A message of Bernardus

What you can see

It already starts when your Ferry is leaving the port of Algeciras, a name that stems from the Arabic Al Jazeera, or The Island. Soon you see both continents at the same time.

It is not known whether it is here that the first humans arrived in Europe, but it is plausible. After all, nowhere the two continents are closer to each other than here - only 12 kms or 8 miles at the most narrow point.

And there are the archeological findings in the caves of Altamira in Spain, or the skull found in Gibraltar, that indicate that this pro-Cro Magnon creature did not take the route via the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but here.

It was here though that the Moorish forces started their incursion into Iberia. That was in the year 711, when Europe was the continent of the "Dark Middle Ages", walking about in animal skin, while in Northern Africa and the Middle East knew a vibrant period of new sciences and techniques (both the words algebra and admiral stem from Arabic), enabling the people to be the first to build ships strong enough to cross the water with whole armies.

Soon you can see the rock of Gibraltar, a name stemming from Jabal Tariq, or "Mountain of Tariq", after the Berber general who led the initial incursion into Iberia. At the other side of the Strait you can see the Jebel Musa mountain, part of the Moroccan Rif mountain range.

It is widely believed that these two peaks were the so called "Pillars of Hercules" in Greek mythology. Now your ferry makes a slow turn and starts its journey through the Strait itself.

It is said this is the only place in the world where you can see two continents, two seas and two colonies at the same time. This is merely a refrain; without any doubt no Gibraltese or citizen from Ceuta likes to think about their cities as colonies.

This small part of the world has been of such strategical importance, that the whole world has passed by. By the way, it is still doing so. History goes on. As Europe's main gate when it comes to drug traffic, to human traffic, legal or illegal immigration, the so called "Niños Sueltos" or Wild Children that dwell around southern Spain coming from northern Africa. It is about this region that Manu Chao sings in his song "Clandestino", always a song that brings tens of thousands to their feet at the concerts in sports stadiums from Paris to Rio de Janeiro.

It is from this region that the expression Nec Plus Ultra comes. Next time you say that a restaurant is Nec Plus Ultra, you might think of the Romans that saw the Mediterranean disappear into the great unknown of the Atlantic, and baptised the location Beyond the Beyond.

Stand on the deck and picture all these people, all these cultures that once were in your place. How did they go about. What were they feeling. What was their plan. In what can see their remains.

The fabulous strait

Fact: antrophologic evidence shows that the African continent is the cradle of the human species.

Fact: around 250.000 years ago the first humanoids appeared in Europe.

Whenever I cross the Strait of Gibraltar, and that is 15 times per year, I like to think it was here that those first humans made the big jump, on a tree, or incidently washed ashore.

I like history. Spotting the signs of it. Where ever I go. Because history is never just History, one of those things in the tool kit at school.

History lives on, is in most cases the reason for any major or minor development in politics, warfare, or social-economical facts or changes.

So obviously both Morocco and Andalucia are a true sandbox for someone like me. Those that love history and have an imaginative eye must have the time of their life here. And what applies to both regions, applies even more to that one narrow stretch of water in between them, the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Exodus

Every year starting around mid June, the Spanish motorways are packed with large vans and elder mercedes with licence plates from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria... Just tourists? Not quite.

There are an approximate 1,5 million Moroccans or people from Moroccan descent living in Europe... and many of them use the summer months to visit their family back home.

Especially in the southern tip of Spain, where all the cars join before embarking on the ferries, this sometimes looks like a true exodus.

And Tangier welcomes them with festive banners, because they are a huge yearly injection for the economy.

Crossing the Strait

The nicest way or the quickest?

From Tarifa you can cross in 40 minutes. Tarifa itself does not need further introduction, it is Spain's capital of the Hip, and is obviously a nice place to start or end your journey, but unfortunately the crossing of the Strait is little impressive. You can not even get outside, or catch more than a distant glimpse. It's also stuffed with bored commuters with laptops, squeezed in between a tax free shop and a fast food.

Take the big (or slow) ferry from Algeciras. That's 2,5 hours of almost culinary delight for anyone interested in ancient, old, current or future history.