Our African Adventure

Those who read our Tarifa blog will recall that I mentioned there is a high speed ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco. Tarifa is a small town and after wandering around for an hour or so there's not much left to see. Saturday morning we boarded the high speed ferry and crossed the Straits of Gibraltar where we met up with our guide for the trip into Tangier. We had a great time learning about the city and a bit about the culture of the people here. We did do a few "touristy" things, but we had a great time doing them and completely enjoyed our day. Our photos tell the story.....

Tangier as we came into port

One of the entrances to the oldest part of the city:
the Kasbah. Actually, this photo is looking back as
there are no cars in the Kasbah.

A street in the Kasbah. Can you make out the Coca-Cola sign on one
of the buildings? 

This fountain supplied the public drinking water at one time.

What's in the wagon? Fresh fish! This guy brings fresh fish
into the Kasbah every day. He walks up and down the streets shouting out
and people come to buy his fish.

We saw these guys from a distance and Scott said, "Cindy, take a picture of those guys!".
Hmmmm......I wondered what they were up to. Didn't take long for us to find out, either. 

Snake Charmers! Ewwww........

Yep! That's a cobra!

Scott and the snakes got cozy. I was invited to join the party. Uh.....nope! Not a chance!

OK. This just gives me nightmares!

 Well, we "rocked the Kasbah" and survived the snake charmers. Next stop, the Cave of Hercules!

Part natural and part man-made, by the Phoenicians no less, this formation opens onto the Atlantic Ocean. The opening resembles the shape of the continent of Africa, in reverse from this angle. 

Legend has it that Hercules slept here before beginning one of his 12 labours, hence the name Cave of Hercules.

We enjoyed a private guided tour of the cave.

One interesting bit of info: in 1995 the British rock group Def Leppard performed here live!

Lots of shopping opportunities in Morocco, even inside the cave!

Remember I said we did some "touristy" things? Well, I imagine that camels are still ridden in some parts of Africa, but we didn't see any actually being used for transportation. We did see several little businesses along the roadside where one could stop and take a camel ride. It was part of our tour, and, as it turned out, great fun!

Hellooooooooo Mr. Camel!

After the Kasbah, the Cave of Hercules, snakes and camels it was definitely time for some lunch, not to mention some serious shopping! Off to the Medinah!

This is the place to buy all sorts of spices, herbal medicines, and beauty products.

We learned that Mosques always have green doors. Our guide explained that Morocco
prides itself on its religious tolerance. There are Mosques next door to Catholic churches and
Jewish Synagogues across the street. The claim is that there is no other city like this in the world.
I'm not so sure about that........but it's still a nice thought.

Before we knew it our day had come to an end. Our guide escorted us back to the ferry where some interesting "shenanigans" seemed to take place. He pointed out the long line of passengers waiting in the hot sun to board the ferry, then took us down some steps to the area where they put the cars on the boat. After speaking to a few officers, we were allowed to board the boat ahead of the other passengers. In fact, we were seated in air conditioned comfort for about an hour before the bulk of the passengers were allowed to board! Needless to say, we had a wonderful time in Tangier!