One Life, Live it!
3 weeks later, thousands of miles later, I am back from my overland adventure from London to Morocco, using all modes of transport - except planes.
How was it? Brilliant.
Myself, Smita, my son Parus (who is 4 going on 14) and my daughter Aashima who is 11 months (and the very reason we went by land!) are exhausted physically (well myself and Smita are), but mentally relaxed and have a treasure trove of memories. After all, at the end of the day, it is our memories that count.
So where did we go?
Surrey-Portsmouth-Bilbao-Valdepenas-Estepona-Algeciras-Tangiers- Meknes-Fes-Marrakech-Tangiers-Algeciras-Seville-Salamanca-Bilbao-Portsmouth-Surrey
How did we go?
We took our car on the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao ( a 30 hour crossing) - my least favourite part of the trip. I realised early on the ship that cruising is not for me, stuck on a ship, with nowhere to go, is not my idea of fun, so future overland trips will have as little ship travel as possible.
We drove through Spain, left out car in Algeciras, took the short ferry to Tangiers and Morocco was covered via train....pretty good trains indeed (including the sleeper)
Key Highlights
There are so many to mention, but they include:
1. The chav's on the ferry who go on a 60 hour cruise - Portsmouth to Bilbao return for a £99 mini cruise and get stinkingly drunk, a really interesting part of British culture
2. Delicious Tapas in Valdepenas (Wine region of Spain)
3. Club Sandwiches by the pool after a long 7 hour drive
4.Arrival into Tangiers via ferry, and getting hassled for taxi's. i love their front
5. The roof terrace on La Tangerina hotel in tangiers - with amazing views of Tangiers (makes me feel like Jason Bourne in the Bourne Ultimatum!)
6. The chicken heads being chopped off in various Souks
7. The medieval city of Fes - a different world
8. Riad 9 - in Fes, our favourite riad we stayed at - and the wonderful Attika for putting up with us- check out the website
9.Shopping for carpets in Fes (yes we did buy some!) and the haggling!
10. The arrival in Marrakech to see other family members join us for a few days
11. Seeing Jardin Majorelle again
12. The hammam at La Maison Arabe.....very cool indeed
13. The train journey overnight from Marrakech to tangiers
14. Finding our car in Algerciras in one piece and in tact
15. Seville, my favourite Spanish city, my 6th visit there!
16. The prettiness of Salamanca
17. The amazing Guggenheim museum in Bilbao...simply stunning and interesting
18. Reaching home to see my dad and to sleep in my bed!
Plus a few hundred more experiences, which will stay with me forever, most importantly spending this time with my loved ones!
Watch out for my next overland trip....
Posts
