Spain – day 4 – part 1
January 13, 2008 | 5:57 pmSo today was the big excursion day, a trip to Tangiers, Morocco. Distance wise, not very far, in fact, in the past 2 very clear days, we’ve been able to clearly see both the Rock of Gibraltar (on the Spanish side) and the coast of Morocco across the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting how close the 2 countries really are.
When you walk/drive along the coast of Andalusia (South of Spain), you can’t help but reflect on the history of these 2 countries, and you understand why the Arabic influence is so strong in the South of Spain: when the Arabs were in North Africa, being able to see the land across the sea, the invasion of Andalusia must have seemed like the logical next step.
Anyway, so it was back to Tarifa we went, to get our tickets from the travel agent. It was Sunday, but he had promised us he was open every day. Of course, when we got there, he was closed. After a momentary panic, we drove right down to the port itself, where the huge boat was already docked, and there, we saw signs for ticket purchase. The boat was due to leave at 11am. Once we got to the other side, we were told a guide would meet us there, and we would be taken on a full day tour of Tangiers in an air conditioned bus, and that we would stop for lunch in a Moroccan restaurant. This seemed like a harmless cushy way to see a city that we knew nothing about, and wouldn’t have known what to see where.
Sidenote: this is actually the next day, and I’m writing this as I sit on the plane leaving Spain, and as i look up at the mini screens that have dropped down from the plane ceiling, there’s a documentary on Morocco, and on the city of Fez in particular, which, i found out on our tour, is the 4th largest city, Tangiers being the 5th. So, I’m gonna stop writing and watch it for a while, it will allow me to compare it to what i saw (which i will describe shortly), and see if it changes my impression in anyway.
ok, done watching the documentary, it was interesting.
Back to yesterday. So boarding the ferry is interesting, because, as a pedestrian, you go in from the huge car bridge at the same time as those who chose to take their cars across. But then, you walk up the steps to the upper deck, and waow! it’s like you’re in a first class lounge, with wide cushy seats, some of them even arranged around tables, very luxurious. By then, our group of 7 was very excited. Before we can depart though, we all have to present our passports to the Moroccan immigration desk located within the ferry itself. Having a french passport, it was a breeze for me, especially on a day trip, no questions asked. The French influence in Morocco, as i will later learn, is still very present, and any Moroccan, from any walk of life, speaks some French.
35 minutes later, we are docking in Tangiers, and, as we wait for the carbridge to drop, we can look at the city of Tangiers from afar. The layout of the city seems pretty obvious, it is spread over 3-4 hills, with the old city clearly visible on the steepest hill, with a minaret visible at the top, and ending in an old fort wall before the steep drop down to the sea. The beach is mainly in front of what seems to be the new city (from the documentary i just saw on Fez, there also seems to be an old city and a new city). The busiest construction is that of all the skyscrapers being built on the beachfront. Tangiers seems to be an interesting mix of old and new, with most buildings painted in some shade of “dirty” white or yellow.
Well, I’m gonna end the post here, and will write the rest tomorrow, apparently, I’m not able to stay awake for the entire flight.
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