20241203 Seabourn Sojourn Grand Africa Cruise Day 8/96 - Tangier and Chefchaouen Morocco

Grand Africa Cruise Trip Day 8/96 - and Morocco makes 88

We awoke today as we approached the port in Tangier, Morocco, on the African continent. With sunrise coming at 8:17, it was still dark as we snugged into the dock.

After a quick breakfast, we went to the Grand Salon - the name of the theater on Sojourn. They handed out tour tickets and called groups when the transportation was ready. We were in Group #1 and were called quickly. We walked down from deck 6 to deck 5 and out the gangway to the pier. When our feet hit the ground, our country count hit 88. Morocco is our third African country.

We walked the pier and met our bus - or more correctly, van. It was an 18-person van, a perfect fit for the ten of us, plus the driver and tour guide. We loaded up and took off for the 117km (70 mile), and two-hour ride to Chefchaouen, also known as the Blue City.

We passed a bull ring in Tangier. It has been unused for decades but is being renovated as an event venue.

Traffic here is pretty crazy, and our driver, a seemingly frustrated Formula 1 wanna-be whipped the van in and out with occasionally alarming violence. Still, we didn't hit anything and nobody got hurt.

We did make a comfort stop along the way.

Out back, they had quite the menagerie.

There was also a view of one of the dams along the Martil River

The five-pointed star on the Moroccan flag represents the five pillars of Islam

We continued on to Chefchaouen

We arrived in Chefchaouen around 11:00. Chefchaouen is known as the Blue City, and you'll see why in the photos. There are various theories about the abundant use of blue from blue keeping mosquitos away to the blue symbolizing the sky and heaven and serving as a reminder to lead a spiritual life.

We entered the city and started climbing. Seriously climbing. We walked up hills, stairs, ramps, and more, for more than an hour. I'll let the photos do the talking, with occasional comments where needed.

We were met by murals

Originally a Spanish church outside the walled city

Starting to see blue

An entry gate - the city dates from the late 1400s

Signs were in standard Arabic and the language of the Berbers, Amazigh

Lots of shops

There were lots of doors, many of them blue

So many narrow alleys

Most of the walk took us from the entry, up, up, up - it was nearly two hours of climbing 

A plaza

So much blue

Pigments used to create colors

A mosque with a simple minaret

You can see the nearby mountains at the end of the road

View 360-degree photo

Lots of folks were posing for blue photos

An old olive tree, dating back to before the city was built

Water running through the city - we walked over a bridge above the water

That's a seriously old bridge

Oh, goody- more stairs

We finally found our way to our lunch spot and sat down for a Moroccan meal.

Moroccan salad

A beef tagine with peppers, potatoes, and carrots

Chicken couscous

Dessert of pomegranate seeds, apples, and bananas in orange juice

Pouring the tea

Moroccan cookies

Well-fed, we started walking back to the van.

Another mosque

Stonework near the entry gate

Another look at the church

We started the two-hour ride back to Tangier.

Some of the surrounding mountains

After another two hours of high-speed curves, aggressive braking, and general crazy driving, we arrived back at the pier.

We went to The main restaurant for dinner and had a much better dining experience. Service was prompt without being rushed and the food was very good. We stopped for a drink in The Club, where they could make my special martini. We continue to meet guests and make connections with people.

We've noticed that the ship doesn't feel very full. We learned tonight that there is a reason for that - it isn't very full. Out of a possible 450 or so passengers, there are only around 250, give or take. We continue to be spoiled with uncrowded ships.

We decided to check out the production show tonight with the "Seabourn Six", the three male and three female singers/dancers plus the Seabourn band. The show featured music from Michael Jackson (the King of Pop), Whitney Houston (The Queen of Pop), and Prince. King, Queen, Prince - nice. he four singers/dancers and two dancers were all quite talented and they put on a very nice show.

We made dinner reservations for December 13 at Solis, Seabourn's signature restaurant. We'll see how we feel about that in ten days.

We are headed east and that means one thing - time change. We gain an hour tonight as the clocks move back one hour. We'll soon be turning west, so we'll lose that, but for now, we get an extra hour in bed tonight and be five hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast. Tomorrow is the first of four consecutive sea days en route to the Cabo Verde Islands.