Costa del Sol, Spain

Port of Ceuta ferries.

Algeciras

The ferry ride from Ceuta to Algeciras, mainland Spain, took 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was not crowded at 10:30 am in the morning. The ferry was quite deluxe with signs in Spanish and Greek. The sea was calm and visibility good, though a little hazy. Still, this was an improvement over the previous two mornings that were really foggy until noon. Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe. Freighters were everywhere, as were the huge cranes to unload them. We followed the road along the waterfront to the Mercure hotel. It was about a half an hour walk from the dock but it was much hotter than we were used to in Ceuta. Our room was on the top floor of the building that looked out on dozens of other tall apartment buildings. Our room had a full kitchen, balcony, large living room and a king size bed.

Approaching the Rock of Gibraltar.

Port of Algeciras.

We walked over to a huge mall where we eventually found a supermercado for groceries. We were in awe at the variety of products on the shelves. We bought a couple of frozen pizzas, some ice cream and a few other snacks. Back in our room, we washed our clothes in the washing machine. The washer/dryer combination unit was the highlight of the day.

Torreguadiaro

The next day, we drove out of the Algeciras bay area, east past the rock of Gibraltar, over to the town of Torreguadiaro. It’s a small beach town about 22 km away. The Hotel Patricia is run by Augustin and his mother. They are both extremely friendly and easy to understand their Spanish. Our room was on the bottom floor of the hotel. From our balcony is just a few steps down to the beach. It is a beautiful long white sand beach divided up into three bays. On the west end is the Sotogrande Marina, a new development with condos, restaurants and boats.

View of Torreguadiaro Beach from our balcony.

Hotel Patricia.  Our room just up the stairs, behind the center palm tree on the lower level.

Best served on tap, cold.

On the east end of our cove is a point beyond which looks like there are only rocks. It is very relaxing at this hotel. We took walks in the morning, hit the tapas bars for lunch and swam in the afternoons. A couple of days there were waves good for body surfing. The water is clean and around 68 – 70 degrees.  We liked Ceuta and Torreguadiaro equally well!

The Virgin del Carmen Festival

Religious Virgins are hugely popular in Andalucia, Spain. They are normally handcrafted from wood and porcelain and spend 99.9 per cent of the year in glass-covered alcoves at the local church. The Virgin del Carmen, once known as the Queen of the Seas, has her own special day. July 16, just before sunset, a flotilla of boats came from the marina on the point. The Virgin del Carmen statue came in to our little bay on a flower-adorned boat. The boat came close to the beach and a group of people carried the statue ashore. This happens in the fishing villages and towns up and down the coast.

The flotilla arrives with the Virgin del Carmen on the boat to the left.

A procession carried her up to the street and were met by a marching band. Traffic was stopped while the band, the Virgin and the parade queen and princesses went down the street. We were happy to see men, women and children of all ages helping to carry the Virgin. The crowds cheered and fireworks were shot off.

The Virgin del Carmen procession.

Parade Queen and Princesses.

Gibraltar

One day, we drove over to Gibraltar. We walked across the border and quickly opened our passports for the border agents. Then you walk across the runway of the International Airport. When planes land and takeoff, pedestrian and vehicle traffic is halted. Next, through the original gates, tunnel and walls of the original fort and into the town. It has an area of 2.3 square miles. We were expecting something like an English version of Ceuta, but it was more like a crowded day at Disneyland. There were English restaurants, signs in English and historical monuments – so it looked English. There seemed to be tourists from many different countries with many languages. English is the official language, Spanish is widely spoken and there is a form of Andulacian Spanish called Llanito also spoken. Llanito is Spanish heavily laced with British English and other words from around the Mediterranean.

The Rock from Spain.

Gibraltar’s Moorish Castle. Dates from the 14th century.

The Angry Friar restaurant.

        

Contrast that with Ceuta, where all we heard was Spanish. We had a nice lunch in a place called “The Clipper” with pictures on the walls of old English ships from the days of sail. Fish and chips for me, a ham and cheese toastie for Nancy. We saw some of Gibraltar’s famous macaque monkeys over by some park benches and trash bins. They drew a huge crowd. Then, we walked over to the cable car, which is really a gondola tram up to the top of the rock. I bought some ice cream and we walked back across the border to Spain.

Mailbox.

Tarifa, Spain

We could have stayed for many more days in Spain but had to get back to Morocco by July 20 to pick up our new plastic ID cards. It is still Ramadan for another nine days.

Ferries to Tangier from Spain depart from Tarifa, 18 km west of Algeciras.  The ferry companies run buses between Algeciras and Tarifa. Tarifa is a wind and kite surfers mecca.  It looks like another relaxed Spanish town to visit.  Like I said, we still have another nine days of Ramadan.

Ferry to Tangier from Tarifa.  Tarifa in the background.

Hasta pronto, Espana!

Tangier, Morocco

Restored van near the port of Tangier.  One of the best we’ve seen in Morocco.

Ceuta, Spain

Ceuta is actually an island next to a peninsula in North Africa.  There is a moat that cuts across the narrowest part of the isthmus, next to the old fortress in the center of town.  There are old stone fortresses, sea walls and fortifications from different centuries all over the island and peninsula.  Ceuta is in a prime strategic location and was the scene of many battles.

Ceuta is also a walkers’ paradise.  There are roads, paths and trails all over and many locals are out everyday walking.  There is the Parque de San Amaro that runs up through one of the canyons.  Go up the Camino de San Antonio and you end up at the Ermita (Hermitage) built in 1645  Take another trail and you’ll walk around the old fortress that sits atop Monte Hacho.  There is a path that follows the road that vehicles use to go around the island.  There are old fortresses located along the road that face in all directions looking out to sea.

