Septembre 26, 2002 –
Tangier
|
|
|
The train is coming from Marrakesh but on the
contrary of what I thought there are few foreigners and it is also difficult
to find a seat as many 2nd class compartment are occupied by 2
passengers sleeping on the seats. I will not try to wake them up. Finally, we arrive on time at Tangier Morora at 6am.
A lot of taxi drivers are here to “welcome” us because the train station is a
bit far from downtown. With other travelers I prefer to seat at the café next
to the station and wait for calm. I meet 2 English guys with whom I will
reach the harbor entrance. At the CTM bus station, just next to the harbor
entrance, I ask for the departures for Chefchaouen. As there is a bus at 11am
tomorrow morning I think I will spend a good day in Tangier. Then I walk into
the medina to find a room where I will leave my bag. My objective is to find
the Little Socco square (place du petit Socco) where there is an inexpensive pension
right in my budget. At 7:30am, the city is empty, I find the Pension
Mauritania and they give me a room that has a window on the square. In
reality, it is not really a square but an alley that is widened there. This
is also the crossroad of all the alleys of the Medina and the crossroad of
all the traffics!!! In Tangier, I am surprised by the cleanness of the
streets and the architectural style inspired by Europe. This is a very
different city from all the others in Morocco, Casablanca excepted maybe. The
buildings suffer from their age but it is a symbol of the international past
of the city. From the place des paresseux (laziness square) named because a
lot of Moroccans enjoy relaxing and talking endless there, I have a great
view on the Spanish coasts just in front of me and the Medina is just at my left.
And this is where I want to go, so I walk up the street to join the kasbah
and to watch from the top all the ferries that link the two countries. The
museum is closed until the beginning of 2003. At the
beginning of the afternoon, I go the Dawliz complex to eat at Mc Donald’s and
to enjoy from the panoramic terrace the view on the city and the strait of Gibraltar. I am wandering in the afternoon to discover new
faces of the city and especially the terraces of cafés where I enjoy an orange
juice or a café while reading some French newspapers. Around 4-5pm, the city wakes up and the crowd is
bigger than during the day. The shops are full and many sellers offer their
items in the streets. I hardly recognize the squares Petit Socco and Grand
Socco as they are crowded. Another factor emphasizes the phenomenon, it is
the last day of the election campaign, they will vote tomorrow. Tonight I will eat quickly at a snack just in front
of the hotel while watching at the crowd and at the sellers of cigarettes.
The atmosphere has a little something indescribable as if something or
someone could start a fight there… No one can flee its past. I observe from my balcony the different political parties
teams that warm the streets of the medina with music bands. Each time I am
sure that it is a kind of carnival like in Rio de Janeiro. Main expenses of the day : Taxi train station – Harbor entrance: 20 DH for 3
persons Pension Mauritania: 50 DH Drinks (water, soft drinks, tea…) + Lunch and
evening meal: 70 DH |
|
Other travels (Syria,
Jordan, Egypt, USA...) (Hotels, Transportation
timetables…) D1 :
Luxembourg – Paris – Casablanca D4 :
Meknes – Volubilis – Meknes D9 :
Tinehrir – Ouarzazate – Marrakesh D13 :
Refuge – 4167m –Tizi Ouanoums D14 :
Tizi Ouanoums – Amsouzert D16 :
Azib Likemt – Tacheddirt D17 :
Tacheddirt – Imlil – Marrakesh D19 :
Essaouira – El Jadida – Tangier D22 :
Chefchaouen – Casablanca D23 :
Casablanca – Paris – Luxembourg |
|
|
Last update : January
2003
Contact : pindavid@hotmail.com