There are so many things I want to write about my trip to Morocco and I worry about forgetting things or more likely going off on tangents and losing you along the way, but I'm going to start at the beginning because thats where it all started.
Norah and I spent our last night in Galway, Ireland out at the Spanish Arch. Not our usual bar hangout but we choose it because it featured local cover band Milhouse. This was a fitting choice as Milhouse was the band we saw on our first night out in Galway and so we drank a few last pints, danced with a spirited German woman and then boarded the 3:30am bus to the Dublin airport.
Our plane took off a bit late at 10am and landed mid-afternoon in Malaga, Spain. From there we had to take a bus to Algeciras, our final destination. The bus ride was about three hours long and although the view was gorgeous a man repeatedly throwing up in the aisle across from us ruined it. I add all these details to help set the stage. We got off the bus very tired and very tense only to find that the directions to our hostel were not only vague (head east on...) but not correct. Like all of Europe there are little or no road signs and it seems people don't even know the name of the roads anyways. So we wandered a bit around the grimy port city of Algeciras and found our hostel only to discover that no one is there to check us in. Once we did get checked in we stayed in our room for the rest of the night, uneasy about the next day’s journey.
The next morning after some ten hour odd hours of sleep neither of us are excited about getting out of bed, but we do. We head down to the port where my guidebook told us we could buy tickets to Tangier. Unfortunately a moment of hesitation finds us prey to an old man hanging around the gates of the port. Its hard to refuse somebody when you don't understand what they are saying, so we end up following him across the street to a travel agency and book our tickets there. I knew the man would want money and though all he did was literally walk us across the street I grabbed a few euros and practiced saying in my head thanks for your help in Spanish. I was not expecting that he would be so blunt about wanting money, just coming right out and saying it to us as he took us back to the gates. We smiled politely, gave up our money and headed to the port. We were still a bit confused about when and where our boat was leaving and no one seemed particularly happy to help. We ended up on the 11:00 ferry to Tangier among a couple hundred others, everyone else toting large suitcases and preparing for a longer stay.
The boat was a disaster, it took us almost an hour to leave the harbor and then another two and a half to get to Tangier. Meanwhile on the boat you had to check in with customs which involved standing in a long line while the boat rocked swiftly back and forth. Seating was odd too, limited to a few tables scattered around a lounge area and a bar, it was first come first serve and very uncomfortable.
But we made it. Not being able to turn back I adopted a bit of a cheerier mood than I had been in before. A girl we had met in Budapest, who had visited Tangier before, had told us to get out of the port area, where it was the seediest, and we tried hard to do so. Of course we were stopped by a few "official tour guides" and asked if we needed help, one playing on our tension and fears by saying 'its not safe, really its not safe" but we kept moving.
We headed to a main plaza right outside the port entrance to a restaurant mentioned in our book. The plaza was filled with cafes and open air seating and strikingly was occupied with almost entirely men, occasionally a woman was scattered among them, but no groups of women were sitting alone together. It had been apparent on the boat that this was a more patriarchal society. The men had been the ones to stand patiently in the customs line, their wives and children joining once they reached the front. At the time this didn’t seem like a bad deal for the women, at least to me. Without knowing more about the culture I don’t know that I would call their culture oppressive to women. While there were no groups of women sitting, we would see them passing together, moving from one location to another.
As two white, unaccompanied females, we certainly stuck out and we got a lot of attention for it. I had heard about the comments and cat-calling before we went but I wasn't really prepared for it. Everyone stared at us, men, women, kids, and the men would occasionally comment, it was annoying at first but we got used to it. And honestly it never felt like we were in any danger, the comments were predatory but harmless, the most we had to worry about was pick pocketing but no one really got close enough to us to try. Norah and I hypothesized that if we had come with at least one male we wouldn't have gotten as much attention, as we saw other tourist couples go by unnoticed. I don't think the society is oppressive as I said before, it is conservative and I think us walking around, two young women alone, was like going out to eat and using your feet; its just not done and its going to get a reaction.
Otherwise our trip was great, the biggest culture shock we had. It started with Norah's fish meal which consisted of an entire fish deep-fried, eyes and all, and continued with the sudden appearance of a lamb running down a crowded city street to little reaction. I'm sorry to say I didn't take many pictures, not wanting to draw more attention to myself than there already was. We made it safely to our final destination, a cafe carved into the cliffs overlooking the ocean where we triumphantly sat high up among the rows of men drinking te a la menthe and eating warm peanuts.
In the end we only spent four hours in Morocco and I would love to go back and explore it some more. I would probably fly directly into Marrakesh or one of the other large cities and maybe go with a man.
Take the ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, its shorter, the boats are nicer and so is Tarifa.
For women: travel in a larger group, or with at least one male or try wearing a head scarf to blend in a bit more.
From there Norah and I headed to Granada. I'm very excited and a bit jealous that my cousin Annie will soon be studying abroad there. We didn't get much time there, as the bus took longer than expected, but we got Alhambra in, at least part of it. The city is beautiful though, full of arabic and moorish designs. The Alhambra itself is spectacular filled with ornate carvings in Arabic and beautiful mosaic floors. I wish I would have had more time there.
I may as well add in my trip so far in Barcelona as that is where I am writing you from today. Norah left me in Granada (as planned) mid-afternoon yesterday. I spent a little time exploring the city and then went to the train station. My train was an overnight one and I had been considering springing for an individual sleeper if the price wasn't too much, well it turned out to be my only option. It was a bit more expensive than I would have liked but it included dinner and breakfast, a valet, and a free bag of toiletries. I was very out of place on the train, I went to enjoy my complimentary dinner and sat across the aisle from a well-dressed couple and their completely indifferent teenage daughter. I was confused as to what was free and what I had to pay for as the menu listed prices but I took advantage of it and ordered wine which was a half-bottle and got a crepe and had some tea, it turned out to be all free. I giggled upon my return to my room as I was completely out of my element but loving it. It was nice to have my first night alone especially on a train when conditions are already less than ideal for a good night's sleep. But I got one and woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the coast. I had my complimentary breakfast and deboarded in Barcelona.
I haven't got much done today as I was distracted by a fear that I wouldn't be able to get out of Barcelona and continue with my trip as planned. It seems the entire city of Barcelona is going to Switzerland for the holidays as all the trains are booked up. It was not good news to hear on my first day alone and after already spending an arm and a leg for train fare to Barcelona. But I have a flight out to Zurich on Christmas day and my traveling should resume from there as planned. It gives me a bit more time here in Barcelona which is nice because all I have seen so far is Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece. It was actually very neat to see, very different from all the churches I have seen in Europe but what was more striking was seeing it still under construction, its fun to know that in twenty years it will be completed and in hundreds of years (hopefully) it will still be standing and people will visit it and wonder about its creation (just as I do at every church I visit) and know that I was there in the process.
I'm about to take a nap, as I'm going to go out on the Tapas tour tonight to watch some Flamenco dancing and more. It might be Zurich or Vienna for the next time I post, either way Merry Christmas and lots of love from Spain!
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