A Magical Day in Tangiers, Morocco

On August 24, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn morocco6 Comments

During our trip to southern Spain several years ago, we made a point of making our way across the Strait of Gibraltar to visit Tangiers, Morocco. We took the high speed ferry from Tarifa (near Gibraltar) to the port of Tangiers, where we were met by our guides to start what would be a truly memorable day and definitely one of the highlights of our entire trip. Tangiers is a unique African city as it has been the doorway to Europe for centuries and therefore has a varied population, although it is still mostly Muslim.

We started our day by visiting a neighborhood market, which was extremely busy with locals buying a variety of fresh foods. It is hard to describe the market in Tangiers other than to say that the colors and aromas overtake you at every turn. There are merchants with spices piled to the ceiling, olives of every possible variety, exotic fruit, butchers with meat on display, and every variety of fish imaginable caught fresh from the Mediterranean Ocean. As we walked among the merchants, we were given samples of olives, dates, candy, and more. It was truly a magical experience. After leaving the market, we were off to the Kasbah or Medina, the fortress and oldest part of the city.

Walking the streets of the Kasbah was like walking back in time. The cobblestone streets and grand arches led to a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean. It is off the coast of Tangiers where the Mediterranean Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet. Before we left the Medina, we were treated to our own private performance by a snake charmer. Having seen snake charmers on TV and movies, we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be fascinating as the charmer played his flute and waived his hand in the face of the King Cobra. We weren’t, however, prepared for what came next as they wrapped a live snake, not a King Cobra fortunately, across our shoulders so that we could take some pictures.

From there, we left the city and headed down the coast where we enjoyed gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean and a nearby lighthouse. After a short time, we stopped to ride camels on the shore of the Atlantic. It was a little touristy, but at the same time, how many people get to say that they’ve ridden camels on the beach. From there we visited the pre-historic Caves of Hercules, which is a beautiful geological attraction. It is famous because it has an opening in the shape of Africa to looks out onto the ocean.

The Coast of Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean

Once we got back to Tangiers, it was time for a late lunch, which was good because we had definitely worked up an appetite. We had quite the meal in a tiny, family owned, restaurant, that was authentic Moroccan chicken served in a tagine with hot tea. The food was incredible and the family that served us couldn’t have been any nicer. After lunch, we were taken to the shops of some local artisans with the hope that we’d buy some authentic Moroccan products. We visited a spice shop where we did purchase some saffron, cumin, and marjoram at prices you could never find in the States. At the carpet weaver’s shop, carpets of every description were laid at our feet as we enjoyed some more tea, but as tempted as we were, we decided not to buy one.

Finally, we took the ferry back to Spain and our wonderful day in Morocco came to an end. Although we hope to return to Morocco and spend more than just a day, we were very happy with the day that we did spend there.

Do You Have a Specific Travel Goal?

On July 17, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips16 Comments

Many of the travelers that we meet have very specific goals that they would like to achieve from their travels. We’re not talking about bucket list items, like visiting a specific place, but these are bigger goals. Some people have goals like 30 countries before the age of 30 or traveling to all 50 states in America. Perhaps you want to visit all of the countries that make up your ancestry or maybe you want to visit all countries that make up the European Union.

Lighthouse on the Northern Coast of Africa in Morocco

Our goal is going to be difficult to achieve, especially since we started traveling later in life. We want to make it to all seven continents. At this point, we have been to five of the seven continents with Australia and Antarctica left. We have been looking at going to New Zealand in early 2018, but it isn’t technically part of Australia, but is part of Oceania, which includes the islands that surround Australia. In order to keep it official, we are now looking at combining Australia and New Zealand into the same trip next year.

Just because we have a goal to go to all seven continents, that doesn’t mean that it limits our travel choices, it just enhances them. We have smaller goals, like exploring more of Central and South America, which is why we are going to Ecuador in September. Obviously, we had been to Europe before, but that didn’t stop us from seeing as much of it as possible during the time we stayed in Germany. Travel is rewarding in and of itself, but sometimes having a goal can give you something to focus on or to help push your boundaries.

What is your travel goal? Is there something specific that you hope to achieve through your travels?

Tangiers Morocco- A World of its Own

On July 26, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn morocco5 Comments

One of our favorite travel memories was when we went to Tangiers for a day while staying in southern Spain. We remember being a little nervous about going because we weren’t sure about the cultural differences. Having spent time in India helped calm some of the nerves and the more that we read about it, the more we knew it would be a highlight of our trip. Tangiers is truly a melting pot as it is the crossroad between Europe and Africa. Centuries of people travelling through Tangiers to bring goods for sale has made it one of the most tolerant cities in all of northern Africa.

Walking through the streets of the medina (old city) is definitely an amazing experience. The varied architecture was extremely interesting to see and at the highest point was the Kasbah (fortress) with beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike some of the other medina that we’ve read about, we were not accosted by beggars or people trying to sell us trinkets. We definitely enjoyed the markets and came home with some wonderful saffron. We came close to buying a hand-made rug from one of the shopkeepers, but ended up deciding not to. After eating an incredible meal in a tiny family owned restaurant, we purchased a tagine from one of the nearby shops.

We did stop to watch a snake charmer at one point, which a little touristy, but still created a wonderful memory. Tangiers is more than just the old city, the heart of the city is quite modern and is home to a lot of ex-pats. There are also plenty of hotels to choose from if you want to spend several days there, but we were there for just one day. Hopefully we’ll return one day to see more of Morocco as the people were extremely friendly and we thoroughly enjoyed what time we did have there.