Don't know what happened, but I wrote this blog post last fall, 2025. Then never posted it. I was leaving Morocco, taking a train across southern Europe to attend a Photo Workshop in Venice, Italy.
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Preparing to leave Morocco was decision time, take a flight direct to Venice for the upcoming photography workshop, OR...
Take a taxi to the north shore of Morocco, jump on a ferry crossing the Strait of Gibralter to Spain. Once there, try something new, ride the train across Spain, France, ending up in northwest Italy.
Destination: Venice.
I have never traveled by train in Europe but wanted to. But trying it alone while dragging a heavy suitcase, backpack, camera gear, etc, are you sure you want to do this?
I read somewhere you are never too old to learn something new, so let's do it! What can go wrong? People have been riding the trains in Euroepe for decades and decades.
Not one to shy away from trying something new, decided just do it. Regrets can come later, if ever. But for now, get out of your comfort zone, have an adventure.
Having an adventure is bravely going where other people live!
We'll focus on what a great positive adventure it will be, meeting new people, learning how to navigate sa different mode of transport, learn to read train schedules in several languages. decipher train station boards, find hotels, taxis, and commnunicate with porters and security guards in three different languages.
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Alan and I left Chechuauen at 4:30 am for Tangier on the northern coast.
By 9:30 we dropped Alan near the airport so he could catch a flight to London the next day.
There was an MG automobile dealership next door to his hotel, He thought he might do a little tire kicking. Remember the little two door MG convertible sportscars of the sixties. They are not even sold in the USA anymore, but are still available in Europe.
The driver then took me to the new marine terminals 40 km west of Tangier. Was very glad the driver we hired knew which of the six spread out ports was the passenger terminal and which were cargo only terminals.
Buying the passage across the Strait was easy. The reader board displayed the departure time for several different ferry company. Each company had a separate kiosk where you could buy passage on their ferry. Simply select the departure time that suits you, go the appropriate ticket window and buy your walk-on ticket.
After a short twenty minute wait, I was on board, watching the ferry pull away from the dock.
From the ferry railing, a view of the port.
The ferry had wifi so I could pull up the Google map showing exactly where we were.
Was a bit cool out on the deck once we cleared land. Being the middle of the week, Thursday November 27th, there were not many passengers. Was told that every weekends the ferry is packed with tourists heading down to Morocco for sun and relaxation. One can take your own vehicle for an easy, affordable trip.
The port for landing in Spain was Algeciras, near Gibralter. Mainly due to the fact there is a train station in Algeciras. If I had gotten on the Tarifa ferry by mistake, I would have had to take a bus to the Algeciras train station.
Both the Moroccan and the Spanish ports are both busy commercial ports of entry.
Once through Spain immigration and customs, it was a short seven block walk to the Algeciras train station.
Already mid-afternoon, had to start thinking about where I would spend the night. Do I spend the first night in Algeciras or try to move inland? I did not consider using a sleeper train on this trip as I wanted to experience different cities as I made my way across Europe.
Checking the maps, ask the train booking agent about several small cities, then used booking.com to secure a room for the night.
Even when traveling in the states, I look for smaller city/towns to find a hotel for the night.
I try to avoid staying in large metropolitan cities, preferring the mid to smaller towns where crime is less, people more open to helping strangers, and hotels are more affordable.
In Europe, train stations tend to be near the center of town where one can usually find hotels within walking distance. Which is importatant when lugging a heavy suitcase everywhere.
The ticket lady agreed that Ronda, Spain was an interesting city.
Unfortunately I arrived too late in the day to go see the ancient Roman bridge in Ronda.
Before leaving the Ronda train station, I spoke with the ticket the agent to find out departure times for the next day to make it to Girona, Spain where I planned to spend two nights, Friday and Saturday.
Showed her my Eurail Pass I bought before leaving the US, paid the small fee for reserving a seat in first class car. Not sure why the reservation was necessary are there were only five persons in first class the next morning.
Luckily the Hotel Anadalucia was directly across the street from the Ronda station, no chance of getting lost here. Made a loop around the neighborhood looking for an open restaurant. Seems 8 p.m. is too early, several opened at 9 p.m. A burger joint turned the sign on, I walked in. A burger, fries and a cold beer made for a healthy dinner.
Tomorrow, we board the train hoping to find the steel rails leading to Venice.
CCjon
