The last week of my trip was spent in Portugal with Patrick and Carol. I asked them if they would meet me at Lisbon airport to assist me with driving on the wrong side of the road and finding our way to Vagos where they live. After a few minutes of driving, it became easier as the brain accustoms itself to turning left, right and finding the way around the numerous roundabouts. Vagos is a small town in between Lisbon and Porto and quite close to the sea. The beaches are splendid and often with good waves and in October very quiet. The pick of the area in my opinion is Figueira da Foz with different residential areas close to the sea at reasonable house prices. All these towns along the coast have board walks along the dunes with cafes to pick up a coffee. This of course was out of season so it was quiet but gets much more crowded in season. We also took a walk by a marsh near Aveiro , a well known town with Venice type gondolas . By now the weather had turned very rainy and some of our excursions had to be cut short. We also visited and stayed the night in Nazare which is well known amongst surfers as being the biggest wave in the world when it works in winter. We drove to the top of the cliff then hiked down to the lookout point. The waves were huge but not surf able as it was a very strong on shore wind. It would be wonderful to watch guys surfing it when it is working. My son Paul and his wife were doing a half iron man in Cascais, which is just outside Lisbon, so we hooked up with them the day before the race and then supported them during the race. Cascais is a pleasant up market town and like so many Portuguese towns has an old area together with a more modern commercial area as well as a harbor and fort. Certainly, a nice place to live but rather expensive, I guess. They completed the race in just over 7hours which was an admirable feat. They were lucky because the weather on that day was just about perfect with no wind or rain. From there I had to drop Patrick and Carol off at Lisbon railway station and continue on to the airport to catch my plane home . Waze did another number on me for the third time, taking me to a place in the middle of Lisbon and announcing “You have reached your destination” By now I was panicking as time was ticking on and I was thinking, “What am I going to do if I miss my flight? “Well, I programmed in Google maps and made it 20 minutes later to the airport. And so ended my 7 week journey. I just had to endure more long haul flying , something I find harder and harder to put up with and recover from as I get older. People ask me whether there are differences between Spain and Portugal. Of course, Spain is much bigger and contains different landscapes; Portugal is greener and seems to be more densely populated. One goes from village to village whereas in Spain one can travel long distances through unpopulated semi desert or country with olive trees as far as the eye can see. Spain has high mountain areas but both countries have miles of beautiful beaches but the Atlantic Ocean is far colder to swim in than the Mediterranean. The languages are different, food is good in both countries and very fish orientated in Portugal, shop and restaurant opening hours are very peculiar to us from South Africa. People get up later and go to bed much later than I would expect, indeed sometimes don’t go to bed at all. Both countries have long histories and wonderful architecture but the cathedrals and monuments are grander in Spain. Many cities have old centers with narrow streets and small apartments and squares. The infrastructure and public transport are both good but Spain has high speed trains. People are friendly in both countries and tolerant of tourists. People use the city centers for entertainment and shopping in both countries. The cost of living varies depending upon whether you are in big cities or not. Both countries are safe. Southern Spain is hot but it is a sunny Mediterranean climate in both countries. It’s hard to judge differences in cost of living and this varies from area to area. Both countries have a lot to offer tourists and potential settlers and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either.
The trip started in San Ildefonso la Granja in order to investigate the purchase of an apartment in the area. After a 24hour exhausting journey I arrived in my Airbnb and made myself at home. I soon realized that this small village is quite isolated but very beautiful. My next two days consisted of viewing apartments in Segovia and then the following day travelling by train to Guadarrama and Villalba. The latter is a busy town quite close to Madrid and was really out of the question but I saw three apartments that I liked, so now we have to make a decision how to proceed, and proceed we will. One of the estate agents was intent on describing the facilities of the area which included the local cemetery. Travelling on Renfe trains outside the high-speed line is a bit depressing, run down stations, ticket machines that don’t work, very few passengers and late trains. Thank heavens I was befriended by a Rumanian lady called Aurore otherwise I would have missed my connection and still be whizzing around the mountain slopes of Madrid.
The Royal Palace in San Ildefonso is truly beautiful, based on Versailles, with extensive gardens spread across the mountain side. It was built in the 18th century but is now disused and open as a museum. It really is unique to go around this palace and explore the gardens.
My daughter in law Natalia came across with Oliver, my grandson, to see me. The link for Oliver with our family seems to be severing, but I’m determined to keep contact.
I have found this trip rather stressful, not knowing the language, customs and being rather isolated.
