La Veleta Internacional

Aunque su castellano es legible y dice haber viajado mucho, Antonio Ocaña es de pueblo. Corral de Calatrava para ser más exactos, donde nació, creció y ganó un concurso regional de ingesta de croquetas en casa de su abuela: veintidós, sin nada de agua entre ellas. El destino o quién sabe qué le ha colocado en África Occidental por unos años y desde La Veleta Internacional hemos aprovechado para hacerle algunas preguntas.

Since I landed in Morocco , one of the first things they told me was "if you want to see something different, you must visit the south". I was reluctant at the beginning since I didn't know anybody that had been in the South before that could give me some feedback about it. Of course, most of the people visiting Morocco stay in the north which remains more familiar or rather go to the desert to have the typical postcard picture to brag about among your friends. However, I had been looking forward to go  on a Road trip for a long time, a trip  without any schedule or attachment, only focused exploring something different and discovering the wild beauty of the South.

The magic of Morocco                 I remember my last week in Belgium, just a couple of years ago, I was sitting on a taxi, crossing through one the unmistakable traffic jams of the European capital lost on my thoughts when the Taxi driver suddenly broke the silence by asking me if I was living in Belgium or just visiting. I  just answered him I was living there but not for long, not interested on telling the whole story about the reason why I was leaving.  Then, I was just shocked by his next words: “I’m happy you are not staying here for long, in Europe there is no future” . I just started wondering why this man, someone that had apparently been hosted in Europe and managed to have a decent way of earning his life, was so negative.

Senegal joyful kids It's already been 2 weeks since I came back from Senegal, and I consider it has probably been one of the most intense travels in my life. I had been looking forward to visit Africa for a long time, and Senegal was probably my first inside perspective into it .The two other countries I had visited: South Africa or Morocco , the country where I live right now,  are just the gates offering you a slight taste of a continent full of contrasts and diversity. Since I first arrived to Dakar, travelling from Casablanca I quickly noticed the big difference since I went outside and saw a bunch of taxi drivers craving in an aggressive way so I took a taxi with them. Thanks god, I had already arranged to meet a taxi driver that was supposed to pick me up. I had already been told that in Senegal, just like in Morocco, you were supposed to bargain in every single moment, " don't take anything for granted " they told me, " Bear in mind you alw

En la mezquita de Hassan II, la segunda más grande del Mundo islámico. Ha pasado ya más de una semana desde mi aterrizaje en   Casablanca , tiempo suficiente para extraer unas primeras impresiones. Si bien ya me habían advertido q ue España y Marruecos, pese a ser dos vecinos próximos son muy distintos entre sí , me han bastado unos días aquí para constatar este hecho. Basta con acudir al informe del Índice de Desarrollo Humano que sitúa a Marruecos en la posición 129 o el de Amnistía Internacional que resalta la desigualdad existente entre estos dos países, equiparable a la de México con EE.UU, algo que preocupa  en un periodo turbulento como el actual.

Introduzco una nueva sección en el blog: #sinfronteras con el objetivo de hacerlo más dinámico y intercambiar experiencias de jóvenes profesionales que se han buscado la vida fuera de su país de origen. En esta entrada cuento con la colaboración de mi amigo Antonio Gonzalez Casas, viajero empedernido que nos introduce un país fascinante y desconocido como Ghana. Ingeniero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos por la Universidad de Granada, ha tenido la oportunidad de trabajar en lugares tan dispares como la Guayana Francesa; Francia; Togo y ahora Ghana. En esta entrada nos cuenta su particular visión a raíz de su  experiencia en el país africano.                                      .....................................................