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Published: July 28th 2013
Tangier!!! Or Tanga/Tanja... A giant grab-bag of wonderful Moroccan goodness!
Tangier is about an hour and a half from our home town of Ksar El Kebir. The journey to Tanja (that’s how the locals refer to it), is a beautiful train ride north, leaving Ksar, heading out of town and into the countryside. The first section of the ride is covered in fields and fields of sunflowers (eating the seeds is a major pastime here), melons of all types, squash and corn. On an odd note, the latter corn, is nowhere to be seen in any markets that we frequent, with the exception of the odd corn griller here and there. After the soothing, meandering trek across the breadbasket of Morocco, the tracks reach the coast and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. From there, it is a scenic ride up the coastline. Tangier is situated at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. It is literally the gateway to the Med and all that it holds. Standing on the beach in Tanja, you can see two continents, one ocean and one sea… all at the same time! This location is where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean crash into one another and countless
vessels travel through its waters every day! The water is a bit chilly for swimming, but the seafood is fresh and abundant. This city is also a mix of old and modern Morocco… unlike any other place we have visited in this great kingdom. However, we visited during Ramadan, so liquor stores were closed, businesses opened up late in the afternoon, and the beach boardwalk was kicking at midnight. The boardwalk was absolutely AMAZING to behold after the breaking of the Ramadan fast for the day (about 8 pm)! But, it was not until 10 or 11pm that things started to really pick up… and by midnight, you would swear it was a festival that had been planned for months in advance. There were pony, horse and camel rides on the beach! Entertainers of all types! Families, including very small children, out for the evening promenade, complete with ice cream and cotton candy!!! It is safe to say, the boardwalk truly came alive after the sun had slipped lazily into the Atlantic Ocean. (For those in Florida, we did say that it slipped into the Atlantic… which is completely weird for y’all who see the sunRISE over it, but that
is indeed where it sets here!)
In Tanja, we were fortunate enough to stay in a lovely hotel directly across from the aforementioned boardwalk and the beautiful beach. The Husa is a Grand Hotel and has all the amenities that accompany such a title. There are several restaurants, a wonderful pool and even a very upscale bar. Ironically, we broke our own fast on the first evening in Tangier with alcoholic beverages in said bar. J But, we did wait for the fast to end prior to having our cocktails! That evening, we also met a Bulgarian musician who was playing there. He was particularly good at playing blues and southern rock style music on his guitar. He asked if we had any requests and of course we did. He played Hotel California and Sweet Home Alabama for us and it was amazing… his guitar playing was spectacular and he accompanied himself with his one man band equipment. Afterwards, we had a dinner buffet of every type of Moroccan dish you can imagine sitting at a table by the pool, with a bottle of Moroccan wine from the semi-mountain area of Bin Slimmon, and to our delight the wine
was amazing and of course, the food was as well.
If you are thinking of visiting Tangier, we would recommend the Husa Soluzar hotel, which, as we mentioned, overlooks the bay and has attentive service and very clean rooms with AC. Our room in particular had stunning views of the boardwalk and beach (see pics). It also has a spa, which was a rare treat, with real massages, manicures and pedicures, but also offers the traditional hammam experience. We may sound like an advertisement but it was truly a wonderful experience. One strange thing was the “We wish you a Merry Christmas” music playing in the lobby (during Ramadan, no less). Yep, still can’t explain that one.
We walked many miles through the city and saw all types of neighborhoods and people. Tangier has tons of tourism, although much less during Ramadan. During 7:30-8:00pm, when Muslims are breaking their fast of the day, you will not find one taxi on the street and most areas look surreally like the streets of New York… if it were a ghost town! During that timeframe, the downtown area truly looked like a deserted city from a post-apocalyptic movie… no people, no
cars and no movement of any kind, save for a bird or stray dog here and there. Completely surreal and totally cool!!!
The people of Tanja assumed us to be Spanish or French folks and we took great pleasure in stunning locals by our use of the local language. Speaking the language (Darija or Arabic) really changes how we are viewed everywhere in Morocco. Plus, it is really fun and awesome!!!
