Mediterranean Navigation Day 9

Day 09 - Monday, March 10, 2025 – Day at Sea, Plan D

Our night was quite rough, so the Captain stayed relatively close to the safety of the shore making it possible to see lights of the shoreline cities during the night.

After breakfast, the Captain talked to us about his new plan. He had requested permission to stay in Algiers to weather the storm but was denied. Sailing all night and all day today, we will arrive at Malaga, Spain by midnight. The port authorities there have granted us safe haven for the next few days.

The Morning Learning and Discovery was a discussion called Divided Neighbors; Algeria and Morocco by Nour and Aziz.

Nour started with an African proverb, “When the elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers”. He talked about the diverse colonial history of both countries. Morocco was divided between France and Spain. Algeria was a part of France until 1962, the people there are French citizens known as pied-noirs or Black Feet.

The geopolitical rivalry between the two countries has always been contentious. Attacks by the two have been so intense that the border was closed in 1994. Morocco has a diverse economy while Algeria depends on oil and gas.

The international relationships with the US, the EU, France, and Russia complicate modern matters, and now China is making it worse. Threatened concerns of terrorism and crime risk escalation add even more tension especially in the last few years.

Khawa Khawa meaning brotherhood, is the only possible solution to resolve this conflict. Unfortunately, the natural resources in the disputed areas are the key. Neither country cares about what the people want, but the riches dictate the world’s destiny.

After lunch we sat outside for a bit watching the waves and whitecaps. The sun was going in and out of the clouds although there was still plenty of blue skies. The wind was chilly but the cool air was refreshing.

At 3:00 Catia and Victor gave us a presentation about Spain and a few lessons in Spanish. Once we get to Malaga, we will be able to stay there for more than the one day as in our previous itinerary.

Victor began with an introduction of the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal. He focused on the government. Catia talked about education which is very important and of high quality. She also talked about the health care system. Both systems are “free” and paid for by income taxes. Tax rates are 19% to 47% of incomes.

Spain has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe and also has the longest longevity. This imbalance is causing a shortage of workers and funds for future stability.

After our history lesson we reviewed the Spanish language and the similarities between English and Spanish. We began with the basic conversation words and then we learned a few generalizations to make translations easier.

When we went to the Port Talk, we learned we were on course for Malaga. It is always good news to know there were no more changes. The Captain is doing a great job of finding a safe harbor for us for a few days in Spain.

We had dinner at 7:00 and then finished up the journal. The waves on the sea all looked the same today so we are sending you more photos from Algeria. We took so many lovely photos of the sites in the Kasbah in Algiers; we will share more with you tonight.

Accommodations: M/V Clio

I loved the trash pick-up photo as well as the photo of the gorgeous wedding dresses. It never occurred to me that the captain of a ship would have to be responsible for itinerary changes due to the weather.

Day 10: Mediterranean Navigation

Antonio, Our Guide

Gardens at the Alcazaba

Roman Theater

Visiting with Picasso

Gennie & Vic, Malaga 2004

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Day 10 - Tuesday, March 11, 2025 –Ship Docked in Málaga, Spain; Costa del Sol; Andalusia

The Clio docked at the Port of Malaga just before midnight enabling us to have a very calm night’s sleep. The alarm went off at 7:15 and we had...

Continue Reading Day 10