01 - Funky Old Medina (Tangier, Morocco)

FUNKY OLD MEDINA

If you're seeing this, then this blog is a placeholder and should be considered only as a work in progress!

It's cold where I live right now so I ran away from home for a month or so, winding up literally as far south as I could go while still being able to do my job (which technically requires me to be on European soil.) That means I can leave the EU on the weekends!



Since I was across the Strait of Gibraltar, it was a short ferry ride for some short trips to Tangier, Morocco.

I went to Tangier a couple of times as side trips from Tarifa, Spain. The R/T ferry is 71 euro but flexible enough that I didn't have to decide which day I was coming home.

My initial perception was that, if you've ever seen spy or action movies with scenes set in Tangier, it's just like that except for (a) the lack of explosions and (b) all the creepy dudes trying to sell you trinkets and Relox watches. Some of that perception turned out to be wrong, but at least nothing exploded while I was there!

The first time, since I had no idea what to expect, I booked a van tour with FRS (the ferry company) at one of their offices in my temporary European hometown. Despite the round-trip ferry retailing for 71 euro, the total was only 78 euro for:

1) the round-trip ferry rides

2) the bus tour through the western city hills

3) a guided walking tour through the Kasbah

4) lunch at a nice restaurant

5) some "free time" which included another (optional) guided walking/shopping tour

6) transport back to the ferry

7) perhaps most crucial, the "go here and do this so you don't get lost or left behind" instructions for the ferry

I don't know if the prices go up during the 'high season' but this was a great time of year to visit as it's cool and the 'golden hour' provides some amazing light near the port.

The tour itself - in four languages - was informative! Our guide, Aziz, answered lots of great questions. I asked him how many languages he spoke and he started listing off more than I could count! 

The second time, I wanted to stay overnight so I could see the nightlife. I booked (only) the ferry and used [that hotel reservation site] to stay ($37 USD booked on the ferry to Tangier with almost no notice, but with breakfast included and pretty good) at the Hotel Continental - the giant hotel overlooking the port, and bordering the Kasbah and Old Medina - even though there were some better ratings nearby. The call to prayer echoing through the neighborhoods is haunting if you're not used to it. 

Although my room didn't have a waterfront view, (and smelled a bit of wood oil or shaved timber - not objectional when your dad did woodworking for a hobby in your youth,) the hotel patio has a wonderful view of the port and it's magic at night! The same is true with the view from the breakfast restaurant patio in the morning sunshine. 

For the second trip, I booked the good-for-48-hours hop-on/hop-off tour because it went out to the west coast. While I normally despite these touristy, eyesore buses, it was 13 euro (130 MAD if local currency) and went out to the west coast and beaches about 12 KM away, climbing mountain roads that I didn't want to attempt on a bicycle (but I found no option for bike-hire anyway.) The bus stopped at Cap Spartel - a tourist stop on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean - as well as Achakkar Beach and the Hercules Caves. The downside to the bus (other than it being cold before they closed the roof) was that the western route only ran every 2 hours with the last one leaving Tangier at 4 pm or so. While I could spend a couple of hours at the beach if it were nice, by the time we got there it was cloudy, windy, and cold, so the 10 minutes off the bus was all one gets unless they want to spend *much* more time there. (In the 'high season' there are probably more businesses open and more to do, but spending 2 hours to there to pay to see the Hercules Caves for 5 minutes wasn't a realistic option.) I could also imagine getting stuck there if the last bus didn't come or was too full.

Unfortunately, the bus also dragged the clouds and rain back to the city with us and the ferry ticket-taker wouldn't let me on the ferry with 20 minutes to spare (chastising "You get here an hour before!") so I spent two hours having a wonderful lamb tajin in the Kasbah while failing to dry off. :)

Within the city - whose hills and many steps are very walkable when dry but terrifying when wet - I saw the Bab Kasbah ('bab' means 'gate') and the Kasbah within, the Tombeaux Pheniciens (tombs, which are rectangular cut-outs in the rocks on the top of the northern cliff overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar,) the Grand Socco, the Old Medina, Marshan Park, Rue California, Pace Faro, as well as some hokey park on the side of the road where you can pay 2 euro to ride a well-used camel for a few minutes which I don't do because the camel didn't do anything to deserve my fat butt on it. Aziz also offered to walk us through the Kasbah on our designated 'free time,' taking us to many shops where he obviously is friendly (or has some deals) with the proprietors.

My favorite spot was easily Cinema Rif, a nice cafe/film museum at Place 9 Avril 1947 to sit at a sidewalk table and drink the local mint tea and people-watch. At night, the fountain in the Place also lights up in different colors.

I also stopped at the Hafa Garden (skippable in winter) and passed by the Donkey Museum which was closed on Wednesdays (when I happened to walk by!)

Restaurants included Hamida (the one the first tour went to, complete with live music at a reasonable volume,) the Gran Café Central (a mixed seafood tajin on the specials board at an outdoor patio with heat lamps on a main walking thoroughfare, Rue Siaghine,) Le Bistrot du Petit Socco (the lamb tajin on a second-floor patio overlooking Rue Siaghine.) As mentioned, I also had the hotel breakfast, but the view was way better than the merely adequate food intended for tourists.

There's more to come - including blog-specific pictures - but for now, you'll have to deal with my Flickr site if you want images. The first visit is well documented at https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffdude/albums/72177720313300260/ but you'll have to wait until I put up the pics from the second visit.