View from the road looking back at the harbor entrance.

View from one of the paths in the Parque de San Amaro looking down on the harbor.

Tile map of the Parque de San Amaro.  The trails are indicated with different colors.

The Camino de San Antonio is the main path up through the Parque de San Amaro.

Small village perched on a hillside along the road that runs around the island part of Ceuta.

The walking path runs along the side of the road around the island.  Another fortress is at the bottom of the canyon looking out to the south.

Fortress walls at the top of Monte Hacho.

The old fortress in the center of town.  Over the centuries, successive walls were built to keep out invaders from Morocco.

The fortress moat cutting across the isthmus in the center of town.

A tile plaque describing a French flotilla of 14 ships that sailed through the Strait of Gibralter to Brest, France in 1692.  They joined a larger fleet of French and Dutch ships that went on to launch an attack on England.  They were subsequently defeated and some of the survivors wound up jailed on Ceuta.

One of our 5 mile walks around the island.

One of the old beautiful buildings in town.

This restaurant never seemed to be open but we liked the exterior walls.

View down the street towards the House of Dragons and to the Ulises Hotel.

The Milar building housed an appliance store.

Siesta time and the streets were deserted.

Sunset from our balcony at the Ulises Hotel.  Gibraltar in the distance.

Next: Algeciras & Torreguadiaro, Spain

Tangier, Morocco & Ceuta, Spain

We stopped in Tangier for one night on the way to Ceuta, Spain. Tangier is three hours north by train from Kenitra and looks to be growing rapidly. Lots of new commercial and residential buildings and white sandy beaches.

The taxi ride to Ceuta took about one hour. It was a beautiful drive through green rolling hills along the coast to the border. Passing through Tangier Med, a huge new port on the way, all of the signs were in Arabic and English. Seemed a bit unusual, although we found out later that ferries run from Gibraltar to Tangier Med and the signs are for the Brits benefit.

Bienvenidos a Espana!

The line at the border was short and we crossed into Ceuta. We asked a taxi driver how much to take us to the central plaza. His relaxed demeanor said it all. He waved his hand and pointed at the meter and said, “four or five euros.” It’s a struggle sometimes with Moroccan cab drivers whether the driver is using the meter to calculate fares.

Central Plaza

We went to the central plaza and our driver waited while we got euros from the Bankia ATM. After he departed we walked down the street to the Ulises Hotel. Our room is on the 6th floor looking out on the Strait of Gibraltar. From our balcony, the “rock” is eight miles across the strait. There are buildings between us and the water, but our balcony is high enough that we see over their rooftops and we have almost a completely unobstructed view of mainland Spain’s coastline. Ferries run continually back and forth between Spain and Ceuta. We can also see freighters passing back and forth in and out of the Strait and the harbor. The conditions on the water are constantly changing. The first couple of days were calm, then a couple of days of white caps and some clouds due to rainstorms around Barcelona and further up the Mediterranean. Today is calm.

View from our balcony across the Strait of Gibraltar.

When the sun goes down the sky turns orange and the lights start to shine from Gibraltar and Algeciras, Spain. There is no traffic noise and the loudest noises are from the seagulls.  Our original reservation was for three days but we decided to extend our stay here for another week. There are a number of good seafood and tapas restaurants. Our favorite café, El Puente, has good coffee and croissants. The beach is a quick walk down the street. It is on the opposite side of the peninsula from the harbor. The ocean water visibility is clear and the temperature is around 68-70 degrees. The air temperature over a 24 hour period varies between 68 and 73 degrees. Pretty darn perfect weather.

House of Dragons

This is our first real vacation since we came to Morocco in January. The first couple of days we experienced some culture shock.  It’s been six months since we’ve seen happy, healthy dogs on leashes, women sitting together in cafes or couples of all ages holding hands and wearing European style clothing. Dios mio!

The Pillars of Hercules

The Pillars of Hercules is the ancient name given to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. They are Gibraltar in Europe and Monte Hacho in Ceuta in Africa. Nancy and I hiked around Monte Hacho this morning.

The road up to Monte Hacho.  (Findeq, Morocco in the background)

Mythological Significance

When Hercules had to perform twelve labours, one of them was to fetch the Cattle of Geryon and bring it to Eurystheus. On his way to the island of Erytheia he had to cross the mountain that was once Atlas. Instead of climbing the great mountain, Hercules split it in half using his indestructible mace. By doing so, he connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and formed the Strait of Gibraltar. One part of the split mountain is currently called Gibraltar and the other is Monte Hacho. These two mountains taken together were since then known as the Pillars of Hercules.

Pets or “mascotas” are well taken care of in Ceuta.

View from the road around Monte Hacho.

 

Ramadan

Ramadan began with the firing of a cannon immediately after sunset on June 28th. The following morning, the cannon fired at 3:20 am, immediately followed by the first call to prayer of the day. When we got up later, the streets were deserted. The hanuts and cafes that are usually open were shuttered. There was not much activity on the streets until about 1pm. The hanuts close by had opened but the café on the corner was closed. Before sunset, men congregated on all the street corners. When the sun went down, the cannon went off again and there was the call to prayer. The men streamed towards the mosque closest to our house to pray and there was absolute silence for about twenty minutes. Afterwards, we could hear them walking home to have “lftur”, or breaking the fast meal. Once again, there was absolute silence for about forty minutes. Gradually, people, donkey carts, bicycles and motorized vehicles reappeared on the streets below. This seems to be the pattern that will continue for each day of Ramadan.

Next: Tangier & Ceuta, Spain