Morocco adventures

My friends Kelly, Jessica and I took a train to Algeciras, Spain to go to Tangier, Morocco the next day. The ride was very comfortable and the landscape outside was pretty with rolling hills, rocks, some sheep and olive trees. After four hours we got to Algeciras, a port city that links ferries to Morocco. We got there after dark, found a hostel and noticed there were no women anywhere. It was strange. We woke up early the next day and rushed to the ferry but still missed it. We made the 10 am ferry and got to Tangier at about 11am with the time change. We met our private tour guide that Kelly found online. He was polite, professional and spoke English. First we rode around the outskirts of Tangier, saw the beach and rode camels. It was all so beautiful! There were green rolling hills leading to the beach. We also went to the most north west tip of Africa to a lighthouse. Our camels were cool too! It was weird riding them. From the street, we saw the king's palace. There were guards at the door. The king is the first king in Moroccan history to show his wife's face to the public. We also stopped to take pictures of the Saudi Arabian king's summer palace. Then we went to Hercules' cave which is a natural cave carved by the ocean where the light cast inside the cave comes through a shape of rock that looks like Africa. There was wishing water there as well for those who are superstitious. Then we left the cave and went to the city of Tangier. It was bustling and so different than anything I have ever seen. Our guide said there are four main religions and languages in Tangier. The two main religions are Sunni and Shiite and the languages most people speak are Arabic, French, Spanish and English. I was impressed because everybody I spoke to whether it was a rug salesman or peddlers on the street, they could all speak four or more languages. I asked our guide why four and he said that as a country they couldn't survive without knowing the others. He said that the city lives in "perfect" harmony with the different religions. Many people wore traditional dress but many were Westernized. He said however that some days people may choose to look western and wear jeans but other days will cover their head and wear the shawls. Tangier was established as a city owned by many other countries and has various styles of architecture everywhere. That is also another reason for the four languages. There was a French area, and Italian district and even a California section where there were tons of Eucalyptus trees and the houses were huge and stucco. When we went in a bazaar we were shuffled into a room with hundreds of Moroccan rugs and given the biggest sales pitch of my life. We were told to sit down, they gave us mint tea, and they told us all about their handmade rugs. I felt like they were car salesmen. Since our guide told us that Morocco's national sport is negotiating prices they figured they could go low enough to catch our interest. They were wrong. However, if I ever need a rug from Morocco I know where to go to get a good deal. So I wanted to give this whole negotiating thing a try so when we went into a jewelry store, I saw a beautiful ring I had to have. I told the guy I would give him five euros for it and he laughed and said he would give it to me for 260 euros. Oops! My expensive taste... Then I got a Henna tattoo of a flower and we went to the fresh markets. All sorts of food was there, meats, fish, fruit, beans, everything. We went for a three course meal at a local restaurant that served typical Moroccan food. I LOVED it! We had kabobs, salad, fruit, coos coos and a chicken pastry with powdered sugar and cinnamon on top. It was all so delicious. I must find a Moroccan place when I get back to the states. The whole trip ended up being amazing, but I can see why people think Morocco can be dangerous. We stood out emmensly and our tour guide had to shoo away many overly persistent men following us. We had an awesome time and I am glad we could go!