Where's Ron?
Morocco, January-February 2017
Ron near Rotarua, NZ, January 2015
Dinners in Tangiers
17 January 2017
Afton, Virginia, USADear family and friends,
Ron arrived in Granada, Spain, midday on 11 January, and immediately took a bus to Malaga, on the southern coast a bit east of Gibraltar. He stayed there a few days, getting organized, getting a Spanish sim card for his phone, and talking to travelers about Morocco. He went by bus and then ferry from Malaga to Tangiers on 14 January.
There's more in his messages about his dinners and the size of his portion of fish than there is about Tangiers. He only mentions the Kasbah and the Grand Mosque in passing!
I kept hoping he'd write more about what he'd been seeing and doing, but after waiting 24 hours, decided to go ahead and send this.
Love to all,
Ellen
Dinners in Tangiers
14 January 2017
Tangiers, MoroccoHello, my dear,
Found the way to the hotel walking as my google map stopped working.
Checked in, found an ATM and a wonderful strange fish dinner and then got my new sim-card for Morocco.
Dinner was a set menu at one of the higher rated restaurants. Populaire Saveur de Poisson. A four course fish dinner with everyone in the restaurant getting the same (as far as I could see). First course - fish soup, bowl of olives in olive soil, some kind of smooth red pepper, and a bowl of mixed nuts. Then came a hot pan with baby calamari, then a broiled fish (whole) and then nuts, grains and honey, than a similar dish with fresh strawberries, some kind of grain and honey. Very tasty. $20.
Exhausted. Bed earlier than last night.
15 January 2017
Tangiers, MoroccoAcross from my hotel is a restaurant recommended by the hotel and on the list of the best on Lonely Planet - called Number One, where I have just ordered my grilled swordfish dinner with a shrimp cocktail and lemon pie for dessert as my reward for a long day's hike to the Kasbah and the many sites along the way to and back including the Grande Mosque.
Travel so far has been very easy. Spanish buses were comfortable, frequent and inexpensive. When I arrived at the Port of Algeciras I realized I had not done my homework. There must have been booths for more than a dozen ferries to Tangiers. I knew there was one that provided a bus to Tarifa [Spain] on the west side of the peninsula so I googled until I found one leaving from there and went to their booth and bought my ticket. Within a few minutes the bus left for Tarifa to the ferry point, and the ferry left soon after arrival.
The night before I had made a reservation for the Ex Rembrandt Hotel, and I pulled up my google map to show me where it was. When I got off the ferry I could still use the map with directions but about halfway there something closed my map and of course I could not get it again. Now have a Moroccan sim card (Orange) and my maps are working again. So today I just wandered through the town not paying much attention, just following what looked interesting, and when I wanted to see where I was or pick a new destination, I just brought up the maps and proceeded.
People are friendly, but there are too many who are too friendly and want to sell me something or be my guide. They won't accept a polite no, and it is impossible to convince them you are not interested. Today's crop of "students" who say they just want to practice English were persistent and annoying. They would not accept I just wanted to wander by myself. So finally I just ignored their opening lines as they shifted from Spanish to French to English to Italian and who knows what other languages. This worked better than trying to be friendly and polite which got me nowhere.
Last night I saw my favorite art - a guy made metal lamps cut from metal with a candle in the middle. I would have liked to have bought a dozen for gifts, but no way to carry them. I took a picture and will look for something like them in Marrakesh when I learn about shipping. In one window, I saw tea glasses like Sharon wanted.
My fish has arrived. Small portion but cooked nicely. French fries but no ketchup. Last night's set four course fish dinner for slightly more was a much better bargain while also more adventurous and filling.
Love and miss you,
Ron
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Last updated: 23 January 2017
