Tangier 25-27/2
25th Feb - Jen's 44th
Easy wake and pack up - condensed down again with all our gear in my small red carry on backpack & smaller day bag - liberating! Left Eddie at Torre de la Pena in their carpark and cabbed to the Puerto where we boarded the big fast cat to Africa for a short run (~45min) across the calm strait of Gibraltar to Tangier.
Jumped on a cheap organized tour of the town with Abdul, girls rode an Ozzie camel (Jemeela), looked at the new rich bit and the old walking parts of the kazbah and medina, had a set moroccan style lunch in an upstairs restaurant (best bit was a chilli & lemon condiment) with with the rest of the smoking Spaniards in our group, listened to a local traditional band, then headed back out into the full onslaught of the local tourist touts/vendors trying to sell us all sorts of stuff (carpets , drums, chewing gum, herbs..) some of which was interesting, most not, definitely cant carry anything at this early stage in the trip.
After several hours met up with a guy called Hisham who took us to our hotel, the Continental which is on the edge of the medina overlooking the port. In it's heyday apparently quite a place, where movie and rock stars stayed & sordid play writes created, but was allowed to degenerate and now being restored. Lovely room with the traditional tiles/arches and ornate cornices, a little quiet sanctuary. Unusually, when the bathroom door is open however, it is as if the whole medina is in the room, calls to prayer 5 times a day, scooters buzzing by, soccer kids (seem to be mostly Barcelona fans) scorching up and down the alleys, the frequent hawk and spit and the ever present chirping of small birds (sparrows) - close the door and all noise cancels.
Evening walk with Hisham (self - appointed guide) up through the now buzzing medina to buy hot bread, salted anchovies & assorted nuts, ATM for Dirhams, see all the spice and food and other knick-knack shops in action.
The streets ad scary - confronting life with unsightly disability, stench, litter & excrement, poverty and hassle. Somehow they are much more inviting, engaging & intriguing than all that seemed fantastic in Spain. More littered objectively but less so given circumstances & opportunity...
What a place!
Back to the room, shower, wash the smalls, chat a bit, read a bit, close the door and push up Z's.
26/2/11
Boring breakfast in the hotel's most ornate dining room off which several rooms/halls/vestibules twist for whatever reason - meetings, prayers, just quiet reading??? Will shop for our own at future hostals.
Met Hisham at 10am for a walking tour of the less touristy aspects of the areas we saw yesterday. Hot freshly baked bread in hands ,we seemed to crawl over every inch of cobbled alley, some too narrow for shoulders, some with balconies touching overhead, the water taps running with the women and children ferrying 5 liter plastic bottles full back to their homes. Little girls delivering trays of freshly baked bread to the souqs (markets), little boys soccering away, riding their bikes up and down steep alleys, men hard at work making rugs and clothing & doing the selling thing in any language required, were shown the Jewish and Catholic and Anglican and Muslim buildings of worship all side by side, Hashim proud to say all living in harmony. Ever present waft of raw poop, followed by the smell of baking bread and that of the spice markets - senses working overtime! Best part was wandering past Berber women's fresh produce souqs & then through enclaves where men work for days with bicycle wheels , looms & exotic thread to create rugs & garments.
Boring breakfast in the hotel's most ornate dining room off which several rooms/halls/vestibules twist for whatever reason - meetings, prayers, just quiet reading??? Will shop for our own at future hostals.
Met Hisham at 10am for a walking tour of the less touristy aspects of the areas we saw yesterday. Hot freshly baked bread in hands ,we seemed to crawl over every inch of cobbled alley, some too narrow for shoulders, some with balconies touching overhead, the water taps running with the women and children ferrying 5 liter plastic bottles full back to their homes. Little girls delivering trays of freshly baked bread to the souqs (markets), little boys soccering away, riding their bikes up and down steep alleys, men hard at work making rugs and clothing & doing the selling thing in any language required, were shown the Jewish and Catholic and Anglican and Muslim buildings of worship all side by side, Hashim proud to say all living in harmony. Ever present waft of raw poop, followed by the smell of baking bread and that of the spice markets - senses working overtime! Best part was wandering past Berber women's fresh produce souqs & then through enclaves where men work for days with bicycle wheels , looms & exotic thread to create rugs & garments.
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| Arabian backpackers |
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| Hotel Continental |
Taken finally to Hisham's " family" homeshop to meet nomadic tent Berber people from South Morocco. They live in the deserts & bring their produce to town to sell. Offered mint tea , dressed by Shareef for the occasion before the ever- present but very enjoyable , intimate & educational sales pitch. Learnt ALOT about the flag, Islam & travelling in Morocco before buying rip - off traditional outfits for the kids. Pee in squat toilet! Strong Turkish coffee with Hisham & kif - smoking store owner. Down time back at hotel before out for dinner at Hisham's fave cafe (aromatic soup, endless bread,salad, spiced chicken skewers , BLOW YOUR MIND chicken,almond,onion Bastille pastry dusted with sugar, 3 different tajines ( meat & tomato kefta; lemon & olive chicken ; chickpea & chicken cous- cous), thick slices cinnamon dusted oranges ; mint tea & honey cakes for $ 50 total - still tourist price. Will do this in souqs ourselves next time for less & with less sugar & bread. Haircut for kids. Home to shower, plan & sleep. Kids initially very overwhelmed by Morocco & wanting to go back to Spain. Now, they're on board - spectacular , adventurous little travelers ! Off to Chefchouen tomorrow..
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