It’s been so good to get out for short sunrise runs and this morning Tarifa greeted us with cloudy skies and super strong chilly winds… nothing like the clear calm evening when we arrived. The sandblasting cancelled any ideas of a swim, so we headed out along the beach on the Atlantic side past plenty of resorts and beach clubs.
These little gems were presented to us with breakfast – single serve, biodegradable, plastic free olive oil capsules. Great eco-friendly innovation!
Tarifa is the Southernmost point of Europe, and marks the meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Strait of Gibraltar is only about 14km at it’s narrowest point, and just over 30 km to Tanger, a similar distance to a day trip from Brisbane to Stradbroke Island. The ferry had a Straddie vibe as well, with plenty of people taking their cars and motorbikes from one continent to another.
While the wind had thwarted us, for many people its the reason they come to Tarifa. It’s known as great spot for kite surfing, and there were plenty out as we the port, along with little boats taking advantage of the long weekend. It’s a lovely spot to farewell Spain.
As we arrived Tanger also looked like a resort town, albeit a little larger than Tarifa. It’s a key gateway between Europe and Africa, and is now the place that we first set foot on African soil… our sixth continent. It also marks a switch in language for us… time to ditch ‘gracias’ and shift to ‘merci’ or ‘shukran’.
It’s about 350km from Tanger to Casablanca, a couple of hours via the new high speed train network. As we hit the platform it felt like we were walking halfway – this train is 400 metres long, and takes over 1000 people. Cities and towns looked distinctly different to everything we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks.
We’ve often joked that high school language does little more than equip you to tell someone you have a pet parrot. Turns out our train snack selection could have fed that pet parrot!
It was late afternoon by the time we made it to Casablanca. New overseas cities are always a bit of a culture shock, and this city of over 4 million people is one of the most crowded in the world. There are about 14,000 people per km2 – for context, London has about 6,000 and Brisbane has a sprawling 350-ish. I’m so glad we aren’t attempting to drive… just crossing the road is an experience.
Thanks to AI, we were able to find a great spot for dinner. Navigating through the markets and backstreets was interesting, with plenty of leather goods, designer brands and moroccan food. Our restaurant provided a local menu, that was equally welcoming to tourists and locals. I never knew cinnamon on spring rolls was a thing, and I may never go back! We also sampled our first tagine for the trip.
There’s lots to explore and learn, glad we have a guide and driver so we can relax and enjoy the ride!
Love M & A x
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