Well, then…. I’m sitting in a cafe in Tangier, nous nous (great Moroccan coffee) in hand, after arriving here last night. Yesterday was a big day for me on the trip – I said adios to Scott after his ten day hang and headed northward up the coast. Deborah arrives in Casablanca tomorrow for another ten day jaunt, so Chapter One of the trip has wrapped and Chapter Two is soon to begin. Fantastic all the way around…

Being with Scott was really awesome. Any time I get to spend solo with the kids is really special, and doing it with my caboose made it particularly enjoyable. Scott is so smart, and I felt like we were on a private guided tour. We saw really fascinating places and had a blast together. Thank you, Scott – you made the start of the trip and the journey absolutely terrific.

Reflections one third of the way through this voyage – first of all, I love the country, the people, the culture, the architecture and the overall vibe. Surprisingly, we’ve found much of the local food to be quite mediocre and bland, but we’ve navigated around it, especially when on the water. with excellent seafood

It is incredibly safe here, and people could not be nicer. Super chill all around, except for the police on the roads. They play a nasty two man speed trap game everywhere here that you simply can’t win. Although I’ve talked my way out of three speeding tickets so far, I’ve gotten six plus an improper lane change one.

Here’s how the drill operates – you’re pulled over entering or leaving a town or in the middle of nowhere, and one of the tag team cops walks up to you with a radar gun showing your license plate and the speed you were supposedly going on a very small hand screen. Total bullshit. Every time I was stopped, I was told I was doing 67 in a 60 Km/hr zone. All of the cops were extremely nice, but you have to pay the tickets on the spot – approximately $15 a pop. Rough justice indeed, and I complained bitterly to all of them that the whole drill was a total scam and that they were completely turning tourists off to visiting their country. They smiled and took my Dirham….

Anyway, that truly sucks, and it formed a good part of my decision to hit Spain for nine days after Deborah’s stay here. That and the fact that three weeks in Morocco will be enought time to see pretty much everything I came to check out. Spain will be lots of fun, as I always love visiting it.

Essaouria (pronounced Esswara) was an absolute jewel. Scott said we had to go. Known as a chill surf town, it has a low key but upscale vibe, with great food, views and activities (including Hammam, which is an incredible body treatment dating to the Persians). I’m gonna hit the Hammam regularly going forward. We stayed in a riad (an apartment behind a completely nondescript door, with a beautiful courtyard and total privacy inside) right in the Medina (the walled villages / towns where merchants and restauranteurs have plied their trades and lived safe form invasion for over a thousand years). Superb place and experience.

The town of Mouley Bousselham was next on the northward journey towards Tangier. I stopped there for lunch and a hike and found it very pretty, but poor and dirty. Nice people, though.

Girls just wanna have fun. Too windy for the bikini…

The town of Asila, further north, was a very cool and unexpected find. Beautiful Medina, restaurants and sea breezes abounded.

The cute young girl on the right flashed me the peace sign when she saw that I was photographing her. Very cool….

Mr. Chill. Definitely not a Klan hat….

Well, that’s it for today. Headed to Ceuta, a Spanish holding, on the north / Meditteranean coast opposite Gibraltar, then back to Casablanca to pick up Deborah. After that, we’ll be off on another adventure to places she’d like to see after having visited and fallen in love with Morocco years ago. Ciao for now.