day) we came across an eco market, stopped and looked at each vendor’s unique trinkets, and then walked around some surf shops in the town.

Afterwards, we went to the local beaches nearby and sunbathed. These beaches were so stunning, they kept reminding me of Aus. At one point, we had this small beach completely to ourselves so Em made the joke of going topless. (It’s a European thing) Since it was starting to get warmer out and seemed freeing, we decided to actually do it. 😂 12/10 recommend.

We spent the evening going for a stroll around the town and then we went back to the same bar as before for some dinner.

Every morning, we’d go to a local cafe for breakfast and get a ham, cheese, and egg baguette + coffee (and sometimes a pastry or two to share if we were realllyy hungry) which all came to a total of €8. We noticed that Portugal was roughly half the price as the US when it came to food.

On Sunday, Em & I had a lazy day at our campground since most things were closed, then on Monday we made up for that by doing a long day trip to Ericeira.

We rented a scooter for the day & then headed out for a two hour journey to the surf town of Ericeira. We spent the day exploring the town, going through shops, and snacking.

For our last full day together, we started the morning at the tattoo shop- where I got tattoo #4! Then we headed to Lisbon and spent the day out walking around and taking in the beauty of this lively city. We snacked throughout the day, then Ems lovely parents treated us to a nice Italian dinner since it was out last day together:,) they’re the sweetest.

We spent the evening in, just getting things around for the following morning. Then this morning I headed out to the airport for my journey back to the US:,)

Overall, I really have enjoyed Europe. I can’t say any of the places touched my heart as deeply as some other travels have, but I do enjoy the European lifestyle and the diversity of culture over here. I’ll definitely be back in the future.

Today I am spending the day in Philadelphia on a long layover & I’ll be staying at my first ever US hostel tonight! Wish me luck 😂 But tomorrow I have a flight to Tennessee to stay with my dad for a little while before embarking on my journey back home. 🇺🇸

04/07/2024

Days 53-55: Marrakech, Morocco 🇲🇦

Before coming to Marrakech, I didn’t know what to expect. I met backpacker upon backpacker that told me that they HATED Marrakech, but then every once in a while, I’d run into someone that would have nothing but good things to say about Marrakech. I’d say from the feedback I got, 15% of it would be positive. This definitely intrigued me.

On my way to Agadir, (I had to get a bus from Agadir to Marrakech) I met a group of three Moroccan guys my age that were hitch hiking their way around Morocco. They were the most wholesome dudes and had immaculate vibes. We all chatted for the whole hour there & then once we made it to Agadir, they got a taxi with me to make sure I made it to the right spot for my bus & also to save me money since the taxi drivers were all trying to scam me. These guys were absolute gems.

I got to the bus stop early, so I chilled out & sun bathed until my bus came. After a 3 hour bus journey, I made it to Marrakech! After taking public transport around the city, and getting checked into my hostel, I walked around the city to see what the vibe was.

Right away I loved it here. The best way I can describe this city is, if you were to take Delhi, India & give it more of a spacey vibe with less chaos. Marrakech had a very similar vibe to Western Asia. (At least in my opinion)

I went to the famous square to see live performances, street food vendors, plenty of shops, and even people with exotic animals. (Cobras, monkeys, hawks, etc.) I couldn’t help but to feel a little sad to see how the animals are treated for profit here, it’s disgusting.

I got dinner at a local street food vendor and then walked through the sauks on the way back. (Tiny hole in the wall shops- they’re awesome.)

My favorite thing about Marrakech was the alleyways that you walk through and all of the sauks. It’s like an absolute maze and I loved every second of exploring them.

A downfall of Marrakech is the amount of men that stare, glare, and try to talk to you if you’re alone. The good news is, if you’re with a guy, they leave you alone completely. Even if you’re Beyoncé. 😂 They seem to respect couples and don’t even bother regardless of what the girl looks like. However, being a solo female traveler, this was not in my favor. Nothing too crazy happen, but I did have a worker in a supermarket run out of a store to ask me if I was married. 😂 welcome to Morocco.

