Christmas in Spain and Morocco: Mijas Pueblas and Tangier

Our trip to Spain was lovely!  We flew out of Dubai on December 19th, had a short layover in Paris, and then landed in Malaga, Spain.  Heather and Cory were already at the airport when we landed.  They had arrived a little earlier and were still waiting on their luggage....which never arrived.  We spent the night at a small hotel in downtown Malaga and ate at a little place called El Pimpi.

View from our hotel room in Malaga Centro

Back door to El Pimpi--all decorated for Christmas.  We stepped out the back door after eating and were surprised to find the Roman ruins that Kim had been wanting to explore!

Roman Ruins in central Malaga

The one-arm church:  never finished building the second wing

Entry to Pablo Picasso museum

The next day, we went to meet Stephanie at the airport, and then found out she was stuck in Paris because of snow.  We all boarded a train to Fuengirola, but then Cory realized he had left his sunglasses at the hotel.  He jumped off the train, went to the hotel to get his glasses, and then waited at the airport to see if Steph's flight would make it.  The rest of us checked into our condo in Mijas and checked out a local sea-front restaurant.  We had some paella and kept checking Steph's flight.

Our dinner while waiting on Steph and Cory:  paella
Notice how it is made with whole prawns....This took some getting used to!

View from the restaurant our first night.  This restaurant quickly became one of our favorites!

It seemed the airport in France was closed indefinitely, so we did not expect to see Steph that night.  When Cory knocked on the door later, we knew he would be tired and hungry.....but we found Stephanie at the door!  She was lucky to catch a flight out during a small window of openings before the flights were cancelled again!

The next morning we got a call from the front desk that Heather and Cory's luggage had been delivered during the night.  We were set to go!

Our first trip was to Mijas Pueblas, a small town up in the hills near us (we were in Mijas Costa--the coast)

Looking out on the city of Mijas Pueblas from where we ate lunch

Cory outside the Plaza de Toros:  one of the oldest bull-fighting rings in Spain

Stephanie sitting in the President's Box

No bullfight this day, so Heather plays toreador to "Kim the Bull"

Chapel of Virgin de la Pena

Interior of the sanctuary

You can see down the mountainside all the way from Mijas Pueblas to Mijas Costa, on the Mediterranean Sea--a quiet moment of contemplation before heading home for the night.  The trip up and down the mountain was quite scary!  We took a local bus, and there were hair-pin curves.  Our driver was determined to keep to his schedule.  At one point, we passed a fuel tanker on a curve!!

Our next day trip was to Morocco.  We took a bus down to the coastal city of Tarifa and then took a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar.  It is only about 10 miles across the water!  You can see Africa from Spain.  The ferry ride was fast and furious:  this meant lots of big waves and up and down motion.  Four of us had quite a thrill ride, while Heather bunked down in back, feeling queasy.

At the windiest place in Europe, Cory's ticket goes flying across the parking lot......He did finally catch it and make the ferry ride across to Morocco with us!

Leaving Tarifa (southernmost point in Europe) on the ferry

Catching our first glimpse of Tangier, Morocco

Stephanie at the entrance to Old Tangier

When we got to Morocco, we had a tour scheduled, with a guide named Mohammed.  (The first-born son in each family is named Mohammed; the first daughter is named Fatima.)  He took us on a camel ride, to see a snake charmer, through the small back alleys for shopping, and to a tour of a rug souk and a pharmacy.  We ate lunch with live Moroccan music and belly-dancing.  All in all, it was definitely a fun day!  The ride back across the water was VERY long--about 2 hours because we landed farther up the coast, but it was also a slow ferry, so Heather had a much easier time!

Mohammed is explaining the importance of the "hand of Fatima" placed on each doorway, to ward off the evil eye

Eeeeeekkk....a snake!  No, seriously, at least it wasn't the cobra he was holding a short time earlier!!

Walking the back alleys of Old Tangier, through the markets

Chickens

Meats...doesn't this look hygienic (notice his apron)!

Olives and more

Snails....with a few escapees!

Handcrafted wooden chests:  BEAUTIFUL!

Lunch:  cous-cous, chicken, carrots, cabbage

Belly Dancer and Musicians

The Pharmacy:  they mix up whatever you want right in front of you.  There was an entire room full of these jars.  Kim got some Frankincense.  We also bought a mix of 37 different spices to cook with.  Already tried it:  delicious!

Leaving Africa to head home

Passing by the Rock of Gibraltar at night