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Spain Morocco 2024-25 travelogue

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Madrid, Extremadura, Sevilla, Donana NP, Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen


21.12: Munich -> Madrid
22.12: Madrid
23.12: Madrid -> Trujillo
24.12: Trujillo -> Merida -> Caceres
25.12: Caceres -> Sevilla
26.12: Sevilla -> Donana national park -> Sevilla
27.12: Sevilla
28.12: Sevilla -> Gibraltar -> Tarifa -> Tangier
29.12: Tangier
30.12: Tangier -> Cap Spartel -> Hercules cave -> Asilah -> Tangier
31.12: Tangier -> Tetouan -> Chefchaouen -> Tangier
1.1: Tangier -> Tarifa
2.1: Tarifa -> Pueblos blancos -> Ronda -> Cordoba
3.1: Cordoba -> Madrid
4.1: Madrid
5.1: Madrid -> Munich

Planning and overall impression

We have been to Spain already two times, in 2011 and in 2023. For this trip we chose some places where we haven't been yet in southwestern Spain. Starting from Madrid we travelled with a rental car to Extremadura, stopping in Trujillo, Caceres and Merida before spending three nights in Sevilla, then heading over to Morocco by ferry for four nights and then heading back to Spain for four nights before flying back from Madrid.
Highligts of the trip were the Donana national park and the four days spent in Morocco. We liked the scenery outside Tangier, especially the coast and Chefchaouen. Least interesting was Gibraltar, where basically there was nothing so special to see.

Costs

The most expensive place was Madrid, where a double room in a hotel in central Madrid easily costs more than 200 Euro/night. Elsewhere in Spain costs were lower; in Morocco costs were about 30% below the Spanish level. In Gibraltar they mostly have the same products as in Spain, just at a higher price.
We managed to get a good deal on the rental car, by using a rental station of Enterprise located outside Madrid.

Food

We ate very often in fast food restaurants, mainly because we were always moving from one place to the next and didn't have so much time to spend in a standard restaurant. We also had meals a few times in Chinese restaurants, because these are quite inexpensive and it is easy to communicate with the staff.

Accommodation

For this trip we stayed exclusively in hotels, because hotels have longer check-in hours than apartments and you don't have to go and fetch the key somewhere. Also, in a hotel you can leave the luggage in the reception the day you check out. Another thing is that in our previous trip to Spain last year we noticed that there is a lot of variability of accomodation quality in apartments.

Money  / Exchange rate (December 2024)

Euro used as a currency in Spain.

Mobile phones and prepaid cards

We relied on EU roaming, using our German SIM cards. Because the SIM card of my daughter had disabled data roaming, I bought her a local SIM card of Vodafone.

Internet access

WLAN was available in most hotels and apartments, while outside we relied on mobile Internet access.

Weather

A bit cold in Madrid (on one day the temperatures dropped to 4°C), otherwise the daytime temperatures were always above 10°C, in the south and in Morocco a bit higher. Warmest was Sevilla where the daytime temperature reached 20°C. Except for a day in Tarifa, it never rained.

Health / Vaccinations

No vaccinations needed for Spain.

VISA / Entry requirements

No passport controls for Spain (intra-EU flight). For Morocco we didn't need visas.

Security

No issues with security on this trip. No pickpockets, scams or dangerous situations. Perhaps least safe was driving on the not so good Spanish motorways in the south.

Getting around

For this trip we rented a car from Enterprise and we got a good deal because we rented it via the German automobile club (ADAC) and selected a pickup station outside Madrid (for some reason cars in stations within Madrid were much more expensive). In Spain there are motorways almost everywhere, but the problem is that in the south they are not very good, so you can't really drive much faster than 100-110 km/h.
In Morocco we relied on taxis and Careem cars. For the daytrip to Tetouan and Chefchaouen we used a car with driver for a fixed fee.





21.12: Munich -> Madrid
Hotel Eco Via Lusitana. 92 Euro for a double room, decently furnished, not very big. Table, chair, cupboard for the clothes, A/C doubling as a heater. After switching on the heater the room temperature climbs to 29°C at night, so I have to switch it off. The location is so-so: you have to take a train for 40 minutes to get into town.
Weather: cold in Munich (a few degrees above 0), about the same temperature in Madrid.

We leave home after 5pm and take the train to the airport. The train is full of travellers, but we manage to get seats after about 5 minutes. We arrive at the airport at 6:13pm.

Then we proceed to the check in and quickly, within a few minutes, manage to check-in our two suitcases.

By 6:30pm we are in a McDonald's restaurant and have dinner. Around 7:30pm we walk to the gate. Getting there and passing security takes a while (we have to take a train) and in fact we arrive at the gate at 7:55pm.

