Day 33 - Wednesday, 12/11/24 - Tangier, Morocco
Overnight the ship moved from Gibraltar to Tangier, Morocco. I was awake until around midnight and didn't hear any noise or feel any vibration from the ship and fell asleep. I then woke up at around 7 AM which is the longest continuous sleep I've had this whole voyage, in fact, the longest in many months. And overnight, I did not feel or hear any vibration from the undocking or docking procedures.
After breakfast, Angela and I gathered up our things and went down to the third floor atrium to meet up with our little group of six for our private tour of this area. We really didn't know what we were going to see but relied on our leader and what he had arranged with the guide. Just before 9 AM we scanned off the ship and exited from level two down a steep gangway. We passed through a small security shack and our guide xxx met us just outside the gate. In fact, his van was the very first one in line before even the Holland America tour buses. Our van was a very nice little Mercedes van that comfortably fit all six of us plus our guide Abdelmoghi and Asan our driver.
We drove through the downtown area of Tanger, and one of the first things that struck all of us was how clean and neat it was. There was a marked absence of trash and litter, and that was unlike any other port we visited this trip or for that matter any trip that I've been on. We passed by a number of estates and houses that belonged to prominent people and or rulers and or authorities and eventually ended up at Cape Spartel, which is at the northwest most point in Morocco. The Cape features a lighthouse and from this point of the day it was clear weather so we could see Spain some 8 to 10 miles across the straight of Gibraltar. Angela ended up purchasing an Arabian musical instrument which is like a bulbous guitar. It's called an al oud , and rather cute.
Following some picture taking and general comments by our guide, we re-boarded the van and drove south a few miles to the Hercules cave. This cost eight euros to enter and was a spectacular limestone cave originally carved out by seawater and was later enlarged by human activity when they mined stones for grinding wheat. Featured in the cave is an opening which resembles the shape of the continent of Africa.
We then drove south along the coast. There were beaches with camels available for rent. It was also noteworthy that there were a couple areas where there were lots of buildings that have been constructed for housing, but they were completely vacant and we found that strange. We then reached the little town of Asilah where we exited the van and took a stroll through the Medina, which is the old city inside the Portuguese fortress. Before walking through the Medina, we stopped in to a little café and enjoyed some tea and or Cocoa and a local pastry.
Walking through the Medina, it was very charming and filled with lots of artwork that have been painted on the walls. It too was spotless. At one point, we discovered down a side alleyway a bakery specialty was to bake others bread that had been brought to them. They also baked some of their own goods and they were for sale. We sampled a pizza looking dish that was made from chick pea, flour and eggs. The owner cut the item into little pieces and it was scrumptious. We finished our walk and met our driver.
We then retraced our route back north to Tanger, and reached the center of the city at a place called the Casbah. This is another very old neighborhood with very steep and winding streets and alleyways that were a bit challenging to walk because of the uneven surfaces. In the middle of the Casbah, we went to a restaurant (La Terazza de la Medina) and enjoyed a typical Moroccan meal. Bread and olives were initially served along with sparkling water or still water. The main course consisted of a very good soup with lentils and chickpeas, with a very nice flavor. Angela and I split two dishes: one was a lamb dish and the other was a chicken dish. Both of us much preferred the lamb dish which had been cooked in the typical Tangine Moroccan way and was quite tasty.
After our lunch, we continued our stroll down through the Casbah and did some more serious shopping, including a stop at a spice store, an authentic handcrafts store and one lady bought a pair of Moroccan shoes. At the bottom of the cash flow, it opened up into a level area right at water level. In fact in ancient times, the water came right up to the wall where there was a former customs office. We could see the ship, not too far away, and we waited for our driver to come with the van. And very few minutes we were wished to the port where we said our goodbyes to our guide and our driver. This was just before 6 PM. It turned out that we had been out for for some nine hours, which was the longest touring day of the entire trip so far.
We scanned back on the ship (only 22 people and 11 crew had yet to board behind us), and went to our room to leave behind our backpacks and coats and hats before going to the main stage for the evening entertainment, which was a British comedian, Paul Adams. He was a really funny comedian. I don't think I have laughed so hard since watching the movie My Life In Ruins which we watched earlier in this voyage.
After the show, I came up to the Lido to have a cup of tea and few cookies and dictate this daily blog. About 845pm the ship moved off its berth and sailed out of the harbor. It's a very short distance to Cádiz, Spain. We have a small group Holland America shore excursion tomorrow in this final port of call in Europe before heading across the Atlantic over the following eight days.
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