Luck Of The Draw

Ever have a beautifully made plan that goes completely hay wire? That would be Tetouan for us. Nothing quite like a trip that goes sideways. Rapidly. A comedy of errors if you will. Though, most were completely out of our control.

We decided to join some friends on a trip in Morocco. They would take the ferry from Spain and we would fly into Tangier from Spain. All of us would meet in Tetouan, us via the bus and them via a taxi. Here we’d spend a few glorious hours exploring the famous old medina and find something delectable to sit down and eat for lunch. In the late afternoon we’d all depart via the same bus for our next destination. Perfection, yes? Not so much. 

To begin with, our friends 10 am ferry was canceled due to rough seas. They had to wait many hours to see if they could get on the following ferry at 13:00, and if that ferry would be running at all.  Luckily they did get on the ferry, though the boat sat at dock for quite awhile. As in it did not leave the dock until 17:00. So, they left 7 hours later than anticipated, putting them in quite late. As in late enough they might as well take the taxi all the way to our evening destination and skip Tetouan. Bummer that.

We arrived into Tangier and took a yellow taxi (the official airport taxi) to the CTM bus station. For anyone traveling via bus, make sure you go to the correct station. CTM has its own station and is NOT linked to the other buses. Here we were able to purchase tickets for the next bus to Tetouan. Please note, if you bought tickets online, you’ll need to pay separately in the station for any luggage. Also to note when arriving in Tetouan via the bus and IF you have another bus ticket out of Tetouan for the same day (we had one) AND you talk to the correct person, the station will watch your bags. They will deposit them into a separate room. After much back and forth via Google Translate, we found that all we had to do to reclaim our bags was to show the gentleman in charge our baggage ticket. Granted, he recognized us and this was unnecessary, but still good to know. Just make sure you purchased a “ticket” for your bags or they wont be making it onto the next bus.

Eid al-Fitr

Error number two, our visit inconveniently fell the day after Ramadan officially ended. Putting it smack dab on a public holiday. Meaning just about everything was closed. And I do mean everything. We’ve previously visited Moroccan markets and an medina. They are generally teaming with people. Vendors wares spill out of their stalls while they hawk their provisions to anyone who will listen or give them a parting glance. You have to weave and bob through the throng of humanity. It’s exciting and fascinating. Everything from locally made ceramics and rugs to spices, oils and foods. Butchers have meats hanging on display. The smell of bread tempts your nose. Unfamiliar treats are on display. Naturally they also have the same touristy trinkets sold worldwide, but most shops seem to offer more authentic products. This is what we were hoping for. 

As it turns out, Ramadan’s ending is astrologically related. As in it ends when the first crescent moon is spotted. I think. Which happened the previous night to our visit. Which means our Tetouan day fell on Eid al-Fitr. Which is apparently a big deal. We were told pretty much everyone stays home and hangs out. Not a great day to play tourist. 

Despite the holiday, we chose to visit the medina. There are quite a few gates, termed “babs”, you can enter the walled city in. Inside it looked like a ghost town. The smallest handful of shops were open. They all seemed to sell either cigarettes or candy and other junk foods. Guess those are deemed a necessity, even on a holiday. 

Our third major bummer of the day was the weather. Cold and rainy. The kind of damp and drizzle that reminded me of a Seattle day where you feel chilled to the bone. Not quite the bright sunny trip we were envisioning. There are problems with rain. One, cold. Two, makes pathways slippery and muddy with gigantic puddles. The latter of which becomes a challenge with motorcycles and scooters zipping through the medina. No one wants to be splashed with gunk water. And I swear some of them got a kick trying to douse people. Third, everything looks and smells dank and grungy. It brought out a rather unpleasant urine smell. Which I rather hope was related to the critters running around and not the people. One never knows. 

One Cat, Two Cat

There are an inordinate amount of cats in the medina and surrounding areas. It’s shocking. And if you have half a heart at all, it’ll cry for these kitties. Such skinny and dirty faces. Sad meows. Hungry desperate eyes. I kicked myself for leaving my cat treat bag behind. I wanted to give them something. Anything to know they were seen and loved. Poor babies. One of my faults just might be my love of cats. I like them significantly more than I tolerate the vast majority of people. Cats are innocent. People? Not so much. I hate to see these fur babies hurting. 

