“Where Our Feet Have Been”

by the incomparable Dr. Seuss

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew.Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

We don’t always have wireless services, so you might notice that our blogs are a little behind the times. Since we spoke last we have had time to perfect our ability to be flexible. We have also let “our feet do some walking”. We decided to reverse our order of travel, heading east to west. We are familiar with both Italy and Greece and thought we would take a little time to rest, continue our reading and studying of the areas we wanted to visit. We are, as we speak, still in Spain. We spent some time in Morocco, not all the places we had thought but decided it was a  country we would need more time if we were to maneuver it on our own. We left the port city of Tarifa (near Algerciaras) and took the ferry to Tangiers.

 

All the busyness and yet…. everything seems to move so slowly. People stop to talk to each other along the street and men are sitting out on make shift cafes drinking tea in the midday as if they nothing else in the world to do. Card games are abundant and everyone seems intent on the moment they are in. They are loud and boisterous and obviously have a good time. Occasionally a group of women will sitting together enjoying coffee and pastry but mostly the men dominate this area.We visited Gibraltar, which interestingly, even though located on the southern tip of Spain, is still a British colony. You must have your passport to enter “The Rock”. It was beautiful and very impressive. We meandered through the old cobblestone streets and looked up into the fortresses built deep  into the rock. Hidden bunkers with canons in the caves were once the command centers for the military housed there

It has an incredible history and when you stand on the top and look out you can see why. On clear days you can see Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. Many ships have passed through these straits.

Driving is…interesting. Much easier in Spain than anywhere else we have been. We have international GPS and that is a Godsend. Street signs are small and often hard to find until you are well past them. We are enjoying the local life. We walk as much as possible to see the sights and watch people and experience the area fully.

The Spaniards like a good celebration and find any reason to have one. We attended the festival of the Virgin Patron Saint of Rota one evening. The town was closed all day in preparation for the night festivities.

Families attended the celebration dressed in their finest clothing. The streets were lit up, the churches overflowing with people and age-old traditions performed to on honor their patron saint. Families were out until nearly midnight drinking coffee and having a light supper while talking to friends. The Spanish are very family orientated and at every gathering there are at least three generations of family attending to each other.

 

As we drove through the different towns we noted the beautiful landscape. While in Sevilla, we heard it said that Spain is the color of cinnamon and the sun as it sets. We definitely had to agree with that. It smells of orange blossoms in the spring and since it is one of my most favorable fragrances I shall always associate it with the beauty of Spain. They make some of the best wine we have ever tasted and they are also well known for their famous sherries.