Today, the ship docked in Tangier and I went on an escorted tour.

Tangier, Morocco.

Today was the day I made my first visit to Tangier, Morocco and North Africa. Surprisingly after not going to bed until around 5 am after taking photos of the Strait of Gibraltar as we sailed past earlier, I was up at 7:30 am. I had a quick shower, dressed and went for breakfast before going to the theatre on board the ship where those of us going ashore were given instructions on joining our various tours.

I joined my coach, and we drove through the streets of Tangier to explore the area. I was surprised by how clean Tangier was. Everywhere we passed through was spotless, and the houses were well-kept, and some of the regions looked very affluent. We passed one home high up on the side of the hills overlooking the port, which looked fantastic. Our guide told us it was owned by an Arab prince who had died 4 years previously and had been a car collector. He had in the garage a Rolls Royce, of which only two were ever made. Queen Elizabeth II of England owned one, and he owned the other. Since his death 4 years previously, no one had been to the house at all, and it is believed he didn't tell any of his family that he owned the property.

Market.

Our first stop was at a small local market, where we were quickly shown around. I was impressed by how clean it was and the number of fresh fish and variety of vegetables amongst the birds waiting to be slaughtered and taken away for dinner. Our guide asked us if we had noticed there were no pigeons at the market. He then showed us a stall where the stall holder was skinning the pigeons he had managed to catch and was selling them at around €25 each. We were told it was a rich person's meal, as around 8 were needed to make a decent meal for the family.

Cape Spartel.

Our first stop-off was at Cape Spartel to see the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. The lighthouse there overlooked the waves crashing below onto beautiful beaches. We only stopped briefly, but I loved it there and thought it was one of the most beautiful places I have visited.

Caves of Hercules.

Our second stop of the day was a short drive from Cape Spartel to the Caves of Hercules. Mythological tradition says that Hercules stayed and slept in this cave before doing the 11th of his 12 labours.

We walked down to the entrance to the caves with our tour guide, who stopped on the way to give us some tips on buying souvenirs and leather goods in the area. The silver the local traders try to sell as silver is not silver. It is pewter. He also made us aware of the leather goods being sold there. He told us that they were camel leather, which, whilst it looks good, will have been treated with camel urine. It is okay if kept dry, but as soon as it gets wet, the stench of the camel urine can be smelt a long way off and will remain for a long time, returning each time it gets wet.

He introduced us to another guide who led us down into the Caves of Hercules below. We looked around the cave whilst the guide told us stories of how it was formed and of what it is said that each rock formation represented. The entrance to the caves which the Atlantic crashed through was imposing, I don't think my photos did it justice. The guide showed us different places in the caves where grain would have been milled previously and he told us of the legend of Hercules and the caves.

I enjoyed the trip into the caves and thought the local guide was engaging, helpful and humorous, so he got a nice tip as we left and walked back to the bus.

Hotel Ahlen.

Our next stop was for refreshments at Hotel Ahlen in Tangier. It was not named after me. The coach pulled up in the hotel car park, and everybody got off and went into one of the hotel bars, where we were given mint tea and an Almond biscuit/cake. The tea was very nice, and the biscuit was beautiful. I quickly looked around the hotel before returning to the coach. For some reason, I thought the coach was blue and headed towards the wrong coach. I quickly realised my mistake and returned to the correct coach, but it pulled away without me. Luckily, someone saw me, and the coach stopped for me. I scrambled to my seat as we pulled away and headed towards the famous Casbah.

The Casbah.

The Casbah is perched on top of a hill overlooking the rest of the city, and luckily for me, the coach drove us almost to the top before dropping us off just outside the main entrance. Our guide walked us through the Casbah, pointing out many interesting places, including the mosque preparing for prayer. 

As my legs swelled up, the walk was getting more difficult, but I loved walking through the Casbah. We were given an hour to look around ourselves as we were coming towards the end of our guided tour. I sat down at a cafe in the street and was joined by my companion from Finland. We ordered some mint tea and were soon joined by around another dozen people who all had the same idea. The tea was scorching and sweet. It was delicious. I will have to look for a recipe or ask my friend Rachid for one when I return to Los Alcazares.

While watching the world go and drinking my tea, I noticed a small sweet shop opposite. It had a glass display container in front of it with people pointing to the sweets they ordered and buying sweets by weight, as we all used to do in sweet shops in the UK. What I noticed that was different from the sweet shops I used in England was the men approaching the stall. They would place their palms face down on the counter and drop some money on the counter. The store owner would pick the money up and quickly place something down in its place without ever looking up or asking them what they wanted. The item was quickly removed by the person buying the item and put in a pocket before they walked off. At no stage did the store owner talk to the men, nor did the men ask for anything. Whilst I watched, one man was a bit slower to retrieve his item, and it was then that I saw the biggest joint I have ever seen, being picked up from the counter. I am not stupid; I have seen deals like this going on wherever I have been, but I have never seen deals transacted using a sweet shop as a cover.

We eventually left the cafe, and our guide walked us back through the Casbah and to the coach outside. Our guide always pointed out interesting spots to us or collected local bread or sweets from shops for us to try. He pointed out one row of buildings used in many films and told us that one film company paid everyone in the town to be an extra in the movie even if they weren't. It didn't cost the film company much, but it made sure everyone living there got a little money from it and gave the company a lot of goodwill from the locals.

Back on MSC Lirica.

After returning to the ship, I rested my legs for a while. All the walking had made them swell up a lot, and I was in a bit of pain. At dinner time I met Helen and Jean for a drink and then went to the restaurant for dinner at 6:30 pm. After dinner, we walked to the theatre to watch tonight's entertainment but it had been cancelled. In its place, a Spanish guitarist had been brought in to perform, his name was Mariano Miranda. He was fantastic. His playing, his description of each song before he played it and his pure enjoyment of performing was there for everyone to see.

Photos from Tangier.