I still feel drawn to certain parts of Europe, & I know through my DNA & family tree that these are countries my ancestors lived in - this is my DNA profile ...
I have wanted to visit Morocco for a long time & when the opportunity arose, I asked Monica, my sister in law & trusty travelling companion, to join me. I was delighted when she jumped at the opportunity to explore Spain, Gibraltar & Morocco with me. She is familiar to many here for our long trip through India some time back exploring her past ....
I have found the best way to travel easily - coach travel! I am often met with much laughter when I say that I am a convert to coach travel for ease & comfort.
Many say - ‘Isn’t it just for old people?’ Definitely NOT - it is full on, busy, action packed, exciting & yet relaxing as it is all taken care of - hotels, meals, guides, transport, ferries, pick ups, luggage ...
I looked at my phone app & we walked 85km in the 18 days away - impressive ...
Our coaches in Marrakech - we did a 6 day loop from Tangiers port to Meknes, Fes (Fez) with its enormous Medina, Jewish Quarter & Royal palaces; to the beautiful Portuguese port city of El Jadida with its quaint streets & harbour then to amazing Marrakech to explore the markets, palaces, take in the Chez Ali Fantasia entertainment, YSL gardens & then to Casablanca with a stop at Ricks Cafe, on to Rabat & then to spend time in the stunning Tangiers.
What is the attraction of coaching across Morocco? I absolutely love people watching, the varied stops, lunch in random places (including one on the beach watching life pass us by) and by travelling between places, I was able to appreciate what makes each country special - the similarities & the differences between life in Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Maputo, Congo, Comoros - all countries I lived or travelled in).
My Dad quizzed me about Tangiers - I did not know that him & my Mom had travelled there in the late 50’s but there did not cross over to Europe - they just felt like a trip from Zambia to see what lies far north in Africa.
Our journey started in the Plymouth as we made a 24 hour ferry crossing to Santander in Spain - exciting times as we found our cabin, put our luggage down & headed on deck to watch our coast disappear & give us time to get our sea legs. Yes, we all did walk like drunks as the ferry took to the open waters & to the Bay of Biscay ...
Travelling on the French Brittany ferries, night draws in as we leave our familiar coast ...
Our compact but adequate cabin with just an overnight bag with us, our luggage safely stored on our coach somewhere in the depths of the ferry ...
Enough place with a compact en suite ...
Time to stretch our legs & explore the ferry ...
During the night, we stopped to allow for a medical evacuation & at about lunch time the next day, an announcement was made that another medical evacuation would happen. We had moved closer to France to allow for a heart attack patient to be airlifted & so the engines powered down, the decks were closed & we watched the helicopter make several attempts to land & then we were on the move again, thankful that emergency services can operate from such distances.
We are always up to exploring so we headed for the entertainment area to have a drink & enjoy some live music then back out to walk the decks ...
A vast but immaculate ferry ...
Orca watchers on deck, these waters are known for their numerous species ...
Checking out the sea maps on deck for our position ...
Some of the many dolphins that are about ...
Lovely lines of the covered walk ways ...
I hope you will pop back to see more of our travels, thank you for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated.
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♥ Hi - thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoy your visit♥.