Tangier and the Mediterranean Coast

In Tangier, we stayed at the Rif Atlas Hotel.  The Rif are the mountains in the north of the country, and the Atlas are the mountains in the south, so it was interesting that the hotel was called both of them, and that we were at the beach.  Tangier reminded me a lot of Rosarito, but dirtier, bigger and more populated.  We only had one day to see the place, so we set off pretty early in the morning for an American-Sponsored museum.  It took over half an hour to drive there and it turned out it was only a five-minute walk from our hotel.  Ahhhh… Morocco. 

When we arrived, I was one of the first ones to the door and I laughed out loud and asked, “It’s Saturday isn’t it?”  Someone said yes.  No one bothered to check before we left, but the museum was closed on Saturdays.  Perfect.  I guess we were just hoping it would be open, Inshallah. 

That being done and over with, we had some time to kill so of course I found myself lounging by the pool.  It was a beautiful, beautiful day, so it was a great idea.  For lunch we left the hotel and went to a seafood restaurant.  I had the best paella, which I haven’t eaten in a long, long time.  It didn’t come close to Chiya Venice’s paella, but it was still pretty amazing.  I was so full when we were finished that I wanted to go back and sleep.  I felt bad lounging by the pool all day on my only day in the town, so I decided to head off with a few other girls to check out some of the sights. 

We saw Cap Spartell…

Spain…

And Hercules’ Grotto, where he is said to have come and rested after completing his 12 labors. The Grotto was beautiful and very interesting.  There were a whole slew of vendors inside the caves selling their wares, something that you would not expect for a natural wonder. 

At the end of the tunnel there is a beautiful cave entrance.  It is very famous because the silhouette looks like a mirror image of the continent of Africa, something I noticed only after taking pictures of it.  It was really beautiful and I was glad to have gotten to see it.  Tangier, check.  Next stop… Ifrane.