Going from Spain to Morocco

by BillHoner, the Travel Professor

Morocco is a fascinating country to visit. From Madrid, take a train south to the Spanish seaport of I can show him the low heat Algeciras.  From there, one can take a ferry to Ceuta, a Spanish outpost on the North African coast. Among the many pleasant features of Spanish travel are the cafes that could be found everywhere, from hospitals to the ferry terminal at Algeciras.   

The café was surrounded by picture windows, with a breathtaking view of Gibraltar. As the sun rose above the hills, we ordered coffee and cognac and enjoyed the view.  A trip to North Africa is a special experience for many reasons, particularly for cultural variance from Western Europe and the beautiful scenery. The ferry boat boarded a mixed group of passengers. There were expensively dressed Spanish couples, no doubt on their way to a day of shopping at the free port of Ceuta, along with Moroccan men in hooded jelavers. Veiled women practicing purdah also moved silently on the decks.  

The ferry had cafes on two different levels: I ordered a café’ con leche and Soberano brandy, one of the stronger Spanish brandies.  Taking a table near the window to obtain a good view of Gibraltar was a good choice. The sky was a pale blue, except for a wide cloud that crowned the top of Gibraltar. It was an extraordinary sight.

The trip from Algeciras to Ceuta took about three hours. The waters in the strait of Gibraltar were calm; it was a smooth ride. As the ferry approached the old fortress of Ceuta, there was a feeling of stepping back in time. Ceuta is a blending of western and Arab worlds. After lunch, it was necessary to change money to obtain a supply of Moroccan Dirhams.  The next step in the journey was a bus to the Moroccan border. After passing through immigration, a communal taxi was waiting to take passengers and which was headed to the nearby city of Tetouan. 

We paid two young Moroccans to carry our bags to the Hotel Central, where I had stayed on previous occasions. It was clean, with a nice view of the square. The afternoon was spent in the Medina, the oldest section of the city, where I met my old friend Ahmad the Snake-Charmer.

It was evident that Ahmad’s problem with cataracts were getting worse, but his joyful spirit remained. His snake basket contained a de-fanged cobra and also a very large, but non venomous snake. Just as the first time Lou had met Ahmad, the snake-charmer removed the harmless six foot snake he called Mahmoud, proceeding to wrap it around my neck until I had a live snake necklace extending from chin to stomach. 

more to come --------