Own only what you can carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.*
By Kathryn Roberts

*One thing that I have never been able to do is come up with titles. And Sarah's is better anyway. So quotations have become my lifesaver, even though they really don't take the place of an awesome, clutch title. But I think this quotation does encompass a lot of what I learned from Morocco and hopefully directs your thoughts on your own trip.
Thanks to Alexander Solzhenitsyn.


Before driving us to Cape Spartel and the Herculean Grottos, Ahmed took us on a whirlwind tour of Tangier at probably 60 mph, with Sarah and I frantically snapping pictures from the backseat. He was pointing out the French, English, American, Spanish, Moroccan, Belgian, and any-other-country-you-can-think-of quarters, many of the mosques, and generally trying to give us a sense of how to navigate the city. Recently the King of Morocco built a palace in Tangier and began a massive cleanup of the city, taking it from "the Tijuana of Morocco" (meant in the most affectionate way possible, I'm sure) to an international, cosmopolitan city. There is still poverty, and still much to do, but I'm told that it is infinitely better than it was six years ago.

Unfortunately, you can't take pictures of the king's palace, because the guards will destroy the film. Not to worry, though. The King of Jordan, all four Princes of Morocco, the Moroccan King's sister, the royalty of Kuwait, and the oil barons of Saudi Arabia, motivated by the clean-up as well as the breezy climate, have all built their summer homes here, and you can see all of their palaces... at least from the outside (at 60 mph, this doesn't leave much to see, but at least you can say you did).

Thanks to this trip, I can explain why oil prices are so high. (But the answer is not drilling in Alaska!) This account of our tour through Tánger might not give the most favorable impression of having a guide, but I was really glad to have one, especially one whose only concern was the two of us.

Did our trip cost less than the organized trip? Yeah, we stayed for three days and spent about 150 € total whereas the organized trip was 139 € for two days, not including souvenirs. And we could have done it for cheaper. But I felt a lot better having a guide who I knew was getting us a fair price and who had dependable transportation. Don’t get me wrong: you can totally go to the Herculean Grottos and Asilah on your own, but I consider having a guide money very well spent. So we’ll give you his information, and you, as always, get to decide.

I highly recommend Asilah. Since it's a coastal city, it used to be a lookout and stronghold of ancient Morocco, and there is still the Muralla that goes completely around the city, similar to what Sevilla used to have. But the people have just built their homes and stores in and on top of it, so you get this amazing contrast of 14th century stone intimidation, and the relaxing and inviting whitewashed buildings with their periwinkle and aqua doors.

It's a huge artistic town (there's certainly enough inspiration!) and in August there is a major art festival. When we visited, everyone was busy whitewashing all of the buildings because when the artists come, in addition to painting their show pieces, they all find wall space and decorate the city as well. If you're able to in August, get out of the heat of Sevilla and go to Asilah. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous town and everybody is so relaxed and kind. It’s only an hour from Tangier, you can take a bus, or Ahmed can drive you and take you to see his buddies.

One of my favourite memories was meeting Matesh, a small, bowlegged man who was so animated and passionate about his handmade products. There are tons of people and cities like this around Tangier, and if you want to go, ask! There are buses, Luxotour does trips to Chefchauen and Asilah, or get someone to take you.
Sarah does a great job of detailing our experience in Asilah, so I don’t think I need to repeat it.

Suffice it to say, that after all the tense moments, I’m grateful to Pepe for shoving us, because I think it was one of the most valuable experiences of my life.

It's one thing to read about current events customs of a country, but it's quite another to make a mistake and suffer the ramifications, to see a woman wearing a burqa and feel your stomach leap into your throat at the same time that you feel jealous of her freedom from the roaving eyes of men. I’m not an adventurous person, nor particularly spontaneous, but I felt intoxicated by accomplishment and empowered by what I've learned. I not only want to travel the world, I now feel like I can. If nothing else, this trip taught me how I want to travel; now I’ll be sure to know about the culture before I go, learn as many languages as I possibly can, and go for what I want to do. Don’t turn down a trip just because you don’t know much about the culture. Pay attention to current events and take heed, but you’ll be surprised and awed by what you find in a lot of places. Just go for it!