Trip to Tangier, and the rest....

It has been too long since I have updated this blog. I fear I have been a little caught up in the work I am doing for the ARANAS program. As I am sure you have all heard and/or read by now, I was not expecting quite this much work. When I heard about a two-month trip to North Africa, I began foaming at the mouth. However, let me be frank... the froth was created because I was hungry for the experiences associated with traveling to an unfamiliar locale, certainly not because I could not wait to crack into my 400 page Arabic textbook. Al-Kiitab (the book, printed by Georgetown University Press, actually quite good :) is what I seem to be spending the majority of my time viewing. It's a little bit of a shame, but, I feel that the investment I am making in my capacity to speak Arabic will pay dividends later. Of course, continuing my studies promises to be difficult upon my return to Helena, but I feel that a stern commitment, and a little help from others, might force me to continue my Arabic studies independent of academic oversight.

Regardless, I have a couple of excellent weekends in front of me. This upcoming weekend, the program is taking a three-day trip to Marrakesh, which promises to be exciting, and the following weekend I will be participating in a family homestay. These weekends ought to provide my tired mind with a little room to wander. But enough about future trips, I have not had a chance to write my about my trip to Tangier.

After our first semester final wrapped up on Friday June 27th, a posse of five of us took off for Tangier, located in the northernmost portion of Morocco, only a couple of miles from Spain (across the Strait of Gibraltar of course). Our trip was a long one, and one of the hottest days of my life. Thinking that we were fortunate, the group of us each purchased first class train tickets, thinking that the 30dh upgrade would certainly be worth it. Were we right? Probably not. The train was basically fire-pit. Not only because the temperature remained on the verge of excruciating for the majority of the trip, but also because the "air vents" in each compartment could only spew out ash (I think from cigarettes... hopefully not from the train...yikes!), the trace amounts made me wonder about the Mount St. Helens eruption.

Now, on the surface, that last reference was probably straight out of left-field, but I was struggling to breathe with only a finite concentration of ash in the air, how could people around the mountain breathe when the ash was thick enough to coat cars just like snow?

Either way, we arrived in Tangier at about 11pm Friday night. After struggling to find a good price for transportation, a grande taxi offered to take us to the Medinah for about 80dh (not bad when split 5 ways) we arrived at the medinah and had to walk the rest of the distance (about 1/4 mile) to our hotel, because the alley-ways of the medinah are much too small for automobile transportation. We had a reservation for a room with two-beds in a riad in the heart of the old city. Considering that we booked the room earlier that day, we were fortunate. The entrance to the riad was a thick turquoise steel door. Clearly this riad owner meant business. He marched down the stairs to greet us, and his mouth dropped open. Not because we were so disheveled from our travels, not because we were five young Americans arriving at his lodging at 11:30pm on a Friday, no, the proprietor's mouth sat ajar because his "two-bed" room was barely big enough for one person... but it had two twin beds, pushed slightly apart... Clearly the five of us were not all going to have a good nights' sleep. Regardless of the insufficient bedding, the owner of the riad was more than willing to let us eat his leftovers (some tajine cooked vegetables...the tajine even had discarded chicken bones in it, very good though!)

The view from the terrace of the riad was truly spectacular. With an unobstructed view of Tangier's primary beach... You must see the pictures to understand the beauty. After sleeping the night in our crammed quarters, the five of us were treated to the best breakfast I swear I may have ever had, complete with homemade jam... this stuff was absolutely phenomenal, and considering the setting for our meal, it was all the more surreal. Our group took off for the port, because one of the members was intent on taking a ferry to Spain. I, being the tight-fisted; fiscally responsible member of the group, decided that $100 US dollars for the ferry ride was a little outrageous, so I decided against the trip. After finding a new hotel, the rest of our group spent an afternoon at the beach. Absolutely spectacular! Really a relaxing weekend, and one I don't plan on forgetting anytime soon.

P.S. Should you like, I can give anyone the name of the riad we stayed in... if anyone is ever in the area it is well worth the trip.