Spanish business hours are quite different, 09.30 to 14.00, siesta time until 16.30 and then work until late in the evening. They take a small breakfast, lunch at 14.00 and then dinner between 21.00 and 22.00. Everywhere there are plenty of places to eat, from formal to outdoors. At night the cities are buzzing, what a contrast to South Africa.
My next change was to go by train to Cordoba. This meant a taxi to Segovia station, 30-minute train to Madrid Camp, a taxi ride to Madrid Atocha, 2-hour high speed train to Cordoba, followed by a taxi whizz round the side streets to my apartment. The high-speed trains are great but checking in is ridiculous; baggage X ray and then twice checking in like on a plane person by person leaving a mad dash at the end before the train leaves.
The main feature of Cordoba is the Mezquita, the Great Mosque which is enormous and inside has different styles of architecture including red and white striped Caliphal arches. But it doesn’t just have this wonder, there are kms of narrow streets, hidden quiet courtyards. I’ve been now to a number of ancient Spanish cities and they are delightful with wonderous cathedrals and old city centers.
On to Seville, a much larger city with a small apartment next to the road and an all-night street party. How the police allow this and the inhabitants put up with it beats me.
Feeling tired I took the wrong route and ended up in a seedy part of the city and walked past four run down fat prostitutes sitting on chairs in the street.
The main sights are full with overseas and local tourists and you have to book ahead. I decided to give the huge cathedral a miss, perhaps for later. and went around the wonderful Real Alcazar with its huge beautiful gardens.
The next night was the same, total noise from midnight to 07.30. Again, no sleep. So, I decided to check out and claim from Booking .com. Seville was a disappointment for me.
I moved on to Cadiz and a beautiful apartment with all mod cons which has been tastefully renovated in the old city. This is very reminiscent of Sesimbra in Portugal where you live cheek by jowl with your neighbors. During the day one can hear neighbors talking and, on the phone, but thankfully it’s all quiet at night. So, I spent the time wandering the narrow streets, walking to the extensive beaches and gardens and generally recovering from my time in Seville. Cadiz is the oldest city in Spain; there are a lot of tourists as there were two cruise ships in port.
The apartment has an innovative entry scheme, after signing in on line which took me ages, I was given a link from the tourist office with an on-line key to the apartment. It worked perfectly.
Cadiz has beautiful beaches to boot with good surf and a huge cathedral. The sea front reminds me of the Malecon in Havana and the churches in Philippines are clearly modelled on their counterparts in Spain. The Spanish way of life clearly includes lots of coffees, drinks, lunches, tapas and late dinners, often outdoors in the squares.
A long train ride via Seville to Granada where I sat next to a couple of Americans who talked nonstop about politics and conspiracies. My flat is on a street with the cathedral at one end and a church at the other, another converted well-appointed apartment. I spent a lot of time walking up and down hills and down narrow streets, there’s one street with a number of Arabic, Palestinian, Israeli restaurants and of course a lot of Morish influence from when the city was ruled. I took a 3-hour conducted tour around the Alhambra, a huge palace which dominates the city from a hill and then the General Life gardens which is a riot of colors. Altogether this was maybe too much to take in one go but at 45 Euros a throw I can’t repeat it.
I spent another day wandering Granada before being picked up by Sharon, my niece and her husband and Kevin and taken to a hired house in Melagis, which is about 30 minutes’ drive from Granada. This is a four bedroomed house on three levels with a garden, pool, braai etc. in a small town of narrow streets and alleyways, certainly not designed for the motor car. There is a pulley arrangement with a basket to ship goods from the ground floor to the third floor. This once again has night time revelers talking outside until all hours, luckily overcome by use of ear plugs. Friends of Sharon’s, Lorraine and Paul, join us here so it’s pleasant for me to have good company for a change.
We walked to the next town and had a coffee there before taking a drive through hair pin after hair pin high up in the Sierra Nevada to a white village called Capileira , a center for walking and hiking. I’ve never seen a place like this, a moonscape with a town perched on the edge with flat roofed small houses with convoluted chimney pots and narrow streets to wander in.
The next day we went to Montefrio, again on a narrow winding road through acres of olive fields, dry grassless fields with the trees in long line. The village was rather disappointing except for a church on the hill. All this time we have had sunny dry weather, chilly in the morning rising to mid-30’s by the afternoon.
