Blogs from Asilah, Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco, Africa

So Friday I went to Asilah! Kerry and I decided to go first class as we still didnt feel too well and couldnt be doing with the hussel and bussel! First class was good! Aircon all the way and a large seat for the 4 hour train journey. The journey wasnt too bad at all and we arrived in Asilah around 5ish. We decided to stay at hotel Belle Vue. Although there was no Belle vue! The rooms were beautifully decorated but the factilites were slightly poor to say the least! The first night there was a wedding ceremony around the town. There was a horse and a sort of box on top which contained the bride. The whole town seemed to party and celebrate! It was excellent to see and something different to experience. The ... read more

(I know this is a day late, whatever) Happy Independence Day! عيد الاستقلال سعيد Today AmidEast went to Asilah, a small beach town to the north of Rabat (a little south of Tangier). We rode on a bus up there for a couple hours, it was really hot. Once we got there we walked around the Medina, then ate some lunch. Then MSJ walked sort of out of Asilah (for some reason we always find ourselves way outside of the tourist areas) and we found a cool beach that had rocks and kids and fishermen. We then got ice cream and sodas and Sara bought a kite. We continued to walk around for a bit, talked to some guy who spoke decent English, and then ran into a beggar child when we were getting ready to ... read more

Turns out Casablanca was pretty much a bore- not even Rick's could save it. Alas, it's now obvious to me that the REAL Casablanca was a set solely the property of Pinewood Studios tm. So, I've come up the coast to the cool and Cooler seaside town of Asilah. Soph, I think you'd like it here- there's art everywhere, paintings on the streetside walls and everything. For some reason Morroco does seem to hold the vestiges of a Hippy's paradise.... read more

Asilah is a beautiful town. The Medina is perfectly built for the climate - narrow passageways, open rooftops and courtyards, communal corridors in houses and all painted in perfect white. There’s an old palace with an open balcony 20m above the rocks once used to execute infidels and christians along the beachfront. Another beach 3kms to the South of town is larger with big waves good for surfing, and amazing fish restaurants where we had a huge 3-person Tajine. We got here by train from Tangier. Trains in Morocco are really efficient, on time, and there was even a teaman! ... read more

So we made it and have been to 3 cities already... found an internet cafe to write in l'medina in Asilah. Almost out of time though so this is my little message for now..Getting a little hungry and there are only a few hours left in the day. Thank goodness I never took a typing class or I would be SCREWED on this keyboard where I have yet to find an @ sign.. silly, yes! The train took us about 4 hours to get to Asilah from Rabat. We don't have watches so not too sure about that. It's much easier an free to walk into town rather than take a petit taxi. Initially the man at the hotel desk wanted 200dh, I said no and we started to leave and he dropped the price to ... read more

Click on the links for more pictures than there are in the blog Although it might be the 'European' part of Africa. This blog is written in some quite serious retrospect and it's really just an excuse to show you some photos and tell you where I've been. I've written my own diary, but it's mine and I don't want to type it all up now. Call me selfish... The Crossing etc. I went to the pretty surfing town of Tarifa to cross over to Tangier. It was closer than Algeciras and, so I hear, a much pleasanter town. The fast ferry takes 35 minutes to cross, but unfortunately we had to wait an hour outside Tangier to get a berth. It was a seemingly calm crossing until we met a very odd topsy turvy sea ... read more