The Trip: Morocco Part 1

After leaving London we headed south to Morocco and Tangier. But first we had a stopover in Casablanca, a place which has held a mystique for me ever since I first saw the movie many years ago. Now I was told not to expect the ambiance of the movie in this modern city so it is just enough to say I visited Casablanca. After a tow hour layover in a very modern looking airport we headed for our next destination, Tangier.

We arrived in Tangier just before midnight on Tuesday and were met by our driver Moustafa who drove a somewhat rusty and rickety Mercedes van. As we drove through the streets of Tangier towards our hotel we tried to ask questions of our driver only to discover he spoke Moroccan and French. So it was in French and using hand signals to communicate. As we looked around the first thing that struck me was with the architecture, plants and the people, Tangier was the exotic place I was expecting. After a long day traveling we headed to bed and a good nights sleep.

We were woken by the phone ringing about 11am and it was Moustafa’s boss asking if we wanted to take a tour that day. As our plans for Tangier were fluid after some quick negotiations we set up a pickup time of about 1:30. This would give us sometime to wake up and get lunch before our tour started. As we were not moble we decided to check out our hotel, The Movenpick for lunch. It turns out there is a buffet offered for lunch and dinner so we decided to give it a try. The lunch was quite tasty and included a few exotic dishes including Rabbit Fricassee and some very tasty desserts.

After we enjoyed a nice lunch we waited outside for our tour when we were approached by a gentleman who was saying our room number, it turns out he was to be our guide. His name is Sayed and he turned out to be quite a character. As we waited for our driver, Mousatfa (our driver from the airport) Sayed gave us a brief overview of what the tour would include. Once Moustafa arrived we were off on the great adventure. First a drive through the city with a running commentary from Sayed about the history of the city and the different inhabitants of the area throughout history. Next we took a drive up to hills overlooking the city including a drive past one of the palaces of the King Mohammed VI After a drive through the hills we headed for the coast of the Atlantic Ocean which included a stop overlooking the ocean. Back on the road we headed to Cape Spartel, where a lighthouse is located. From here we headed to the Caves of Hercules where it is beleived Hercules lived while in Africa. There is an area of the cave which looks out to the ocean and it is a reverse map of Africa. Quite a sight. After our visit to the Cave we headed back to Tangier and the Kasbah for our walking tour.