In Antarctica last year, we saw people posing for photos with signs saying “Seventh Continent”.  A quick calculation revealed we’d been to 6, with only Africa missing.  One of the reasons we chose this cruise was because it called in at Tangier, Morocco.  Before we left, we printed our own sign, and put it away until today.  We were booked on a private walking tour, with instructions to meet our guide, Anas, “under the minaret outside the port”.  Fortunately this landmark was easy to spot – but getting out of the port was tricky.  There was none of the usual signage, barricades, or directional arrows.  We blundered around, hoping not to incur the wrath of any officials, and eventually made our way out of the gates.

Normally we explore on our own, but sometimes it’s good to have a guide to explain history, culture and customs, especially in somewhere unfamiliar. We also felt a guide would fend off the vendors trying to sell their tours and trinkets.  Anas obliged us by taking the official Seventh Continent photo, before we set off across the road and into the Medina.  We discovered that Tangier is a very diverse and cosmopolitan city, thanks to its varied history over centuries.  It has a little of everything, and although there is no doubt you are in an Arab city, the European influence is strong.  After all, Spain is just across the Straits. 

Anas imparted many facts and stories, and took great pride in showing us his city.  We followed him through the Medina and up into the Kasbah, pausing at various places for views, history lessons, or glimpses into local life.  We were invited into a tiny public bakery, still in use today.  The aroma of baking bread filled the little shop.  Later we visited a Berber pharmacy where we were shown various lotions and potions to cure all sorts of ailments.  We sampled some hot mint tea in a café, before making our way through the busy souk, or market.  We enjoyed seeing all the fresh produce – fruits and vegetables, slabs of meat, pasta, eggs, olives, walnuts, dates, and colourful fresh flowers. Anas seemed to know every second person, as he was born and raised in Tangier.  We had only a vague idea of where we’d walked, but it didn’t matter. 

After Anas left us, we strolled along the waterfront towards the park where the Phoenician Tombs are.  We could see the pathway up, but decided against another long climb.  The tombs were at the top of an enormous slab of granite.  We crossed the road and meandered back towards the port, enjoying the sea breeze and the unmistakeable Mediterranean blue of the water.  Finally, feet aching from another solid session of walking, we made the long trek back through the port and onto the ship.

We weren’t sure what to expect from Tangier, but apart from the old town, it was very modern with lots of new construction. The streets were very clean and well maintained – much more so than Lisbon; I had no trouble walking around.  The drivers were polite, and we felt very safe.  We’d expected the vendors to be aggressive, but they hardly bothered us at all, even when we were on our own. 

We had another lovely sailaway, with a golden sunset.  The ship stayed close to the African coast so we could see quite a lot, and it was very pretty when darkness fell and the lights all came on.  We had a giggle at the people who thought they were looking at Gibraltar, when the rock they were looking at was south of the strait, and a considerable distance away from the famous Rock.  We had a “pinch me” moment, up on our favourite deck 16 spot – Africa to our left, Europe to our right, and the Aussie girls smashing the 200m freestyle relay to win Olympic gold, on the movie screen!