I spent the following morning out exploring more of Marrakech, I walked around for 2-3 hours and then once the heat came, I found my way into a cafe with AC and ice coffee. I dwelled in there and talked to Em for a few hours and then headed back to the hostel to chill out until the evening. (It’s super common here to mostly go out in the mornings & evenings due to the heat. Most days it’s 100 degrees here)

I spent my final time in Marrakech going out for dinner, getting a small souvenir, having one last tajine, and running around looking for these small crystal rocks. (But never finding them for a good price 🥲👎🏼)

Overall, I LOVED Marrakech. I feel the same way about this city as I did about Hanoi, Vietnam; it’s chaotic, very cultural, has the COOLEST alleyways to go down, affordable, and has an abundance of character, butttt… it’s perfect for just a few days. I’d never want to live here or stay longer than four days, but for a short visit, this is one of my favorite cities in the world.

Today I am headed out of Morocco & into Portugal to bring an end to my trip! I’ll be there for about 8 days then I’ll be headed home :,) Morocco has been lovely and I’ll definitely be back in the future to properly see this country.

02/07/2024

Days 54-63: Final days in Taghazout, Morocco 🇲🇦

Woo! I’m finally finished with my volunteer experience here and I’m ever so joyed to be going on to the next adventure! My final week here was spent indulging in some food, doing a day trip to imsuane, and going on plenty of walks.

I really have enjoyed this one cafe here; the teapot cafe! It’s super cute & small, and there’s lovely outdoor seating + good food. So since it was my last week here, I treated myself and came every day for brunch. (I was getting sick of my cheap eats 😂) I also checked out some other spots to eat and got some good well-needed food 😋

Like I said, I walked around tons this week, chilled out, planned out every aspect of my life that I could to kill time, and went to the skatepark for sunsets. I have learned that I could never live in a town this slow, I’m going crazy over here. 😂

Due to having too much time on my hands, I have been getting into van life research like crazy lately, as well as planning out all sorts of fun for senior year.

I did get a day off to go to imsuane for the day- a close surf town where you can actually surf right now! & that was soooo needed. It felt so good to get out of the town and actually catch a wave. I was on cloud nine:)

The drive there was absolutely beautiful, but I ended up getting a little sunburnt since I forgot my sunscreen that day. I was strategizing how I could have my body (in the wet suit) in the sun, while covering up my face and feet with shade 😂 it sort of worked but not completely haha.

I came back that day so hungry since I skipped lunch, and devoured a whole small pizza. 😂 twas great.

My final days were mostly spent chilling out and going for a nice walk each day. I treated myself to some cheesecake once I completed my final shift and said thank gawd to new experiences coming my way soon. 😂

In conclusion, taghazout is a lovely town… for a maximum of three days. You can really see the whole town in about an hour so although this was a super laid back work experience, I was going crazy doing the same things on repeat for three weeks. 😂 but I’m trying to take it in because I know soon with work & school, I’ll be begging for this type of break. 😅

Today I am headed out on an absolute adventure, taking public transport to the city of Marrakesh!

23/06/2024

Days 47-53: week two in Morocco! 🇲🇦

I’m not going to lie, this week went by sooo slowly.

I started the week by working the morning shift (which consists of going on a two minute walk and ordering two baguettes from the bread bakery for $0.20, heading to the roof top and tidying it up from the night before, waiting for backpackers to come upstairs and asking them if they want breakfast, serving them breakfast, doing the dishes, making myself breakfast once it’s after 10:30am, waiting for people to check out, then helping clean the rooms/make beds with one of the staff here that doesn’t speak an ounce of English- so it mostly consist of me doing something and her redoing it) 😂 then once it hits 12-1ish, I’m free for the day!

My coworker & I decided to alternate shifts so every other day I’d work the morning shift and then every other day I’d work the afternoon shift (& vise versa)

The afternoon shift consists of chilling on the rooftop, waiting for people to check in, then showing them to their rooms & to the rooftop once they’re here. If we put on a family dinner, then it’s also in the job to set the table & clean up from the dinner. It’s a chiller shift but it takes up more of your day.

