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Published: February 8th 2020
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Day 20. 8
thFeb (Saturday)
Return to Malaga
Up at 8, quick wash then walk down to the docks. Saw that the next FDS sailing was at 11, but the Moroccan ship was sailing at 10 so booked on that one (400Dhs or €40) I paid in Dirhams as needed to use them up, then asked to change another 400Dhs to Euro’s but he only gave me €35!! I didn’t argue too much. Trip Advisor had mentioned a yellow form to be filled in by ticket people, but I was told that they no longer do them.
I went to the terminal building and joined the crowd there waiting to go up an escalator to the customs area. After 30mins they let us through – a Moroccan guy in front of me tried pushing his large luggage trolley onto the escalator and of course it tipped over and they had to stop the escalator and rescue him and his very large bag and send him to the elevator next to the escalator. I scanned my bags (although no-one was watching any screens relating to the scanner), and walked through the metal detecting gateway which usually goes off due to
my braces, but didn’t. Past this was the customs/police check which I ignored and went straight to Passport control - which I got through eventually (upon my entry to Morocco, the customs guy on the boat had written my entry number on a different page from the entry stamp – this has caused problems in hotels too!) So then I was in another waiting area with a cafe so I bought a Tortilla roll and a coffee and had breakfast.
At around 9:30 they let us on the boat, I left my trolley-bag in the pile on the car deck with many others, and climbed up to the loungearea where I bought another coffee and waited.
We didn’t set sail until 10:30 and I half-expected Maryanne to jump aboard, but she didn’t… Twas a misty and cloudy morning about 18C. But bad for views of the Moroccan and Spanish coasts. We arrived in Tarifa after 45mins and I was the last on the bus - after clearing Spanish customs and passport control where Moroccans were clogging up the EU queue, so I went through their line instead.
Then it was the 1hr journey to Alicante where they
dropped us at the ferry terminal there, rather than the coach station. So a crowd of us made our way on the 15min walk to the Estaĉion de Autobus, getting there at about 12:45. I bought a ticket for the 2pm to Malaga, calling at Marbella and arriving at Malaga at 4pm. I went to the cafe and texted John the arrival time, saying I was OK to find the apartment on my own. He said he’d be in from 4:15.
An uneventful coach journey although with wi-fi and small screens on the backs of seats, which I managed to turn off. Maybe I should have been typing this, but just dozed whilst listening to Mark Steel on my mp3 player…
Arrived at 3:45 but it took me half an hour to walk to the apartment, with a few rests on the way. Now I’ve had a shower and done my washing which is hanging precariously from a line outside the bathroom on the 4
th floor. John is cooking dinner and Cath (John’s partner) has gone out shopping. Some time later… Had a very nice fish/rice/broccoli/mushroom dish from John & a jar of instant coffee from Cath. Sorted
my photos and ready to upload it all.
John & Cath have gone out to a bar, but I fancy an early night.
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Amy Friedman
non-member comment
Rain in Spain?
What do John and Cath do in Malaga? I remember it as a quiet town, with pretty walks and fish restaurants and sherry bars near the sea.