Day 12 - Seville-Algeciras-Tangiers

Today was a very long day of traveling. We left our cute apartment in Seville at 8:30am. Gregory wanted to walk to the bus station since it said that it was 10 minutes away. I reminded him that with children and suitcases it would probably take another 10 minutes. On our walk, we found a stop with taxis and I suggested to take one. I understand we have to be careful with our budget but when you have heavy suitcases and a bus to catch, well, you just have to splurge a little. In the end, I’m glad I asked because we were walking towards the wrong bus station. Who knew there were two. Another thing we are learning as we go, always ask in advance. We made it to the bus station with plenty of time to spare, and I much prefer to get there without feeling like I'm going to have a heart attack. I have been remembering my dad who always left to the bus, train or plane station way in advance just in case something would happen. Lesson well learned. The bus ride to Algeciras is 3 ½ hours. I got really dizzy, which is unusual but the bus driver was driving a little crazy. We arrive on time to Algeciras where we took a taxi right away to the ferry station to catch the 14:00 ferry to Tangiers. We got there on time but the ferry was delayed for 1 ½ hours! We had our baguette salami sandwichs and we waited for the ferry. I thought that after going through customs and detectors, we were ready to board and go. Surprise! When we got on the boat, we had to wait in line for an hour to get our passports stamped by the Moroccan custom officer, but when we finally got there, they asked us for some kind of form that no one gave us or informed us about it! Gregory went back to get some, and we filled them out and then we walked directly to the officer who stamped our passport without even looking at us.

The ferry ride was very pleasant, we went outside for a while to get some fresh air and we saw a lot of dolphins playing on the side of the boat. The kids were excited but the highlight of the ferry ride was that we saw a giant sea turtle swimming in the ocean! That made my day! We also made some new friends,  a Canadian man who told us that his son and wife were traveling around the world. We told him that we were doing the same thing. We went inside to meet them and we spent the rest of the journey chatting about their traveling experiences and ours. They have been traveling for a while and they also had a blog called: wediditourway.com We promised to stay in touch.

When we got off the ferry, a shuttle took us to an empty custom building, not a lot of people nor movement. I was wondering where we were supposed to catch a taxi. We went outside and Gregory talked to a man who found us a taxi to go to Tangiers. Tip, never take the ferry to Tangier- Med, it is cheaper but far away from the historic downtown of Tangiers. It was a 45-minute ride to where we were staying. I honestly got a little nervous at one point where the road was empty and we kept going without a stop. I kept praying the whole way and making a whole soap opera in my head about a family being kidnapped while living their dream of traveling around the world.

Luckily it was only my imagination and too many movies. The taxi made it to our street but passed the apartment. The street was one way only and there was no way for him to back up with so many people walking in the middle of the street. He had to go around the block to drop us in front of our building. I have to say, the neighborhood is not exactly touristy, there were only locals around and I was getting worried, thinking that maybe Gregory got scammed with the apartment. Luckily, the host was waiting for us on the balcony of the apartment and came running down to negotiate (In Arabic, we didn't catch a word) with the taxi driver who was already raising his fee for the extra round around the block. He took us to the house and when we walked in, we were really impressed. It is an old building, remodeled beautifully with antique and modern furniture. He showed us the house, which is amazing but doesn’t have a kitchen.

He said not to worry, because he would bring breakfast and that the restaurants right outside are very cheap. He showed us where to eat because we were starving. He told the waiter to take good care of us, and we ordered chicken shwarma with french fries and fresh orange juice. The dinner came out to $16 including the two fresh smoothies the kids had, what a deal! Gregory and I can’t wait to have the delicious Mediterranean food! After that, we walked a little bit on our street, got some water and pistachios. We came home, showered and relaxed. Around 10:00 pm we heard loud and clear their chanting, their prayer, it was very impressive. Daniel and Sunshine thought it was weird, but we explained to them what it was and to be respectful. It is impressive to hear so many people praying at the same time. After that, the streets were full of people strolling, buying fruit, children playing in the park as if it was midday! This is definitely a place that we will remember!

TIP: You can take the ferry from Tarifa or Algeciras. Take the ferry from Tarifa! Ferries from Algeciras only go to the new port (Tanger Med), which is 45 - 60 minutes from Tangier and the ferries from Algeciras never leave on time.

Sunshine and Daniel tired of traveling!

Finally made it to our apartment!

On the roof of our apartment listening to the muezzin (call to pray)