Saturday 26th November 2016
Awoke this morning berthed in Tangiers. It’s wet here! very wet. Just occasionally brightening up. Easy morning waiting for our meeting time for our shore excursion.
Joined our tour group and boarded our coach, still wet. Tour out through town past palaces and mosques and so up to Cape Spartel and its lighthouse for a photo stop and to view the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Straits of Gibraltar, still rather wet.
Cape Spartel Lighthouse.
Next to the Caves of Hercules, this consisted of a small part of a natural sea cave with an extensive man made extension formed by mining, it’s greatest claim to fame seems to be the silhouette illusion of the cave exit which looks like a man in his turban! Luckily it wasn’t wet in the cave coz it was very wet outside.
Get the idea?
Then back to town to commence the walking part of the tour, even more luckily it was really starting to brighten up and the rain had pretty much cleared.
The coach dropped us at the top of the hill just behind the Kasbah, this is the walled area of the town, originally a fortress but progressively taken over for palaces and habitation for the rich and influential. The less well off and the artisans all being left outside the walls in the Souk. This proved to be an absolute maze of very narrow “streets” containing a jumble of houses, almost meeting as the upper stories are often jettied out, and tiny workshops and shops.
The souk, with local in his onesie.
Afternoon tea at the Continental Hotel consisting of Mint Tea (I think they forgot the mint) with a couple of cakes, one a bit like a mincemeat parcel and one a sort of shortcake.
Most of our time in the town stayed dry, only a few light showers, could have been much worse.
Back to ship for a rest and to dry off.
Tonight chose to eat in the buffet, Indian theme dinner, quite delicious.
