Treasures of Spain, Portugal & Morocco ~ 1999 ~ Phil

NOTE: this "tour tale" was prepared five years after our tour as a favour for a friend who was considering the tour and it is based mainly on memory. It is therefore short on detail in many places.

My wife and I went on this tour at Easter 1999, immediately following a Splendours of Egypt tour. We had a wonderful time, enjoying every moment of it. Here is a fairly long summary of our experiences.

We awoke to a sunny Good Friday in Madrid with beautiful, colourful, flowery streetscapes and interesting architecture. The city was also decked out in extra bunting for the Easter festival. The negative was that several of the places of tourist interest were closed because of Easter. We walked quite a distance through the city ending up in the Plaza Mayor. 

That night we met our Insight tour group and next morning set out across Spain with the usual, friendly collection of fellow travellers from Australia, Canada, USA, Britain, Ireland and the Philippines. Our Insight Tour Director, Steve Thacker was (as we were to learn throughout our trip) of the highest standard, an interesting, multilingual character who had been born in Portugal with an English father and Portuguese mother. He had been schooled in England and over the years had built up a diverse collection of historical and geographical anecdotes that kept us interested/amused throughout the trip. Can't remember the drivers name but he was first class.

We left Madrid and travelled to the walled city of Avila for our mid-morning stop (click here for large image). 

Our first overnight stay was in the town of Salamanca, probably best known for having the oldest University in Spain (founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of Leön) and one of the oldest in Europe. The city with its beautiful, narrow, winding, paved streets (barely wide enough for a small car) has been declared a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO. 

We had an afternoon of exploration followed by the observation of the fascinating, macabre Easter funerary procession through the town. The participants were dressed in red and black cloaks and wore tall pointed hats.

The next day we travelled further across Spain, crossing into Portugal with our lunch stop at Fatima and a visit to the shrine. (The drive from Salamanca to Fatima was perhaps the longest drive of the tour.) 

Later in the afternoon, we arrived in Lisbon at the Le Meridien, an excellent 5 star hotel with marvellous views of the city from our 9th floor room. That night we had our first taste of “Fado” and other folkloric music in a beautiful little restaurant in the Alfama district, owned by an ex-bullfighter. [OPTIONAL]

Next day we explored Lisbon with its many monuments to Portugal’s bold seafaring history. We started with the Castle of São Jorge, continuing on to the historic Belém area beside the Tagus River, visiting the Monument to the Discoveries, the Belem Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery.

We headed out of Lisbon and drove the short distance to Estoril, a seaside resort in the Cascais region) where we had time to explore and have lunch. 

After lunch, we visited the Royal Palace of Queluz and then travelled on to the beautiful hilltop town of Sintra [OPTIONAL].

That night was a free night and we experienced an interesting style of Portuguese cooking: Piri Piri chicken where the birds are split open in wire frames and barbecued over charcoal. The main flavour comes from the “Piri” chilli originally from Mozambique and Angola in Africa as a result of the Portuguese navigators many centuries ago. Needless to say, this style of chilli is reputed to be one of the hotter varieties of chilli.

We left Lisbon over the beautiful 25 de Abril Bridge, very similar to San Francisco’s Golden Gate. After a morning of travel through an agricultural region, we arrived back in Spain at the city of Seville. A river cruise, a visit to the Cathedral to see Christopher Columbus’ tomb and its Giralda Tower, then past the Alcazar to the Santa Cruz quarter where we filled the afternoon. 

Next morning we travelled to Cordoba with its famous Mezquita

to see the extraordinary amalgam of Moorish, Jewish and European culture and architecture. [OPTIONAL]

With the afternoon free, we walked from one side of Seville to the other and back (quite a few kilometres), delayed by the "siesta" closing of shops in the afternoon, to buy a beautiful plate my wife had seen in a magazine in our hotel. That night, we all went to a theatre-restaurant to observe an interesting company of Flamenco dancers who entertained us whilst we were fed really dreadful food.

