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Brandon O'Brien

Travel and Adventure Journal

I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.

You're reading posts I wrote on November 9 throughout the years. Return home.
Rock the Casbah

Rock the Casbah

Saturday, November 9, 2013 @ 6:07 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 136

I went to bed pretty early last night so I wouldn't have any problems getting up early today. My flight to Tangier was at 12:15pm so I wasn't too rushed in the morning, but for some reason I wasn't able to check in online to my flight yesterday. I wanted to make sure I got to the airport a little early to make sure I got a good seat and to check my bag.

I had some pretty delicious muffins for breakfast. They were filled with jelly and had cinnamon crumbs on top. They were basically my breakfast and lunch since I wasn't sure when I'd eat once I got into Tangier.

I caught the bus to the Barcelona airport and arrived with plenty of time. I checked in just fine and hung out at the airport and read for a while before my flight boarded. Apparently I had nothing to worry about as far as getting a good seat went since the flight was about half empty.

I wasn't expecting it but they served a little sandwich and coffee along with the normal drinks. I got a window seat on the exit row which was pretty cool. There was a lot of leg room and the skies were clear for the most part so I got to watch Spain pass by below me. When we got to the Straight of Gibraltar I could see both Europe and Africa at the same time.

Everyone clapped when we landed (first time I've seen that in a while) and customs was a breeze. I withdrew the equivalent of around $200 in the local currency to last me the week. Everything's pretty cheap here it seems like so I think that should be fine. The weather was perfect when I arrived. It was fully sunny but not too hot or humid.

I got a taxi to my hotel (the Dar El Kasbah) for 150 MAD (about $18). The taxi driver didn't really follow any rules of the road. We were driving down two lane highways and he'd squeeze between the middle of two vehicles making his own third lane. After getting honked at numerous times we finally made it into the medina area where my hotel is. There were people, fruit vendors, spice shops and all kinds of other little restaurants and hole in the wall shops everywhere.

I checked into the hotel which is really nice. In the States I'd expect to pay anywhere around 90-120 USD for what I got for about $40 a night here. They also have a huge breakfast made fresh every morning (you have to let them know the night before if you're eating breakfast here so they know how much to make). I'm going to try it tomorrow since it's pretty cheap and looked delicious.

After I checked in I hung out in my room for a bit before deciding to go walk around for a little bit. The medina (or casbah) is right behind my hotel and looked crammed full of people doing their shopping. I was reading about it and experienced it today but people will come up to you around the medina and try to act as an unofficial "guide" where they ultimately lead you to a friend's carpet shop or something. They're pretty persistent so I think when I venture into the medina for real I'll just wear some headphones and pretend I can't hear them. It was a little overwhelming to tackle after a full day of traveling so I'll probably head into the craziness tomorrow. Today I walked around the area near the hotel a bit then headed down to check out the beach.

Along the way I saw a little restaurant selling cheap tajine so I made note if it and would eat there on my way back. The beach itself has a nice tree lined street and the beach itself is huge. I walked along there for a bit but then headed back to get some dinner. I went to the one place I saw earlier.

I wasn't sure the ordering process here (it seems like it's different in every country). I told the guy behind the counter what I wanted and he pointed to a table to sit down. He started making my chicken but I think I was supposed to sit down first. Oh well, it all worked out in the end. After a few language barrier issues when he asked what kind of salad I wanted (I thought he was just asking if I wanted a salad) it was all taken care of.

I ended up getting tajine chicken with a Moroccan salad (cucumber, tomato and onion) with some bread to soak up all the juices in the tajine. The tajine itself had chicken, hard boiled eggs, olives, onion, carrot and possibly tomato all cooked in a broth. All of the spices and food mix together and turn nice and soft so it's almost like eating a thick soup. Very very good with all the spices they use too. The entire meal only cost me about $5.50 too.

I wanted to pick up a few things to bring back to the hotel but the shops I saw earlier had shut down for the day so I just came back to the hotel.

My first impressions of Tangier... It's not quite as crazy as I thought it might be, but I've only just seen a little glimpse of it. I'm sure I'll be blown away when I actually enter the labyrinth of the medina with all of its zigzagging and narrow streets. It's interesting to have the heavy arabic influences here as well as the prayer towers coming alive and broadcasting prayers at random times of the day.

Teaser photos:

Beach in Tangier
Beach in Tangier
Camels on the beach
Camels on the beach
Tajine Chicken
Tajine Chicken
Panorama from rooftop of Dar El Kasbah hotel
Panorama from rooftop of Dar El Kasbah hotel

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Tags: daily journal, morocco, tangier

Posted from: Morocco