Today Emily and I took a boat to Tangier, Morrocco. We had only one day in the city, so we (or I) made the mistake of thinking that a guided tour would allow us to see more than exploring on our own. My decision was bolstered by the fact that the tour tickets (including the boat to Morrocco) cost less than buying the boat tickets independently.

The boat was a bit neauseating, but our food was still in our stomaches when we arrived. The tour groups were seperated by language and driven to a parking lot where we could pay 1 Euro to sit on a camel. Bad start. From there, we were taken through the fancy part of the city and dropped off in the market. The tour guide led us through narrow, winding streets and past beautifly decorated doors and tile murals. We stopped to watch a snake charmer, who looked like he was straight out of the movie Aladin, before eating at a terrible excuse for a restaurant.

From there, we walked into the main part of the souq and stopped at a large carpet dealer's shop. Everyone was told to sit around the outside of the room and listen to his 30 minute sales pitch. As soon as it was finished, we bolted for the door.

The next stop was a spice dealer's shop for a similar sales pitch. Emily and I refused to go in, so did many of the other members of the tour group. It was nice to finally get some time to explore the city on our own. Not that we got too far from the spice shop. I practiced my Arabic with some local merchants and learned some of the differences between Sudanese Arabic and Morroccan Arabic. Overall, Tangier was a beautiful city, but I wish we had time to explore on our own.