Another thing we were overjoyed to find in Tanja, was the great food. We ate once at Art and Gourmet, a French restaurant at the entrance of the medina that served unique French and Moroccan dishes. This meal set the gastronomical bar for the rest of our stay. It was fantastic!!! The medina, however, is the typical Moroccan mix of touristy and local items. The fresh seafood area of the market was stunning. If only we had had a kitchen…
But, the Tangerino restaurant is THE seafood restaurant of excellence in the city. We got lost trying to find it, walking several MILES towards the location on our Google maps app on our phone before getting a taxi. However, we enjoyed the walk immensely and along
the way, we got to witness a knife being pulled in a fight (knives here are illegal by the way), some dogs raging, and two super nice cars cutting up and racing, just like Grand Theft Auto or Need For Speed (computer games). Once in the taxi, the driver didn’t know where the restaurant was either and ended up driving us all over town until he finally found it (as it turns out, only about 100 feet from our hotel). Out the front door of the Husa and turn left… one block… tada!!! (But we wouldn’t have the fun stories!) In the Tangerino, the young owner was outgoing and attentive and speaks at least 5 languages. The food there is amazing, from the garlic, chili shrimp, to the calamari, to the lobster. See lobster photos and be truly amazed.
At midnight, the beach boardwalk becomes a promenade of people, young and old. It offers the most fabulous sea-side breeze, along with popcorn, ice cream, and non-food items of all kinds for sale. The camels that stay all day on the beach tend to go home at night, but the ponies and horses come out. Since the last meal before
Who needs the Colonel's?!?! I rocked it!
Our home cooked fried chicken experiment... SUCCESSFUL!!! fasting again (for the hours of daylight) is around 3:30 a.m., night life is to be enjoyed.
Probably the weirdest thing about our trip to Tangier was running into our Mudir (the man who runs our dar chebab – youth center) in the Moroccan Wal-Mart (Marjone). We were just walking around minding our own business and looking for a good hair brush for Ann, which cannot be found in Ksar, when Hassan comes running up to us with a big greeting. Truly, small world stuff. Seriously, how many people do we really know in the entire country of Morocco? And then we run into someone in a city an hour and a half away from where we both live, in a Wal-Mart type store? We would love to run into some of you here in Morocco and it does not have to be a coincidence. Just sayin’… the invite is always open! We will have some photos of the twin beds that are waiting for you on our next blog.
After six months, Ann finally found a real salon and was happy to get her hair done. It was another lengthy and crazy cultural experience, and it did
cause her to think - - how would friends at home feel about a salon in the dead of summer with no AC? Or better yet, how do you get a hair stylist to do what you want if you haven’t learned any form of salon language yet? In the end, it all worked out and at a smidgen of the cost it would have been in the US. Good thing too, Peace Corps wages are only…. Oh wait, we are volunteers, there are no wages!!! LOL! Yes, we know what you are thinking: the Smiths keep sounding like they are on vacation… and perhaps we are in a way. It has been said of the Peace Corps, “It is the toughest job you will ever love,” and “the longest vacation you will ever hate.” We hope to find some balance in between those two sayings, inshallah. However, in the meantime, we will continue to heavily sacrifice ourselves so that we can discover, gather and share the truly wonderful and magical things, some completely unexpected, that make this kingdom one of the most fascinating places you will ever find.
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Patrick
non-member comment
It has been awhile....
It has been awhile since I have "tuned in" it looks like you "kids" are having a real time. I say kids because the spirit of your trip shines through your blog as from the eyes of two kids. I am so pleased you guys are having a great time and not only seeing the world but living in our world. You managed to pick up the language ----great stuff. I am curious when I read some of the entries, how the world economies are doing and would love to be able to gauge the venues, hotels and dining with the price. Hope all is well here in the states with family and friends etc. if you need anything let me know. Best Regards Patrick Barger