However this evening there are surprisingly few travellers at the airport. I was thinking that at the beginning of the holiday season more people would be at the airport.

At 20:33 we enter the plane, by 20:35 we are seated. The plane is rather small (an A321).

Some time lost as people can't find a place for their bags. At 9:05 pm the plane starts rolling, at 9:15pm it takes off.

The plane lands in Madrid at 11:20pm. There are no luggage trolleys at the belt.

We walk out and meet the driver. At 12:30am we are at the hotel.




22.12: Madrid
Hotel Eco Via Lusitana, Madrid.
Weather: sunny, blue sky with some clouds. Temperatures of 3°C in the morning, climbing to 12°C during the day. No rain.

Around 10:30am  we get out of the hotel and walk to the train station. 10 Euro one-day ticket for all buses and trains within Madrid. We take a train to the Sol station (have to change twice trains to arrive).

We'll spend the whole day in central Madrid. Nice city with lots of life and people. The shops in central Madrid are open today.

I buy a SIM card for 15 Euro  (100GB of data volume) for Natasha because something is wrong with her German SIM card and she has no mobile data.

Around 6pm we visit the Debod temple for some blue hour shots (very nice view of Madrid).

We are back in the hotel room after 10:30pm.




23.12: Madrid -> Trujillo
Hotel Izan Trujillo, Trujillo. 58 Euro for a nice double room, not small, well furnished (almost four star level). Attached bathroom with shower (good shower with plenty of hot water), WLAN. Centrally located in walking distance of Plaza Mayor.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperature of 15°C. No rain

In the morning we check out after 10am and take an Uber car (17 Euro cost) to the car rental in Majadahonda. The handover procedure is fast and smooth (Enterprise car rental).

We get a Renault Astral. With that we first drive to a McDonalds restaurant where we have some lunch.

After 12:40pm we continue driving to Trujillo, arriving at 3pm.

Trujillo turns out to be a nice, but a bit small place. Essentially 2-3 hours are sufficient to visit this small city. There is also a dearth of shops and restaurants (i.e. there are some, but not so many).

Until about sunset we have a look at the place and have some food.




24.12: Trujillo -> Merida -> Caceres
Olivae Hostal Boutique, Caceres. 69 Euro for a nice double room with attached bathroom, A/C, WLAN, simple but functional furniture (big table with chair). There is a staircase leading to an upper level with an additional bed. 10 Euro for a parking space in a garage.
Weather: sunny, blue sky the whole day. Top temperatures of 15-16°C. Strong sun despite the winter season.

We check out after 11am and drive to Merida. At 12:40pm we park the car in Merida, not far from the city centre (3.30€ for three hours), then walk to the Roman ruins. The first place we run into the the Alcazaba, a compound with some Roman ruins, not sure exactly what it is. We get tickets for all Roman ruins in Merida (combo ticket for 17 Euro per adult and 8€ below 18 years old). A bit pricey, but if you buy individual tickets for the various Roman ruins in Merida, you spend more. Then we start our visit.

The Roman ruins are nice, but not that terribly impressive. At least not for somebody who has already seen many other Roman ruins elsewhere in the Mediterranean area.

Around 2pm we are done with the ruins and walk to a fast food restaurant, where we eat something. After 3pm we walk back to the car and drive to Caceres, arriving after 4pm.

In Caceres we park the car in the garage of the hotel, then walk into town. It doesn't take too much time to figure out where the highlights of this place are. It's basically the historic area inside the city walls, although the area outside is also interesting (for instance Plaza Mayor).

There is a lot of activity in town right now. Plenty of music, people on the streets having drinks and celebrating something. Seems today there is a big party going on in Caceres.

We spend some time exploring the area, then get to the hotel, check in and bring our luggage to the room. Natasha will take a rest in the room while I walk out for some blue hour shots of the old town.

After 8pm we get out again, looking for a restaurant where to have dinner. Turns out that all restaurats in Caceres are closed. Also all shops are closed. In the end we ask some people and are directed to a place open 24 hours/day. There we buy some food, then get back to the hotel.




25.12: Caceres -> Sevilla
Hotel Ilunion Alcora Sevilla, Sevilla. 76 Euro for a nice double room, quite spacious, well furnished. Basically a four star hotel, the only thing is that this place is a few km out of Sevilla. Not a problem if you have a car however.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperatures of 20°C in Sevilla. No wind, no rain.

We check out around 11:30am, then have a walk in Caceres. Many shops and restaurants are open again, despite the Xmas day. I get some nice shots of the old town and Plaza Mayor.

