A Cruise from Barcelona to Morocco, Canary Isl, Madeira, Malaga

We have always thought that we would save cruising for our "old age" when we could no longer handle travel on our own. Well, I guess we've arrived at old age - both retired and over 65. But we've still resisted. We took one cruise in 2007 to Turkey and Greece, had 4 days on a ship on the Nile during our visit to Egypt, and then booked this cruise.

What kind of stateroom should you get? This time we opted for one with a balcony since the weather would be nice; we spent a lot of time reading and sunning on the balcony on "Days at Sea". The first time we opted for a stateroom with an "Obstructed View", which was a lot less expensive and still gave us daylight and some view. I would recommend a balcony for cruises to sunny places. The interior cabins are a lot less expensive, but I know, for us, we couldn't stand to be without sunlight in our cabin.

Cruising is a great way to have a taste of several different places, without having to pack, unpack, and repack. I think that's the number one reason to take a cruise. But it's only a taste. You will be in some ports too long and some not long enough. We've been accustomed to staying longer if we like a place and moving on quickly if we don't. Obviously you don't have that option any more.

The food served on the two different cruise lines that we've used - Oceania and NCL - has been fine. Oceania is a bit better and the dining experience is calmer, quieter, and just nicer with better service, but costs quite a bit more. NCL food was fine with plenty of choice for every meal; however, it was difficult finding a place to sit in the buffet restaurant and forget finding a place outdoors: I think you have to be born into them. And ANY cruiseship food gets a sameness after a week on board. It's a good idea to have a meal on shore at least once in a while. This gives you a break from the ship's chefs AND gives you a nice taste of the place you are visiting.

There are several dining rooms on any ship, more for the larger ships. On Oceania you have the option of eating in their 2 upscale restaurants at least once each during the voyage; on NCL you can dine in several dining rooms as often as you want but you pay an extra $10 - $15 per person. On port days, they have a 2 for 1 early-bird-special deal at a few of these restaurants.

There is plenty of entertainment on board the ship. There's gambling (which we don't do), shows, music, and so on. There's a library on board, so you don't have to pack books. There was a speaker who gave an Introduction to Morocco, and Overview of the Atlantic Islands, and a History of Spain, all of which we found very informative. The speaker we had on the Oceania cruise was deadly dull and I walked out after the first 1/2 hour and never came back. So that's the luck of the draw.

We especially enjoyed sitting in the bar with a glass of Moscato d'Asti, listening to the piano player. He was great, a classically trained Ukrainian who mixed Mozart, Joplin, Cole Porter, and show tunes with ease.

There are always days "At Sea", while the ship transitions to the next port. There is usually one immediately after boarding, which is actually kind of nice as it gives you a time to find your way around the ship, sit in the hot tub, get to know a few people, and so forth. There is usually on this first day a presentation of the various ports you will visit - they are trying to sell you "excursions" but it's informative anyway. There are games - bingo, trivia, and sports - shuffleboard, putting, even tennis (!), and exercise rooms, salons, shopping, and so forth, to keep anyone as busy as one wants.

We tend not to take many excursions. These are big money-makers for the cruise line. But if you are landing for the first time in a port, there are almost always "Hop-on, Hop-off" buses that can give you a quick overview and a chance to see the top sights at a much lower price. Then you can go back and see the places you really want to visit.

We took one excursion on this cruise: we were to land in Agadir, which is a beach resort and we figured there would not be much to see there. We took the excursion to Taroudant, a place advertized as "Little Marrakesh" and, since we wouldn't be visiting Marrakesh, we wanted to see Taroudant.

The Conclusion: well, yes, I guess in some cases a cruise is definitely the way to go. Turkey and Greece, we saw several Greek islands and a stop in Ephesus which was important; this time we visited Morocco; Las Palmas, Canary Islands; Funchal, Madeira; and Malaga and decided we would like to return to Madeira some day. Morocco and Las Palmas we didn't care for so much, but this way we could experience them a bit without having to spend a week in any one place.

The flight from Nice to Barcelona, about 1 1/2 hours, was great on Iberia. They always serve the simplest food, which is a good idea. Who expects a gourmet meal on an airplane?

