We arrived in Casablanca Morocco a few days earlier than the scheduled start day of the tour. One day, we decided to take an express train to visit Tangier on a day trip. Tangier is located on the northern tip of Morocco, very close to Spain and Europe, only 40 km away. It has been a vacation spot for many Europeans for centuries.
The taxi we took dropped us at the wrong train station and we had to hurry to take another taxi to the right station. Fortunately, we were able to arrive in time before the train departed. I do not know why there are two train stations in the City of Casablanca: i.e. Casa Port and Casa Voyarguese.
It took us only a little over two hours before we arrived in Tangier. I was not sure how we would be going around, but there were a lot of taxi drivers who offered a 4-hour trip to various landmarks in Tangier. I made a request to visit certain places and it worked out just fine.
Grand Socco?
St Andrews Church
Cathedral
The first stop we made was Perdicari Park. The greenery with the sea view was tranquil and beautiful.
The next stop was
Place Faro. This historical landmark is significant enough to be included in Morocco's 200 Dirham note.
Nearby the Faro was a place called
Cap Spartel. This is where you can see both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Hercules Cave is one of Tangier's most famous landmarks. It is a small cave where you can see a small entrance from the sea, which looks like the African continent. Well... sort of...
Right at the entrance, there was a store that looked a little odd to be located there.
Cafe Hafa is another landmark not to miss in Tangier. It has been in operation since 1921 and it attracts even Moroccan tourists. Many tables are located on the slope of a hill and the condition was not very inviting, but the view was fantastic.
At the city center was a big market, called Grand Socco but the shops were not as unique as some other places we visited.
This is the
Cathedral as influenced by France, a Catholic nation.
But, I also found a reformed church, namely
St. Andrews Church. Unfortunately, however, all gates and doors were closed, like a fortress. Not a good sign. Around the church were street merchants.
We walked around
Tanja Marina Bay before we returned to the train station.
Our return trip was without a hiccup. After a couple of hours, we returned to Casablanca.
Our day trip to Tangier was well worth it. - Jeffrey