Spain

by Robert Darnell  [Date unknown]

Monday
Jerre and I took off with great anticipation for the DFW Airport to catch out plane to Spain. It was exciting to be going to Europe and the Med for the first time. Stopped at Sam's in Fairfield for some good BBQ.

The plane left on time and headed East. The sun receded fast behind us and it got dark quickly. It came up again in about five hours. we had a good dinner, watched a movie. listened to music and slept.

Got to Madrid about 11:00 and thought we would have a 3 hour layover. But somehow we lost and hour and it took a long time to change planes so we didn't see any of Madrid. Got to Malaga in an hour and missed our tour guide. Had to handle our bags and get to the hotel on our own. Our name was not on the tour list so we did not have a reservation at the hotel but we had no trouble getting a room. Got settled in and started gawking around like good tourists. The hotel had three pools, a short walk to the beach, and a golf course. It was an old hotel but of the luxury class so was adequate.

It had one big restaurant where you could eat most anytime except maybe right in the middle of the night. There were three small eating places in back of the hotel. One a pizza place, one a Swedish coffee shop, and one a health food bar.

The place also had a health club and sauna bath.

Tangiers
We left the hotel at 7:00 AM to go down to [...] to catch a boat across the Strait Of Gibraltar, to Morocco. The bus ride was scenic and the weather very cool. The boat was rather large with several lounges, a dining room, a couple of lounge decks and a small swimming pool. It was cold enough out on the Med that you could use a sweater, but we didn't have any.

We lounged and sunned. Saw a school of porpoises that followed the ship for a while. Africa loomed up pretty quickly and then there were the white buildings of Tangiers. No tall buildings but spread out over the hillsides and along the beaches.

As soon as we landed our tour guide told us that we better not get separated from him or we never would find our way out of Tangiers. It is just one massive maze of narrow streets and alleys with no visible rhyme or reason to anything. Everybody is either running a shop trying to sell something or walking around on the streets trying to sell something. Our guide even bought a drink of water from a street vendor who was selling water out of a goatskin to be drunk out of a community cup he was carrying.

We walked thru the street markets and shops midst the constant clamor and pandemonium of ten or twenty street vendors pulling at you all the time.

Went to a rug market which consisted of mysterious rooms, stairways, and doorways, with rugs everywhere. The rugs were really great bargains but nobody in our group bought anything because there was no way to carry them.

We toured in the bus up the hillsides in the better residential areas. Saw the mansion of the Sultan of Saudi Arabia. It was elaborate beyond description. He maintained it just in case he might want to come there sometime.

We rode some camels and took pictures. Saw the US Consulate which was very nice and in good taste. Not gaudy. Many of the areas were served by water fountains from which everyone gathered their water. Much like ancient times. The men wore robes. The women wore robes and veils.

We ate at one of their better restaurants. First course was soup, second, Shish-ka-bob, third, chicken, last a tart served with beer and wine. Plenty of hard bread.

Had a band of five old men playing Moroccan music, and one belly dancer. Enjoyed the meal very much but didn't eat much.

The only things we bought were a leather bag and a T-shirt.

Saw miles and miles of Atlantic beaches which were not used at all. Very beautiful beaches but too far from town.

The open markets were full of vegetables, meat, bread, ... etc. all laying out in the open with flies getting on it.

The beach near the middle of town was very crowded in the afternoon.

We took the boat back late in the afternoon. It passed close by the Rock of Gibraltar.

end