The last leg of our trip is pretty much over. Tomorrow we’ll be back in Shanghai for better or worse. The virus is spreading all over the world so we can’t really avoid it for too much longer. Europe is expensive too. Even though my wife has been working from overseas, we’ve still spent most of her packet. At least in Shanghai the costs will come right down.
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So we flew from Barcelona to Tangier Morocco. And it was a big change of scenery and culture. We stayed just outside of the Médina. Walking through these tiny alleys, getting lost and taking photos of the beautiful colors and old doorways. It’s like another world! Tangier felt a bit intimidating at first as there are lots of young boys hanging around, looking dead serious, or trying to get a tour or sell you drugs or whatever. They were respectful though, if you didn’t want anything they left you alone. Some people might be bothered by that, but I’ve experienced a lot worse. I guess there aren’t so many jobs there so people need to hustle a bit more. Try to create something out of nothing.
We were lucky to catch a bit of live music. There were these old cats playing in a small room next to the museum. Must have been some Moroccan traditional tunes. They played violins upright leaning on their thigh. All singing together, acoustically and switching instruments. Amazing vibes!
Late one night we were walking through the Médina and heard live music coming from the roof. The door didn’t have any name on it so we weren’t sure if we could go up. But had a look anyway, up some narrow stairs. Lots of young people drinking tea and smoking. On the roof had a bunch of friends jamming on some more Moroccan tunes. Was really cool, looking out over the harbor, drinking mint tea and listening to some amazing music. They switched instruments too, they could all play.
I liked Tangier. The music, scenery and mix of cultures (African, Middle Eastern and European) make it an interesting place to visit. The food wasn’t as good though. Vegetarians might have a bit of trouble getting variety in their meals.
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Next we took the ferry back to Tarifa Spain. We had a bit of trouble as it was windy, so we had to go with a cargo ferry further East of Tangier. Anyway we got there ok, but it was a whole day affair. Tarifa seemed like a watered down Tangier with a ‘surfer’ feel to it. The wind made it not so nice to walk around, but it would be a great place to spend in the summer. Right on the beach, beautiful food and an old city and castle.
Next we took a bus to Jerez de la Frontier. We were meant to go to Cadiz, but as it was Carnival we couldn’t get a hotel. So we decided to stay nearby and then take the train into Cadiz for the day. Jerez was interesting though. We stayed in the center of the old town with a restaurant downstairs. Nice old streets and buskers playing Flamenco guitar scattered about.
We caught a Flamenco show at a nearby venue. It seemed authentic, and the audience loved it! I’ve been quite impressed with the audiences in Europe. They have a lot of enthusiasm, and they show it.
The music seems to start dissonant, and the female dancers have strong desperate expressions on their face. The singer starts, as they clap every beat, Middle Eastern influenced melody I thought. Then towards the end of the song it turns happy and the audience clapped along before the dancers leave the stage, and the claps turn into applause. An interesting experience, even though we didn’t really understand so much.
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We took the train to Cadiz to see what carnival was all about. The train was packed. People from all over Spain and probably the world were all going to Cadiz. Most of them dressed up in a costume or character. They were so serious about the costume! They really must have spent a lot of time and money either designing or making these things. Clown, animals, dinosaurs, geishas, police, fire fighters.... you name it! And all ages too including babies and grandma’s. I now know how much Spanish people like to have fun, and it looks like they are very proud and care a lot about their traditions too.
Carnival had a lot of groups singing as choirs all around the streets and the squares. All dressed up in matching clothes while people crowd around and watch drinking and eating. We took a break to see the wharf and the beach. Cadiz looks amazing too. Beautiful old buildings surrounded by beaches. I don’t think we saw the main part of Carnival as we had to get back to Jerez. Me not drinking anymore, I wouldn’t have been in the spirit anyway.
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By this time, we’ve kinda had enough moving around and decided to go all the way to Lisbon Portugal in one go. We’re both pretty tired and need a home cooked meal. It’s weird how travel can take it out of you.
So we took a bus into Seville. Then another one to Lisbon. Another all day affair. I was a little surprised crossing the border had no stop, stamp or anything.
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Lisbon has an interesting feel to it. It’s hilly (we’ve been feeling it!), has these old tiny trams, a beautiful bay, stone streets and paths, beautiful food and it quite cheap too.
It’s really touristy though. We’re staying around the top of one of the hills, and there seem to be tourists everywhere. The locals here seem to have the best spoken English on our trip so far.
Our days here have been just walking around, enjoying the scenery and charm of the old city. Drinking coffee, eating Portuguese tarts and getting a work out walking these streets.
Yesterday we took a train to Sintar on the outskirts of Lisbon. A quaint old town up in the hills with some castles and beautiful scenery. We trekked up a mountain to a palace (I think). Beautiful area, such fresh air. A little touristy, but you can see why!
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One thing I’ve been thinking about are Lisbon and Tangier have the oldest and most run down buildings. And it gives them the most character. But at the same time, it might not be the best place to live. These old buildings are nice to look at but the market in Tangier had 2 houses fall down. Not while we were there, just one of the locals was telling us. It would be a shame to knock them down, but for the people living in them it would be better to live somewhere else if possible.
I need to learn a bit more about the history of these places we’ve visited. How did they build this stuff? The art and architecture? I get the impression that Spain and Portugal have been influenced quite a bit from the Middle East.
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Really eager to get back into practicing and playing music again. Might not be any gigs for a while though as it looks like the Chinese gov has stopped making performance visas due to the virus. But at this point I just want to get back into practicing and writing.
I’ve already got a new schedule for how I’m going to do it. Hopefully it can work as my wife might still be working from home. She doesn’t like too much noise so.... actually we’ve been getting on each other’s nerves a bit. It’s just that we have zero space. Hopefully I can still use my studio to get a bit of healthy space. We’ll see. We might have to do a few weeks quarantine.
As for coding... I still need to see if it’s something I’m interested enough about to pursue seriously. It definitely would be a valuable skill to learn for understanding computer technologies and bitcoin a bit better. But if I don’t have the interest and the determination, it’s better just to stick with the world of music like playing, recording, mixing, making videos, looping, learning different skills different instruments etc.
There aren’t any luck of things to learn in this world. That’s for sure!