Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Day 10 – Mon 2 Apr 07
We drove to Tarifar, the southernmost point of Spain. Bought ferry tickets to Tangier, Morocco at €52 each for a return trip. We had our lunch at Tarifar while waiting for the ferry
It was an hour ferry ride across the Straits of Gilbratar, and -2 hours time difference. The ferry is huge enough to contain a number of vehicles. The interesting bit is to find the custom on board the ferry. We had to queue inside the ferry to get our stamp on the passport for our entry to Morocco.
When we arrived in Tangier (or Tanger), we were approached by touts wanting to be our tourguide/drivers for a fee. Thanks to early warnings from our Guidebooks, we warded them off. Instead, we walked towards the town nearest to the ferry terminal and found ourselves in a unique and different world.
Language was a problem as everything was in Arabic. Anyhow, we managed to navigate our way around through the street corners to Grand Socco (The Big Souk), where the Medina begins. We walked around the Medina of Tangier and absorbed the interesting sites and sound. The Medina is a dense maze of houses, shops and narrow, steep streets and is centered on the Petit Socco.
We landed ourselves in Kasbah on a hilltop overlooking the town, the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. The Kasbah, constructed on the highest point of the medina, was fortified in Roman days and was the traditional residence of sultans.
As we were short on time, we quickly descended from Kasbah but found ourselves in a maze of houses again. There was so much to see and absorbed. There were little kids running around, wanting to make friends, or to direct us around for a fee. We managed to find our way back to 'civilisation', near the ferry terminal.
We had to stop for mint tea (popular local drink) at one of the cafes. We paid in € as we did not change our money into their local currency. After drinking, we rushed back to the ferry terminal only to find a long queue at the custom. We missed our 5 pm ferry and had to wait for the next ferry which the officers assumed was at 7 pm. Nobody seems to know anything. While waiting, we had snacks at the ferry terminal.
While at the lounge, we were mistakenly told that the last ferry was leaving and we sped towards it. I tripped and fell, only to be told that our ferry would be leaving much later. Had a big bruise on my left knee and limped my way to the ferry!
Due to the 2 hours time difference, we arrived at Tarifar at 10 pm. While walking back to the car, we heard some commotion and realised that the town was having the Holy Week Semana Santa procession. It was an eye-opening experience.
After an hour drive from Tarifar, we arrived back at the hotel at Benahavis at 1 am.
It was an hour ferry ride across the Straits of Gilbratar, and -2 hours time difference. The ferry is huge enough to contain a number of vehicles. The interesting bit is to find the custom on board the ferry. We had to queue inside the ferry to get our stamp on the passport for our entry to Morocco.
When we arrived in Tangier (or Tanger), we were approached by touts wanting to be our tourguide/drivers for a fee. Thanks to early warnings from our Guidebooks, we warded them off. Instead, we walked towards the town nearest to the ferry terminal and found ourselves in a unique and different world.Language was a problem as everything was in Arabic. Anyhow, we managed to navigate our way around through the street corners to Grand Socco (The Big Souk), where the Medina begins. We walked around the Medina of Tangier and absorbed the interesting sites and sound. The Medina is a dense maze of houses, shops and narrow, steep streets and is centered on the Petit Socco.
We landed ourselves in Kasbah on a hilltop overlooking the town, the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. The Kasbah, constructed on the highest point of the medina, was fortified in Roman days and was the traditional residence of sultans.As we were short on time, we quickly descended from Kasbah but found ourselves in a maze of houses again. There was so much to see and absorbed. There were little kids running around, wanting to make friends, or to direct us around for a fee. We managed to find our way back to 'civilisation', near the ferry terminal.
We had to stop for mint tea (popular local drink) at one of the cafes. We paid in € as we did not change our money into their local currency. After drinking, we rushed back to the ferry terminal only to find a long queue at the custom. We missed our 5 pm ferry and had to wait for the next ferry which the officers assumed was at 7 pm. Nobody seems to know anything. While waiting, we had snacks at the ferry terminal.
While at the lounge, we were mistakenly told that the last ferry was leaving and we sped towards it. I tripped and fell, only to be told that our ferry would be leaving much later. Had a big bruise on my left knee and limped my way to the ferry!
Due to the 2 hours time difference, we arrived at Tarifar at 10 pm. While walking back to the car, we heard some commotion and realised that the town was having the Holy Week Semana Santa procession. It was an eye-opening experience.
After an hour drive from Tarifar, we arrived back at the hotel at Benahavis at 1 am.
Penseur 11:23 PM