Our African Adventure

Those who read our Tarifa blog will recall that I mentioned there is a high speed ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco. Tarifa is a small town and after wandering around for an hour or so there's not much left to see. Saturday morning we boarded the high speed ferry and crossed the Straits of Gibraltar where we met up with our guide for the trip into Tangier. We had a great time learning about the city and a bit about the culture of the people here. We did do a few "touristy" things, but we had a great time doing them and completely enjoyed our day. Our photos tell the story.....

Tangier as we came into port

One of the entrances to the oldest part of the city:
the Kasbah. Actually, this photo is looking back as
there are no cars in the Kasbah.

A street in the Kasbah. Can you make out the Coca-Cola sign on one
of the buildings? 

This fountain supplied the public drinking water at one time.

What's in the wagon? Fresh fish! This guy brings fresh fish
into the Kasbah every day. He walks up and down the streets shouting out
and people come to buy his fish.

We saw these guys from a distance and Scott said, "Cindy, take a picture of those guys!".
Hmmmm......I wondered what they were up to. Didn't take long for us to find out, either. 

Snake Charmers! Ewwww........

Yep! That's a cobra!

Scott and the snakes got cozy. I was invited to join the party. Uh.....nope! Not a chance!

OK. This just gives me nightmares!

 Well, we "rocked the Kasbah" and survived the snake charmers. Next stop, the Cave of Hercules!

Part natural and part man-made, by the Phoenicians no less, this formation opens onto the Atlantic Ocean. The opening resembles the shape of the continent of Africa, in reverse from this angle. 

Legend has it that Hercules slept here before beginning one of his 12 labours, hence the name Cave of Hercules.

We enjoyed a private guided tour of the cave.

One interesting bit of info: in 1995 the British rock group Def Leppard performed here live!

Lots of shopping opportunities in Morocco, even inside the cave!

Remember I said we did some "touristy" things? Well, I imagine that camels are still ridden in some parts of Africa, but we didn't see any actually being used for transportation. We did see several little businesses along the roadside where one could stop and take a camel ride. It was part of our tour, and, as it turned out, great fun!

Hellooooooooo Mr. Camel!

After the Kasbah, the Cave of Hercules, snakes and camels it was definitely time for some lunch, not to mention some serious shopping! Off to the Medinah!

This is the place to buy all sorts of spices, herbal medicines, and beauty products.

We learned that Mosques always have green doors. Our guide explained that Morocco
prides itself on its religious tolerance. There are Mosques next door to Catholic churches and
Jewish Synagogues across the street. The claim is that there is no other city like this in the world.
I'm not so sure about that........but it's still a nice thought.

Before we knew it our day had come to an end. Our guide escorted us back to the ferry where some interesting "shenanigans" seemed to take place. He pointed out the long line of passengers waiting in the hot sun to board the ferry, then took us down some steps to the area where they put the cars on the boat. After speaking to a few officers, we were allowed to board the boat ahead of the other passengers. In fact, we were seated in air conditioned comfort for about an hour before the bulk of the passengers were allowed to board! Needless to say, we had a wonderful time in Tangier!

Costa del Sol!

We have several friends who had recently ventured to the Costa del Sol region of Spain. All came back talking about the warm weather, sunshine, and hospitality they enjoyed whilst away, so we decided to check it out for ourselves. On a recent Friday morning we boarded a plane in Liverpool bound for Malaga, Spain. In Malaga we rented a car and headed down the coast, past Gibraltar, to the little town of Tarifa. We did see Gibraltar as we sped past on the motorway, but did not stop for photos. Truly, it was a big rock sticking up out of the water, just like you see in the photos. The trip to Tarifa took about 2 hours and, ominously, we drove through several showers. Once we arrived at our hotel, however, we enjoyed bountiful sunshine for the next 2 1/2 days.

Tarifa is one of the great windsurfing spots in Europe and many competitions are held here every year. It is also the southernmost point in Europe, sitting at 36 degrees lattitude. The town itself is quite small, with a large castle (circa 960) guarding the port city. Tarifa lies along the Straits of Gibralter, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. Across the Straits of Gibralter lies Morocco and there is a high speed ferry service between Tarifa and Tangier. More on that later!

Our Hotel: Los Dos Mares - The Two Seas

 Scenes from along the beach.....

Our hotel was just outside of Tarifa, which can be seen in the distance.

We wandered into Tarifa in the evening to explore the town and to have dinner.

Back at the beach.....

Dusk in Southern Spain

Tulips in Holland

One might wonder, with Holland just an hour away by air, why we have waited so long to get there. The answer is simple: I have always pictured Holland as a land of windmills and tulips so I wanted to wait for the spring, and the tulips, before visiting. Unfortunately, this past winter has been one of the coldest on record throughout Europe so the tulip blooming was delayed by a couple of weeks. Still, some of the tulips, daffodils, and other early Spring flowers were out in full bloom. We went to Keukenhof Gardens where we enjoyed both the outdoor gardens and the indoor displays. This is where the tulip fields are and we rented a couple of bicycles and rode out through the fields. And, yes, there is even a windmill. Just like I had always pictured it! Sigh!

Acres and acres of tulips!

Canals have been built throughout the tulip fields.

These beautiful orchids were part of an indoor display. Too beautiful to leave out!