I walked around tonssss this week. Hours upon hours, just walking / hiking around. I discovered a beautiful seaside walk and found myself going to do it multiple times a week. This was my main form of an activity this week, just walking along the seaside, journaling, and reading.

I also decided to go to the skate park to rent a board on one of my days here. I taught myself how to surf skate and after about an hour or so of doing that, I traded for a cruiser board and had much more fun doing that. 😂 it was a lot of fun to spend the day skating around the park with other beginners & some very good skaters.

I checked out some new places to eat this week - which were very yummy. I went to the red clay cafe (a well known vegan cafe here) and then ended my week at the teapot cafe indulging on some zoodles, which was amazingggg. I will be back. I also wet to world of waves (a seaside restaurant) for a midday smoothie & I found a little beachside affordable place for breakfast! My more affordable options had been closed this last week due to the holiday. But don’t worry, I’ve been still investing in a weekly jar of Nutella & cookies 😂

Morroco had a famous holiday this last week that consists of killing goats and eating them / then turning their fur into a costume to wear in the evening for a party- so there’s that. 😂

With this holiday, most places were closed- including laundry, so I washed my overdue dirty clothes yesterday by hand and laid them out on the clothing rack to dry.

We got a fun group of backpackers that came through recently, so I played cards with them on the rooftop & they played some live music for us on the hostel guitar. Every night we’ve been eating dinner like a family here, and hearing all of the different languages around the table has been beautiful.

The biggest realization that I had this week was that I need to get out of this town. 😂 I’m going so stir crazy since the waves haven’t been big enough to surf here, and there’s only about 3 things to do in this town. I’ve been finding myself waking up way later than I usually do because, what’s the point in getting up early? For what? So for my final week here, I plan to take several day trips out if I’m given the opportunity and explore more of this region since I’ve seen the ins & outs of taghazout. 😂

16/06/2024

Days 40-46: first week in Morocco! 🇲🇦

My first week volunteering in Morocco was very chill:) I flew into Agadir & got picked up by my hostels personal taxi man; Abraham. He took me straight to the surf hostel that I would be volunteering at for the next three weeks, and then I got introduced to my coworker Sam (from England) & my manager/boss Sirham (from Morocco)!

The vibes of this volunteer experience & this town are both insanely chill; work consists of checking people in & out of the hostel, helping pick up before & after meals, and getting guests all adjusted. My first few days working, there weren’t many guests checking in/out so my shifts were insanely chill and nearly nonexistent. This is a place that the busybody would die.

If you live for the simple life, mellow vibes, and slow lifestyle, taghazout might just be for you. The main things to do here are hit the beaches, go to the skatepark, indulge in local affordable food (most dishes are $2-$6), and walk around the tiny town. Other than that, you can pretty much see the whole town in a day. 😅

With so much free time, I’ve been journaling, planning things out for senior year, and have been trying to get myself on a good & healthy daily routine.

My first day here, I played cards with some guys at the hostel & then I got a veggie tajine for dinner. The next morning, one of my friends was an absolute gem & made me a breakfast wrap, then I went out to explore the town. It didn’t take over an hour or two to see the entirety of tagazout, my new home away from home. I ended that night watching the sunset on our beautiful rooftop & eating dinner as a family with other backpackers.

My third day was spent rock hopping & walking along the beaches. I got a virgin mojito in the afternoon and chilled out at a seaside restaurant. Later I discovered a local spot for dinners, where I could eat for $2-$3 each night, that place has been my fav.

In the evening, I was invited out to go sand boarding with a big group of people at the hostel. We drove an hour out to the Tamri dunes & got to ride a surfboard down the dunes a couple times, it was fun:) that night we all ate dinner again together; we have the most amazing cook here at the hostel- she cooks us home cooked Moroccan dishes when requested:,)

The next morning, I got some breakfast & then headed to the skatepark before my shift. I made friends with a guy named Imad & he taught me how to skate down a small ramp for the first time! I’ve gotta say, not my thing 😂 I’ll stick to cruising around for now, haha. But he was super sweet & had so much patience with teaching me. A gem of a human.

