"On a slightly rough sea, but of the purest blue, the ships glides without rocking or pitching. On the left, the horizon is lined with a few clouds; on the right, by the mountains of the Spanish coast". So wrote Henri Matisse aboard the SS Ridjani in January 1912, as he sailed, for the first time, to Tangier. Ninety-five years later, an hour behind schedule, and with all thought of 'gliding' gone, the ferry ploughed its way across the Strait of Gibraltar. The sun was setting west over the Atlantic and the water was dark beneath the gilded flecks of the wave-crests. Little was visible through the smeared windows, and I was yet to glimpse Morocco. I tried to get out to deck. A plump Spanish steward with a moon face and pursed lips asked me
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