Before you might hate on Morocco for its sad cats, let me say I also saw people feeding them. Locals going around and doling out kibble. Cats winding around their legs in excitement. Empty cat food containers left on stairs in clear evidence that plenty of people try. Which I love to see. The problem seems to be that these cats are not altered and thus reproduce like crazy. I saw so many momma cats and pregnant felines. They may benefit from a neutering and spaying program to aide in controlling the population. And a program to trap and aide the injured and sick. They were the most heart wrenching. I’ll not go into those details. 

The Medina

As for the medina, there are seemingly endless alleyways and streets to get lost in. As the medina is on a hillside, there are plenty of fun stairways to go up and down. Roadways and paths frequently have arched walkways. When we looked around corners we were often met with a plant lined dead end, lined intermittently with doors to someone’s residence. Womens voices drifted out of open windows down these quiet alleys, accompanied with the clinking of kitchen utensils. 

Walking down the main road of the medina was interesting. Regularly interspersed doors painted a deep green were bolted shut. The buildings overhangs were extended with bits of plastic, tablecloths and anything else one could imagine, all in the rather obvious attempt to stave off the wet. And it was appreciated as it was most certainly wet. Though one had to be cautious to avoid getting doused by a puddle letting loose from the plastic or an errant drip between coverings. All part of the adventure. At least these drips were water and not bird poo. I’ve had more than my fair share of that. 

Continuing through the maze we saw walkways painted in all colors, ranging from seafoam green, purple and Smurf blue. Some walls were painted with more decorative styled murals. Some looked like they hadn’t seen a coat of paint since the dawn of the city. Tetouan’s medina was constructed in the 1500’s.  I think parts of the medina deserve to feel and maybe appear a bit tired and old. This walled in “city” is vastly older than my country. 

Vibe

On to the people. I found the women quite friendly. If I smiled, they smiled back, generally with a cheery ”hola”, which I found interesting as the countries main languages are Arabic and French, not Spanish. The men were more hit and miss. Some  gave us the death stare. Mind you, we were both fully covered in jeans and wearing our trusty rain jackets fully zipped up. Some just stared. Some were overtly friendly, smiled and said “hola” or “alsalam”. The most annoying were the ones who unrelentingly tried sell us on a “tour.” As if I can’t walk myself through the medina. I appreciate they are trying to make a living but after a while it’s flat out obnoxious. Though I’m impressed with the quantity of languages they’d try in. “You speak French? Spanish? Italian? German? English?” And a few others. Impressive linguists. I have a decent handle on English only, thanks. And no, I’m not wanting a tour. But they’d still follow and really borderline harass. Not my kind of thing. 

What Else?

After walking through the medina quite thoroughly, we still had time to kill prior to leaving on our next CTM bus. What to do? 

We wandered around and found the royal palace. It’s made exceptionally evident by the rather vast quantity of police stationed around it and milling about. The plaza in front of the palace was fenced off, but was quite gorgeous. The ground was laid out in lovely mosaic patterns. There are four towers decorating the corners of the plaza. The palace itself is a pristine white and relatively pretty. 

Walking beyond the palace we found another section of a begins that houses a Jewish Synagogue. It was closed and all we saw was a green door, but it was in a pretty alleyway. 

Walked through Feddan Park which is situated below the medina. there’s a lovely gazebo and some pretty pathways that make a charming setting, even in the drizzle. One can gaze  up at the Medina and the Alcazaba de Los which sits above it. The latter of which, is closed for loads of restoration, though we were able to skirt its exterior.  Views of the  city are great from the fortress.

Wandering through town I couldn’t help but notice one thing in particular. Men. Sitting in front of coffee shops with no women at all. Only men. I found that odd. And most of them were staring out at the street and watched us walk past. It felt a tad uncomfortable. Not sure if women weren’t invited out or if all the men were kicked out of the house with it being a holiday and the women being busy preparing.

Tetouan did not get a fair representation on this trip. Between the holiday closures and the weather, it was far from the most enjoyable experience I’ve had. Which is a shame as I’ve heard the medina markets are some of the most authentic and lively around. If you plan a visit make sure to avoid Ramadan and the few days following!

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