Tangier - my First Steps in Morocco (My Magical Mystery Tour - Part 4)

Tangier, in the very north of the country, was the first stop of my backpacking journey through Morocco in May 2019.
I came there by ferry from Tarifa in Spain, where I had spent more than a week struggling with my fear of going to Morocco (read about it here : Tarifa - or my struggling with crossing over to Africa).

I was very happy, when I met a Swedish guy on the ferry, who had booked the same hostel like me. He had studied in Germany for a few years, so we could talk German, which was quite convenient.
And I had a companion for my very first steps on African ground!

Tangier felt different than the other Moroccan cities I've been to. It is still a very Moroccan place, but with quite a bit of European influence here and there, surely because Spain is only half an hour away and people can book day trips to Tangier from there.

In retrospect, that made it a perfect start for a Moroccan journey for me, a gentle transition ^^

I've spent a few days in Tangier, and way too much money on stuff, because I didn't know yet, how to bargain ^^

I drank my first Moroccan mint tea, which was great, but far too sweet for my European taste, so I soon learnt the words "no sugar please" in Moroccan language. I really don't know, how they can take that amount of sugar in their drinks ^^

I soon noticed what is typical for Moroccan medinas (old towns): You easily get lost.
I love strolling about the places I visit, to get to know it, and to feel the special atmosphere.
Moroccan medinas feel a bit like like naturally grown organisms. No one has "planned" it, they just developed in hundreds of years, into a real maze of narrow cobblestoned streets.
That makes a stroll a real adventure sometimes, if you don't remember to memorize your track ^^

At first, that made me really nervous and I didn't dare to go for a walk alone, but by the time I grew more confident, and started to really enjoy the experience :-)

The medina of Tangier is not very big, so again, this town was a very good place to get used to Morocco!

After a few days I felt the urge to travel on.
Back in Tarifa I had met a few people who told me about Asilah, a town, not very far from Tangier, at the Atlantic coast, which, so they said, was very worth a visit.

So I said goodbye to my new Swedish friend, who had other plans, took my backpack and went to the main station.

In Morocco, it's very common to travel by Shared Taxi.
I really like that concept, and it's very simple: You go to the taxi station and ask one of the drivers, where you can find a taxi to Asilah. You will get directed to another taxi driver, who then takes your luggage to store it somewhere in the car (or on the roof). Then you wait for other people to join you, until every seat is occupied.
That's it!

This way you can hardly plan, when to arrive at your destination, sometimes you wait one or two hours, until the taxi gets moving.
This is a big contrast to the German way of planning life, being always on time, keeping control of everything.
So it was a totally new experience for me ... and I found it really relaxing!

That's one thing I've learnt from travelling Morocco. Things work out, even If I'm not in control all the time.
And I can even enjoy it, lean back and feel the flow of life :-)