"Taxi Driver"

I spend a lot of time traveling. This means hours on the airplane, bus, train, boat, taxi and sometimes camels.

One of my favorite things to do in a new place is to ask my taxi driver to take me to his favorite spots. There’s a British television show called “Taxi Driver” that uses this concept. A taxi driver shows you the town from his viewpoint. Often, you see things that are off the beaten track. So, on this trip – I pretended I was the host of the show “Taxi Driver” and went on a taxi adventure.

I saw some fantastic scenery. In Spain, mountains glistened with snow. We went to a scenic overlook in Granada. From there, you could see the mountains, the entire city, and a castle – all while you sat listening to gypsies playing flamenco music on their guitars.

We crossed from southern Spain over to northern Morocco by boat. We jetted across the Straits of Gibraltar. Once in our city of destination, a guide showed us the city from his viewpoint. On foot, we trekked up and down the cobblestone streets built on the side of a mountain. I got super thirsty so, we stopped at a table on the side of the road where a woman squeezed several oranges into a glass. (There was only one glass. So you had to wait for the person in front of you to finish before you could drink your juice.) The juice was so sweet, but I think this is where I picked up some kind of bug that made me pretty sick later.

Back in the taxi, I asked the driver to take us to his favorite spot. The Saudi Arabian Embassy was his favorite building in town. His brother was one of the guards and got us in to look around. It was gorgeous (but we couldn’t take pictures). Next, we stopped by the side of the road and bought some treats from three boys. It was some kind of root plant. It was very bitter and not very good, but playing around with the boys was worth the 3 cents.

Finally, we got to the taxi driver’s favorite spot – Hercules’ cave. Inside the cave, there’s an opening leading out to the ocean. The opening is the shape of Africa (only backwards). Outside the cave, you can ride camels or just sit on the rocky shore drinking coffee with locals.

The next day, we took off for another city. The taxi driver drove crazy fast around the mountain passes. Our wheels squealed as we rounded the hairpin curves. He fearlessly passed cars on roads that were not meant to have more than one car abreast. Then, all of a sudden he pulled over and motioned for me to get my camera out. I looked to my left and saw the most beautiful lake with a river running into it.

The next town we visited the taxi driver told us it was all painted in different shades of blue and white. It was a magnificent sight and looked so clean. The driver dropped us off at the taxi rank (since the town was a pedestrian only city) and gave us directions to his favorite destinations and a hostel.

We carried our luggage through the crowded, narrow streets. Vendors were on both sides of the streets. There were so many smells and sites to take in. One of my favorite stores was the soap and perfume store (suggested by the taxi driver). It had a lovely display of dye outside. And I bought some Moroccan perfume there – it looks like soap. You rub the waxy stuff on your body and the scent stays on for hours on end.

One taxi driver had so much fun with us that we called his wife and two-year-old daughter on the cell phone. He passed the phone to me so I could talk to his wife (even though we didn’t speak the same language). Then, I talked to his daughter. He was so proud of his daughter, his wife and his country!

There’s nothing like discovering a new country and culture through the eyes of a local. Meeting the local people really brings a country to life and always makes it become one of my “favorites.”