Today we're off to Algeciras on the Train, the trip is more about the journey than the destination.
I set the alarm and got up early to walk the dogs for a while in the cool morning temperature. We had a good walk along the tracks at Jimera, I didnt let them swim as they get really dirty when they have swam.
We had breakfast then got the 10 30 train to Algeciras.
Algeciras is primarily and unashamedly a port and industrial centre, sprawling round the far side of the bay to Gibraltar. When Franco closed the border with "the Rock" at the nearby La Linea, it was Algeciras that he decided to develop to absorb the Spanish workers who used to be employed in the British naval dockyards and in order to break the area's dependence on Gibraltar.
It is an industrial city that supports the large deep water container port and nearby oil refinery. In the port area there are many Moroccans in transit, particularly during July and August when migrant workers return home for their holidays from their work in France, Holland and Belgium. As a consequence, there is a strong Arab influence here with many of the signs in Arabic as well as Spanish while, in the backstreets, you can find several traditional tea shops which specialise in the traditional Moroccan mint tea. Algeciras may not be a beautiful city but it does have a gritty individuality about it and, unlike some of the Costa resorts, is a very genuine place with a real port atmosphere. There are lots of reasonably priced restaurants to try - several with terrific views of the nearby Rock of Gibraltar, we didn't find one of these though. Those that find the time to wander will fine quiet parks and tree lined plazas almost hidden away from the rushing travellers.
This is the station at Jimera, it 's a lovely little station, well looked after by the station master.The journey was interesting, we' ve never been on this part of the line before and it is good to see things from this angle.
We arrived in Algeciras and basically followed our noses until we came to the port area, not very appealing, the stopping off place for North Africa and has a feeling of dodgyness. We found this little alleyway with these paper decorations, it turned out to be someones house.
We found the market, it was really busy and lively with lots of Picture opportunities.
These snails were still wriggling.
It is possible to buy meat from Bulls that have been killed in Bull Fights.
No idea what these are.
This is Octopus
This is somethings Lung
Interesting way of decorating.
A few lonely fish, yours for 3.50, just take the fish and leave the cash.
He was very proud of his big Tuna Fish, the woman in the background wanted her picture taken too.
The main square - very hot
We had a game of Bingo and did some shopping
This pigeon was eating a dead pigeon.
We went to the tourist office to get a map, walked into the office and picked up a map, we sat and looked at it but it didn't make sense, we found the station and the port but the Tourist office was in an odd place, we just couldn't position it right. I went and asked the woman at the desk to show me where we were. She pointed out that we had a map of Jerez, not much use in Algeciras!
After a wander round the town we headed back to the station and decided to have lunch in the station cafe. Normally these little cafes are really nice but not this one, the staff were surly and bad tempered, the food was poor and the air con was broken so not a nice time. For the first time this trip I didn't leave a tip.
We took the train back to Jimera and came home to wait for the Electrician. Eventually these 2 guys appeared and got started, it took about an hour to get the problem resolved, a faulty cable to the main board. We got 2 sparkies for an hour, call out, cable and it cost us 15 euros, not bad.
Our first tomato, it tasted great, we'll probably have more tomorrow.
1 comment:
The tomato looks really good. Full marks to Margaret and I .
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