Welcome to Morocco, for real this time. While I usually travel on my own, sometimes I splurge and do a guided tour.   It definitely has its advantages; for one thing, the hotels are far more luxurious than where I normally stay. It’s also really nice to have other people to share the new experiences with.   And totally I lucked out on this trip, the people I met were beyond awesome!   I booked my trip with Gate 1 travel www.gate1travel.com and I would highly recommend them.   This trip was entitled 13 day Kasbah and Deserts of Morocco.   I paid just under $2000 which included a single supplement.    I arrived a day early and decided to spend my free time doing a little sightseeing on my own. I think I've said before that I hate taking taxis because as a tourist, I always get ripped off. Today was a brutal reminder. I asked how much to go to the souk, which is the huge outdoor market. I was told 50 Durham which is about $5. I thought that sounded ...

For today’s adventure, we’re going to Tangier, Morocco. Or are we?   I booked an afternoon city tour and made arrangements to meet the guide at a Mosque near the ferry terminal.   I then booked a ferry leaving from Algeciras, about 2 hours from Rota. I ended up being the last person to board because I couldn't find the right ferry terminal.   After dozing for most of the 1.5-hour crossing, I awoke feeling refreshed, and joined the line of passengers on shore, only to be sent back to the ship because my passport wasn’t stamped.  I passed thru security when I left Spain, I thought they stamped it. OK, whatever, I headed back up the ramp to find the passenger door closed.   I walked back down the ramp and was waved into the car bay and told to wait till they unloaded the cars.   Eventually I made it upstairs where I found an empty ferry.  After wandering around, I found a few people milling about; evidently they also needed a st...

My next stop was Rota, Spain. There's a naval base there and it's possible to catch a military flight back to the States, so I thought I would scope it out. One of the benefits of being retired military is that I can fly on a space-available basis for free or near free. I had also heard quite a bit about Rota; that there were a lot of interesting places to go in the area like Tangiers and Ronda.           As I always do when I’m on a military base, I was excited to go shop for American food. After walking almost 1.5 hours, I was super disappointed to find no Taco Bell, which is at almost every base I’ve ever been on. I know, don't judge, it's my favorite fast food and almost no where do I see it in Europe. Oddly enough, Liverpool has one, but that's so random. All they had to offer was Subway. By that time, I was so tired and hungry I happily scarfed it down. After I did a bit of shopping I splurged on a cab ride back home. I had hoped ...

I'm happy to say that by the time I got to Lisbon my knee was so much better. I found this city much more to my liking; its just felt more friendly, vibrant, and walkable. I decided to stick with the tourist bus until my knee was back to 100%. In Lisbon some of the places that I wanted to see we're pretty far away from City Center so the bus worked out even better here.   One of the must-see places is called Belem Tower, which, according to Wikipedia, is a 16th century fortification that served both as a fortress and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It’s on the northern bank of the Togas river and a bit far away from the city center, but well worth the visit.   There are a few cafes and restaurants nearby and the walk along the river is very nice.   Also on the northern side of the river is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or Monument of the Discoveries. This impressive monument is said to celebrate the Portuguese adventurers who departed Lisbon to explor...