Living the Journey: Spain & Morocco --- And a Reason We Travel

Flamenco supplies for sale

Given that we'd heard that the house we'd rented in El Puerto de Santa Maria had leaked during record rains, we drove with some trepidation from Portugal to the Cadiz province of Spain.

The four-hour trip took us from the Algarve through an unintended detour along a dirt road where we plodded along behind a horse and buggy. We'd been looking for a highly-recommended restaurant for lunch. There was no one in the place when we finally arrived, but every table had a "reserved" sign, so we were turned away. It was All Souls Day; perhaps the place was filled with spirits.

Our house...with the Taverna la Gaviota (Seagull Bar) below

We finally got fortified with food for the second half of the trip to a 130-year-old house in the center of El Puerto's old town. It was a Saturday, and the house was abuzz with patrons in the bar below. Every window was open to help to dry out the walls, some of which were streaked with water. Fortunately, the bedroom was dry and the house was in good shape. From the rooftop we could see the sun set over the castle.

El Castillo de San Marcos

The next morning, Dave went out to check on the rental car. When he returned, he sullenly informed me it was gone. I felt myself go pale, hoping I'd booked the right insurance in case of theft. He assured me it had probably been towed because the other cars on that street were gone, too.

I texted the homeowners, knowing they probably wouldn't respond for hours since it was the middle of the night in California. Our research revealed a police station about six blocks away. We set off, half laughing at the wackiness of our lives.

I exhaled when we learned that yes, our car had been towed. A cop indicated it was held in a fenced lot next door--and that it would cost $200 USD to get it back.

The cop explained in slow Spanish that the street we'd parked on became a taxi-only zone in the evening. He showed us on his cell phone a picture of a sign that apparently indicated thus. But when we went back to that street, we didn't find said sign. We called the event Tourist Tax.

We discovered later that only $100 was charged to our credit card. For some reason the universe gave us a 50% discount, which I especially appreciated given the next car calamity that would happen in a month (stay tuned).

Malecon of Playa de Valdelagana

El Puerto de Santa Maria, which has about 90,000 inhabitants, was conquered in the 8th century by the Moors, whose influence is evident in much of the architecture--and the fact that the castle retains features of a mosque it was built over.

Castle's Moorish influence

Christopher Columbus's first expedition to the Americas set sail from here. His pilot, Juan de la Cosa, drew his world map--the first that included the coast of the New World--in El Puerto in 1500. A bust of de la Cosa and a replica of his map were exhibited a few steps from our house.

Puerto's Port Sherry

The flat streets made for easy walking, as did the lack of traffic and crowds since we were there off season. Even though the cafes were lively, the town itself had a lot of empty and dilapidated buildings.

Octoberfest in November, in Puerto's town square

I especially enjoyed strolling along the beaches, shorelines, and a shady green space on the dunes.

dunes

One pristine day we took the ferry to Cadiz. Winding streets opened up into large squares populated with outdoor cafes and street musicians. Cadiz is considered the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe. The Phoenicians established a port here in the 7th century. Knowing this, I thought about lives overlapping throughout the ages.

Approaching Cadiz

Roman amphitheater in Cadiz

Streets of Cadiz

When our friend Jimmy came to visit for a week, we launched into full tourist mode, going to a flamenco performance, enjoying evening tapas, touring the castle, and seeking out a sports bar to watch American football.

Jimmy orating at the castle.

Jimmy's desire for a Packers game took us a beautiful area called Rota, that has a long malecon and square with an old church. The bar had great food--and we met all kinds of local characters.

Rota iglesia

Rota malecon

Jimmy at the Plaza del Toro,
where bullfights happen in the summertime.

One day the guys went sherry tasting at the famous Osborne Bodega just a few steps from our front door. Like port, sherry is fortified wine--but the former comes from Portugal, whereas the latter is from Spain's Andalusia region.

tapas

Another day we took the ferry to Tangier, Morocco for a wonderful food and city tour. We lucked out with perfect weather and a great guide, 19-year-old Saad who grew up there and is majoring in international politics and economics, just like Dave did.

Saad was sweet and soft-spoken. He said it's rude in his culture to speak loudly. After all my years of teaching, I tend to project, so I reined myself in!

I'd been to Tangier once before, 14 years ago, and was hounded to buy things. This time the experience was more tranquil. Most people either ignored us or smiled.

Tangier was more stunning than I'd remembered.

Tangier cats

Garbanzo bean pancake stand
(that's Saad behind the guy with the red cap)

Spice shop

Sadd's friend showing a page of the
Washington Post that featured his coffee kiosk

Best olives of my life.

We stuffed ourselves with coffee and tangines and breads and olives and desserts and mint tea. We walked along the twisting streets and got some amazing views. There were darling cats everywhere, clearly fed and tended for. One crawled onto my lap while I sipped mint tea overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar.

Little lover on my lap, with mint tea

When I told Saad I'd been a university professor, he said he was honored to spend the day with me. He tried to say no to our big tip, but we insisted he take it for his education.

I'm writing this over a month later, and just yesterday I received a message from Saad:

Merry Christmas! ... Here are some pictures from my trip to Greece that I wanted to share with you because I told you I was going, and you encouraged me to go and experience a new culture (that was awesome 🤩). Thank you for your support and everything. I appreciate it so much.

As I type this out, I can feel my heart expanding. It's hard to think of a greater reason to travel than the people we meet, whose lives we touch as they do ours.

If you're interested in our life of housesitting, budget travel and living in Mexico, check out my books Wanderland: Living the Traveling Life and Call It Wonder: An Odyssey of Love, Sex, Spirit & Travel.