Wetter than a Haddock’s Waistcoat in Megacity One

I arrived back in Europe yesterday and headed along the N7 coastal road to the Costa Del Sol as I have never experienced this part of Spain before………huge shock to the system both in terms of the weather but also the place; more of that later😉

My last day in Fès was fascinating as I was invited to lunch with one of the few remaining Jewish Merchants who still lives in the Medina after I had spent an hour with him discussing (and finally buying), an old ornate silver embossed plate at a price both he (and I) were happy with….but more than I will admit to Viv 🤫🫣

His shop was in an old City synagogue which was closed in 1979 when his father, the last Rabbi, died.  He converted it into a shop selling Jewish pottery and silverware as well as local goods.  

Unfortunately, he explained that whilst the Country is religiously tolerant, he really suffered from the local guides refusing to bring tourist groups to his shop (without significant ‘baksheesh’ payments) to the point he was thinking of selling up.  After a long chat (over an hour), he asked me to share some food with him and his wife brought us an egg and tomato dish with bread which we ate along with the strongest coffee I have ever had😳.  He said I was the only customer of the day, and I believed him.

On Thursday, I drove up to Tangier stopping for lunch in the old Portuguese port of Asilah (captured by them in 1471, when they built the town walls).  The town was founded by the Phoenician’s but since then was invaded by the Carthegenians, Romans, Normans, Berbers, Portuguese, Moors, the Barbary Pirates and finally the Spanish who owned the territory until 1956.  I ate the freshest stuffed squid I have ever had here for lunch, sitting outside in a quiet, beautiful medina square….a lovely way to end my 7 nearly weeks on Moroccan soil.

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Let’s gloss over the chaos of the return ferry from Tangier to Algeciras……possibly the most disorganised, infuriating experience of the trip…. and return to my first impressions of the Costa del Sol.

I have to say as I drove the 75 miles along the coast through Estapona, Marbella, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and into Benalmádena I felt I was entering a dystopian nightmare of endless hotels, bars, and apartments, half expecting Judge Dredd to ride out from behind one of the many building sites.  To further tarnish my experience, it started to pour down with rain and 36 hours later it has not stopped😭 Not sure that these beach resorts will ever appear on my list of future holiday destinations!

Fortunately I took the sage advice of my old gaffer from RBS ( best leader I have ever worked with, even if he is from Donny 🤫), who used to live in Mijas and he pointed me to some local villages in the hills above ‘the beach strip’ (aka Megacity one), which were lovely…great cafe’s, interesting shops, would love to explore this area much more at a later date.

I have also taken the opportunity to take a train into Malaga to see the cathedral which was great and will be returning tomorrow for the Easter service and to explore the old town a bit more.

From here, I will be travelling north on Monday to Cordoba, (not Grenada as originally planned), and then to Santander via Madrid where I have a hot lunch date….. ferry back to the UK in a week’s time 🥲