Point: We had to take a cab from the parking garage in Morocco to the border. Dave attempted to put on his seat belt and the driver almost physically restrained him from doing so, amidst many emphatic "No, never in Morocco" mutterings. We cross the border, get in a cab to go to the hotel, and (yes, you guessed it) the driver insisted on seat belts.
Ceuta was, I think, like most other European cities. People zooming around in and on tiny shiny automobiles. Crazy loud euro-pop. Gratuitous PDA. Tapas (yum!). The only difference between it and European cities of course being that Ceuta is on the African continent.
We all suffered from some pretty severe culture shock for the first few hours.
The drive there was also beautiful. I was under the impression that ours were the first mountains you crossed when arriving from the coast, but we descended from the heights of our own Middle Atlas range only to find ourselves surrounded by more mountains (the Rif), quite distinct from the first, which lasted until we reached the sea. All told about a 5 hour drive. It was fantastic seeing more of the country, and I really can't wait to do some more exploring. I think the Sahara might be pretty high on the list, so here's hoping.
Friday night we had an awesome Tapas experience at a wonderful little local place buried in a residential neighborhood, and then went to some clubs. Personally I would have preferred just staying at the Tapas bar for the rest of our time in Ceuta (clubs aren't really my...er...scene...), but we had a good night regardless.
We spent Saturday exploring Ceuta, the main focus of which is a giant wall/fortress built by the Spanish, and visiting the supermarket to stock up on tasty treats. The city itself is built on a small peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean, and on a clear day apparently you can see Gibraltar across the water.
We went to a Mexican food restaurant. I don't want to talk about it.
One of the best parts of the trip for me, however, was getting back to Morocco and feeling like things were back to normal again. Which is, of course, ridiculous. If there's anything I like to reiterate about this place it is it's unwillingness to abide by any preconceived notion of normality. I guess that can only mean Azrou is beginning to feel like home.
Huh.
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