That night I caved after dinner and got yet another jar of Nutella 😂 but hey! I never eat it back at home so I’ve gotta make up for that abroad! 😂

On day 5, I made a goal to learn a song on guitar for the first time. After a few hours, I taught myself 4 chords (C, E7, Am, & G) but once I found out that the song I was trying to learn took a particular type of strumming, I said that’s a next week problem. 😂 I also have to get better at changing chords faster.

That evening I got some dinner and then headed out with the hostel group to an electronic dj party. The party was fun, but I definitely learned that dancing to electronic music is never the vibe for me; I need lyrics to sing while dancing in order to have a grand time 😂

Yesterday I got some breakfast & a doggo friend came up to keep me company. I had my first afternoon shift with check ins & once they were all adjusted, I went on an evening run on the boardwalk, then got cleaned up and went out for dinner.

Today I went on a long morning stroll along the beach after breakfast & then worked the afternoon shift at the hostel. We had quite a few backpackers come in today so my shift was longer than expect, which is aye okay. I decided that on the weekends I’d treat myself to a “nicer” meal than my daily $3 ones (even though those are pretty stellar.) so this evening I went to a local spot where I got my tajine in the beginning of the week to get some chicken curry! 😋 it was calling my name like crazzyyy.

One final note- I was talking to a guy from Portugal a few nights ago and he was complaining about how he doesn’t love traveling to developing countries, and that’s when I realized how much I love traveling to countries like this. As crazy as it sounds, I feel most at home in developing regions. I love how simply everyone lives, the pure happiness people get from things considered “mundane”, and seeing potential for solutions in these areas. I think after our conversation, he started to look at this form of travel a little differently.

09/06/2024

Days 30-39: Spain 🇪🇸

Ah, where do I start? I spent 9 days in Spain visiting a friend & her family from previous travels and this trip was one for the books. I was welcomed with two kisses which became my first culture shock 😂 I was not ready for her sister to come in hot, haha. But after getting told that’s the greeting in Spain, I was well adjusted after a few trial runs. 😂

The views from their place were amazinggg. Every morning, I’d come out to the common room & watch the waves roll in from the distance. Her family owns a few nice beach front restaurants in their town, so everyday we were welcome into the restaurants with smiles & free food!

Rocio had me try every Spain dish under the sun; we shared tapas, ate paellas, sipped on tintos, etc. I found Spainish food to be very homey & delicious.

She did an excellent job at being my tour guide for the week & took me all around her town then we did day trips to Granada & Malaga + the Spainish desert. I got see crystal clear beaches, Roman monuments, and mountains. I love how diverse Spain is in such a short distance.

On one of my first nights, her family put on a futbol watching party which gave me the ultimate Spainish experience. 😅 seeing the joy & chaos of her nephews + family go crazy for the game was so fun to be around.

The next day, she took me to a procession so I got to see the more religious side of southern Spain. Then we spent the afternoon with her little nephews, playing with their pets (tortoises, turtles, bird, fish, etc) & passing a ball around.

Her littlest nephew, Bruno (whom of which is two years old) started calling me sally out of no where, and refused to call me anything else. 😂 her family & I got a kick out of this so I guess that’s my Spanish name now.

Another culture shock I had with Spain was how many n**e beaches there were. It was so common to go to a beach and see topless women or n**e people in general. They don’t bat an eye at that here. At first I was taken back, but after a few beaches, I became very numb to it.

Other notable things that I loved about Spain were how long the days were, tapas (free appetizers//small portions of food for $3), and how excellent the service was. Southern spain doesn’t like to turn customers away, so they will set up and extend tables like crazy, and even give people service sometimes after hours.

Overall, I really liked Spain! Everyone was so friendly, the food was amazing, the culture was beautiful, and it was more affordable than expected! I definitely plan to come back to explore this beautiful country in the future.