Once we arrived in Barcelona we were looking for the cheapest way to get into the city. We were directed to the "Blue Bus", very close by and for 4.25 euros each we were taken into the city. The last stop is Placa Catalunya, a terrific location for arriving tourists as it is near the Old Town and La Rambla, which leads from the Placa to the Port.

There are many hotels of all levels around the Placa so it makes for a central position for exploring this wonderful city. You can also pick up buses here to ride up to Park Guell, the Gaudi park where he lived for a few years.

When the cruise ended, the cruiseline offered a $40 transfer to the airport. Instead, we took a 2 euro bus to town and then the same bus for 4.25 euros back to the airport, saving a LOT of money.

We stayed just one night in the hotel, because we always think it's a good idea to get to a city where a cruise is starting the day before, just to make sure there are no cancellations or problems. Hotel Inglaterra is convenient as it is a short walk from Placa Catalunya where the airport bus leaves you off. La Rambla, the main shopping street, and the Old Town are nearby.

The corner room with two windows was not large but comfortable and quiet, even on the street side, and there was a very nice, very modern bathroom. It's an elevator building, which we are finding more necessary as we grow older. I found the hotel through the site venere.com, which I like because you can search by location.

Breakfast was 8 euros each but worth it: a wide choice of breads, eggs, meats, cheese, juice.

Our cruise was to start and end in Barcelona, a city we have visited before and found intriguing. On our first visit we had seen Gaudi's cathedral and several of the buildings he designed but we hadn't gotten to Parque Guell so that was first on our list. It was a rainy day but we headed over to Plaza Catalunya, the central square in the city, where we found the bus that would take us up to the park. The park was meant to be much more extensive but the planning was cut short by Gaudi's untimely death. But there are two charming houses at the entrance, a large terrace with tiled seating, and a few covered walks.

Next on our list was the Picasso Museum, listed in "1,000 Places to See Before You Die", a book I like to check before traveling. It is housed in a 14th century palace in the Old Town and includes many very early works by Picasso, so different from his later works. A lifelong friend of Picasso, Jaume Sabartes, donated many of the works from his own collection in the 60's. Then in 1970 Picasso also donated about a thousand works. Many of the works reflect Picasso's strong attachment to the city of Barcelona.

That was all we really had a chance to see on this short stay of one night; then we got a cab to head down to the port for the beginning of our cruise.

En route to Morocco, our speaker on the cruise ship talked about this interesting country which is bordered by both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. They see themselves with roots in Africa and branches reaching into Europe.

There are cave paintings in the Atlas Mountains dating from 40,000 years ago. The Phoenicians came for the salt and crops in the 6th century BC. Then the Romans came, calling the area "Mauritania" and using it as part of their "bread basket". After the Romans came the Vandals and Visigoths. The Berbers, still present in the country, came from Libya in the east and are the source of the name Barbary Coast.

In 716 AD the Islamic Conquest took place and Morocco was the jumping off point for the conquest of Spain. Because the Koran prohibits art of living things, their art consisted of geometric patterns and calligraphy resulting in the beautiful tile work seen in Islamic buildings and walkways. The Islams changed the style of the country completely.

From the 1400's on, there was a strong European influence and in 1906 France was granted autonomy over Morocco. In WWI, Morocco sided with the Allies. Their Independence Movement was put down after the war and they finally gained their independence in 1956.

Morocco boasts a 200 year long history of a good relationship with the United States.

We were in port in Casablanca on Sunday morning; a bus took us from the ship to outside the port area and then we were on our own. We decided to walk to the Mosque of Hassan II which is the second largest mosque in the world, built in the 1990's. It's impressive, with its site overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

But the really interesting thing we saw was Rick's American Cafe. Now, of course, this isn't the REAL Rick's Cafe from the movie "Casablanca" which was on a lot in Hollywood; but it's a beautiful 1930's mansion built as part of the walls of the Old Medina. An American opened the restaurant/bar in 2004 and we had to stop in for a drink. The tables were inlaid with mother-of-pearl in intricate designs; the hanging metal lamps, the marble and tiled fireplaces, and the beautiful tiled floors invoked the Casablanca that you imagined.