Around 12:20pm we start driving towards Sevilla. On the way we refuel the car and make a stop in a McDonalds restaurant for some food, then continue driving towards Sevilla. The motorway is mostly empty, very little traffic.

In Sevilla we drive to the Imagen parking, but this turns out to be full ("completo"), so we key in the address of another parking, but on the way we spot an empty parking space which apparently is even free of charge (2 Euro tip to a guy who directed us to this place).

At 4pm we start having a look at Sevilla. We are pretty much in the centre of Sevilla, in walking distance to the Setas de Sevilla, some sort of a building built with wood.

We'll spend the next few hours in the centre of Sevilla until the plaza de buen suceso. After 8pm we have a dinner in a Chinese restaurant, then after 9pm we drive to the hotel.




26.12: Sevilla -> Donana national park ->  Sevilla
Hotel Ilunion Alcora Sevilla, Sevilla.
Weather: same as yesterday, sunny, blue sky, top temperatures of 20°C, no wind, no rain.

We get out of the hotel after 11am and drive to the shopping mall near the hotel. In the Carrefour supermarket we buy some food, then have a brief lunch before leaving for the Donana national park.

Shortly after 12pm we start driving to the Donana NP. About three quarters of the distance are on motorways (120 km/h speed limit), but the quality of these motorways is so-so. The surface is often broken, the lanes are a bit narrow and the curve radiuses are too narrow in my opinion. In Germany it's no problem driving at 160-170 km/h on a standard motorway, but on these Spanish motorways it doesn't feel safe driving much faster than 110-120 km/h.

We are in the El Rocio village around 1pm, then I realise that the national park access point is not here. After some checking I key in the La Rocina visitor centre and at 1:09pm we are there.

Seems that this national park is free of charge and has a number of these visitor centres spread around the NP area. In La Rocina and in the El Acebuche centre there are trails on wooden planks with hides from where you can watch the animals (mostly birds). The entire NP is very peaceful and beautiful.

Apparently there are also lynxes, but seeing them is not easy.

We walk on the trails around these two visitor centres and visit several hides. The ones around La Rocina are around a pond or lagoon. There we are able to see a number of birds. The only problem is that these birds are far away (50 - 100m of distance). You'd need a very, very long lens (3000mm or more) to get high resolution images of these birds.

The area around El Acebuche seems to be almost completely without animals. There are not even insects.

After 4:30pm we drive to the Donana beach and stay there until after sunset.

Then, around 6:30pm we drive to the Lagoh shopping centre, arriving there around 8pm. We lose some time looking for a parking (the place is very full today). Lagoh is a quite big and modern mall, with many branded shops. We have a dinner there and stay until about 9:30pm, then drive back to the hotel.




27.12: Sevilla
Hotel Ilunion Alcora Sevilla, Sevilla.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, top temperatures around 20°C, no wind, no rain.

After 11am we leave the hotel and drive to the laundry. It takes less than 10 minutes to find the place (Speed Queen in Calle Esperanza de Triana; machines costing 7 Euro for 8kg to wash, 2.50€ to dry for 15 minutes; the machines automatically add the detergent), but then it takes a while to find a parking. In the end I park the car in Calle Febo, about 400m from the laundry.

We spend over an hour to wash (30 min) and dry (2 x 15 minutes), then walk back to the car. Natasha would like to have lunch in a Taco Bell restaurant, so we try to get to a parking near it (Underground parking next to S. Telmo bridge, the same place where I parked the car in 2011).

Google Maps shows this place, but there are two problems. First, we get stuck in a huge traffic jam, then it turns out that this parking disappeared (perhaps it closed a while ago?) or is well hidden. In any case we are stuck driving the car with no idea where to park it. On the streets all parkings are taken and we can't find any other parkings. A bit strange that in a city like Sevilla the parking situation is so bad.

After some time we cross again the river thinking of leaving the car somewhere a bit further away from the city centre. Suddenly I spot a parking with available spaces (the Virgen de Lujian one), and drive into it. Not cheap, at 3.50 Euro per hour, but better than nothing.

Then we first walk to Plaza de Espana, take some pictures, then walk to the Taco Bell restaurant (total distance of 2km between the parking and the Taco Bell).

In the Taco Bell we have some lunch at 3pm, then walk back to the car, because the parking is in a poor location and is expensive. By the time we are back at the parking and pay the fee it's 8.45 Euro.

I key in the Imagen parking which is close where we are planning to be and even cheaper and drive there.

When we arrive, the police stops us and informs us that there are no available parkings the whole centre of Sevilla. I wonder if something is going on today in Sevilla, or if this is perhaps due to tourist season.

So I key in the Nervion Plaza mall next to the football stadium. This is a mall with an own parking. We are there around 5:25pm.