Today, I’m headed off to Morocco! I’m currently at the airport & about to board flight 1/2, but I’ll be volunteering out there at a surf camp for a few weeks:)

01/06/2024

Days 29 + 30: Venice + Spain 🇮🇹🇪🇸

After returning car #3 in Venice, Em & I headed to a hotel for our final night before departing on our own adventures. Em was able to use credit card points to book us a free night at a nice hotel, which was so awesome of her.

We chilled out & took a nap then spent our evening being treated to one last fancy Italian meal before heading to our next countries. Ems parents were absolute gems and paid for the meal for us as an early birthday present:,)

She got a cod-cucumber pesto risotto & I got a goat cheese something 😂 they were both delish! Then we tried out the limoncello pear dessert which was very yummy but definitely different, haha.

We hung out in the evening and then said our goodbyes this morning at 5am since Em had an early morning flight. I stayed awake for a while after she left then eventually fell back asleep for a couple hours and woke up with energy around 8am! - which turned out to be a godsend.

Shortly after waking up, I realized that my flight was out of a different airport in Venice than the one that was by our hotel so I got around and left the hotel around 10am on a 1hr public transport journey to TSF! After seeing the prices of Ubers, I was not about to book one 😂

Thankfully, I was able to have a smooth journey and made it peacefully to the airport. I got all checked in online and paid for my carryon to be a checked bag 🥲 dang cheap airlines.

Em was lovely & treated me to a birthday chocolate muffin and latte via Venmo, and I spent time at the airport just killing time until I was finally able to board my flight to Malaga, Spain.

I decided to visit Spain for a week since I have a good friend out there that I met in Australia & she offered to let me stay with her family during my visit:)

Once I landed in Spain, she picked me up & then showed me around her town. We ate dinner really late and she was able to get me some strawberry cheesecake from her family’s restaurant for my birthday & I blew out a lighter since they didn’t have candles 😂 it was a good night.

30/05/2024

Days 25-28: The Dolomites, Italy 🇮🇹

After saying our goodbyes to the other two gals in Venice, we all did one last group hug with our giant backpacks on, on the public transport bus then Em & I went on our journey to rent car #3! (I know, shocking the van didn’t take us out) 😂

We stopped by McDonald’s (because you have to in a new country) for lunch and got some new food & ice cream, then we were on our way to the Dolomites!

We made it to where we planned to do our first hike- Cinque Torri, however after hiking for 30-45 minutes, we headed back to the car since the rain was coming down. Around this time, it was the evening so as the sky grew dark, we got in the car to head to bed.

Originally we planned on car camping in the Dolomites for the three nights that we’d be out there, but the next day, Ems amazing grandparents gifted us two nights at a chalet- which ended up being a life saver!

The first night in the car wasn’t amazing, as you can imagine. We were up every hour since it was freezing cold, constantly turning the heat on and off for comfort. The next day, Em felt a bit under the weather.

Between Em not feeling great, the constant rain on day two, and having a cozy room in the chalet, we decided to spend the day staying in until she got feeling better. We got some groceries for snacks & meals, then got all checked into the chalet.

The next day, we got insanely lucky with the weather. It was clear skies and around 50-60 degrees all day:) it was the only day on the forecast that it wasn’t suppose to rain for the next week.

We started the day with some amazing breakfast provided by the chalet, and then headed out to do the famous Tre cime de lavardo hike since Em was feeling a lot better:)

We ended up hiking 11 miles and the views were STUNNING. Everywhere we looked had views of a desktop computer background. I kept making jokes about walking into a green screen 😂

The hike was the perfect amount of challenging & beautiful. The next morning it was back to rainy days, so we headed back to Venice to drop off our rental car and head to a hotel for our final night in Italy. ❤️

28/05/2024

Days 23 + 24: Venice, Italy 🇮🇹

After returning the car & hoping for the best, we embarked on our journey to Venice! It took two trains & about 4 hours from Florence but once we got to Venice, we got on our bus to our camp site and then got all settled into our dorm!

