Blogs from Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco, Africa - page 24

I must admit, I was expecting a lot more hustle. After my small enquiry among people back home and abroad. I soon had my picture ready. It was exotic, arabic, and picturesque with all the hustles that comes. Persistant salesmen, touts, con-men and the deceptive drug-dealing-alley-yongsters you find all over the world. So far the hustles are yet to come. Got spat out in the middle of the night at Mohammed VI airport. Always a bad time of the day to bargain over taxi-fares or being finicky with hotels. It's such a feeling to be out again. Out of Europe, into something a little more unexpected than 9to5 and sleep&shower. Casablanca; The city is widespread with broad avenues and narrow alleys expanding in all directions. The Medina (old town) is a jumble of buildings. Shops ... read more

M is for Morocco. And Tangier, it's northern-most port and the gateway between Europe is my first taste of Africa. In Tangier you can experience your worst nightmare and an enchanting fantasy in the same convoluted maze of streets and alleys that make up this ancient town. As a port town, and with a long history of changing powers, Tangier now has a full mix of cultures, peoples, languages and everything that goes along with it. On the streets arabic is the language of preference, but one also hears french, spanish, english and the native tongue of the Berber people who inhabit the surrounding mountains. Tea houses are the popular hangouts, where people go for discussion, to watch religious broadcasts blaring from television sets, trading hash, hashish and opium, and of course to sip away on ... read more

WOW! There is so much to write about this weekend! I would have to say it was one of the best 48 hours of my entire life! I´ve never laughed so hard and seen and done so many interesting and exciting things! Thursday night the group of 10 of us left for Tarifa, Spain. Tarifa is the most southern point of all of Europe. Our bus left at 11:00 p.m. Heather (a girl from my school) and I spent the 8 hour trip under the seats of the bus curled up in a sheet that I brought! It was a little squishy, but, hey, it worked and I was able to sleep some of the way there. We arrived in Tarifa around 7:30 in the morning. From there, we had to call Manuel, the head of ... read more

I was a bit apprehensive when I got to Algeciras. It was around 1pm. The sun was merciless. On pondering whether to go to Ceuta or Tangier, I imbued myself with the utmost courage - that is, I learned that the ticket to Tangier was half the price of the one to Ceuta -, got my bags and, off to the port. In the lounge, right before getting on the ferry, I met Ewa and Kasia (both from Krakow). We seemed to be the only non-moroccans bound to Tangier that Saturday afternoon. The other weary fellow passengers were no more than half a dozen. It was shortly after 4.30pm (Spanish time) when we waived goodbye to Europe and made the acquaintance with Simo, the friendliest crew member. It's hard to say so as we soon realised ... read more

It was a short hop this morning from Tetuan to Chefchaouen - a trip of 1 and a half hours by local bus. It was cold and wet when I arrived in the morning. When I arrived I spent some time looking around various lodgings till I found one I liked. Whilst I was wandering the streets looking for hotels, I was offered kif (hashish). I refused all offers very firmly. Kif is a local industry in the area, for want of decent prices for other products for the local farmers. I spent the day walking around the town - its not very big. But the medina is very attractive, and the town is in a stunning location, in a valley in the Rif Mountains. Fortunatly the sun came out later in the afternoon, after I ... read more