Tangier

The ferry ride from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco is only 14km. It feels more like crossing the Puget Sound near Seattle than traveling between continents. When I was in Tarifa, I thought I had been looking at another part of Spain or maybe Gibraltar across the bay. I had no idea that Africa was so close.

I was also surprised by how developed Tangier is. There are high-rise condos spanning the coast as far as you can see. I expected the whole city to look like the historical Medina and Kasbah neighborhoods (a lot of Andalusia has very little new built beyond the historical city center), but the modern city of Tangier dwarfs the historical neighborhoods.

The Kasbah is much less crowded but still very touristy. Everything is painted blue and white, not unlike the famous blue city of Chefchaouen.

The Medina is much more crowded and I didn't feel comfortable taking my usual five second videos of walking down the street. I did grab a few shots of one of the little spice markets. I can't imagine what that wild cobalt blue spice is, and I didn't have any luck looking it up.

There's an abundance of abstract artwork in the form of architecture. I remember reading somewhere that the type of design below is meant to symbolize the stalagmites in a cave—a reference to the cave Mohammed was in when visited by the angel Gabriel.

And I enjoyed the music and motif in this admittedly touristy restaurant.

I noticed that there seem to be kids everywhere, but upon more reflection, I suspect Morocco just has the normal amount. There's a peculiar absence of children in the west, but the developing world keeps on making them. I was surprised by the indulgent style of parenting I witnessed, though. I caught several instances of an out-of-control screaming boy (never a girl) being given the candy or toy or whatever he was throwing a tantrum about.

Favorite foods

The food is all absolutely outstanding. I ate a few types of tagine (which is the name for any stew cooked in the ceramic pot that's also called a tagine) and couscous, but my favorite new food was this chili pepper jam served as a condiment.

Also of note was this food truck… or maybe food car?

Any guess as to what they serve in this bizarre vehicle covered in snails? That's right! Snails!

After a bit of a struggle attempting to eat them, another diner showed me the proper technique. The snails have a slightly more substantial texture than an oyster, but it's the broth that really makes it special. After you finish your bowl of snails, they give you another bowl of just the broth. And it's only 14 dirham, which is like $1.40. Although I understand if some readers are not equally excited about snails no matter the cost.

Now the bad. The moment that I walked off of the ferry, I was bombarded by offers to drive me around or walk me to my hotel or otherwise be my guide. The moment I'd shake one person, a new one would show up and follow me around. I had constant walking company all the way to my hostel door (although I took a very stupid route just to make it clear that he was not leading me or providing any service that he should expect payment for).

Since it was too early to check in to my hostel, I left my bags and went back to explore the Medina solo. I had to find an ATM first because I had deliberately spent the last of my euros, and a shopkeeper offered to show me the way. I thought it must be very close if he would just abandon his shop, and then I realized that he wasn't actually the shopkeeper. He was just a guy trying to do an errand for compensation. The ATM didn't give bills smaller than 100 dirham (about $10), and he very politely expressed that he didn't have any change, so I spent my first ten bucks in the country on the entirely unnecessary errand of being shown to an ATM.

While walking around the Kasbah, another friendly stranger asked where I was visiting from and what I planned on seeing. He introduced himself as Abdul and gave me some pointers about places to visit and said I was actually right next a museum that was only three dirham to attend. Again, I was duped into someone unnecessarily leading the way in pursuit of compensation, but when I got to the museum (which really was just around the corner) he refused to take money and I was worried I had offended him. I ran into him again in the square outside of the museum and we had a little conversation about the architecture. He asked where I was off to next and I told him I was feeling a bit hungry. He recommended a restaurant and insisted on taking me there. The food was amazing, but it was an absolute tourist trap. I recognized all of the other customers from the ferry, and they had also been led in by some friendly stranger. When I left, Abdul was waiting outside the restaurant for me. I resigned to accept that I was on the hook to pay him, so I freely went on the rest of the tour. He took me to a series of shops with outrageously overpriced spices, ceramics, rugs, and other textiles. I actually bought some of the spices before realizing that no Moroccan could afford to pay what I had just paid and the real spice shops were ubiquitous and filled with local customers. After twenty minutes or so, I told Abdul it was time for me to go back to my hostel. He led me in the wrong direction and I had to take the lead. When we got to my door and I offered him 200 dirham, Abdul smiled as widely and obsequiously as he ever had, bowed a little, and said "Three hundred, please."

Over the next two days, I was unable to set foot on the street without a smiling stranger running some kind of hustle on me. They don't just come out and offer their proposition, they try to make a friend first. They'll often refuse money the first time or offer some small thing for free.

One young guy saw me checking out some food from a street vendor, asked if I'd like to try some, and paid the vendor and handed me the food before I could even respond. Then he asked me if I'd like to try his father's restaurant and duped me into another stupid tour.

Getting hip to every scam would cost more than I'm willing to spend. At any point I could just tell these people to go to hell, but it feels unpleasant to do that. I'm a guest in their country and I'm trying to observe the etiquette. Day two I just ignored anyone who smiled at me or talked to me but I still couldn't avoid the blatant theft that took place. A city bus driver smiled wide and asked me for more money, pointing to a sign that showed the fare I had already given him. I produced a few more coins, which he placed in his pocket. Every waiter put the money in their pocket and produced incorrect change. And you're expected to tip in Morocco, so I had to leave a tip for the guy who just blatantly stole from me. I confronted one who apologized profusely and produced slightly more change, then slightly more when I pointed out that he had still short-changed me.

At one point while walking down the street, a stranger did nothing more than smile at me, and I instantly became furious with him in anticipation of the next scam. I realized I had begun to walk around like everyone else in the country: scowling. I've never seen such miserable-looking people anywhere. None of the scowling, deeply suspicious store clerks I've encountered have stolen from me, but they've sure seemed to be on high alert about how I might steal from them.

The Moroccan guys working in the hostel agreed that I should be suspicious of anyone who smiles at me (as though that were obvious and I was a gullible dummy for thinking people are sometimes friendly) and said the scams get worse the further into the country you go. So I decided I didn't need to go any further. I bounced.

I'm feeling a lot better today and I had the better judgment to delete many of the things I wanted to say about Morocco. I'm going to hang out in Tarifa for a few more days before I decide where to move on to next.