Tangier

The campsite organised a coach trip and ferry for us to visit Tangier for the day and as we never quite made it in the van this year we decided it would give us a feel for the place.

The weather was not too good but the party were in good spirit despite the early start, 7.30am, an unknown time for most of us.

The fast cat ferry took only forty minutes and we arrived and were met by our guide and a coach which took us on a scenic drive through the countryside. We passed many palaces and residences of Kings and Princes from all over Africa from when it was an international Zone.

We visited the Cave of Hercules and saw the Berber style of dress. Our guide, and Carmen our camp receptionist and host dressed up in the robes.

We then went back into the city for a walking tour of the Medina and Kasbah.

The maze of narrow streets were filled with shops of all kinds, butchers, bakers and possibly candlestick makers. The street salesmen were persistent to say the least and many succumbed to the lure of fancy goods and clothing. Usually a bid of a quarter the asking price was eventually  begrudgingly accepted.

We had a very nice meal at a local restaurant with the usual Mint tea with wine or beer as an option, thankfully.

Our ferry departed at 3.00pm and we were all ready for a sit down, after a very pleasant day.

I'm not sure if we could cope with the city life for any length of time but hopefully out in the countryside it would be less stressful.