Tangier
And now, we're off to Tangier!
I should also mention that in every city we've been to we've had fantastic tour guides. All of them have been hilarious, helpful, and kind. The Moroccan people seem to fit this model of kindness, with only the exception of the men/boys who catcall me on the street.
On our tour, we got to see a lot of the more Spanish colonial influences, as opposed to the French and British influences in Rabat. The proximity of Morocco to Spain is pretty astounding to me, and being in Tangier helped me understand a bit better why the Moroccan people think of themselves as entirely separate from African culture. With this type of colonial history and proximity to Europe, it makes sense that the people would feel connected to Western culture.
When I say "Spanish architecture," I'm using the term as a euphemism for "windows." In Rabat and the other cities I've seen since coming here, the small windows are usually shut. Privacy is valued greatly, which makes sense within the Muslim religion.
Bright colors adorned the houses in pretty patterns!
The view down to the water area (Spain's somewhere over there!)
Alessia and I swimming in the Mediterranean/Atlantic. We were all pretty grateful to get into the water after a hot day in the hot bus, even if a man came up and tried to sell us a raw squid out of a plastic bag on the beach!
Some more of the beautiful architecture in Tangier, this time more classically Moroccan.
As we left Tangier to head down the coast, we stopped at a beautiful system of caves and Roman architecture.
An iconic picture I think I've seen on every Morocco visitor's instagram (it's on mine now, too)!
And now I'm back in Rabat, safe in my host nest. It's pretty fantastic having a sort of home base and routine for the week, instead of purely backpacking for the whole trip. Coming back to Rabat was such a relief after a fun, packed, busy weekend of travel, and seeing my host mom's face was such a joy!