Day 57: Seeing Spain

Our plan was to spend all day in Assilah and then to take a 5:30 train to Tangier which is only 45 minutes to the north. When we woke up at 9, it was raining, so we changed our plans. In the morning, as it cleared up, we walked around the medina and looked at all the murals. We explored the medina even more than I had last time so I got to see some cool murals I hadn't seen yet. Afterwards, although it was sunny and clearer, we didn't trust the weather to hold so we caught a 1:40 pm train to Tangier. There was no one to buy tickets from at the station, but no one checked them on the train either, so our 16 dh ride was free! 

Assilah medina

One of the many murals in Assilah

When we got to Tangier at 2:30, it was beautiful. The sun was shining and you could see the ocean from the recently renovated train station. It is a huge city with a small medina, a large centrally located beach, and tons of big buildings and well-contained urban sprawl. I'm very happy we chose to visit it because it strikes a great balance between its traditional side and modernity and is a good example of how Morocco could be. We were barely heckled the whole time we were there and the city transitions very well between the medina and the Ville Nouvelle that surrounds it. It is all contiguously Tangier, unlike how Fes is two separate beasts. With all its hills, Tangier reminds me a lot of San Francisco. 

You can also see Spain 8 miles away across the Straits of Gibraltar, even on cloudy days. Seeing its proximity and the huge ferries that are constantly making the 35 minute run, I understand how Moroccans could get so jaded and eager to leave for Spain. Illegal immigration is a big problem for Morocco and Europe and many have lost their lives attempting the crossing. The land on the other side is exactly the same and everyone on both sides can speak Spanish, but when you throw an 11 to 1 exchange rate into the mix, it's hard to ignore the greener grass just across the Straits. Europe doesn't want Moroccans, and Morocco has lost a lot of its young talent to the allure of Europe. Moroccans have a terrible time legally leaving Morocco because to get a visa to Europe, you must prove you have over 15000 Euros in assets. Even if you have that much, you still have to deal with inefficient bureaucracies and a shortage of visas. It's not a very pretty side of Moroccan/European relations.

Our lunch spot with Spain in the distance

We spent the day walking around the medina and the Ville. We went up to the Kasbah to have the best view of Spain and had lunch on the terrace of a nice small restaurant. We tried to visit a bunch of museums but they were all closed. We went to the beach though and to the Gran Socco, a big fountain and central meeting point in Tangier. We also stopped by the Hotel Mensah to see its storied Caid Bar. It's a five star hotel built at the beginning of the 20th century that has housed the likes of Winston Churchill and other famous people. We had dinner in the medina at a fancy restaurant called El Jedad and the food was delicious. Afterwards, we were planning on going out so we went back to the hostel to drink and change.

At the beach in Tangier

All the clubs in Tangier are along the beach, including one called Miami Beach! It's a nice situation though because there is a bluff, so they are all below street level and you can still see the beach over them. We went to a club called Beach Club 555 that has a gorgeous pool and a good scene. Alice came up from Fes for the night, so we met up with her at 555 at 1 am and had a blast together. We danced a ton and the music was super loud. It wasn't the best music because Moroccan dance music features a lot of elements of Moombahton, a genre of electronic music that is percussion-heavy and features a lot of drums. There's not many words, but there's a lot of bongos; it's still fun to dance to but I would have preferred some American pop music. All in all, it was a lot of fun being out in Tangier and being right next to the beach. We could see a few twinkles from Spain. I went home at 3:30 am, but the others didn't walk home till the club closed at 5. It ended up being a packed, but fun, day with a lot of walking and a great ending.