Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and even the Rolling Stones hung out in Tangier at some point. It drew these artists for its cosmopolitan vibe. I was expecting a city and Medina grittier than what we discover.
The city has street cleaners and maintenance workers, armed with brooms made of branches or whipper snippers, cleaning the streets and parks. It cares about the city’s presentation. The buildings are bright white and well kept (for the most part). We stop to look at one “condo” building where it is obvious people are living, and there are windows in units that are boarded up, and we ask ourselves Why? It was the exception rather than the rule.
One of our first stops today is a viewpoint over the ocean. Tangier is the spot where the Atlantic Ocean and Strait of Gibraltar meet. Can you see the water colour change? We can see Spain from this point as it is about 15 km away.
We walk to the Royal Palace and Murray offers a “Bonjour” to one of the guards. We realize we can’t go into the palace grounds, so we turn around and the fellow stops us to chat. We chat about Canada and Morocco and French vs English, how old we are (it’s kinda weird how many times we get asked our age) and travel plans. A very friendly fellow.
It is very hilly in Tangier and we are surprised by the steep ups and downs. We wander the avenues working our way to the Grand Socco, a square with a large fountain. Parking ourselves on a bench, in the shade, allows us to people watch. Tourists, locals, grandpas, children, the first stray dog complete with ear tag, young families and tour groups.
I am now resting at the riad. A riad is small boutique hotel, built in an old house or palace, inside the Medina. They have a central courtyard with a fountain. Our room is two floors up and there is a roof top sitting area above us. These unique accommodations are throughout Morocco so we will be staying in more of them.
Murray writes
I haven’t notice any mosquitoes here but the flies are extremely annoying and are a good insect replacement for human irritation.
As we find our way through the Medina the cruise ship tour groups are passing by us. All groups of 4o or more. One group after another group after another at infinite m. It is so crowded we have to pick our way along the narrow pathways.
While resting in Marchan Park on the way to see the royal palace, Debbie notes the trees that populate the park are gum trees. We look but there is not one Koala.
Debbie also mentioned the hills. After we got back I rested for a short while and went wondering again. I don’t think there is any down here. Think Escher.
We stumbled upon an interesting historic site. High on a cliff above the ocean there is small park with what looked to me like graves chiselled out of the stone. Turns out they are graves from the time the Phoenicians occupied the area in the first millennium BC. So they are pretty damn old. It must have taken a bit of work to chisel out a rectangular prism big enough for a body, in sandstone.