We'll be in this mall until after 6pm, then drive to the Lagoh mall we visited yesterday (because the Nervion mall in unimpressive). We arrive there shortly before 7pm.

It's not much of a day today for us in Sevilla. We have spent a lot of time in the car looking for car parkings or stuck in traffic jams. Very little sightseeing, and high prices here and there.

After 9pm we get back into the car and drive back to the hotel.




28.12: Sevilla -> Gibraltar ->  Tarifa -> Tangier
Hotel Rembrandt, Tangier. 855 MAD for a double room in a centrally located hotel. Attached bathroom with shower, fast Internet, well furnished. The hotel is a bit old, but ok. Friendly staff.
Weather: initially sunny blue sky, then as we approach Gibraltar the sky gets more and more cloudy. Very strong wind. The weather basically changes as we cross a coastal mountain range. It's still dry, but very windy in Gibraltar. Temperatures around 17°C, but because of the wind you have to wear a jacket. In Tarifa it starts raining and it's still windy, then the rain stops. It's dry and fresh in the evening in Tangier.

We manage to leave the hotel by 10am, refuel the car and start driving towards Gibraltar. There is some traffic around Sevilla, which becomes less and the route is mostly motorway. The problem is the strong wind when we cross the mountain range after Jerez de la Frontera. The car I'm driving is not terribly stable on the wheels.

Around 12:15pm we park the car in the Santa Barbara parking outside Gibraltar (around 2 Euro/hour). Then we walk into Gibraltar. Initially we go through passport check (very fast), then cross the airport runway and walk into Gibraltar.

Street names are now all British ("Winston Churchill avenue"). We walk to a McDonalds because Natasha wants to see if the McDonalds in Gibraltar are different (they are not - same stuff as on the Spanish mainland). Then Natasha spots a Morrison supermarket and heads there. Some shopping (mainly chocolates), then after 2pm we start exploring Gibraltar.

Must say, this place is a disappointment. Any other city on the Spanish mainland has way more interesting historical buildings or a cute old town, but this place, well, lacks everything. Nothing cute at all. The only reason to visit this place in my opinion is because of its odd national status (a British territory in Spain).

There is a cable car to a place above the slope, but it's a bit pricey at 19 GBP. We walk up and read the Moorish castle. Turns out a ticket is needed to get in and it costs a staggering 25 GBP per person.

We walk back down towards the centre of Gibraltar, then walk back to the Morrison supermarket where Natasha buys more chocolates. Then It's time to walk back to the car.

At 3:55pm we start driving to Tarifa. It's a coastal road (no motorway) with maximum speeds of 80-100 km/h if I remember correctly. At 4:46pm we are in Tarifa.

We'll spend about half an hour looking for a parking for the car. In the end we leave the car in the San Sebastian parking (16 Euro/day) and walk to the ferry terminal. Right while we walk it rains heavily for a short time. We reach the terminal around 5:30pm.

In the terminal we get the tickets for the ferry (paper printouts) and are told to proceed to the gate at 6pm. After 6pm we do so. There is some security check and a passport control before we are allowed to proceed to the waiting area.

Around 6:30pm we walk to the ferry. The luggage is placed a rack next to the cars. People walk up to a hall with chairs and a cafeteria.

The 7pm ferry starts shortly after 7pm (in an Internet forum I was told it's always late). On board there is free Internet and a guy checks and chops your passport. We arrive in Tangier shortly after 9pm.

Then there is another guy who checks if you got the chop in the passport and another security check. We get some cash from ATMs in the terminal (some transaction fee), then walk out. Outside some people offer a taxi trip. Short discussion, the first person asks for 10 Euro for the 1.6km trip to the hotel, and the second asks for 8 Euro but then accepts 5 Euro.

We are in the hotel around 9pm. After leaving the luggage in the room, we get out again for some food in a McDonalds restaurant, then have a look at Tangier. This area where we are is full of shops, restaurants and life. Prices are lower than in Spain and this place makes a good impression. We buy SIM cards from Imwi for 60 MAD with 6GB of data (2GB for 30 MAD).




29.12: Tangier
Hotel Rembrandt, Tangier.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, windy, fresh the whole day (max 17°C according to the weather forecast). I leave the hotel with just a light windbreaker jacket, but should perhaps have brought along the thicker jacket.

Day spent exploring Tangier. We have a lunch shortly after 12pm in a restaurant near the terrasse des paresseux (nice views of the medina). Then we walk into the medina. Must say the medina is unimpressive. Narrow streets with small shops everywhere, but somehow boring. Or perhaps I have seen too many medinas. Natasha also doesn't like too much this area.

