Tanger (Morocco)

...Tarifa in southern Spain to Tanger in Morocco. You can see the Atlas mountains of Morrocco from Tarifa even on a fairly misty day but on a really clear day you can make out settlements, small clusters of traditional white houses tempting you over the water.

There are various options for travelers wishing to visit Morrocco from the Spanish mainland and Tarifa (like Algeciras which also has ferry departures for Morrocco) teems with travel ...
...four sailings per day to Tanger and we opted for the nine a.m. crossing to maximize the time available to us (the crossing takes 35 minutes). We arrived at the terminal and exchanged our voucher for our tour pack and were instructed to be wearing our FRS stickers when the ferry docked so that the guide could find us. My heart sank; I'm not very good on guided tours. It's the old curiosity thing again; I want to find things for myself, I want to look ... more

Though I say it myself, my feet are rather nice; no corns, not smelly and quite dainty. However, they are awfully itchy, an itch for which I can find no remedy. Here I am trying hard to save lots of money for a four month trip around the Black Sea next year when my feet decide to dip into the money (not literally - these mixed metaphors can be so unpleasant sometimes) and toddle off to Andalusia for a couple of weeks.

There's only one thing harder to control than my itchy feet and that's my unrelenting curiosity. It never fails to get the better of me. I try to say no but panic starts to set in - what might I miss, will the chance ever arise again, what will happen if I don't give in to it, how soon will the regrets set in?

It was in order to avoid all these questions that I made the crossing from Tarifa in southern Spain to Tanger in Morocco. You can see the Atlas mountains of Morrocco from Tarifa even on a fairly misty day but on a really clear day you can make out settlements, small clusters of traditional white houses tempting you over the water.

There are various options for travelers wishing to visit Morrocco from the Spanish mainland and Tarifa (like Algeciras which also has ferry departures for Morrocco) teems with travel agencies offering more or less the same deals for more or less the same price. We opted for the two-day tour - that is, an organised tour with one night's accommodation in Tanger. We knew little more than that - we were so excited about the prospect of visiting this strange and exotic country that we didn't think to ask.

There are about four sailings per day to Tanger and we opted for the nine a.m. crossing to maximize the time available to us (the crossing takes 35 minutes). We arrived at the terminal and exchanged our voucher for our tour pack and were instructed to be wearing our FRS stickers when the ferry docked so that the guide could find us. My heart sank; I'm not very good on guided tours. It's the old curiosity thing again; I want to find things for myself, I want to look through peoples' windows, I want to eat where the locals eat not where the guide wants me to eat. I made a decision - I would stick the badge to my purse and show it if necessary, but I would definitely NOT wear it. Guided tours and stickers are for losers, people who aren't very good at traveling, people who can't find it in themselves to show a bit of backbone and do something themselves. So there!

"Where is your sticker?" demanded KC, our guide. He was a short, wizened looking man - a bit like a walnut in a hooded robe. He was very cross-looking, in fact you'd never thought there could have been so much venom contained within his tiny frame. I told him it wouldn't stick to my t-shirt, but showed that I had it with me. His snort of derision gave me the impression he did not care either way but was simply demonstrating that on this tour he was the boss.

KC proved to be not only an extremely able linguist - he spoke several European languages as well as his native Arabic - but also friend to anyone in Tanger who hoped to make money from tourists. This became apparent from the outset. Off we went in a minibus - my partner and I, a young Canadian couple and a young lady from Peru, now working in Spain - first through the suburbs and on towards the outskirts of town at break-neck speed; past the King of Morrocco's palace - "No photos please" we were warned (couldn't have snapped more than a blur at that speed anyway), the King's brother's palace (same request) and up to a tremendous viewing point where we could see the Med merge with the Atlantic. At this point KC informed us that we could get out to take photos (it seemed a necessary requirement of this pit stop); we presumed he meant us to take photos of the view until, from out of nowhere a young boy appeared with the most gorgeous donkey I've ever seen - not only a wonderful photo-opportunity but one which was payable in either Dirham or Euros - providence always smiles on me - we hadn't yet had time to change any money! Next stop a small car-park where yet another acquaintance of KC was waiting with a couple of camels. Not only am I not particularly a fan of camels (neither do they speak highly of me) but I am of the opinion that if I ever wanted to have my photograph taken whilst sitting atop one of these bad-tempered beasts, I would do it in an exotic desert setting rather than a suburban car-park.

The next part of the tour took place in town; this was what we all wanted to see. We left the minibus at the top of the hill on which the old town is built and followed KC around the winding streets.
First stop was a stall selling postcards ( KC really is a popular man in Tanger!). This was quickly followed by a cursory explanation of the kasbah before he led us to some more chums of his who wanted to demonstrate their snake-charming skills. It was at the point that my partner and I started to drift off, admiring some tiles in the entrance to a nearby house. We were joined by the Canadian couple who also admired the Moorish designs and colours but we were soon hauled back into line by our guide "Do you want to see the snake charming or not?" he demanded. We did not....

