Blogs from Morocco, Africa

Just like Tarifa, I have passed through Tangier on several cycling trips. But I've never spent a night here. Well, that's been corrected this week. I've had a lovely few days in the city. The city is clean and bright. The waterfront is very nice and the old city is beautiful. I decided to sail to the new port at Tangier Med, about 40km from the city. I wanted to enjoy a bit of a cycle along the coast before my city break. I was booked on the noon sailing from Algeciras to give me plenty of time for cycling. The ship eventually sailed about 2.45 pm. It was after 5pm when I disembarked. I had to cycle the last 20km in darkness. Fortunately it was a good road and traffic was very light. I have ... read more

I left Ceuta running, and continued down the road until Fnideq, on the other side of the border. There I ran out of steam, and slowed down a bit. After sorting the travellers needs of this day and age, the almighty local sim-card and an ATM for some Moroccan cash, I got myself a 'grand taxi' to Tetouan. The taxi is not grand, in the grandiose sense, but simply refers to a shared taxi, as opposed to the petite taxi, which is a city cab. So far, for my lessons on the types of Moroccan taxis. I didn't stay in Tetouan, I just changed to a bus there, to get to Chefchaouen, my first port of call in Morocco. Chefchaouen is Smurf city, it's as blue as it can get. Chefchaouen also means City of Smurfs ... read more

I have to admit that I probably knew less about Fes than any of the other cities in Morocco, but after having observed the immense 8th century Medina the previous afternoon and our stay at a beautiful Riad within it, I was really excited to explore what Fes was about. The 8th Century Fes el Bali Medina is a UNESCO Heritage site, and makes the others look like a child's maze. The claim is that it has 10,000 streets, by which I mean some being just wide enough to traverse single file and in perpetual gloom because of the high walls. It is so densely populated that the majority of the inhabitants are only familiar with the area that they live or work in and would get lost in any other part of the Medina. The ... read more

After another hearty buffet breakfast, we set out to explore the city that has served as Europe's gateway to Africa for centuries, Tangier. Our sightseeing would take us to the legendary Kasbah, the Grand Socco, and the Tangier American Legation, a five-story mansion located in the Medina. Our first stop was the Kasbah, and this sample only made me fall even more in love with the architectural style. Here, the samples of the traditional blue brought by the Jews feeling Spain in the 15th century became more prevalent. In this Kasbah, there were more buildings that have been converted to guest houses and B&Bs than in Rabat, which is to be expected from a city as cosmopolitan as Tangier. But from what we were told, they are not going cheaply, and good candidates can be sold ... read more

Needless to say, the breakfast buffet at the Sofitel was as excellent as expected. Afterwards, we embarked on our first day of sightseeing in Morocco, and Rabat delivered all the historical and architectural wonders I had been anticipating. I can admit with certainty that after this day, my love for Morocco was firmly established. Our first stop was the governmental seat of the country in the Commune of Touarga, the Dar al Mahkzen Palace Complex, one of the 15th royal palaces, but the one where King Mohammed VI works but does not live in. This site is the only place where photos can be taken of the guards. It is prohibited in Morocco to photograph uniformed personnel, whether policemen, soldiers, or any other governmental body. This palace, therefore, is a good place to observe the different ... read more