Let me start by saying we were very sorry to hear about the devastation caused by the earthquake in southern Morocco. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected.
As mentioned in our previous post, we were safely in the north of Morocco, in Tangier, when the earthquake happened, and didn’t feel any tremors. We spent a few days there exploring the old town, with its labyrinth of ancient and narrow streets, and the medina with its many small and enticing shops selling everything including spices, multicoloured fabrics, carpets, leather purses and wooden puzzle boxes.
For the girls in particular on their first trip outside Europe, after very British Gibraltar, this was a culture shock – the exotic scent of the spices, Arabic and French spoken everywhere, the call to prayer five times a day, but they are taking it all in and have enjoyed shopping and bartering for goods in the medina. We have also been enjoying the Moroccan food, including delicious tagines with couscous and preserved lemons, and an interesting chicken dish topped with icing sugar, all followed by sweet mint tea. We had a lovely dinner in a rooftop restaurant with our friends from our neighbouring boat in Gibraltar, Willowtarn, who came across with us on the journey from Gibraltar to Tangier.
The marina in Tangier is clean and modern, although we are getting used to a lot of bureaucracy – it takes hours of detailed form-filling to clear in and the boat has to be inspected by both the police and the customs officials before you are allowed into the marina. Having arrived in Tangier at 5.30 pm on our first day it was dark by the time all this had been completed, so we spent our first night on the arrivals pontoon and were only allowed into the marina the following day. However everyone is very friendly and helpful, and they really want us to enjoy our time in Morocco.
The marina has a display of coloured fountains set to classical music each evening, which Sophie enjoyed dancing in, as shown in the photos below. (If you’re reading this on your phone and can’t see the pictures, click on Valent in the top right hand corner to go to the website and you will be able to see the pictures).
After a few days in Tangier, it was time to start our journey south. Yesterday we moved down to the capital, Rabat, which we’ll write about in a few days once we’ve had a chance to explore it.
How lovely to meet the family staying in the neighbouring boat. Both girls look like they’ve grown a lot taller over the summer holidays. Keep the posts coming! Stay safe and have fun!