Melilla, Spain
12/02/2023 – 13/02/2023
12/02/2023
When returning home from Morocco, we had hoped to accelerate the re-entry into the EU by getting the formalities done already in Africa. This was possible due to the small Spanish enclave ‘Melilla’, located on the mediterranean coast of Northern Africa.
In order to have sufficient time for all formalities we arrived there the evening before and went through all required passport and security controls. It took us about an hour to pass the two checkpoints (Moroccan emigration and EU immigrations) and we drove on the main road along the shoreline and some (not) very inviting beaches towards the hotel.
We checked in and even found a nice carpark visible from our room.
Right after, and with nothing else on our calendar, we went out to discover the city. From previous experiences in Spain we were expecting some availability of tapas or at least a bar open somewhere in the city. But not so in Melilla. We walked the streets for hours to only find closed stores, bars and restaurants. Moreover, the lack of investment really showed itself in all details, especially the facades of most older houses slowly decaying. After unsuccessfully searching for a solid place to eat, we had some dinner at the hotel and then went to bed to catch our ferry early the next morning.
13/02/2023
The next morning we made our way to Melillas ferry terminal. After waiting at the run-down coffee shop for a while we were informed that our ferry had been cancelled. The next best option was an evening connection, leaving us with an entire day of time to kill. And while in other places a day of exploring would have been excited, Melilla really is just a few square kilometres big with not too much to show for itself. So we did our tours around the city, never driving more than 5 minutes and never seeing anything new, until we found a square full of people with numerous restaurants, which revealed where all the people had gone. This was the turnaround of an otherwise dull stay: we had some very delicious steak there and then walked into the adjacent fortress, which was actually quite impressive.
After spotting a nice bar inside the fortress, we got the car and drove inside. We found a spot to park and sat down for a relaxed Gin & Tonic. After a while the sun was setting behind the statue of Pedro de Estopiñán, the Spanish conquistador. The colours had the yellow and orange tones you only find in Africa and with the flags waving nearby this presented a unique photo opportunity.
A little later we had to drive to the ferry terminal. On our way down from the fortress we came past the port authority’s office underneath which we decided to walk around.
From there we also took in a somewhat chilling scenery: the EU’s outer border. As Melilla is a piece of the EU in Africa, for many immigrants it poses an opportunity to enter the union illegally. For this reason, the harbour features scaringly strong defenses. The waves of the ocean alone are a force to be reckoned with, with their spray continously shooting metres high .
We went through customs and were searched once more. The whole boarding process of all vehicles took hours in addition to an already late ferry, leading to a delay of about 2 hours. After our replacement ship finally took off, it was an uncomfortable overnight ride to Málaga. Fortunately, we were the first to disembark there and luckily did not have to go through an additional random check. This way my dad was able to drop me off at the airport some 25 minutes before the plane parted. I had to sprint a fair bit but made it to my plane on time at the end, which took me back to cloudy Vienna. Quick sidenote: if you act out of breath and sprint, most people don’t mind you skipping the line at airport security;)
Hasta la próxima!