The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Jonathan van Bilse id a Fra Jolon ’ Doing It Alone Is Not Always Wise Driving an automobile in a country where language is an issue is not always a wise idea. Such was the case when | drove from Portugal's Algarve Region along the southern coast into Spain. | was without a GPS, but my Rand McNally was up to date. | had no idea what was in store for me. On the map the drive from Lagos to Algeciras looked as if it would be about four hours. | allowed another hour for border crossing between the two countries, which would put me at the ferry docks in Algeciras by about three o'clock that afternoon. Timing was important, for | was scheduled on a ferry to Morocco the following day and could not miss it. | made arrangements for hotel accommodations that night in Algeciras, close to the ferry terminal. | was quite pleased with having made my own ar- rangements and realized that | really had no need for a tour guide. The roads were good, the weather was sunny and warm and I was on schedule, quite pleased with myself. The scenery along Portugal's coast is spectacular. The E1 highway was well maintained and curved along high cliffs, which overlooked the ocean. | continued to glimpse at my map and, as | approached the border, | saw the Guadiana River, which separates the two coun- tries. At last | was quite close to the border crossing and | noticed several cars pulled to the side of the road. | slowed down, but continued driving, glancing at the parked cars in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. There was nothing to indicate problems and | wondered Traffic stands still for hours waiting for the ferry at the border. 48 FOCUS - AUGUST 2010 Rugged sandy rocks line the shores of Portugal's sourthem coast. ifthey had pulled over because of immigration or customs. It certainly seemed strange to see all these cars lined up along the road for at least a five kilometre stretch. made my way closer to the front of the line until at last | saw the border. It was then that | realized the cars were simply lined up to make the crossing. | peered at a small opening between two vehicles and quickly turned the wheel of my small Renault to slide in front of the unsuspecting motorist. | was quite pleased with myself. | was approximately 20 minutes ahead of schedule. A few car homs sounded and | felt a little embar- rassed, but | did after all, have a schedule to keep. A few minutes later one of the border crossing officials came from his office and walked to the car in front of me to speak with the driver. As the two conversed I tried to see past the cars ahead of me. | finally realized what the holdup was. The Guadiana River crossing, which served as the border between Portugal and Spain, had no bridge. Instead a small ferry, capable of carrying eight or nine cars, served as the only transport between the two countries. Fortunately | was now four cars from the front and would be on the next ferry so | was not concerned. | checked my watch and rolled down my window as the border guard approached my vehicle. He smiled and commented on the beautiful weather. | agreed and he asked me where | came from. | explained