Around 2pm we are at the western end of the city walls. Nice views of the coastline and the harbour. We have a short break in a cafe, then take a taxi to the eastern end of the plage municipal near the McDonalds (I booked this taxi with the Careem app - 54 MAD for the trip which turns out to be a bit pricey).

Natasha spots the McDonalds, so we head there for an ice cream. After that we spend some time on the beach (very nice beach - long, wide soft sand beach. Some people offering horse rides.

There is very little harassment from local Moroccans. You can walk around on your own and very few people bother you every now and then.

At 4:45pm we walk to the nearby Tanger City Mall. This is a big, modern mall full of shops. In the food court it's mostly fast food outlets. Overall this mall is not too terribly impressive.

After 6pm we take a taxi to the Grand Mosque. Only 15 MAD for the trip (taxi driver used the meter), a fraction of what we paid to come to this area.

Around 6:30pm we are at the Grande Mosque and take some blue hour pictures. Then we slowly walk back to the hotel.

In the hotel we take a rest, then go out for dinner after 9pm.




30.12: Tangier -> Cap Spartel -> Hercules cave -> Asilah -> Tangier
Hotel Rembrandt, Tangier.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, windy, fresh. Probably the same temperature as yesterday.

In the morning I check in the hotel lobby for a car to Chefchaouen. They tell me it's already late (I'm in the lobby around 11am), because the driving to Chefchaouen takes almost three hours. They put me in touch with a driver, Ali, who can do the trip. I call him and he tells me he can't go to Chefchaouen today.

Some more discussion. The guy in the reception suggests to go to Asilah. In the end he arranges a driver for us, go to Cap Spartel, the Hercules caves and Asilah for 700 MAD. Later these 700 MAD become 800, because the driver wants an additional 100 MAD because he dropped us off at the Socco Alto mall, which perhaps represents a detour for him.

It's now about 11:40am. We go to the McDonalds restaurent near the hotel and have an early lunch there, then get back to the hotel. Around 12:20pm we start driving towards Cap Spartel.

Driving to Cap Spartel doesn't take much time and at 12:45pm we are there. It's an area with steep coast, a lighthouse and a museum, with nice views over the ocean.

Pretty cool place. We only spend about 10 minutes there (you can get into the compound and visit a museum for 25 MAD), but thinking again about it, we should have spent more time there, because the area is really nice and today the weather is perfect. Great views, nice atmosphere.

We continue driving and soon reach the Hercules caves at 1pm. It's a compound which gives access to the sea (rocky coast). Also here pretty cool scenery and atmosphere. The wind, the light, this winter sun. It's great to be here today and it would be nice to walk back along the coast.

It may be winter, but the coast and the beaches are a real highlight of this place. I guess it could be an idea to stay several days in a place along the coast and spend the time on the beach.

The entry to the Hercules cave costs 80 MAD (Moroccans 30 MAD). Not cheap, but the cave is quite nice and very photogenic.

Around 1:45pm we get back to the car and drive to Asilah arriving shortly after 2:20pm. The car stops outside the city walls and we walk in. We will spend about an hour in Asilah, having a look at the place.

The touristy part of Asilah is the old town inside the city walls. It's all white and blue walls, every now and then some tower and paintings on the walls. Lots of artist studios. Quite cute place, but no direct access to the beach (or if there is one, the gate is closed, or we didn't find it).

In any case, it's quite a small place. After an hour we have finished visiting it, and walk back to the car. Because it's too early to drive back I suggest that we stop somewhere along the coast and spend some time on the beach.

So we start driving and around 3:50pm we stop about a 1 km north of the Plage de Lagune de Tahaddart. We are at the beginning of a stretch of sandy beach which extends north for km and km until the rocky area of the Grottes d'Hercules. It's very soft, fine sand and the beach is over 200m wide. Great light, cool breeze. Nobody is there, just the two of us. Really a cool place to be.

We'll spend some time on this beach. While there, after some time some divers come back from the sea. Later on, a couple of tourists also arrives and walks to the beach.

Around 4:30pm we walk back to the car and later drive back towards Tangier. We tell the driver to drop us off the Socco Alto mall, which is on the way back.

At the mall, which we reach at 5:35pm, we have an early dinner in a Pizza Hut restaurant and some pastries. Then we spend some time having a look at this mall.

The Socco Alto mall is actually quite nice. Lots of shops selling branded stuff, a Miniso store, but overall this is not a place only selling luxury goods. It's more like a place selling nice, good quality, but affordable products. There is a Carrefour supermarket where we buy some food.

At 7:38pm we are at on the street in front of the mall and look for a taxi. It feels like few taxis are passing by, so we call a car with Careem. Now, the thing is that it takes a lot of time until the car arrives (and in the meantime many taxis just passed by, so we could have waved one).

