Is there anything cuter than a baby camel?

 

When we were leaving Africa we had to stop and take a picture of this group of camels…including their three week old baby!  He was as interested in us as we were in him.

Tangiers, Casbah

 

Tangiers is mainly of Arab decent.  Inside the castle walls thousands of people live as they did centuries ago.  There are hundreds of narrow winding streets that run for miles.  The Casbah overwhelms all of your senses.  There are smells of fresh breads, you hear beautiful middle eastern music, all in a tight knit Muslim community.  They are selling everything you can imagine.  The man in the picture is offering 27 types of olives.  It is said, “you can learn more in 10 steps in another country than by reading 10 books.”

I didn’t feel unwelcome in the Casbah however I did notice our guide commanded a lot of respect.

BTW; the movie Casablanca was not filmed in Casablanca, Morocco it was filmed in Tangiers, Morocco.

Morocco, Africa

 

As they always say, if you are in southern Spain you might as well swing down to Africa.  It’s only about a one hour boat ride from the southern tip of Spain to Tangiers, Morocco.  We hired a guide who came with a driver/bodyguard…bodyguard?  (He was 6’5” and assured us we would have no problems with him along).  Tangiers was once a city of thieves and beggers but now it has a more sophisticated presence and a western style of law.  However, it still has a King and Royal Family.  They took us to the most beautiful parts of the city first where the wealthiest families lived.  But, the most interesting parts of Tangiers to me were the intercity castle, the Casbah and the alleys of Succo. (More to follow on that tomorrow)

Don’t look down

 

Yesterday on the Caminito Del Rey bridge there was a spot where you could step out on a glass platform for a quick photo.  So of course we had to do it.  You could see down 330 feet to the narrow, rocky gorge and the water below.

If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try..

 

This is the Caminito Del Rey (in English it’s the Kings Path).  It’s a walkway pinned along steep walls of a narrow gorge 330 feet high.  It was originally constructed in 1901.  After many years it became very dangerous and in disrepair.  It was known as the worlds most dangerous path when five people died on it in 1999 to 2000.  It was then closed, reconstructed, and reopened in 2015.  Now people (who are not afraid of heights) love to walk it and take in the extraordinary beauty along the way.  The first picture shows the bridge that crosses from one side of the gorge to the other.  The bridge sways as you cross it and you can see through the panels to the river below.  The second pictures shows how high the path is with one walker on the upper, left side of the gorge.  This path has been nominated as a World Heritage Site so it can be preserved and enjoyed by many generations to come.

Every country has a story…

 

This is my friend Rona, we worked together for 20 years.  We both share the same passion for travel.  Between work & pleasure we have traveled to; Israel, Jordan, Zimbabwe, Botswana, France, Czech Republic, Amsterdam, South Africa, Ireland, Germany...to name a few.  Every country has a story! 

What is the healthiest country in the world?

 

You got it - Spain!   According to the 2019 Bloomberg Global Health Index.  

After spending several weeks in Spain I began to notice how vibrant and healthy people looked so I did a little research.  The Bloomberg report rated countries by many different health factors on a scale of 1 to 100.  Some of the factors included were; Life Expectancy, Nutrition/diet, Exercise, Access to Health Care, Clean Air & Water, Controllable Health Risks to name a few.  Spain has a very low obesity rate.  Their Mediterranean diet consists of fruits, vegetable, fresh fish, olive oil & nuts with very little red meat and processed foods.  37% of people here walk or ride bike to work.  Everyone here has access to quality healthcare.

Who were the top 5 in this study?  Spain 92.75 / Italy 91.59 / Iceland 91.44 /  Japan 91.38 and Switzerland 90.93.  (The USA was 75.9 which was the 35th on the list).

Skewered sardines - a delicacy in Malaga

 

There are many beach restaurants here and EVERY ONE of them serves fresh, skewered sardines.  There will be one man cooking the sardines in a large open air barbecue.  There is an art to doing it just right.  They are served salted and with lemon.  Perfect with a beer or white wine, they say.  We haven’t tried one…yet.  Of course I had to ask; what parts do you eat??  My understanding is you do not eat the head but you eat everything else (some of the locals eat the head too).

Can you spot the tourists in this photo??

 

Well the back story is unfortunately Alan had covid last week.  It lasted about 5 days, he said it was like a very bad cold.  He got over it however he still doesn’t have a lot of energy.  That seems to be a common problem with this new strain of covid.  There are no 10-12 mile hikes happening for us right now.  So instead we decided to have a little horse & carriage ride through old town.  It was so lovely!  

Alan has been spending more time resting on the beach watching all of the topless sun bathers which has helped him get through this difficult time.

About Malaga

 

Malaga is a city of over 500,000 people.  We usually pick smaller communities but we are staying on a casual beach outside of the city.  Yesterday I walked to “old town” and it really was charming.  The cathedral of Malaga is on the left of the photo above which took 250 years to build.  The Gibralfaro Castle is on the right which protected the city in 1300’s.  Also there are beautiful gardens and walking paths scattered everywhere!

BTW; Malaga is where the artist Pablo Picasso was born and they celebrate his birthday every October.