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9 April 2024 - Granada to Ronda, Spain
We drove from Granada to Ronda and stopped on the way to walk the Caminito del Rey which is a walkway attached to the walls of a steep and narrow gorge. It was finished in 1905 and it took 4 years to construct. It was built to provide access for the workers at the hydro electric power plant.
The original path for the Caminito del Rey was constructed of concrete and steel. It deteriorated over the years and the concrete collapsed in numerous sections. Several hikers died on the old walkway and in 2015 a new walkway was opened.
The Caminito del Rey is an easy walk with great views but it has become extremely popular and commercialised. You have to buy tickets for specific start times and most of the tickets are for guided walks with a group. We didn't want to walk with a group and I only just managed to buy tickets online for doing the Caminito del Rey on our own.
There were a lot of people doing the group walks. We paced ourselves so that we slotted in between two large groups on guided tours and managed to enjoy most of the Caminito del Rey in peace.
We arrived in Ronda at 18.00 and checked into a 3 bedroom duplex apartment. It was very spacious and comfortable and only a 10 minute walk to Ronda's historic centre. There was also free off the road parking. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and paid Eur 235 for 2 nights.
10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain
In the morning we walked around Ronda which is probably the most well known and popular White Town (Pueblo Blanco) in Andalusia. Ronda is perched on a massive rocky outcrop straddling a deep gorge. It was one of the last Moorish strongholds to fall to the reconquest in 1485 because of its impregnable position.
We walked across the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) to reach Ronda's old town. The bridge was completed in 1793 and was the world's highest bridge until it was surpassed by a French bridge in 1839. There is a chamber inside the bridge that was used as a prison. During the civil war both sides used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents. Some prisoners were thrown to the rocks at the bottom of the gorge.
Our first stop in Ronda was to the cathedral of Santa Maria la Mayor. It was built on the site of a 13th century mosque. The original Minaret and Mihrab of the mosque still stand. Afterwards we visited the nearby 14th century Palacio de Mondragon which was probably the palace of the Moorish kings.
In the afternoon we drove to 3 other White Towns. They are fortified hilltop towns and all the buildings are painted white. We first stopped at Setenil de las Bodegas. The main sights were the castle and the houses built into the cliffs.
We then drove through beautiful countryside to Olvera and climbed up the fort. The last white town was Zahara de la Sierra with its fort perched high above. We decided not to climb up to it as it was hot and getting late.
11 April 2024 - Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
We left Ronda at 11.00 in beautiful sunshine and fortunately the air conditioning was working as it got to 28 centigrade today! We were heading for Arcos de la Frontera which is another White Town.
We reached Arcos de la Frontera at 14.00. I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment with parking through Booking.com for Eur 72. We opted to have a rest at the apartment, to avoid the heat of the day, before heading off to see the sights.
We paid to enter the church of Santa Maria de la Asunción and climbed up its bell tower. It was built in the 15th century on the remains of a former Moorish mosque.
There is a castle on the same square as the church. It was built as an Arab fortress but became the residence of the Duke of Arcos after the Reconquest and remains in private hands. It isn't possible to visit it.
We then continued walking along the main street of Arcos de la Frontera past a convent and the church of St Peter to a Mirador. The views from the Mirador weren't very good and unfortunately the better Mirador by the castle was closed due to construction.
For supper we bought a whole grilled chicken, chips and salad and ate it in our apartment.
12 April 2024 - Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain
It is only a 1.25 hour drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras. We stopped off at Medina Sedonia on the way. It's a reasonable sized White Town and its medieval walls, the Church and the Alcazar (fort) are the main historic sights. Unfortunately the Alcazar isn't open to visitors.
In Algeciras we stayed at the Hotel AC Algeciras which is a Marriott Hotel. It cost a very reasonable Eur 70 and was only 10 minutes drive from the ferry port.
13 April 2024 - Algeciras to Asilah, Morocco
We got up early at 06.15 to catch the 09.45 ferry as our tickets stated we had to be at the port of Algeciras 2 hours before departure. As I suspected this wasn't really necessary and a few cars arrived only 30 minutes beforehand.
