Adventure in Morocco

After staying with is for a week, Nadia’s mum went back to Bulgaria and her sister stayed for an extra week so we planned to cross the strait and go to Morocco. Nadia’s sister had never been to Morocco so this was going to be an experience of a lifetime for her.

We took the midday ferry and it takes about 30 minutes to get to Tangiers. Luckily, Morocco is 2 hours behind Gibraltar so we gained an hour. Unfortunately for us there was a small storm and the sea was quite rough so the crossing was not the best one.  I spent most of the time outside on one of the covered decks making sure that my breakfast did not come up.

We arrived in our Hotel in Tangiers which was close to the old town and beach so we could really explore Tangier on foot rather than having to haggle with taxi drivers. If you have never been to Morocco, you should definitely go - it is an experience which everyone should have, even if it is just once, because the sights, smell and colours of the country are just magical.

After we freshened up, we set off to explore the souk (the market) and the Medina and before we knew it we were being hassled to buy some handicrafts or leather goods. But having gone to Morocco before, I had some experience in dealing with the traders in the souk. You do not have to be rude or cross, just be polite and firm and most importantly stick to your guns when it comes down to haggling.

The next day we were picked up from our hotel to spend the day up in the mountains in the town of Chefchaouen, or otherwise known as the Blue City. The ride up to this mountain village was hair raising most of the way - I was sitting on the front seat of our minivan watching the driver speed on small country roads and overtake all sorts of car and trucks, and lets not forget the odd donkey or two.

Thankfully, we got to the town in one piece where we were introduced to our guide for the day, Ahmed, who welcomed us to Chefchaouen before we set off into the Medina. The Medina is the old part of any town in Morocco and in this town it is also the main attraction due to its old world charm and its blue walls (which are only found in this town).

We walked into the Medina through one of its gates and it was like stepping into history since there nothing has changed for the last few hundred years and everything is painted blue - it is really stunning. We walked through the narrow streets trying to take in as much as possible from our guide, as well as look at all the small spice shops and carpet shops.

Lunch was in a beautiful old building which used to be one big house but now has been converted into a restaurant. The menu was a typical Moroccan lunch – we had Harira (chick-pea soup), tagine and couscous and for dessert some lovely mint tea. After lunch we had some free time to do a bit of shopping before heading back down to Tangiers.

On the last day we headed to the souk to do some last minute shopping, such as souvenirs, slippers, spices and olives, as well as the all-important saffron which is quite expensive in Gibraltar but in Morroco we got a few grams for only about 30p.

We boarded the ferry back to Spain in the late afternoon and as the Moroccan coast line grew smaller and smaller, we looked back at it thinking what an interesting and beautiful country Morocco is.