Tangier, Morocco April 28th

This morning we arrived in Tangier, Morocco and still on the western coast of Africa. This is our last stop in Africa for the trip.
Tangier is a modern city, but we chose the 'Shades of Blue n Chaouen'. It is about a 2 hour drive from Tangier and a change from the ports we dock in.
We started our drive through the city and in not too long the country side turned into green fields, trees, mountains and blue sky. There were farms along the way with sheep, cows, horses, donkeys and many local small villages. The pictures speak for themselves.
We had a bathroom stop at a restaurant for a quick snack which was a crepe made by hand with honey to dip it in. It tasked like a funnel cake shaped like a crepe. They also served the classic mint Moroccan tea.
Then back on the highway to Chaouen. It is called the 'Blue Pearl' of Morocco since the streets are blue. We had a quick stop at another Kasbah built in 1471 to defend the local population. It is a red brick fortification with 4 towers and a garden inside the old fortress.
Then a walking tour of Chaouen with it's stone streets. It is a meandering bunch of interconnected streets with doors to each residence along each side of the streets. There were some highly decorated doors and some that were just painted in blue. Our guide told us that each resident has to repaint the blue twice a year so that the entire portion of the town stays bright blue. As with all these types of old cities, there were cats everywhere, which are considered clean animals by the local Muslim population (98%). There are other areas of the 'new town' that are just their traditional and modern homes. The blue houses are the ancient old city.
Then we had another traditional Moroccan lunch of salad, tajin cooked beef and a dessert of sliced fruit.
After lunch there was more exploring the blue houses, local merchant shops for some shopping before heading back to bus for our drive back to Tangier and the ship.Read more