I wouldn't be surprised if you guys just read these posts for the titles. They are clever! Hahaha, anyway, moving on to the vacation. So, we flew out Thursday afternoon from Madrid (unfortunately, I had to sacrifice my attendance to a couple of classes) and landed in Tangier, Morocco. Thanks to a 2 hour time change, we didn't lose any time and made it to our hotel (which was very nice, thankfully) by 2 p.m. or so. From there, Tori and I decided to walk around and check out what Tangier had to offer, just like any other city. How bad could that be, right? Well, it was an experience, to say the least. It seemed like we were the only Westerners in the whole city, and EVERYONE knew. Of course, it probably wasn't too hard to tell since every other woman in the city was covered from head to toe and Tori was wearing the typical American dresswear of a tank-top and shorts. This resulted in some stares from the men and some looks of disgust from the women.
This being the case, it was impossible to walk for 2 minutes without being hassled or hounded by someone. They all wanted to "show us around" and then expect us to pay them afterwards. It was a little overwhelming. We walked through the Medina for awhile, which is an intricate system of narrow streets (not labeled on the map) and markets that's impossible NOT to get lost in. Thank goodness we stumbled upon the American Legation Museum. I am convinced it was built as a haven for American tourists. We dawdled around in there for as long as possible, avoiding the mayhem that was Tangier. After we prepped ourselves, we scurried out of the Medina and headed back to our hotel for an early night.
After the debacle of the first day, Tori and I decided to get out of Tangier for the second. After breakfast, we hired a cabbie (at least I think he was, despite the fact there were no such markings on his car) to take us to the Caves of Hercules, about 25 minutes outside the city on the Western coast. Upon arriving (which was an answered prayer in itself), we checked out the cave which, according to legend, was Hercules home. The unique aspect, though, was that the opening to the Atlantic Ocean is a mirror image of the continent of Africa. (Check out the picture and see for yourself). After the cave, we hit up the beach a few minutes down the road and enjoyed a relaxing day without being hassled. In fact, we were the only ones on the beach for miles. The water was a beautiful blue and the sand was amazing. This was a great escape from the previous day. For lunch, we had a "local dish" that we were afraid might make us sick, but it turned out to be amazing. Even if it was bad, the view alone was worth every penny. (The picture should be a billboard for Fanta) After lunch, we took a local up on his offer to let us ride his camels. The animals were so cool and, even though we only rode around the parking lot, it was a good experience.
Our "cabbie" got us back to the city by 5 pm, and we decided to take advantage of the cheap merchandise. Equipped with our previous day's knowledge and determination, we ventured into the Medina, and bargained for some goods. (Family, it was reminiscent of being in Namibia, but without cute little Sponge getting reeled in every 30 seconds, hahahahaha) We got in and out as fast we could for fear of being out after the sun went down, seriously. For dinner, we went around the corner from our hotel for "shawarmas" (a chicken wrap, Moroccan-style). After two exhausting days and the prospects of getting up early the next morning, we again called it an early night.
On Saturday morning, we boarded our ferry at the Tangier port around 10 am, and headed across the Strait to Gibraltar....
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