Em & I did our laundry while the other gals had some chill time, then we all got dinner together at our camp site. The food at the camp ground was cheap & delicious! We spent the evening chatting & drinking wine while playing card games, it was wonderful.

The next morning we headed out for a day of exploration in Venice. We were able to avoid the tourist tax since our camp ground gave us a voucher which was pretty dope:) once we got to Venice, we all got croissants & coffees for breakfast then we spent the day shopping and getting lost in the beautiful city.

Venice was the most picturesque place that we’ve been thus far; everything is so beautiful and the color coronations are eye catching. It was great to get lost in the city & away from the giant crowds of tourists.

We all got lunch at a fancy restaurant (which are most of the restaurants in Venice) and after we all participated in an interview about the tourist fees. After we got our fill of the city, we got some delicious gelato & then got tickets to go explore one of the islands off of Venice - Burano!

To our surprise, it only took about an hour to explore this little island. We walked through the colorful streets and explored local shops, but once we had our fill of Burano, we got on the 1.5hr boat back to Venice.

We spent the evening taking in our final moments together and reminiscing on the trip while munching on some ramen.

Today we are all headed out on different adventures! Abbey is headed home, Makaella is off to do her first ever solo trip in Denmark, & em and I are headed to the Dolomites to hike for a few days! This girls trip has been wonderful, chaotic, messy, and all the things but I’m so happy we all had the opportunity to backpack Italy together. ❤️

26/05/2024

Photos from England & wales:)

120 new items added to shared album

26/05/2024

Days 18-23: Van life in Southern Italy 🇮🇹

⚠️ WARNING: Pessimistic Journal !! ⚠️

I’m going to be completely honest here, van life wasn’t everything that we ever dreamed of 😂 don’t let the pictures fool you! Before embarking on this trip, we all were so excited to try out van life in Italy as a group, but it’s very safe to say that our expectations were not reached 😂 there’s a lot that you don’t see on social media about van life haha.

First of all, although our van was roomy, it wasn’t roomy at all for four people. We were constantly on top of each other when cooking/cleaning/getting around. Also, it wasn’t a smooth ride in the slightest 😂 it was always noisy & you could feel every minor bump.

We also didn’t get water until around day 4 so we had loadsss of dirty dishes in cabinets & had to find public bathrooms to use.

But most important of all, Italy is NOT the country to do van life in; the roads are far too small for a large vehicle. (Hence why all of the locals drive small cars)

Due to this, on day 2 of driving, I accidentally scratched the van while going through a small alleyway. We also experienced TRAUMA of going through the worlds smallest tunnel on day 4 which scratched up the top of the van. After these incidents, I lost some motivation to drive more because I hated how much of a liability it was.

We had one really rough night that resulted in us driving around for hours looking for parking, only to wind up at a hotel that Em was able to get with some credit card points. It was at this point that we decided to get our s**t together more. 🥲

We all took good showers at the hotel & then did our dishes in the hotel sink. Ems parents were absolute gems and got us a camper spot for a few nights & this is when things started to lighten up a little.

We got some groceries, finally got water for the van, and took time to ourselves for the evening to unwind. I munched on loads of Italian Nutella which was delicious & we figured out a game plan for our final days with the van.

We attempted to go to the Amalfi coast the next day via public transport since the roads just get smaller and smaller, but we didn’t make it. However, our spirits were high because we got some good food in us & found a beach!

The next day, we went to positano for the day- which was very touristy but insanely beautiful. I felt like I was in Luca. We swam together in the freezing cold crystal blue ocean and it was wonderful. We all split a cab back and then made some dinner in the evening.

Our final day with the van, we traveled 10 hours total back to Florence. Surprisingly our spirits were a bit higher and we weirdly had energy for the ride back!

This morning, we all got up bright & early to get the van around for its return. We were able to return it & were told that we’d have to wait a couple days to see the charges for the damage:,) so wish us luck!

Today we’re headed back out in our backpacker roots on a nice long journey to Venice!