A short drive the next morning brought us to the border of Spain and Gibraltar. It was fascinating to see how the Spanish customs and immigration officials were intent on discouraging people from visiting Gibraltar. We took the cable car to the top of the rock, explored the caves and fed the Barbary Macaques. A great experience! [OPTIONAL]

Mid afternoon, we travelled back into Spain to Algeciras and boarded the car/ferry for the 2 hour crossing to Morocco, our first night being in Tangier. The country is very tightly regulated with daily reporting to police of all tourists and their movements from city to city. We also had to take on board a government tour guide for the period of our stay in Morocco. The credentials of our Insight guide coupled with Insights name apparently determined that we were given the most senior government guide who knew our guide very well. In fact, our Insight guide appeared at breakfast on the first morning in Tangier wearing a Djellaba and he wore local clothing for most of our stay in Morocco.

[An important fact to be aware of in Morocco is that non-Moslems are absolutely banned from 99% of Mosques. This dates back to some very unpleasant incidents during the French control of the country. Morocco is a Moslem country and you are therefore advised to dress modestly, particularly in the souks or in primitive villages.]

After a short tour of Tangier, we headed out next morning south along the Atlantic coast passing many beautiful sandy beaches facing the Atlantic before heading inland to Fez (or Fes). Being a Moslem/Arabic country, there were many similarities with Egypt and Turkey (where we had been on previous trips with Insight) but the influence of a long period of French rule coupled with the Berbers who make up a substantial part of the Moroccan population, have generated a truly unique style of architecture and cuisine. That evening, we enjoyed a delightful Moroccan Dinner and a Folklore Show with drums and belly dancing. Of particular note was the chicken bastilla. 

The Fes-el-Bali Medina with its many souks linked by narrow, dark, winding alleys was unbelievable. We were closely grouped and directed throughout our visit by our Insight Guide, our Government Guide and a helper because the chances of becoming lost were very great. The donkeys and horses used to transport goods around the Medina have right of way and when you hear “attention!!” or “balak!!” (beware!!) you have to jump to a side wall or risk being trampled. Perhaps the most memorable spot was the leather souk where the hides are treated and dyed in holes in the rocks with people jumping up and down in the dreadfully smelly chemicals up to their waists. What it does to their bodies is anyone’s guess.

The following day, we travelled to Marrakesh (or Marrakech), a truly beautiful agricultural area with the Atlas mountains as a backdrop. After checking into our hotel, we visited a Berber settlement in the Middle Atlas mountains where they have fashioned very comfortable homes in caves in the mountains, not unlike Cappadocia in Turkey [OPTIONAL]. We had some delicious mint tea with a very friendly family. (There were lots of kids around and we were encouraged to give then biros or other small items, not money! The government did not want tourists to encourage begging by the children.)

Next morning, we visited a weekly rural market [OPTIONAL] where the farmers bring their produce to trade with others: no money is involved! We walked though the butcher shop where the meat was being slaughtered. We travelled on higher into the Atlas mountains to the Hotel Toubkal at Asni where Winston Churchill used to stay and saw the place from where he painted many pictures. The soft pastel colours of the countryside were extraordinary.

We travelled back into Marrakesh and visited the marketplace (Djemaa el Fna) which is renown for the diverse range of people trying to earn money from the tourists: snake charmers, magicians, musicians, story tellers, etc. At night, these people are replaced by a large number of open air restaurants with an overpowering blend of aromatic food smells (night view). In the afternoon, we were taken to an apothecary's shop in the souk where we were given a demonstration of both herbs/spices and cosmetic items. It was here that my wife and I were introduced to the popular blend of herbs and spices that is used across the Middle East and North Africa: Ras el hanout, something that we have continued to used regularly since then.

That evening, we went to an incredible show at Chez Ali called “Fantasia” where each group of tourists sits in large Bedouin tent-like structures around the periphery of a stadium where the show was later held. We were served a wonderful, traditional Moroccan meal with different peasant groups coming into our tent every so often to entertain us with traditional dances and songs. When the meal was finished, we went outside to the stadium. Eventually, the show started with lots of exciting horsemen firing their guns and galloping incredibly fast around the stadium and peasant groups acting out some of the history of their country, accompanied by music and fireworks—an unforgettable evening!! [OPTIONAL]

The following day, after visiting a German trader's shop where we were able to buy top name clothing and leatherware at excellent prices, we travelled through Casablanca (where on an orientation tour we observed the Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco and the third largest mosque in the world) to Rabat, the capital, where we visited the Royal Palace, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Hassan Tower.

Next morning, we travelled back to Tangier where we boarded the car-ferry for our journey back to Spain. Our first evening was spent in Estepona and the next day we continued along the coast observing a lifestyle to which we could easily become accustomed: exotic cars, ocean liner size pleasure boats and all the accoutrements.

