Chellah Tangier

... us a massive room with huge floor to ceiling windows and an amazing view across the bay of Tanger and the ocean. We had a rest in the room as Ian was feeling terrible and he looked it as well. A combination of tiredness and the food I think. We where hungry so I perswaded him that in the circumstances it would be better to have something western lol so we got a ...

... a medieval city)<br>we didn&#8217;t feel like all the hassles of the hustlers and touts. 9 months into<br>this trip and we&#8217;re just tired now. It takes a lot out of you, always converting<br>currency, finding a place to stay, speaking in foreign languages, blah blah<br>blah. I know I shouldn&#8217;t whinge but it&#8217;s my blog and I&#8217;ll do what I like. Bite<br>me, sue me, or just stop reading&#8230;. &#8230;.Please don&#8217;t<br>stop reading, I didn&#8217;t mean it&#8230 ...

... store and a restaurant. At each location we were parked with the proprietor for a few minutes for the sales pitch. Apparently these guides get a 20% kickback for whatever the tourist spends.<br><br>Interspersed with the Tangier Shopping Chanel approach, we did see actual sights of old Tangier. We saw mosques, churches and a Jewish house of worship. <br><br>We managed to ditch our guide after a couple of hours. The old ...

... tea and homemade breads and jams. In broken English and French we talked about our homes and families. Getting into the hamam was an ordeal to say the least. The friend we went with was outraged that because we were non muslim foreigners, we had to pay 5 times the normal price. After much shouting and arguing, we told her it was ok, that we didn't mind paying more. Then came the fun; we stripped down to nothing and went into the cavernous tiled steam filled rooms with the 15 ...

... and seemed to be drawn to her. Idk, kinda weird. He admitted to us before he left that he in fact did not already have three wives. Our new guide was this tall gangly moroccan man who in all honesty scared me. He kept grabbing my arm and peering into my eyes...idk, he definitely reached creeper territory! haha He led us through chefchaun and we did a little bartering and had lunch overlooking the mountains. what a breathtaking view. we had ...

... that he had picked off a tree near the river. They were delicious. The hostel room in Tarifa was an all girls dorm, so they had painted it pink. All my sheets were pink and flowery. Nice touch. Made me feel like i was 7 years old again. I found that the Portuguese people are much friendlier than the spanish. so if your trying to decide between the 2, definately go to Portugal. its a stunning country and have some lovely people. We got hastled and chased down the street by men ...

... bargain, etc.  The adventure began at the airport.  First, we had a rather intense bargaining session with the cabbie who was trying to add 35% to the posted fare, and after he shouted at us about how the signs were out of date (meanwhile quoting the official posted fare to Tangier) and yelling about how we were stealing the food out of his childrens' mouths, we agreed to a rate of 17% over the official rate.  Upon arrival in Asilah, the cabbie ...

... evident. I was feeling slightly shaggy, so I took advantage of the opportunity in Asilah when I saw a barber shop. I figured, "This shouldn't be too hard. I'll just do like I always did in Egypt and point to the clippers and say "Itnayn" (the Arabic word for two)." It turned out the barber spoke no English but this was one of several occasions through West Africa where I ended up conversing with someone in Spanish because ...

Something funny happened in the evening in Casablanca, before I left for Marrakesh the next morning. I was sitting at a fountain reading, and waiting for sunset when the restaurants might open, and was approached by a young guy. He sat down and first asked if I was looking for a restaurant or wanted to buy something, so I figured he was a typical tout. But then he slid over right next to me and, saying something about "Moroccan karate," hooked his foot around my ...