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!! 

Tangier, Morocco

While living in Spain my family came to visit.  My dad, mom, brother and granny all flew from Texas to spend two weeks seeing Spain.  While they were there we visited Tangier, Morocco in North Africa.  To reach Tangier from Southern Spain you take a one hour ferry ride from the Spanish city of Algeciras across the Strait of Gibraltar.  At the port we met our guide Haj Shebaba, he took us through the old town to the Kasbah; something larger than a castle, more like a small walled village that was older than the city around it.  This was really the first time I had been in what would be considered a third world country, other than Mexico and that does not count.  I was fascinated with the electrical lines that had been run along the outside of the buildings and along the underside of the archways; this part of the city was built long before there was electricity. 

In the courtyard of the Kasbah was a snake charmer.  I was excited to get the chance to watch as he played his flute and made the snake dance just like you see on TV.  But NOOOO, what did this guy do?  He just stood there holding the snake for pictures, but deal my Dad can do that at the ranch with a rattle snake any day of the week.  It was a complete tourist trap!!  From there we went to Restaurant Hammadi where we had vegetable soup, beef shish k-bobs, couscous, mint tea and baklava.  My journal describes the couscous as chicken with a cabbage & grits mixture.  I know today the “grits” part was the couscous so they must have used it in a delicious mixture with chicken and cabbage.  Back then I had never heard of couscous.  I described the baklava as a sweet dessert that tasted like melted suckers poured over fried bread stuffed with some sweet spice.  While at the restaurant there was a Moroccan band playing and a lady doing a belly dance, again it was pretty touristy, but fun to watch.

After lunch we wandered through the open market, where the locals bought meats, fruits and vegetables; I think these are fascinating places to walk around looking for unfamiliar types of food.  Our guide kept walking at breakneck speed.  We also walked through a shopping market but our guide would not stop until we got to a “designated” store; AKA a store that gave him a kick back for bringing tourists.  I did not like anything in the store and it was very expensive, all the good stuff was out in the market.  The designated store actually sold gorilla hands and stools made from an elephant’s foot so I would not have bought anything there even if I found something I wanted.  After that we walked to a place where men had camels we could ride.  Again a total tourist trap but it was worth trying, when else would we get a chance to get on a camel.  Steven was the first to ride; he got on, walked only about 5 steps before the guide made the camel sit down and told them to get off.  He put Granny and me on the camel and we walked around in a big circle.  When he commanded the camel to sit down I almost fell forward into the camel’s neck but caught myself.  It was short but fun to try! From there Haj Shebaba lead us back to the port and we caught the ferry back to Spain.  

It would have been nice to spend a bit more time seeing what we wanted to see and stopping in the stores we wanted to stop in but that is the risk you take with a packaged tour.  Even today I still struggle with to buy or not to buy a package tour.  In unfamiliar places they can really help you get the lay of the land and see a lot in a short time but they always comes with those stupid tourist restaurants and “special’ shopping places.  I went back to Tangier one last time before leaving Spain with a group of girls, that will be the next post….TRAVEL ON!

The Rock of Gibraltar

Located at the southernmost tip of Spain, this British territory is home to the famous Rock of Gibraltar that you may remember from the Prudential logo.  It has been a British territory since the early 1700’s but the Spanish still assert their claim to Gibraltar so tensions can be high at the border.  To visit Gibraltar by car you must drive across the border from La Linea, Spain.  Like any border your passport is required and when I was there in the early 90’s it felt like driving from the late 1800’s (Spain) into the late 20^th century.   Once you get through the border one of the first things you come to is a stop light but instead of a cross street, you find an airport runway.  The runway begins and ends way out in the water and crosses the narrow tip of land east to west.   It would be an interesting landing and takeoff and you have to hope the cars obey the stop lights.

As you start to drive up the rock the first stop you come to is the water catchment area.  It is a huge bare portion of the rock that has a steep slope where they catch rain water for consumption.  This area has a great view toward the east that pans from the Spanish coastline in the north and out over the Mediterranean Sea.  The next stop is called St. Michaels Cave.  It is a cavern with stalactites and stalagmites but is not very interesting if you have seen the likes of Carlsbad Caverns.  From there you continue on to the spot where you are most likely to see the Gibraltar Apes.  They are really Barbary Macaques but everyone there called them the Apes.  I have no idea where they came from or how long they have been there but they are a lot of fun to watch and play with.  Legend says that if/when the apes leave Gibraltar so will the British.  They were so use to people that they would not hesitate to climb on your shoulder or head.  In fact, you really had to be careful with bags and cameras because they would steal them, carry them off to some inaccessible place and search them for food.  One tried to climb up my elastic wasted skirt but thankfully I was quick enough to grab the waste before I flashed a bunch of strangers. 

After seeing the apes you continue higher to the Upper Galleries, these are tunnels hewn into the rock that were started as a road to the top but the ventilation holes proved to be good places to stage cannons for protection, so the tunnels were carved downward and used to protect the rock from the Spanish during The Great Siege; 1779 to 1783.  The ventilation/cannon holes provided a spectacular view out over the town and ocean.   At some point in this tour you come to the very southern tip called Europa Point which is the southernmost point in all of Europe.  It is only about 9 miles from here straight across to the north coast of Morocco, North Africa. 

I spent very little time in the actual town of Gibraltar, but it was clearly a British style town.  The architecture looked nothing like the Spanish towns and very much like an old European town.  Gibraltar was an easy day trip from Rota and it really felt like a much more modern place than Spain and we often went there for a good hamburger.  Since the Brits are not known for their fabulous food, I find it comical that Americans went to a British territory to find a good hamburger.  Well, good is not the right word; let’s say it was better than the hamburgers we found in Spain.  Plus they also serve wonderful fish and chips!!  I don’t think Gibraltar is a specific destination for most people but if you find yourself in Southern Spain you must spend a day exploring “The Rock.”