We drove to Nerja , a seaside town with lots of tourists but very pretty with small beaches and blue calm Mediterranean Sea. From the view point we could see villages on the top and almost descending to the sea down steep cliffs. Wherever we drove we passed olive groves planted on dry soils.
We did another hot walk down and up a steep climb and finished off with a coffee and a beer at the local restaurant. And before long our week in Melagis was over. Not all travelling is a pleasure, after dropping me off in Malaga on their
Not all travelling is a pleasure, after dropping me off in Malaga on their way to the airport I had to hang around until my flat was ready. Then followed a tortuous checking in on the phone and only then a code to enter the building. I was stood on the road for 20 minutes before finally finding the right entry code. All very impersonal and frustrating but everything is done on the phone here.
I walked to the top of the hill to the vast Alcazaba , built between the 8th and 11th centuries with amazing views over the city. The beaches are also a short walk away but how people sit there burning themselves to obtain skin cancer beats me. But the majority of visitors are from the northern countries, UK, Germany, Scandinavia and crave the sunshine.
I visited the Picasso Museum, he was a native of the city, and was bewildered by much of his paintings.
Spain is a really super country for visitors. It has a relaxed way of life, a fascinating history, wonderful architecture, a good transport infrastructure, dry but hot climate, mountains, warm beautiful sea, good food and lots of cafes to sit out in, cheaper property prices and freedom to walk the city streets and squares. There are many small privately owned shops and stores, something which has basically disappeared in South Africa with its malls and stores. I like the way people come into the city centre at the weekends to shop, eat and for entertainment. Outside Granada cathedral people were dancing to old time Glen Millar music, and as you always see when people dance, they all had big smiles on their faces. The Spanish know how to enjoy themselves.
After flying from Malaga to Casablanca over the straits of Gibraltar with Africa on one side and Europe on the other I joined a tour run by G Adventures with 10 guests of varying ages and nationalities. It’s actually pleasant to have everything done for one, all you have to do is choose which clothes to wear. We drove firstly to Volubis through dry hills cultivated once more by Olive trees. We staggered around the Roman ruins in fierce heat and then on to Fez. We had a tedious dinner with entertainment by ageing musicians together with equally ageing belly dancers and a magician with a fez like Tommy Cooper. We walked around the Madina which is a rabbit warren of alley ways, passages, all crammed together containing artisan workplaces such as silverware, brass and copper ware, a full leather tannery, clothing manufacturers, ceramics, metalware. There are a number of mosques, education centers; in fact, the Medina operates as a city in itself. The impression was of a densely packed, age old, traditional huge market but nowadays catering very much for tourists. Morrocco is like an alien landscape with an Eastern feel about it without the danger. We drove to the Sahara Desert for a camel ride. I thought it would be a joke but it was a wonderful experience. The camel kneels for you to get on and then at the signal stands up where you have to hang on like grim death otherwise you pitch forward over its head. We stopped and watched the sunset before coming back through the sand in awesome silence just listening to the pad, pad of the camel. The next day I wasn’t feeling well and we did a tedious drive to Todra Gorge. We did a walk through a village with vegetables and a stream to the gorge, a narrow valley through a towering cliff with the last of the sunshine showing on the top. Much of the driving was through barren, rocky landscapes and we arrived at Ait Ben Haddou village with a traditional kasbah and a walk to the top of the hill with splendid views all around. There are no women, except for tourists, in the cafes. We cooked tagine chicken in a hotel restaurant, it’s clear that the men do the waitering and women work in the kitchens. They wear conservative dress and hijab over their hair and shawls. I noticed a few women in the cities wearing Western dress but not in the villages. A man can have more than one wife, under certain conditions and divorce laws are being reviewed to enable women more rights. We drove over the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh and had a guided tour through the huge medina. Inside was the palace owned in past years by the Prime Minister and used by him as his harem. The architecture is stunning. Many of the buildings have the same character, arches, decorations and carvings as seen in Southern Spain. The medina is on a huge scale and for sure one would be lost very quickly wandering around. I found it exhausting in the heat. Our tour was over; I stayed an extra day but didn’t venture far from the hotel as I found the heat debilitating and didn’t fancy traipsing around the medina on my own. Of course, Morocco has a long history which I’ve only briefly looked at and it’s very much a Moslem country with all that entails. It has progressed since independence; it has a high-speed rail line from Tangier to Casablanca, good roads and infrastructure. The political system is headed by royalty and clearly there is a big disparity between rich and poor. The architecture in the villages, often perched high in the mountains, and cities with age old medinas is wonderful.
