Hotel Tarik Tangier

... frustration was the feeling we left as we flew<br>out of Morocco. Turns out he had come early to Tangier but not found us in his<br>wandering around the city, and the first internet café he found had stairs so<br>he hadn&#8217;t gone in (leg pain from arthritis and polio)&#8230;but he also hadn&#8217;t gone<br>looking for another cafe&#8230;. <br><br>Bloody dad. <br><br><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><br><br>Shane says: <br><br>Nick snores like<br>a ****ing 2 stroke engine ...

... 1 new pair purchased in Marrakech) 6) Cities we have been to in two weeks 7) Blonds in Rabat (but one had a really bad dye job!) 8) New Facebook friends I've met! 9) Times a day I put sanitizer on my hands 10) Amount in dirhams for minimum wage in Morocco (about $1.50).

... showed that was almost 3 times what the fare should have been. With little sleep and less patience we still managed to negotiate a decent rate, and after loading down the taxi took off for the station. Naturally the line appeared unnecessarily long, and insult to injury proved that not only did they not take credit cards but the one ATM in the station didn't work (I believe this was a direct consequence of Aarathi mushing us by saying 'Ah, we're okay now ...

... is absolutely neccesary. Languages spoken here are Berber; Arabic and French so we are out of luck in the communication stakes.We are trying to learn some basic Morrocan Arabic like how to say no thank you, toilet, water, how much? and bugger off. We took a room at Victoria pension on Mokhtar Ahardan Alley for 100 dirham which was around AU$16 for both of us including shower water, rooftop views to the Strait Of Gibralter and turkish style squat toilets ...

... masters come here, as well as many other musicians. On the Saturday night we attend a fantastic concert with a lineup of Toumani Diabate, a master of the kora (a 21 string instrument), then Bassekou Kouyate (a leading exponent of the n'goni), then Maalem Mahmoud Guinea (one of the best Gnaoua masters - his grandfather was from Mali and was sold as a slave in the Sahara). Alison, who among her many other talents is a music promoter (with a special interest in African music ...

... avec le paysage, qu'elle crie tellement fort dans une langue que je ne comprendrai sans doute jamais, que tout le reste tremble. Et, pourtant, à travers : les femmes inexistantes, les LGBT en enfer, les pubs de coke plus vivantes que la vie, l'occident qui fascine, la prière du matin, du midi, du soir, tout ce que je ne comprends pas, qui ne s'explique pas, qui reste hors de mes cadres d'analyse. Tout le reste, qui me dit : je n'arriverai jamais ...

... stickers that were being placed on the lapels of the tourists. At last, after passing by stern officials we streamed over to the ferry. Indeed, it was a monster of a boat that quite gently floated us across the channel to North Africa. Disembarking we were immediately accosted by a most persistent tour guide. I used to think that Chinese vendors were persistent; they are bashful and warmly polite compared to this fellow. The ...

... ran towards the bus and he slammed on the brakes to let them on. All I could think about was waterfalls and flushing sounds. We passed through Meknes, which I knew was about an hour outside of Fes, but I didn't know if I could make it. Finally, the bus stopped for gas and I actually had the chance to go, but by this time I couldn't since I'd been holding it in for so long. The bus started honking and Tai started shouting things so I gave up and ran for the bus. Luckily, soon ...

... on Marrakesh!).  But by far the least pleasant aspect of Tanger were the hustlers.  "Hustlers of Dehli, Bangkok, Kathmandhu, Camden town - you have a lot to learn!" These guys would not take "la" for an answer.  And after a semi-sleepful night on the train through Spain and meeting African heat for the first time, we were in no mood for the hard sell. It is perhaps a shame that our perceptions of Tanger will always be tainted by such.  The city itself is ...