Tangier

19/11/16

Our last day on the boat was spent in Tangier. We chose to forgo the designated excursion and caught the shuttle bus into town. We walked up to the Kasbah and, after fending off many offers along the way but then finding ourselves somewhat lost, allowed Mohamed to be our guide. We had a good wander around the small and winding streets of the Kasbah, seeing the city walls, mosque, communal taps and ovens, ending up at our objective, the Archaeology Museum. Mohamed waited patiently outside while we spent a considerable amount of time in what turned out to be a pretty decent museum. It displayed objects found in the area from prehistoric times through to the present. In the gardens, Gary found some interesting cannons.

As a reward for his patience, we allowed Mohamed to take us to a carpet shop and a pharmacy. We now have a runner for our entrance hall and some Argen moisturiser. (I can hear you laughing from here, Cathy and Bella!)

We returned to the square for the shuttle bus back to the ship. We were 20 minutes early but, after waiting over an hour and no shuttle appearing, decided that schedules mean little in Morocco. This resulted in our amazing Tangierian taxi experience, from which we recovered by having a lovely afternoon tea with Nanny back on the boat.

Sailing back to Malaga, we were on deck at about 9 pm to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar and see the Rock from the sea. It was silhouetted in front of the light haze from Algeciras and was an amazing site. Well worth freezing for!

Tangier city walls

A street in the Kasbah

Tangier below through a gap in the walls

Dale and Mohamed outside the main gate

Views over Tangier from on top of the carpet shop

Inside the Archeology Museum. The building itself was also awesome.

Roman mosaic

Roman fresco

Old map of the Mediterranean area

Interesting cannon number 1.

Interesting cannon number 2