Tangier

 

The Beach where waters of the Atlantic Ocean met those of the Mediterranean Sea

Our private tour was another organised in a hurry at the last minute via Expedia. Despite the initial pick up time confusion, our family had a good time in Tangier. It helped a lot that we didn't read the fine print and "all-included" meant entrance fees, camel rides, cave entrances and lunch was included. Bonus as we weren't aware of this! We did pass on the camel rides as the camels didn't look happy...

Tangier had a completely different feel to Casablanca. The city felt cleaner, and was more pleasant to the eye, perhaps because it was built on hilly slopes full of greenery. We were taken to beautiful viewpoints and given a city driveby tour. Perhaps it was because our guide, Ahmed, was more enthusiastic and relatable. We definitely needed him to navigate the way to the Casbah and then around the souk. We had fun in the stores looking at various goods and given demonstrations. Having done it before in Turkey, we knew how it worked. The Moroccans were just as hospitable as the Turks, and we stocked up on cashmere and argan oil. 

Lunch was at a touristy restaurant, complete with music. The food was not bad. For us, it was "free", we were tourists and we had to eat somewhere, so the experience was fun. Understandably, not all the other tourists taken there felt the same way. 

Tangier gave us a taste of Morocco. One of the earliest versions of this trip was a land based tour of Morocco complete with desert stays. It evolved into a cruise to accommodate the grandparents and we're glad we came, albeit very briefly. Here is to next time!

Original walls built by the Portuguese

It was too hazy but if clear, you could see Gibraltar across the water

Sometimes it seems not much has changed...look a playground! Must play...

That mentality applies to all the kids...

Practising for instagram

The master

Hercules Cave. Legend has it that this was where he rested before his 11th labour

Hand carved

Not sure what my camera was doing...but it made us look like intrepid explorers so let's keep it

Up next the old town

Original gate

This kid loves the free tea! This time mint

Oma loves the shopping and bargaining

The mosque that our guide went to for prayers while we were at lunch. Friday was their holy day

Loom demo. Men did the work here

The very friendly shop owner

Refugees? Movie extras? Ninjas?

It was a fun day. Our guide Ahmed on the right

Lunch. The verdict was that our family were not cous cous people

This pastry was hard to describe. The white stuff on top was sugar! But the inside was savoury

Our lunch

The musicians

Desserts and tea