Tangier

This was to be our first time setting foot in Africa. We had cruised through the Suez Canal in Egypt earlier on this cruise without stopping so that did not count.

We arrived on the Coral Princess rather than on a camel but don't worry, Camels will feature soon.

The short trip from Malaga had us in Tangier early in the morning to another hot day with clear skies. We soon disembarked and joined our private tour in a small group.

Driving through some of the newer parts of Tangier we headed west. Through green hills and past the palaces of various current and former Arab monarchs in varying states of repair based on what we could see of the exterior walls and the guard stationsat the gates.The Palace of the current King of Morocco was guarded at every entrance by alaert looking soldiers despite the fact he was not in residence. The palace of one former Saudi eminenace had one bored looking guard sitting at the front gate while other gates were unmaned.

We drove on, to reach the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic coast is rougher and buffeted by winds so most swimming occurs in the Med. There were however good vantage points and Camel rides to be had.

Artistic photos from my 360-degree camera follow:-

and here is the video of some of our tour group riding camels near the Atlantic Ocean.

After the Camel rides, we visited a spot called the Caves of Hercules. So far I have resisted the urge to google these caves to see what the exact significance is and what part of the Greek myth is referenced.

We then headed back to Tangier for a walking tour of the old town and the souk. In Tangier, these are known as the Grand Socco and the Petit Socco. For what seemed like (and was in fact) several hours we wound our way through narrow alleys. Past houses, shops and workshops. Colours and smells abounded as we walked past bakeries and spice stalls. Past shops selling antique silver and new ceramics, Weavers showing fabrics and operating looms. It was interesting and new until it wasn't. The main issue for us was the heat and the time spent walking. By now we had had eight days of shore excursions and walking and we would have preferred to sit down with a drink and watch the world walk past us.

Anyway, we finally reached the highest point of the markets and found our restaurant for lunch. After walking up more stairs we sat down to a Moroccan meal which was tasty and authentic and alcohol-free. The descent was quicker and we did find a place to sit for half an hour while the shopping concluded and Piney came out to catch some rays. The square where we sat and drank a soft drink contained shops of all sorts and hotels advertising their TripAdvisor ratings.

The markets were a good experience, the main thing I saw which I did not expect was the sense of the markets as a part of modern life. There were local people out doing their normal grocery shopping in the narrow alleys and many of the imposing wooden doors in the old style were brand new with recently replastered walls not yet repainted. We did actually see a couple of new doors and door jambs in the street ready to be put into place.

We returned to the ship and rehydrated before dinner with a cocktail of the day.