Our next port of call was a "traditional" Morroccan restaurant for lunch. This took place at about 10.30a.m. Morroccan time (Morrocco is two hours behind Spain in the summer) quite early but necessary if you want to fit in everything for those tourists opting for the day trip only. This proved to be something of a disappointment. Althought he interior was impressive as were the musicians who played each time another guided tour arrived, the food was poor - I am quite a fan of north African cuisine but this food was bland and unappetising. To start there was a "spicy" soup contiaing a miniscule amount of shredded chicken, next came two shish kebabs each followed by the main course of a mound of couscous with steamed vegatables. Most people failed to make more than a polite attempt - I managed a bit more because I was so hungry! The meal was rounded of with (I'm told because i can't eat nuts)) a sticky, sickly sweet honey coated biscuit and a glss of mint tea. I love proper mint tea, loaded with sugar and in a decorative glass - the best part of the meal for me.

After the meal we waited and waited what seemed an inordinate amount of time for KC to come to collect us for the remainder of the tour. This turned out to be visits to his various friends working in the souks. We sat through not only a fifteen minute demonstration about the variety of carpets and rugs on offer but another quarter of hour devoted to imparting the benefits of assorted natural remedies for snoring to athlete's foot. I don't think KC was very impressed with this particualr group of tight-fisted tourists. He scowled and looked at us disdainfully before granting us fifteeen minutes to explore on our own. We were like puppies let of a leash for the first time! Sadly it took us nearly all that time to haggle for a rather fetching Morroccan gentleman's outfit - our technique consists of walking away if our price is not agreed and letting the stall holder run after us!

One of the aggravating things about the tour was that since we were the only ones in the group staying overnight we had to wait until the rest of the party had been dropped at the ferry terminal before we could go to the hotel. Finally, though, we got there in the middle of the afternoon with enough time to grab a spot of lunch in a nearby cafe (actually it was a kind of video bar for the local young men - they were drinking mint tea and watching "Lord of the Rings" on a huge screen) and a relaxing dip in the well-maintained pool before getting ready for dinner (this meal and breakfast and lunch the following day were included in the cost). Dinner was an odd affair. The restaurant was large but (presumably fearing a sudden stampede later on) all the diners were seated at tables next to each other, thankfully the place was in such an extreme state of darkness that you couldn't see more than a couple of yards in front of you so you kind of forgot they were there. The food was distinctly average although the salad bar starter was excellent - Morroccan salads are usually brightly coloured and interesting and this selection was fantastic - beetroot, sweet crunchy carrots with rosemary, several different potato salads, bolied eggs, marinated tomatoes.....At each meal there was an Moroocan dish available which would have suited me well had the portions been a little more generous.

The hotel had a bar but since it was so quiet we took a cab back to the old town and did a bit more shopping. Once you get used to haggling, shopping in Tanger is tremendous fun. Having already been to Tunisia we had a little experience and we soon found ourselves getting into the swing of things. There is so much to buy - lovely leather shoes and sandals in colours to go with any outfit (so cheap you could buy a pair to match every outfit!), intricate jewellery, ceramics, leather goods - yes some of it is pretty grim but there are bargains to be had and little treasures to be found.

The street food smells delicious and the bakers premises open right out onto the narrow lanes so you can look inside and see the men removing the fresh bread from the ovens. There are kiosks selling dried fruit and nuts, windows where you can buy stuffed pastries, we even saw a man in tradtional dress wearing a bizarre contraption which dispensed tea from a container on his back.

Everyone in the bazaar speaks English (and just about every other European language) though I preferred to speak French which, along with Arabic is Morrocco's official language. Most people are friendly although the attention from over -enthusiastic traders can be overwhelming at times. Most can be turned away with a polite "Non, merci", some are more persistent. The best approach is to be friendly but firm; we told people that we were going to dinner or that we had run out of money but we would be back the next day - so long as you say it with a smile it should work.

Tanger is not for everyone. It can be hard work at times and although it seems very familar in the new part of town, even here things are quite different, For example, having done some shopping in the eveing we walked back to our hotel, hoping to find a bar on the way. However, while many bars closely resemble a western European bar, many do not serve alcohol and none we saw had women customers. I felt too uncomfortable to go in even though I knew that as a western woman I would be made welcome. In the end we bought some bottles of beer from a suupermarket and had them in the room instead.

If you do decide to give Tanger a try I would recommend a day trip or an overnight stay if you haven't experienced a country like this before. If you don't mind going with the flow and following the herd, the trips available from mainland Spain are good value - we paid 86 Euro each (this covered a four star hotel, all meals, a guided tour and the ferry crossing - pretty good value). If you're more independent and don't mind looking for soemwhere to stay when you get there you could always travel independently (be warned that to do this you should book your ticket a few days in advance because agencies sometimes manage to book out the entire boat). Hotels and pensions are pretty easy to find: larger and generally more upmarket hotels are found in the new town and pensions are tucked away in the streets around the medina - they're likely to be noisy but you'll be in the middle of the action.

If you are willing to be open-minded and go with the attitude that you will enjoy Tanger you proabably will. I have been disappointed with peoples' reactions when I have told them I went to Tanger - "Ugh, it's supposed to be dirty!" (actually, its dusty, not dirty), "The men are lecherous" (wear the right clothes, don't insult your hosts) and so on. Tanger rewards visitors willing to take a chance and a a fine reward it is too. 

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