Blogs from Tangier-Tétouan, Morocco, Africa - page 8

After spending a grueling summer of sweltering heat from the African sunshine, we made the decision to add a covering to part of our roof. The reasons for having a covered patio are numerous, but the main reasons here are sunshine (smeesha) that during summer can be downright painful, rain (shtah) which happens almost every day in the winter, and the ability to enjoy the roof at will. When we first contacted someone regarding our wants, he was taken aback and absolutely did not understand why anyone would want such a thing on his roof. Yea, yea, yea… we know, it’s not normal here in Morocco… but we are “Meerican” (American) and those rules don’t apply to us. So, build it he did! Please note that all materials were hoisted up 3 flights of stairs with ... read more

Day 6 and we are at last in Morocco! Uncle Ray picked up the tickets yesterday so we only had to get on to the ferry, which is more of a job than you think. First the tom tom tries to send you down a service area which is locked, and then when you enter the port there’s no sign for Tangier-Med only Ceuta and Tangier. We followed the signs for Tangier and joined a queue, which turned out to be for the wrong ferry company, who were 3 hours behind. Once through the check in, there are absolutely no signs for which ferry is where are what lane you should be parked in! But with bit of trial and error, we parked up in front of our ferry, just in time to watch all the ... read more

Week 2 Found the truck stop OK and met our fellow travellers, only four other motorhomes so quite a manageable group size. The ferry crossing from Algeciras to Tangier Med was very calm thank goodness. We managed to arrive in one piece and had completed our paperwork correctly – there is a lot of red tape as we had to re-register the motorhome for our stay as well as fill in our details on umpteen forms. The northern part of Morocco was quite a surprise as it is very mountainous and green! Our first stay was at Motril on the coast, the beach and promenade are quite pristine but the same can't be said for the campsite. It was absolutely packed with motorhomes on every available space, mostly from France, obviously no fire regulations here. From ... read more

Halloween came to Ksar el Kebir, Morocco... and it was BOOtiful!!!! A local teacher, who started out as our student but now has become a friend, told us the other day, over tea and sweets at his family’s home, that in Morocco, you must have patience or you will lose your mind. Truer words may never have been spoken. We have learned this lesson time and time again during our ongoing journey in Morocco. This attribute is tested daily, in almost everything we do; from setting a simple meeting, to hiring a plumber, to communicating an idea which has never been considered before. One of the great challenges of transitioning from a busy, calendar dependent lawyer in the United States to a newcomer in this starkly different land, complete with a new language and culture, is ... read more

Girl Power! Peace Corps Morocco is divided into 8 regions. We happen to be in the north, but our region spreads across the entire country towards the east, all the way to the Algerian border. That covers a huge land area and travel from one side to the other is complicated and would take more than a day. But there is regional spirit within our group, nonetheless. When I (Ann) was approached by some of the female PCVs in my region to participate in a regional girl’s camp, I was excited. But also, I must admit that I pictured bratty little kids, snotty and whiny, giggling, loud and obnoxious, roasting marshmallows and being sneaky. Most, but not all of this turned out to be false. Peace Corps volunteers can apply for a money grant to hold ... read more