I had read that the ferries were often late and I was therefore pleased to see that our ferry was at the port. However, the ferry only sailed at 10.30 despite the ferry not being very full. We had a good view of Gibraltar as we left Algeciras and soon afterwards had a view of the coast of Africa.
It took 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the port of Tangier Med which is 40 kilometres from the city of Tangier. It took us over an hour to clear customs as all cars were being X-rayed by a large machine mounted on a track. If this is done in the peak season there will be chaos. We then spent another hour buying 3rd party car insurance and obtaining Moroccan SIM cards and dirhams.
A lady representing the Inwi telecom company tried to sell us a very expensive SIM card and data package for Eur 60. I knew it should be a lot cheaper and declined. Fortunately the car insurance agency sold SIM cards with 7.5 GB of data and they only cost Eur 10! As we needed 2 SIM cards it was a big saving.
I had reserved a very nice hotel room in Asilah through Booking.com for Eur 48. Asilah is south of Tangier on the Atlantic coast and was only an hour's drive away from the port of Tangier Med. It was an easy drive on a toll highway and a good introduction to driving in Morocco!
After checking into our hotel we walked to Asilah's interesting medina. The Medina is largely residential with white houses decorated with lots of vivid blue. It is surrounded by sturdy fortified walls built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. There are two main gates and several towers spread along the walls.
We had dinner at a local fish restaurant outside the medina's walls. We both had mixed platters of seafood and chips and it only cost Eur 8 per platter.
14 April 2023 - Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco
We drove southwards from Asilah to El Jadida on the toll road. Google Maps estimated that the journey would take 4 hours but it actually took 6 hours.
The toll road was very busy between Rabat and Casablanca and there weren't enough lanes open at the frequent toll stations. Police were everywhere, particularly on the bridges crossing the toll road where there were usually 4 policemen monitoring the traffic.
El Jadida is on the Atlantic coast and was founded by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. In the late afternoon we walked from our apartment hotel along the sea front to the Portuguese fortress. There is a long sandy beach, which is very popular with Moroccans, but it didn't look very appealing to us.
We got to the fortress's ramparts at 17.50 just as they were closing the access to the walkway along the top of them. The ramparts were meant to be open up to 18.00. The only other attraction in El Jadida was the famous Portuguese cistern but it has been closed for a few years due to structural issues. It is likely to remain closed for a long time due to the lack of funds for restoration.
We walked around El Jadida's fort but it was neglected and dirty. Unfortunately our 1 bedroom apartment had also seen better days. We wished we hadn't stopped off at El Jadida!
15 April 2024 - El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco
We drove from El Jadida to Essaouira today, relieved that the car's air conditioning was working as the outside temperature hit 35 centigrade!
The first part of the journey was along toll roads which were so much quieter than yesterday. It seems that many people had visited family at the end of Ramadan and were making their way home yesterday.
After a while the toll road ended and we drove on public roads through bustling towns. I had to drive very carefully as people, carts pulled by donkeys, motor bikes etc were all over the road.
The scenery was much more arid and rural than it had been coming down south from Tangier to El Jadida over the past two days. We passed sheep farms and farmers were ploughing their fields using horses. There were lots of carts being pulled by horses and donkeys.
Essaouira is on the Atlantic coast and it was a bit cooler because of a breeze. Strong trade winds make its crescent shaped beach popular with wind and kite surfers. We had a quick walk around the medina in the late afternoon. We have 2 nights in Essaouira and have plenty of time to explore.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 61 per night. We were very pleased with it as it was a modern apartment, quiet and a pleasant 10 minute walk to Essaouira's medina.
16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco
In the morning we walked along the promenade to Essaouira's harbour. It was absolutely packed with fishing boats and there were a lot of stalls selling an interesting variety of fish.
We wanted to visit the bastion at the harbour as it has a good view of Essaouira. However, they charge an entrance fee of Eur 5 which is far too much. Instead I took photos of Essaouira from the nearby beach.
After that we spent a few hours wandering around the medina. Essaouira's medina has a mixture of restaurants, art galleries, tourist shops, hotels and homes. It is an interesting medina with good facilities and no hassles. I can understand why Essaouira is very popular with foreigners.
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