Saturday, 8 April 2017
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
It is hard to believe that I am at the end of this 14-day cruise. But it is a warm sunny day here in Palma and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. I was last here in 1997, when I spent three days enjoying all the pleasures of the island: gastronomic, touristic, and erotic. On this visit, alas, only the first two activities are on my to-do list. So
I am having a lunch of tapas at an outdoor cafe in the heart of the city, after a 4-hour tour this morning. But instead of talking about Palma, I must first finish up my last afternoon in Tangier.
Thursday Afternoon in Tangier (continued)
After leaving the tour bus at the pier, I walk the short distance back to the walled city of the old Medina, a place that is both a great market and a place of residence. Unlike this morning's market visit in Tetuoan, this market is busy with shoppers and hawkers making their rounds. I am able to wander on my own for a while, but as soon as I ask someone for directions to a particular place, I have actually hired a guide--that's all it takes. Since his English is good and he is a local resident (he shows me his picture ID card with his address), I allow him to lead me around for about an hour through the streets where he lives, up to the highest point of the Kasbah From here there are panoramic views over all of Tangier and across the Atlantic to Gibraltar (a little bit too far to see, however).
Before I part from his company to return to the Riviera, we share a coffee and tea at a rooftop café. His English is excellent and a very good guide, well worth the little money I give him for his services (and a shameful pittance to what I pay for massage on board the Riviera).
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
It is hard to believe that I am at the end of this 14-day cruise. But it is a warm sunny day here in Palma and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. I was last here in 1997, when I spent three days enjoying all the pleasures of the island: gastronomic, touristic, and erotic. On this visit, alas, only the first two activities are on my to-do list. So
I am having a lunch of tapas at an outdoor cafe in the heart of the city, after a 4-hour tour this morning. But instead of talking about Palma, I must first finish up my last afternoon in Tangier.
Thursday Afternoon in Tangier (continued)
After leaving the tour bus at the pier, I walk the short distance back to the walled city of the old Medina, a place that is both a great market and a place of residence. Unlike this morning's market visit in Tetuoan, this market is busy with shoppers and hawkers making their rounds. I am able to wander on my own for a while, but as soon as I ask someone for directions to a particular place, I have actually hired a guide--that's all it takes. Since his English is good and he is a local resident (he shows me his picture ID card with his address), I allow him to lead me around for about an hour through the streets where he lives, up to the highest point of the Kasbah From here there are panoramic views over all of Tangier and across the Atlantic to Gibraltar (a little bit too far to see, however).
Before I part from his company to return to the Riviera, we share a coffee and tea at a rooftop café. His English is excellent and a very good guide, well worth the little money I give him for his services (and a shameful pittance to what I pay for massage on board the Riviera).
Tangier Medina Gateways and Doors
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| My Personal Guide |
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| Rooftop View of Tangier |
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