My first time driving in Europe was a lot of fun. Also very nerve-wracking. I had intended to drive a bit in Spain but could not find a reasonable way to do so. Seeing Cabo São Vicente would have been a real challenge on public transportation, so I'm glad I was able to make a semi-reasonable plan: one-way rental from Portimão to Lisboa, after taking a bus from Sevilla to Portimão.
Leaving Portimão was a challenge. I stalled out the stick-shift on several occasions, and in-city navigation required basic familiarity with the city, which I lacked. Once out of town, city destinations and route numbers were easy enough to follow, but I made a few loops and double-backs attempting to find the city limits. Soon after I was in Sagres, the town at the end of the world. The coast was spectacular, cliffs high above the fierce Atlantic, occasionally overlooking beaches and surfers. Not too many, perhaps due to the remoteness of the area.
I was prepared for the worst based on the bad reputation of Portuguese drivers, but the only difference I saw from, say, Bostonians, was the higher number of speeding tailgaters. Just let these guys pass and you're golden. The roads were a more formidable opponent. I hadn't realized just how hilly the Portuguese coast is, so the main road is a very twisty one. My little car was nimble and up to the task, but doing this for hours on end was exhausting. One final slog took me through heavy traffic across the Rio Tejo to Lisboa.
Back to Spain! Sevilla is a beautiful city. Gigantic historical buildings, a lovely waterfront, yet another mini maze old town, and plenty of night life. I made sure to see a Flamenco show as well. I certainly didn't understand the complexities of the intricate music and dance, but the skill of the performers was obvious and they created something beautiful. Unlike many of my other destinations, Sevilla is flat, so I took a bike tour the next day. It brought me to several locations I wouldn't have seen otherwise, like the Plaza de España and the World Expo sites upriver.
My last full day in town was basically a non-stop tour of the main tourist sites. Here's my itinerary:
- Laundry (closed, too early)
- Breakfast
- Laundry
- Real Alcazar
- Laundry (done)
- Iglesia del Salvador
- Lunch at Bodega Morales
- Cathedral
- Snack
- Bullring
- Hospital de la Caridad
- Antiquarium
- Metropol Parasol
- Guitar concert
- Tapas
Tangier, Morocco is just across the Straits of Gibraltar from Spain, so I took a ferry day trip. It was my first time on the African continent, in a an Arabic-speaking country, and in a Muslim country too. I was hoping that proximity to Europe would make for an easy intro to all of these, but this was by far the worst day of my trip.
I had read about the pushy "guides" looking for money, but I was unprepared for the reality of constant harassment. I never felt threatened, exactly, but I also couldn't find a moment of peace. Followed, more than once. No escape. Panic. Maybe this is a cultural thing but it's as if they were handed a script on "how to drive Joel completely insane". Certainly some people can handle this experience, and maybe even have a wonderful time. But that's not me. I won't be back.
Ah, my first trip to the United Kingdom. It was a very typical one, entering the way most people do, walking from Spain across a live airport runway, then catching a right-side-driving bus downtown. Next I took a cable car up a giant Rock, with great views of the Mediterranean on the way. At the top, I continued sightseeing while dodging feral monkeys (500 pound fine for feeding) and feral scooters, eventually making my way back down along the zigzag roads.
Back in Town (the flat part of the territory) I wandered south to Europa Point, the "southernmost point in Europe". This is an absurd claim because you can actually SEE more southerly European land from here, west across Bahía de Algeciras. I arrived at sunset, perfectly timed to hear the mosque's call to prayer and then see lights come on all over. I finished my trip in a pub with a steak and kidney pie and a pint of bitter.
Man, I don't know why people complain about the weather in Britain. It was beautiful!
Never figured out that photo thing, so this will be brief.
Ronda is a beautiful place worth a visit. The main part of the city is on a plateau overlooking a gorge. It's built up right to the edge, with a very impressive bridge spanning the heights, as well as a few lower bridges where the city follows the slope down. You can take paths down into the gorge from all sides, so naturally I did. There's a famous bullring and museum in town as well, but I didn't have time to see it when it was open. Most of my exactly 24 hours (caught the same train out that I took in) in town were spent eating and climbing, and I have to say that it was one of my favorites of the whole trip!
I'm not going to complete the blog in the way I intended. Already I am many months overdue from the schedule I intended, due to the terrible procrastination I always get when writing is involved. Instead many of these will be abbreviated, based on my short notes.
