Tangier, A Quick Stop
Tangier, Morocco, Africa
Written by Clara the Exploradora
Tangier is a culture shock from Europe. It was mine and Patrick’s first time in a Muslim country and we learned a lot. When our ferry landed there, and Spain became the country across the straight of Gibraltar we were immediately greeted by a nice young man who told us of his buddy that would help us out. We told this guy thank you and moved on with no intention of hiring his buddy for help. But that made absolutely no difference. This little buddy of his was a 12 year old hustler who found us anyways. He would not leave us alone. He followed us all the way to the melting pot hostal and even though we asked him ever so nicely many times to leave us alone he didn’t. He waited outside the hostal for 2 hours for us. In the hostal we made friends with a British man who was riding his motorcycle all over the place. The hostal is located in the Old Medina of town and can be very confusing to navigate. It is a good idea to have an accurate map so that you will be able to find your way around the area.
Travel hint: Patrick would always
just leave google maps open on his
phone (on airplane mode) and drop
pins of where we wanted to go/where
we were staying. It helped us get around
a lot more easily.
When we finally left the hostal with the British man to go park his bike somewhere, this kid followed us and was harassing the British guy! Telling him to F*#% off and what not. It was ridiculous. After about an hour, the British guy got vulgar and the kid finally left us alone. Usually in Morocco, all you have to say is “No thank you” and people will leave you alone, but that didn’t work in this instance. After we lost the kid, we went and had a nice day.
Travel Hint: Drink all the
mint tea you can while in
Morocco. It is a very good
tasting tea.
We found a cafe in a central street and shared some mint tea and food together. It really turned into a wonderful evening.
It was also when I started to see the cultural differences that I think are noteworthy. For example…
- The prayer calls five times a day starting at dawn.
- Men kept asking Patrick the questions that regarded both of us and if I answered they would still only address Patrick.
- To pee you have to use toilet holes and there is no where to wash hands. Bring toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
- Women don’t hang out in coffee shops. I was usually the only one in the coffee shop when we would go in to watch soccer or grab a drink.
That evening, we wandered the streets of Tangier with the British man and an Italian girl, exploring the and getting to know the city. During our musings we found a bar. Yes a bar. Bars are very rare there because the Muslim religion is against the consumption of alcohol. If you are expecting cheap alcohol in Morocco, think again. We perused the drink menu and it is expensive, even with currency conversion. In this bar I ordered fruit and appreciated the singing of some man and a piano (video below). Then we went back to the hostal to hang out on the roof top and listen to the sounds of the streets.
The next day we left on a bus to go to the magical blue city called Chefchaouen. It’s easy enough to get there, you just have to load up on a bus. Tickets aren’t too expensive to buy but it sure is worth it. Bus stations are chaotic and fast paced and full of hustlers. So be ready for that!
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