Road Trip to Morocco

In what feels like a prior life, while living in Rota, Spain, I volunteered at the Rota Animal Welfare League (RAWL).  There I met some of the most interesting women from all walks of life and all ages.  The lady who managed the place, Barbara, was the x-wife of an American commercial pilot who was prior military and she lived full time in Spain on her own.  She had an ID card to use the base facilities but was not connected with the base.  I thought it was so cool that she chose to live there; back then, I had no idea people could do that.  Joan was another volunteer and she was the wife of a civilian worker on the base.  I think they had lived there for many years and she was good friends with Barbara.  Joan was a prior hippy, and she was proud of it.  She was a vegetarian and could write in the most beautiful calligraphy.  There was another lady who I really clicked with but I cannot remember her name all these years later.  She was just a few years older than me but she was the wife of an officer so we could not socialize together other than at RAWL.  I did not understand that rule and was very upset because we had a lot in common and it sucked that we could not socialize outside of volunteering.   It was not the first time the Navy screwed things up and it would not be the last.

These women loved to travel and it seemed to me that they had been all over the world.  They had planned a few days in Morocco and invited me to go along.  Six or eight of us piled into two small Spanish cars and hit the road south to catch the ferry from Algeciras to Tangier.  In Tangier we went to visit the museum located in the mansion of Malcolm Forbes.  Forbes had died earlier that year but the museum was still open along with some of the living spaces.  Forbes had a huge collection of miniatures all set up in many different dioramas.  It reminded me of my brother’s small army men toys.  What stands out most to me today was the exquisitely decorated Moorish style living areas, the beautiful pool that had recently been in the opening scene of a James Bond movie, and the row of poppies that lined the high bank waterfront wall.  The poppies had lost their blooms and the large pods had been sliced from top to bottom all around.  Joan was saying something about the staff must be making some income on the side but I did not understand what she meant.  That was the day I learn how opium was made.  Joan explained the process as we stood there at a fancy mansion looking out across a beautiful blue Strait of Gibraltar. 

From Tangier we drove south to Tetouan and I can’t remember a thing about it.  I do remember stopping at a roadside stand where some Bedouin women were selling baskets.  I almost did not buy one because they did not “match” my décor.  Joan gave me great advice I still follow to this day, “your décor will change, never let that stop you from buying something you may never see again.”  I bought three or four baskets from that lady. 

From Tetouan we drove further inland to Chefchaouen; a small town that was known for shopping.  We stayed in a nice hotel located on a hill overlooking the town.  I remember hearing the Muslim call to prayer for the first time; it was a beautiful but kind of haunting sound.  This was the early 90’s long before we knew much of anything about Islam.  I was told that Chefchaouen was closed to everyone except Muslims at one time.  I have no idea if this is true or not but it made for a good story.  We changed our dollars into dirhams and went shopping.  The culture was to bargain for everything and I was terrible at that.  It seemed like I was shopping with monopoly money, prices were so cheap it became a shopping frenzy.  I remember buying a pair of the most uncomfortable leather boots that I never wore and a colorful blanket that I rarely use.  I often think about these ladies and wonder where they are today.  I am appreciative of their friendship and learned a lot from them all.  I use to have many photos of this trip that would be interesting to post with this story but I cannot find them anywhere!!