Having got as far as Saturday night, I am so exhausted that I am going to stop there and write up the rest tomorrow...
Friday
I caught the bus at 3pm and met the other people. I sat with Nadia, from Switzerland. I realised that her Spanish was a bit weaker than mine and we chose which language to converse in. We both speak French, so this became our language. It was amusing: an English girl and a german speaking Swiss girl staying in Spain on a trip to Morocco talking in French!
The others were from many different countries: Germany, Holland, USA, England, Switzerland, Norway, Italy and New Zealand to name a few. We all mainly chatted in Spanish and I tried to avoid those who opted for English.
We got to Algeciras at about 5pm and caught the boat at 5.30pm. It was a little boat and we mainly stayed on the deck. I didn't get to see any dolphins, but I did get a good look at Gibraltar.
We arrived at Ceuta at about 7pm. Still in Spain, but finally on the african continent. We got on another coach with a really cool driver called Tarik with whom I ended up chatting a lot in Spanish (and some arabic!) He took us through the border into Africa.
At the border there were loads of people with bags of clothes and other objects. Apparently there are no taxes on items in Ceuta, so people go over there to buy things to sell in Africa. We were not allowed to take photos at the border, so my picture was rather covertly taken, shhh! I was very happy to discover a stamp in my passport - my first one!
We also met our guide. He has a very complicated arabic name and so he goes by the pseudonym Michael Douglas! He is very witty and told jokes all weekend. He speaks lots of languages, like everyone in Morocco. I was constantly struck by how many languages everyone can speak there. In the UK, it is unusual to find someone who is fluent in more than just English and anyone who can speak 5+ languages could get any job they want... in Morocco even beggars speak Arabic, Spanish, French and English as a minimum!
Once through the border, we made our way to our hotel in Tetwan/Tétouan. We filled out a form and decided whom to share a room with (I was with Nadia). We were given a cup of mint tea which is the normal drink in Morocco - made with lots of sugar and very tasty! We dropped off our bags then ate in the hotel restaurant.
We had a vegetable soup followed by couscous and other Moroccan food.
I stayed up for a bit chatting to Talik and learning lots of useful arabic words. Then I went to bed. I remembered to use mineral water to brush my teeth.
Saturday
Due to the 2 hour time difference, I was awake at 5am and breakfast was at 8, so I had some time to waste. I was happy to find that the hotel reception had wi-fi! Breakfast was great - lots of different breads and pancakes with honey and jam.
We set off at 9 and went into Tetwan. The centre seemed quite Western at first... just the currency (dirhams - I changed some euro) was different. Then we entered the medina (old town). Suddenly I was in a different world. The smells assault you - nice spices and breads and then revolting stale fish and putrid rotten meat.
There are stray cats all over the place. Apparently dogs are considered dirty but cats are sacred, so they put up with them.
My flipflops suddenly seemed a very bad idea - my feet were wet with bloody water and fish juices from the floor. Then again, those with trainers ended up with very stained footwear, at least I could wash my plastic flipflops! We walked around and Michael told us all about the history. We looked inside a Mosque (from the doorway) and had demonstrations of clothing and rugs and various spices and "natural hygienic products". It was the most eye-opening experience of my life and I spent the whole time in awe, shocked, repelled, attracted and amazed in equal measures. It was hard to know where to look, what to say, how closely to hold your bag...
We had a demonstration of carpets in a cooperative and tried to barter prices
then had lunch in a typical restaurant. Some of us got henna tattoos (once the paint dried the dye underneath it didn't show up much due to my tan, but the photo shows how lovely it was when it was drying!) and there was a bloke doing something amazing with a tray and some candles (click on the box to play the video - warning, there is a lot of background noise!):
Then we headed to Tanger. We stopped off on the way to ride camels. I enjoyed the experience, but did feel very sorry for the poor animals who had to keep getting up and down for us to get on and off. The again, it was pointed out to me that they are beasts of burden and would otherwise be carrying heavier loads and probably not getting so much food and water.
Another stop off, at a place where you can see where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet.
I had a mint tea in the cafe and got chatted up by a waiter when I spoke some arabic!
In Tangers, we visited another medina. This one was more open and less smelly, but still had loads of shops and people trying to sell you things. We had an hour of free time and I opted to go alone. I bought some postcards and wrote and posted them. I then managed to haggle for some dinky shoes (I got the original €14 down to €7) and then drank mint tea and chilled out, chatting to locals in French and Spanish.
Back to the hotel and we had supper. It was very tasty with the typical vegetable soup that we ate twice a day and then some yummy spicy meats and vegetables.
Sunday to follow tomorrow...
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