Flew out to Marrakech and drove back to Bath with friends Tom, and Rev Patrick in his Peugeot 207. Across Morocco and Spain taking in Casablanca, Fes, Tangier (Cueta), ferry Straits of Gibraltar, Algeciras, Granada (Alhambra), Albarcin, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Santander, ferry to Plymouth. Some reflections on a great trip. May 2023.
Maroc Espana
Land of medinas and souks
The chaotic and exotic
Monkeys wearing dresses, cobras charmed for their supper, all the fun of the fair in the square Marrakech!
Towering mosques, 'Salaam Alaikum Allahu Akbar' -'Wa Alaikum Salaam'.
The dirham's king, the tourist an opportunity 'my friend, come with me'
Ancient and modern sit together with artisans working thuya, pottery, mosaics, leather, weavers at the loom, centres of study with the world's 1st university, fields worked the old fashioned way, fruit and veg for the foreign table, big plans for harnessing the wind and sun.
The high Atlas an inviting backdrop, Sahara to the south with coastlines, a King, palaces, riads, kaspars the feral and fez,
Mules, horses, camels, motorbikes all lively options, feel the heat join the beat, 'play it again Sam' at Casablanca's Rick's Cafe.
Parle vous Francais? Enjoy a mint tea and tagine, listen to a Berber's story, be still at a fountain pool an oasis jardin for an hour or two,
Maroc is growing with a bienvenue.
Across the Strait, past the Rock olla buenos dias senor senora, home to tapas, citrus, flamenco and the running bull.
Smart roads connecting fortified medieval gems in the quiet scrubby interior, city plazas stylishly combining old and new, where rich and mellow the guitar sweetly sings.
Catholic baroque and gothic watch over the mighty Ebro, the influence of The Moors treasured, regions steeped in history like Aragon and o sweet Catherine a sad end with a humble grave in England.
Goya, Picasso exhibit once again-si si Espana has much to celebrate-a cultural superpower where the world wants to visit, a colonising language, a serious EU player, banking acumen in Santander and Aviva, solar and wind powerhouse, muy buena health care, The Veulta, a Nadal or Real, a land of beaches, ex pats, goats herds, ham, olives, fish, and catch crops for Europe.
Espana, a country on the camino way, deep wounds healed of civil war, the Catalan quest, challenge of jobs for the young- ever moving towards Santiago Compostela- muchas grasias senor senora, hasto luego!
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