It seems like it would be a fine place to have a meal. Drinks were reasonable - less expensive than aboard ship!

We don't take many of the arranged excursions offered by the cruise line. But we were to be in Agadir for a day and we weren't really interested in this modern beach town. Instead we took the excursion to Taroudant, called "Little Marrakesh". It was a long bus ride through interesting scenery and past the snow-topped Atlas Mountains (as much as 1800 meters high) to Taroudant, an old village surrounded by pink/tan mud walls. We visited the market - like any Arab market, a mad-house of food, clothing, furniture, kitchen supplies, jewelry, and on and on, all tumbling out of the small shops. We stopped at the entrance to the walled city to climb up the stairs for a better view of the place with the Atlas Mountains behind. But there really wasn't that much more to see - if you've visited an Arab market, you've been there.

En route back to Agadir, we stopped to see the goats climbing the Argan trees. These trees produce a fruit with seeds that are rich in Vitamin E and important in the cosmetic industry, although the locals use the oil to replace olive oil. Goats are particularly fond of the trees and actually climb up into them to feed, which is quite a sight! They made the whole excursion worth while!

Local information: "Agadir" means "a fort", a place to store valuables and for safekeeping of women, children, and the aged when under attack.

We were expecting a small, sleepy island village but instead found a big city when we landed in Las Palmas with its population of 400,000. We took a city bus to the Old Town of Vegueta and wandered around, finding the lovely Casa de Colon, the Governor's House where Columbus is said to have stayed; and the charming 15th century Cathedral, across from Plaza de Santa Ana with its statues of dogs that the islands were named for (canis, in Latin, is dog). The pedestrian zone is lined with pastel colored buildings, each more charming than the last.

Las Palmas is capital of the province of Las Palmas and is one of Spain's major ports. Columbus stopped here to make repairs on his ships and load final provisions before finally setting off to the New World.

We fell in love with Funchal, which means "fennel", almost immediately. It is located on the south side of Madeira Island, founded in 1421 by Joao Goncalves Zarco, a captain under Prince Henry the Navigator who introduced grape vines and sugar cane to the island. The old town (Cidade Velha) is charming, with narrow pedestrian streets, and the whole place just has a nice feel to it, with its year-long spring-like climate. We took a "Hop-on, Hop-off" tour of the small city and then just wandered around, visiting the small Cathedral and heading back to Old Town for a lunch, sitting outside under the awning while there was a brief shower. We had fresh sea bass with wonderful fresh vegetables and a nice bottle of a local white wine (Seical).

There is a funicula which can take you up to the highest point above Funchal and then a crazy "sled ride" to come down. We didn't have time for this but everyone says it's great. Next time!

There aren't any "must see's", just a relaxing and friendly place to visit. In the 16th century it was an important stopping place en route to the New World. The British controlled it during the Napoleonic Wars, but now it is Portuguese and famous for its Madeira wine, embroidery, and wicker. If you are of a certain age, you will remember the line, "Have some Madeira, My-dear-a".

I'd swear I'd been to Malaga twice before, but realized that the first time I'd stayed in Fuengirola and the second time in Nerja and never really saw Malaga, the Capital of the Costa del Sol, itself. And it's definitely worth a visit. Arriving by ship is the ideal way, as the ship leaves you off within a 10 minute walk of everything you want to see. There is a "hop-on/hop-off bus, but even that is unnecessary.

Our first stop was the magnificent 16th century Cathedral, with its highlights of pink and blue and the ornate exterior. It's called by the locals "La Manquita" ("The One-Armed One") because one of its towers was never finished. The inside, with its intricate ceiling, is exquisite. And the outside of the clerical building across the way is gorgeous.

Then we headed over to the Roman theater, discovered in 1951, excavations of which are still on-going. It sits below the 11th century Alcazar, with its soaring ramparts and views of the city and harbar. The Moorish gardens are pleasant to wander through, with the usual fountains, tile work, and latticed archways.

The next stop was the very new Picasso Museum, opened in 2003 and finally honoring this native son, born here in 1881. It's in a beautiful ancient palace, with Phoenician ruins (7th century BC!) in the basement. The art, however, does not compete with the excellent Picasso Museum in Barcelona.