Tangier

Note Journal on Journey to Tangier,Morocco

Opening Remarks

Alot of things led up to our leaving the USA. We were in a rut,physically,mentally.Our finances were in dire straights.Our emotions were running high.My brother-in-law offered us a trip of a lifetime.We would fly out of Dulles International Airport.On arrival in London,we would locate his friend Peter,have a short layover before beginning our venture South.Our goal was to arrive in Tangier,Morocco around the end of July 1971.What happened on the way is what made this story possible.We were vagabonds,living off the land.Meeting many faces I will never forget.We were very young,but our child was with us every step we took.There was no fear in us,we were flower children,enjoying a fanastic opportunity.Let me go back a bit.I met my future husband when I was 12 years of age.I remember telling my Mom,"I'm going to marry him when I grow up"He looked like Johnny Crawford on the show "The Rifleman"I was determined,and on Feb.26th 1968 we were married at the local courthouse.We were both 18 at the time.On October 1st,our Rhea Michelle came in to our world.She was so tiny,just 4Ibs 6oz.She was also six weeks early.We put her in my size 9 boot box,and I bought a baby doll,just so she would have a pretty dress to come home in.We moved into our own lovely apartment.I loved being a wife and Mommy,but we had our problems.We started smoking pot,and that led to more dangerous things,but hey it was the 60's. We were being watched,which brings up the offer brother -in- law gave us.
It sounded so exciting,and within a matter of days with $500. cash and paid for round trip tickets from Dulles to London,we were heading straight into a whole new world.

The Beginning
The Flight to London

The day we left was a very hot mid-July day in 1971. My husband had went to the local park to cop some drugs.He also informed our friends that we would be traveling in Europe for the remainder of the year.On our arrival at Dulles International Airport he was under the influence and I WAS OVER IT! We did not hear the flight announcement.The airport security rushed us off in a van too the waiting plane.It took off for London,England just minutes later.My daughter and I sat on the right side over the wing.It was eight hours across the Atlantic before we landed at Heathrow International Airport. It was foggy and damp. My husband was still feeling the effects of his overindulgence. We found a room in the city,as I was settling Buffy (nickname for Rhea)for the night,my husband left,disappearing into the London fog. The next morning we ate biscuits with marmalade and warm tea.Our first thought was of finding Peter.He was a friend of my husband's brother.
It was exciting meeting Peter,he was in the movie "There's a Girl in my Soup";starring Goldie Hawn.He was glad we had arrived safely and showed us around the city.We rode the double decker buses.I especially liked Picadilly Square,where he bought me a silver pig trinket.We took a boat ride on the River Thammes and watched the changing of the guard at Kensington Palace.We had a picnic lunch in Hyde Park.The most exciting thing was seeing Hair at the Shatensbury Theatre.I wore a backless wine pantssuit. We were so excited! We danced on the stage with the cast members.Peter watched Rhea for us and before we left for the show said I looked ravishing.The next morning all the papers headlined the Cholera epidemic in Southern Spain and Northern Morocco.Since this was our destination,Peter took us to a clinic to receive our needed shots. I had such a terrible reaction,I could not lift my arms to brush my waist length hair.My darling Buffy and my husband had no reaction at all.That's how this trip started.My husband's brother had been to Tangier,and he planned to meet us the end of July.
That was the plan.
It didn't work out the way it was suppose too,and like a magnet we were pulled into another world.
The train too Dover awaits.....

The Cliffs of Dover

The train from Southhampton to Dover is leaving,it is early evening.We are starting our adventure.I must tell you that all of this was a new thing to me.My main concern was for Rhea.When we arrived in Dover,it was like a ghost town,a sleepy little place.There were no vagancy signs everywhere.We met a kind man driving a taxi and he took us to a perfect spot to camp for the night.We settled down to sleep,after writing the days hilights in my journal.This journal was loaned to a so called friend on our return to the states.I never saw it or it's contents again.I thought I would mention that,because I am writing all of this from memory.You never forget some things,and your mind is such a valuable tool.
We sleep so well,and are awakened by thousands of flying seagulls.
We realise we have slept in a very old WW 2 bomb shelter,and right on the Cliffs of Dover .What a beautiful view,so glad noone did any sleep walking. We made our way down the cliffs to the waiting boats.We purchased our passage tickets.Many cars were loaded onto the boat,we watched and waited...enjoying our marmalade and bisquets with coffee.I really had no idea that we were about to cross the English Channel.How naive I was! We board the boat and stand on the side,looking back I see the cliffs,so majestic and white,and I am in awe that we slept there the previous night.The channel is very rough,many people are getting sea sick .
We are on our way to France,then on to Spain and our final destination~Tangier.
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Wine Country(France)

The boat docks.We are in Dieppe.You can smell the wine.We buy cheese,bread and of course wine,milk for Rhea and lunchmeat.Life is good and we are happy.Rhea is such a happy child,such a little lady,very polite and well mannered.The evening is getting shorter,so we start walking up hills,they are so steep.We both are carrying heavy loads.Evans has all the camping gear on his back,and I carry our precious Rhea on mine.It starts too drizzle rain,but than the sky turns black and it really comes down.We find plastic garbage bags from our packs,and cover ourselves.We continue uphill looking for a youth hostel that a kind person has told us about.Our haven is filled,but they let us sleep on the floor. In the morning ,we have huge bowls of hot black java,and warm fresh bread.The hostel informs us that we need a membership to stay .It also includes train fare,but we can not afford it. After packing up,and saying our thanks and appreciation we go back down the hill.
We hitch a ride with a gentleman going to Bordeaux,where we will continue on our journey.

Southbound

We were so determined to reach Tangier.A epidemic of Cholera didn't even put fear in us.We were young and just didn't realise how different things are in other countries.I remember sitting in central Madrid,and my fantasies were of the matadours and fighting bulls.We had much more important things to think about. I remember it raining so hard,and Rhea was not a light load. Up and down hills,hitching rides,going a little further each day. It rained so much in France that I borrowed a huge umbrella. It was in one of these huge sistrins that sit in front of quaint little cafes. It covered all three of us nicely.
I had tired of the plastic bags. I was also getting my fill of bread,wine and cheese. After ,the planes, trains, and buses were no longer affordable,one plan of many came to mind. It dawned on my dear that he would go on the train and find a reserved compartment.
Once onboard,he found one that was reserved for much later that evening.
The destination~Malaga,Spain.
So,he picked the lock,and we were now sitting very comfortable in some one else's cabin unbeknowst to anyone. We had food and water and of course the wine.The train made lots of stops,and I would get off at various ones.
At one of these short stops,the train left. I was terrified. Evans and Rhea are a sleep on this train that just pulled out.The very nice gentleman(Bushiemb)he is from Tangier gets us a cab to the next stop,I board without any problems. As I enter the boxcar,I breathe a sigh of relief,they are both still sound a sleep.
Onward the train chugs,the sunflowers are passing by so quickly,they are so beautiful and scenic .
The country is flat,you can see for miles.It rains off and on,and I am so glad we are not walking in it. Malaga is a fish port,the Straights of Gibrater separate us from the tip of Africa,Tangier,Morocco.What happened next was not what we had in mind.The train starting slowing down.We had no idea that tickets would be checked,and we didn't have any.There was alot of hollering (Spanish) which I didn't comprehend,but I knew that it concerned us.They were so upset,they sent us back to Madrid.
Oh well,on to next plan.We had met this great couple.They had a car,and were on holiday.They invited us to go as far south as they were going,which just happened to be Malaga.We had a jolly time,and we could relax.
So, we see the countryside three times.Those sunflowers made a lasting impression.
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