What a dolt am I

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28-29 May

I have been increasingly fond of telling people that the longer I travel the less and less I plan and prepare, preferring instead for things to just happen as they will.

Well, this time that philosophy came full circle and almost caused some bothersome trouble. I took the ferry back to Algeciras, Spain and arrived at passport control at about 11:00 that night. I was expecting possibly some half-hearted questions about whether I was carrying hashish, but I wasn't expecting the officer to tell me that I couldn't re-enter Spain!

I told him that I had only been in Spain for three months and was now coming back for the second period of three months that I could spend in Spain and the European Union. The officer told me that I was correct - I have a total of six months in the EU in any one year but the two three-month periods have to be separated by a three-month absence from the EU and that my month in Morocco was not sufficient. This was the dumbest policy I had ever heard of, and so immediately I suspected the US government of being involved. Sure enough, the EU has this policy because it is in a reciprocal agreement with the US.

While all this was being sorted out, another officer was thankfully sharp enough to realize that on my last trip to Spain I had only stayed 89 out of the total 90 days allowed. So they gave me a one-day stamp and told me I had to be out of the EU by midnight the next day!

Enter the wonders of travelling in the computer age. The next morning over tostadas and cafe con leche I figured I had three or four safe havens that I could (relatively) quickly and easily reach in a day. First, I could just hop another ferry and return to Morocco and then figure out a plan at my leisure. Second, I could go next door to Gibraltar, but that was a rather expensive place to stay for any amount of time. The third option was to fly to one of the European countries that technically aren't part of the EU - England, Switzerland, Norway, etc. These aren't the cheapest countries either, so I struck a compromise and decided to fly to London and then get another visa to India at the Indian Embassy there. All I had to do then was hop on-line, find a cheap fare (air travel in Europe in ridiculously cheap nowadays) and then take a bus to the nearby Malaga and fly out of the Malaga airport. Voila, that's done, and in less than 24 hours I'm out of the EU and in jolly olde England.

All in all no harm done and it provided a good chance to think on my feet, be a resourceful traveller, and eat one or two more ham and cheese bocadillos.

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