Day 26 - Tangier and Cafe Haffa

Beachfront at Tangier

Aqua blue petite taxis in Tangier

Local women leaving the market

Cafe Haffa

Hanging out in the evening at Tangier

Grafitti or art?

Again very little sleep as my roommate snored, so strong coffee to start the day was needed.

We caught taxis to the bus station where we then had a 2 hour drive north to Tangier.  The views were again spectacular as we drove through the Rif mountains.  I’m taking a little ‘me’ time on these drives listening to Angus and Julia Stone on the ipod. 

At Tangier we left our backpacks locked up at the station, grabbed a map then headed off to explore the city before an overnight train to Marrakesh.  The whole group found a place for a bite to eat with a clean toilet, then we separated to do our own thing.  My group (6 of us) strolled around the medina, up and down through the laneways, stopping at shops for coffee and photo opportunities.  Tangier definitely has a different feel to the rest of the places we have been so far. On the beach I was surprised how dirty it was and the buildings were really dilapidated but the medina was lovely.  Big change though to Chefchaouen.

We met up with the group at Café Hafa – terraces built into the side of the cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where people go to drink mint tea, broad bean soup and play board games or talk.  Apparently a favorite hang out of the Rolling Stones when they were younger and hung out in the area.

We met at the train station to board the overnight train to Marrakesh – a 12 hour ride, 4 of us per carriage and a couple of gins to try and sleep on.

At about midnight there was a fight between people in different carriages due to people talking too loudly and not letting others sleep.  We weren’t involved, it was funny to listen to.