Cap Spartel and Asilah

Dudley was in town for a quick visit. He had just been on Malta and in Tunisia: giving a lecture on neolithic Malta and then beachcombing on Djerba - Homer's isle of the lotus-eaters. His visit made a good excuse to rent a car and make a whirlwind tour of the extreme northwest coast of Africa; it's just west of Tangier.

We first headed up Mount Washington, past the King's Palace, and stopped for a walk around a forest of giant eucalyptus trees. At that moment the sun was just breaking through dense clouds, the air damp and organic, and rain water was still dripping from the trees. Indeed, we had postponed the outing for a day because of torrential rain. It was lucky that we did, because as you can see in the photos that follow, we had wonderful weather with dramatic skies and soft winter sunlight.

At Cap Spartel

Continuing on, the road soon winds steeply downward to the Atlantic's waters edge. Out here, it's a dramatic and almost completely undeveloped landscape. As we climbed out of the car, a camel driver rushed over to ask us to change a few euro coins for him. Then he made small talk. He pointed out a pile of concrete across the road. It's a new resort, "Spanish," he reported. He seemed intent on waiting around for it to bring more camel riders and more euros. Wonder when that might be?

On the coastal route to Asilah

Following a quick stop at the Grotto of Hercules, we headed for Asilah - the next town south along the coast. I first visited Asilah in 1991.

In the Asilah medina

I like how the two men, and the pay telephone, meld into the wall mural in the photo above. The city has, with Portuguese origins, five hundred years of history.

The small fishing port, Asilah

The small fishing port, however, is a much more recent addition. It seems to have never attracted the trade which was expected; indeed, it was so quiet that it seemed to take on the air of a still life painting.

The ocean itself, and the wind, rough and loud provided most of the action. Otherwise the town was nearly deserted.

Asilah, with walled cemetery in the foreground

Ocean front prospect, Asilah

Shrine at water's edge, Asilah

After lunch we headed south. Next stop: Lixis, the ruins of a Roman city.