But then, once the app shows that the driver has arrived, we can't see the car. Some messaging, phone calls (driver doesn't pick up the calls). Finally he sends a photo taken from his position. Seems he is somewhere in the parking, so we walk there. Finally we find him.

Turns out that this is a private car and the driver was "hiding" from the taxi drivers. He tells us a story that Careem is not legal in Morocco and that he has to avoid the taxi drivers. The taxi drivers thing sounds plausible (it's likely that taxi drivers do not like the competition from Careem), but it's a bit hard to believe that Careem is illegal.

In any case, shortly after 8pm we reach the Hotel (40 MAD cost).




31.12: Tangier -> Tetouan -> Chefchaouen -> Tangier
Hotel Rembrandt, Tangier.
Weather: sunny, blue sky, little wind. Top temperatures in Tetouan of 17°C, in Chefchaouen 16°C. In Chefchaouen in the afternoon it is possible to walk around in a T-shirt in the sun, because there is no wind and the sun is heating up the area.

At 9am we start the day trip to Tetouan and Chefchaouen with Ali, our driver. The car is a largish Dacia with seven seats and the trip costs 1200 MAD.

There is some traffic initially in Tangier, but after that the road is quite empty. Ali parks the at 10:17am close to the medina in Tetouan and we start our visit of Tetouan.

From a distance the medina looks very cute, a conglomerate of white houses on a hill surrounded by city walls. We climb to a higher place from where there is a view of the medina, then slowly walk down again.

At 11:17am we are in front of the royal palace. Then we walk a bit in the newer part of the city, which is also nice. At 11:45am we have some late breakfast in a cafe near Moulay el Mehdi square, then at 12pm we walk back to the car.

After 12:10pm we start driving towards Chefchaouen. The road passes across green areas which are partially forested. At 12:45pm we briefly stop at the Ennakhla reservoir, then park the car in a parking in Chefchaouen.

After some lunch in a Chinese restaurant we start exploring Chefchaouen at 2:40pm.

Chefchaouen is wildly photogenic and extremely cute. Small town with white and blue houses on a slope, behind rocky mountains. It's also a very touristy place, full of souvenir and artists shops, cafes and restaurants. Practically the entire central part of the medina is one shop or cafe after another.

We walk to the Uta el Hamman square, then into the nearby Alcazaba, sort of a compound with a garden, a museum and a tower. Steep entry ticket of 80 MAD/person, but I want to get on top of that tower. The compound is actually uninteresting, but that tower is perfect for taking photos of the medina.

After that we explore a bit the medina. Practically it's one shop after the other. We walk to the Lavadero de la ciudad Ras el Ma, then turn southeast and walk on a hill opposite the medina from where to take some nice pictures of the medina.

By 5:15pm we have finished our visit of Chefchaouen and start driving back to Tangier. We'll arrive around 7:40pm.

In the evening we eat something in a McDonalds restaurant, then get back to the hotel. Around 9:30pm there is a demonstration in favour of Palestine outside on the road.




1.1: Tangier -> Tarifa
Hostal Gravina, Tarifa. 65 Euro for a small, but nice room in a small hotel in the old town of Tarifa, in walking distance of the ferry terminal. The room is really tiny, but is very nice. Soft bed, A/C which doubles as a heater, WLAN, well furnished (table with chair, cupboards for the clothes, small LCD TV). Attached bathroom with shower. Nobody in the lobby, but there is a phone number you can call for the keys.
Weather: sunny, blue sky with a few clouds in Tangier, some wind. 17°C max temperature according to the forecast. Windy, but dry in Tarifa in the evening.

We check out at 12pm (leaving the luggage in the hotel), then have a lunch at the restaurant on the terrace nearby. This time we have to wait almost one hour for the food. Around 1:40pm we take a taxi to the Hercules caves, arriving at 2:15pm.

Then we walk down to the coast, hoping to be able to get on the beach. Unfortunately it's not possible, because the access to the beach is blocked by steep rocks. We check Google Maps, which show that we can get back to the street and walk around the rocks and get to the nearby Amira beach, total 700m walk.

These 700m become 2.1km, because the access to the beach is permanently blocked by walls. 2km of walls. Seems somebody has locked up the access to the beach for 2km.

Finally at 2:50pm we are on the Amira beach. It's again a very wide strip of beach (perhaps 200m wide) and many km long. To the south there is the Tangier airport.

At 3:30pm we walk back to the road. I use the Careem app to call a taxi. No driver responds to my request, but suddenly somebody with a minitruck passes by and offers to bring us back to the Hercules caves, where there are taxis. So we accept his offer (and I'll give him 10 MAD tip).

