Blogs from Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco, Africa

Mja, tatsächlich haben wir hier seit Beginn der Reise keinen Tropfen Alkohol zu uns genommen, ich wegen der Schwangerschaft und Dennis....naja weil es einfach auch keinen gibt und weil er beschlossen hat, dann auch gleich mal Alkohol fasten zu können. Also "leider" sprechen wir hier nur von Häusern ( und Türen und Treppen und Gehsteigen und Moscheen und Brunnen und und und), die blau waren aber dafür war das um so schöner. Chefchaouen, die "blaue Stadt" hoch oben im Rif Gebirge war mein heimlicher Favorit der Reise, wenn auch weit davon entfernt ein Geheimtipp zu sein. Trotzdem besticht der kleine Ort mit nur 60.0000 Einwohnern durch seine malerisch in blau und weiß getünchte Medina und die wunderschöne Lage am Fuß des Djabal Ech Chaouen mit seinen beiden Doppelgipfeln, die wie Schafshörner hinter der Stadt aufragen und ... read more

We had an early departure from Tangier, since it was going to be a long day of traveling South on our way to Fes. But the early departure gave us an opportunity to observe the beautiful sunrise from the 15th Floor La Kasbah Restaurant at the hotel, the Hilton Tanger City Center. In addition, one of the highlights of the trip was scheduled for that day, the anticipated tour of Chefchaouen, The Blue Pearl, nestled in the Rif Mountains. The early departure meant more time spent exploring this gem. We carefully packed the pastries we had bought the night before so that we didn't have to waste the precious time in the city waiting to be served lunch. Apparently, waiting for a meal can be a lengthy process in Chefchaouen. The name Chefchaouen means "look at ... read more

Tangier is fascinating in many ways, not the least of which is the constant reminder of the proximity to Spain, it's landmass clearly visible from the port across the beautifully blue water. A ferry that leaves every two hours provides easy access to those who wish to spend a day exploring Gibraltar. Tangier is one of the many Moroccan cities that take advantage of their waterfront location by having a beautiful and lively promenade with access to the wide beach on one side, and many restaurants and cafes on the other side. Fortunately, The Hilton Tanger City Center, where we were staying, was situated about two blocks from the promenade. It provided us with two fun evenings exploring the variety of choices available to us, as well as also providing spectacular views from its 15th floor ... read more

We discover that the activity of choice for young Tangierians at 5am on Sunday mornings is to tear up and down the main drag outside our waterfront hotel with their hands more or less constantly parked on their horns. At least now we don’t need to worry about our alarm clock not going off. And whilst on the subject of clocks and time, what time actually is it? I’ve got three “devices”, and at the moment they‘re displaying three different times. My iPad’s synced to the hotel wifi, so we think that’s probably right. Our phone company doesn’t do roaming in Morocco, but our phones occasionally detect a network across the water in Spain, and when they do they revert to Spanish time, which is an hour ahead ... and my Fitbit … it’s always been ... read more

Today we’ve got a long and messy day of travelling to Tangier in Morocco, via Malaga, where we’ve got several hours to kill while we wait for our late evening flight. The bus that we came on to Nerja stopped at every pretty coastal settlement along the route, and we‘re looking forward to again enjoying the excellent coastal scenery on the way back … and as an added bonus the trip will again be a long one, soaking up some of those hours we need to kill. But it seems Mr Murphy has again decided to intervene in our lives. The bus back is an express; there are no stops, so so much for the time we were looking to kill … and it doesn’t follow the coast so there’s no scenery to look at. I’m ... read more