There and back again, a tale of two continents.

It’s a common misconception, that the Rock of Gibraltar is the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. An oddity in it of itself, we were tempted to go see it, but instead opted for the actual southernmost point of Spain, Tarifa.

A lazy beach town, Tarifa is a popular destination for kite surfing, and ferry crossings over to Morocco. I can’t stress enough, how odd it is to be standing on the beach, and be able to SEE Africa. A mere 45 minutes via high-speed ferry, the opportunity to set foot on the continent, was simply too good to pass up.

With the assistance of the staff at our hotel, we booked a One Day Cultural Tour of Tangier, through FRS. It was very reasonably priced, at just €66, it included our passage via high-speed ferry, tour guide, and transportation, as well as lunch.

A few things to know about Tangier…

Morocco is a Muslim country, and while it is very welcoming to tourists, it is recommended that women wear conservative clothing, i.e. no tank tops or shorts.
The people of Tangier DO NOT like to be in photos, particularly in the bazaars.
Tangier has left its glory days behind it, so expect to see a lot of crumbling infrastructure and trash, as well as stray cats.

Shopping in Tangier

I did a LOT of research on “how” to shop for rugs, before our visit. That said, I still found it overwhelming when it came right down to it. The city of Tangier depends on tourism, and as most tourists are just day visitors (as we were), expect to be relentlessly hounded from the time you arrive, until the time you leave.

Adding to the stress of the rug hunt is the fact that we were only there on a cultural tour, and had only an hour and a half of allocated time for shopping. The rug situation is not an experience you can just breeze through, and very few of the shop keepers spoke good English, so finding the style of rug that I wanted, was even more challenging.

With all that said, I found a rug and commenced with the haggling process (not a fan). It’s important to consider a few factors when haggling:

Sellers inflate the prices to start with, and if they know you’re an American, they start even higher (this is true in a lot of places).
Yes, they are poor, but unless the product is truly of good craftsmanship, you saw it being made, or have a way to verify authenticity, don’t be a sucker for a sad story.
Discuss your haggling strategy beforehand with your travel buddy, so they don’t think you’re either a rageaholic or undermine you unknowingly.
Don’t be afraid to walk away.

My shopping summary

In the end, I purchased my rug at 45% below the initial asking price. I started at offering 50% of their asking price and had decided before starting, what my limit was. I’m glad I did because haggling can go ON and ON…

However, in some of the smaller item stores, it’s safe to say that everyone in our party got thoroughly ripped off. With all the same haggling strategies in play, we all still ended-up way overpaying for “silver” jewelry that quickly proved to not be real silver, and “handmade” carvings that we later found to have been made in China, and being sold at a fraction of the “good price” we had achieved during our haggle sessions.

While the stories and experiences ultimately made all that junk worth the price, I’ll know better the next time I’m in Morocco, probably for purchasing more rugs (which is hanging on my wall to this day) ;)

Highlight of Tangier

As silly as it may sound, our brief camel ride on the side of the road, was the M.V.M. (most valuable moment) of our time in Tangier. At just 3€, it was also the best money I’ve ever spent on a novelty experience.