April 30th Tangier, Morocco

Now get a cup of coffee, sit down drey has lots to share. Going to be lots of posts.

Reid and I have always wanted to visit Morocco, we were very close to booking a trip. Its not expensive, short flight but…… we were concerned about safety and constantly being annoyed by aggressive Moroccans. When we booked this cruise thrilled we were getting to Tangier. Booked a private tour just to be safe and made it a full day so much to see.

The first pic is coming into port. Tangiers is the 2nd largest city, Casablanca is the first. Not sure what I expected maybe see Bogart hanging around.,,ha ha. This is a large city with the Atlantic on one side and the Mediterranean on other. They both meet, giving Tangiers plenty of fish, cool water breezes. More than 1 1/2 million people live here. They speak a Moroccan dialect, French, Spanish, Italian and English. Why! Because Morocco has been in the hands of so many countries for centuries. You can see Gibraltar in the distance.

Tangiers has always been an international city, especially for the wealthy, good tax haven. Barbara Hutton once the wealthiest women in the US lived here. The Beatles, Stones, Tennessee Williams and so many more have come here to work, live, visit. Morocco exports to Europe and the US oranges, fish, salt and phosphates used for farming. There are wild pigs,sheep, donkeys and of course camels everywhere.

Every religion is represented here, mostly Muslin but there are 7 synagogues just in Tangiers. No guns allowed at all, check points on all the roads, safety is very important. Pigs are sacred here. Women cover their heads and wear modest clothing. The roads and streets are perfectly clean, modern well planned. What a remarkable country.