Turning inland, we saw frequent black bull cutouts (silhouettes of El Toro, a trademark of the Jerez-based Osborne brandy company) from the Costa del Sol to the plains of La Mancha. After travelling through thousands of hectares of olive plantations, we finally arrived in Granada. That afternoon, we visited the exquisite Moorish Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens, a remarkable experience! The Sierra Nevada mountain range covered with snow provided a beautiful setting for Granada. 

We set off the next morning for Madrid but spent much of the afternoon wandering around the city of Toledo, visiting the Church of Santo Tomé (El Greco's parish church) where we saw El Greco's painting (The Burial of the Count of Orgazin), the Cathedral of Toledo and a steel workshop. (Toledo is another masterpiece of architecture on a very stark hillside surrounded by a ravine carved by the Tagus river). Renown for its steel and its renaissance art (especially El Greco), it was a most enjoyable, but all too short, visit.

We arrived back in Madrid that evening. The next morning, we visited the Royal Palace (Palacio Real) with its unbelievable artistic collection.

Then it was a 30 minute drive into the snow-capped mountains to the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos), a gigantic memorial to the millions of dead of both sides from the Spanish Civil war carved into a mountain with an enormous cross on top. Each arm of the cross is large enough to accommodate two tourist buses on it. The church inside the mountain contains the grave of General Franco. We then visited the Escorial Palace where many of the prominent “royals” of Spain are interred. [OPTIONAL]

We ended our tour in Madrid with a superb gourmet dinner together with the guide and driver followed by an extensive tour of the Madrid streets at night. [OPTIONAL] It was fascinating to observe that night life in Madrid really only started at about 10:00pm.

Perhaps the most fortunate feature of this tour was the absolutely perfect weather: no rain and generally warm to hot weather with the only cold at the end in the mountains.

The tour options were not cheap (we took them all, a total of about $US 675 for the two of us). We have no regrets about any of the options.

Do be careful of street crime in the bigger cities like Madrid, particularly in large areas where tourists tend to congregate (eg. Plaza Mayor). Several members of our group had first hand experiences of this although they lost very little, mainly small change.

All of the hotels were reasonably good, particularly in Morocco except for Tangier which was still OK.

The major thing we would really have liked to have done in Madrid but didn't was to visit the Museo Nacional del Prado (it was closed on Good Friday when we were there).

Looking back on our tour, the major highlights were:

Alhambra Palace and Generalife Gardens

Cordoba and its Mezquita

Toledo and particularly El Greco's painting (The Burial of the Count of Orgazin) in the Church of Santo Tomé (El Greco's parish church).

Palacio Real in Madrid

the Valley of the Fallen (El Valle de los Caidos) and El Escorial

university town of Salamanca with its beautiful, narrow, windy, paved streets

the beautiful hilltop town of Sintra (Lisbon)

Seville with its Cathedral and Giralda Tower and Plaza de España (built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929)

Rock of Gibraltar

Fes-el-Bali medina (particularly the tanner's souk)

Chez Ali "Fantasia" - Marrakech

the town square of Jemaa-el-Fna with its crowd of storytellers, musicians and other entertainers by day and the remarkable, aromatic food stalls by night - Marrakech

Tourist Guide to the Red City: Marrakesh

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Here are the Tour Options that were offered to us in 1999 (prices may be a little different now):

LISBON - Typical Portuguese evening with dinner and drinks and original Fados melodies and folklore. [$US55]

LISBON - Visit the Royal Palace of Quelez and then to the jewel hilltop town of Sintra [$US38]

SEVILLE - Visit to Spain's most historic town CORDOBA to see the world's most unique monument [$US46]

GIBRALTAR - Visit the whole rock from top to bottom [$US21]

FES - Visit Berber village of Bhahil and see the true life of these ancient people [$US17]

MARRAKECH - Panoramic drive to Ourika Valley in High Atlas Mountains and a special visit to the peasant Berber market [$US21]

MARRAKECH - Fantasia with dinner and a magnificent display of beautiful Arab horses [$US53]

MADRID - Visit the incredible Valley of the Fallen and Escorial Palace [$US41]

MADRID - Our last evening dinner with melodies from a TUNOS followed by an illuminations tour [$US47]