Once at the Hercules caves roundabout we get into some kind of taxi. For 100 MAD he'll bring us to the Socco Alto mall. This is more than the 75 MAD which the Careem app shows, but never mind (we are a bit short of time).

We reach the Socco Alto mall around 4:15pm. Once there we use the mall toilet and buy some pastries and drinks, then get into another taxi back to the hotel.

This taxi has the meter on and the starting price is 1.60 MAD. By the time we reach the hotel this has reached about 14 MAD - far less than the 40 MAD I paid the other day with Careem for the same trip.

I tell the driver to wait, that we are taking our luggage, getting back and then we drive to the harbour. So we take the luggage and when we are back the meter is set to 0.00 MAD and is de facto switched off. Once at the harbour the driver suddenly wants 50 MAD. I pay to avoid a discussion and also because it is still not much money for 4km of driving.

In the meantime it's 5:20pm. We take a trolley for the luggge and walk into the terminal. It's still a bit early - we could have arrived half an hour later.

The ferry does not leave at 7pm sharp. It leaves with a small delay of 5-10 minutes.

We arrive in Tarifa harbour at 8:20pm. Then we proceed through the passport and the security checks, and after that walk to the hotel. Shortly before 9pm we are in the lobby of the hotel. Nobody is there, so I call a number written on the door (which is different from the number provided by booking.com). The guy tells me to open a key box with a code.

After dropping our stuff in the room, we go out for some late dinner. We'll spend over 40 minutes looking for a restaurant and only find one after 10pm. Initially we find a couple of expensive restaurants, then we go to a pizzeria but they tell us we have to wait for one hour. Then we check a burger place, but the guy tells us we have to queue up even just to place an order, which sounds strange. There is a Burger King restaurant, but it's 1.7km away and we only get the car tomorrow.

So we are back at the expensive restaurants, but both restaurants tell us it's already too late for food (only drinks). Finally we spot an Italian restaurant, where we order a pasta dish. We get a small dish of tortellini bolognese, nothing so special and not exactly stomach filling. This ends up costing 17 Euro, a real rip off.

Not sure what is wrong with restaurants in Tarifa in the evening after 9pm. Few are open, and the few open ones are expensive. We are back in the hotel after 10:30pm.




2.1: Tarifa -> Pueblos blancos -> Ronda -> Cordoba
Hotel Exe Ciudad de Cordoba, Cordoba. 69 Euro for a big room, four star level, well furnished, attached bathroom with shower, about 5km from the centre of Cordoba. There is A/C and heating and they seem to be adjustable. It's an a bit older hotel with centralised A/C.
Weather: a mix of clouds and sun in Tarifa, sunny blue sky in Ronda and fresh in Cordoba. The coastal clouds gradually disappear as we cross the mountain range. Top temperatures of 17°C to 19°C.

We check out after 11am, then fetch the car at the parking. 72.90 Euro fee for the parking and the car is returned as we left it there (no damages). The San Sebastian parking is full when we fetch the car.

We start driving towards Ronda and at 12:30pm we stop in a KFC restaurant along the way for lunch. Then we continue driving.

The road is initially a mountain road with many narrow curves and poor surface quality (speed limits of 60km/h and 40 km/h). The scenery is beautiful and photogenic. Lots of white villages (pueblos blancos I guess) along the way.

With some stops here and there we reach Ronda at 3:18pm and park the car in the Parking Ronda next to the Maria Auxiliadora church (3.20€ parking fee for the two hours we leave the car there).

Then we walk into town. We soon reach the viewpoint near Puente Nuevo. Great views of the city over the cliffs. This view alone is worth the trip to Ronda. It would be possible to walk down to the bottom of the river gorge, but we skip it because if we were to do the trek around the cliffs, this would probably take an additional 2-3 hours.

Instead we walk into the town. There is a big shopping street with trendy shops, ladies products etc. Later Natasha will say that Ronda is better than she had initially thought, which means that in a city there is good selection of shops for teenage girls.

We spend some time walking around. Also this part of Ronda is sort of interesting, but the actually interesting part of Ronda is that great view with the city over the cliffs and the gorge.

At 5pm we walk back to the car and around 5:15pm we start driving to Cordoba.

The road initially is a long distance road. Only the last 50-60 km are a motorway.

We reach Cordoba, that is the La Sierra mall, around 7:30pm. We'll then spend some time in the mall and around 9pm have a dinner in the Saboriental Chinese restaurant. We reach the hotel around 10pm.




3.1: Cordoba -> Madrid
Hotel Eco Via Lusitana, Madrid. This time the room costs 86 Euro/night. Easy to find free parkings for the car along the road near the hotel.
Weather: milky blue sky in the morning and until 1pm, after that the sky turns mostly blue with just a few clouds. No wind, but quite fresh until about 1-2pm, after the temperature climbs to perhaps 15-17°C.

We don't do so much today because Natasha is not feeling well. We check out shortly before 12pm, then drive by car to the Medina Azahara site (aka Madinat al-Zahra). Getting there takes about 15 minutes and we park the car at the site.

The ticket is free of charge for EU nationals,but you have to pay 3 Euro/person for a bus which brings you to the archaeological site about 1-2 km away. There is actually a video about the site you are supposed to watch, but we skip it.

We reach the site at 12:30pm. After the ticket check we access the site from the top. There are arrows indicating the direction of the visit. The site is on a number of levels (i.e. terraces) and is roughly a couple of hundred metres long. It consists of the ruins of a palace or small city from the Islamic period.

It's not terribly interesting, although I get some good images of this site. The ruins are overall quite basic, i.e. not many ornamental details are left.

We spend about an hour at the site, then get back to the car. Natasha would like to have some food at a Popeyes, so we drive to one such outlet in the El Arcangel mall. We are there around 2:15pm.

The mall has its own parking, but had I known how expensive it is, I would have parked somewhere else (we pay 8.40 Euro for 3:41 hours). Usually mall parkings are much cheaper.

After the lunch, we spend some more time in the mall, then slowly walk into town. Shortly before 6pm we are back, take the car and drive to Madrid.

It's almost all motorway, but initially the motorway is horrible: narrow lanes, tight curves, very uneven surface (many bumps and holes). Only after about half of the distance there is a good motorway.

The other problem is this confusing system of bifurcations. Twice we pick the wrong road at a bifurcation, because Google Maps can't tell us accurately enough which road to take.

We reach the hotel around 10pm.




4.1: Madrid
Hotel Eco Via Lusitana, Madrid.
Weather: overcast the whole day, cold (4°C at 12pm, top temperature of perhaps 5-6°C). No wind, no rain.

At 10:20am we get into the car and drive to Majadahonda, to the Enteprise car rental. That is next to the Galp petrol station where we refill the tank. At 10:55am we return the car. The procedure takes about 10 minutes.

Then we take am Uber car to Sol (in the centre of Madrid). Uber sets a pick up point which is 800m away from where we are. I need to call the driver and inform him that we are at the Galp petrol station. The cost of the trip is 23.70€, which includes 1.50€ of waiting time.

The town today is full of people. Natasha shops around a bit, then we have lunch and some drink. Around 3pm we head back to the hotel, arriving at 4pm.

Around 5:30pm we go out again and take the metro to the Banco Espana station. From there we walk to a restaurant, where we have dinner. After dinner we spend a few hours walking in the streets, from shop to shop.

At the Miniso store there is a very long queue of people who want to go in. Just imagine a shop where customers have to queue up if they want to get in. These guys should open an additional one or two stores.

In Calle de Leganitos we spot a concentration of Chinese restaurants and Chinese shops and stores, sort of a small Chinatown. There are several places selling bubble tea at lower prices (Yanori has it for 3.50€, 4€ for the large cup).

Finally, we are in the Principe Pio shopping mall. Very nice, clean and modern mall inside a classical building, selling a range of affordable, but trendy and nice goods. Lots of shoe and affordable fashion stores.   

Around 9:30pm we take an Uber car (12.90€) back to the hotel.




5.1: Madrid -> Munich
Home, sweet home
Weather: some rain in the morning in Madrid and again after 3pm. Less cold than yesterday - top temperatures of 13°C in Madrid, 4°C in Munich at 11pm.

We check out at 12pm, leaving the luggage in the hotel, then take an Uber car to Calle de Leganitos, the Chinatown area we spotted yesterday. There we have a lunch in a Chinese restaurant, then a bubble tea. We spend the next few hours shopping around a bit.

At 3:15pm we take an Uber car back to the hotel, arriving at 3:43pm. There we rearrange the luggage and then take another Uber car to the airport, arriving at 4:27pm (only 20 minutes to get to the airport).

In the meantime Lufthansa has informed us by email that our flight is delayed from 6:25pm to 7:20pm.

At the airport we drop off the baggage, then proceed to the gate. After 6pm we have a dinner at a Burger King restaurant near the gate, then board the plane after 7:30pm.

The plane will take off at 8:04pm and land in Munich at 9:54pm. At 10:37pm we have the luggage (that's faster than usual here in Munich - sometimes you have to wait for one hour), then proceed to the train station.

We take the 11pm train to Munich, arriving in Trudering at 11:42pm.