XVI - Tangiers

An amazing feeling flooded Leonardo’s chest while the boat got closer to its destination. He was finally getting his first glimpse at what, at least to him, was an exotic and mysterious land. The boat slowly navigated the blue sea, approaching the white-sand beach, soon to touch the African shore.

 He stepped out of the boat, straight into the chaos of Africa. The port was full of shouting vendors, burly men unloading crates of heavy cargo, and tourists scrambling about, trying to find their way.  He immediately pinched his nose shut in disgust; the intense odor of fish, gasoline, and rotten fruit invaded his nostrils with vigor.  He pushed his way through the jam-packed crowd, everyone rushing to their destinies, many of them confused, inebriated by the flavour of the new setting.

The exit of the port led to the city: gateway to a different continent, doorway to an intriguing civilization.  He could almost hear the blazing sun crying, ‘Welcome to Africa!’ and the hot wind whispering, ‘Welcome to the Arab world.’

As he walked along the streets that led from the port to Tangier’s centre-ville with his big backpack clearly revealing his traveller status, Leonardo was joined in his walk by a “good Samaritan” all-too-willing to make him feel welcome in the new town.

‘ Speak English?  Parlez-vous Français? Hablas Español?’

‘English is fine.’

‘Are you American?’

‘No, huh, from Brazil.’

‘Brazil! Ronaldinho, Robinho, good football players.’

‘Yeah…’

‘Welcome to Morocco! Very nice country.’

‘Thank you, I’m sure it’s a lovely country. That’s why I came.’

‘You have a place to stay? I take you to nice place, cheap, very good. You come with me.’

‘I think that I’m okay, thanks anyway.’

‘No really, I know someone who has a hostel, very good, very cheap, I take you there.’

    Leonardo had never been to Africa before, but he wasn’t naïve or stupid. He was a consummated traveller after all, and he wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks. He took a good look at the guy and decided he seemed a bit dodgy. He was dressed as a Moroccan, wearing a green tunic and sandals with a black hat protecting his head from the sun. His skin, not unlike his hair and his eyes, was the color of dates, darkened by the strong sun. A few missing teeth and a five-day-old beard gave him a rough aspect but it was his attitude, along with the greed in his gaze that made him seem untrustworthy in Leonardo’s eyes. 

Leonardo stopped walking, looked him in the eyes and said, ‘Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to explore the city for myself. So I’m gonna keep walking now and I would prefer if you went your own way.’

‘You are going to find trouble in Morocco with that attitude! Not good. You come with me now, I take you to nice hotel.’

‘I said, I do not want your help. Goodbye,’ Leonardo said, more sternly this time.  He took up his path again, hoping the man would stop following him, but to no avail.  Now this guy was really pissing him off.  ‘Stop fucking following me!’  He couldn’t be any clearer than that.

‘You get in trouble like that. Big trouble. ‘

‘It is you who’s gonna be in trouble if you don’t fucking leave me alone!’ He yelled as he shoved the guy in the chest. This time he got the message. For a second, Leonardo could see a flash of rage flicker in the man’s eyes; his own veins flooded with adrenaline, preparing him for a possible attack, but it never came. Instead the man looked around and backed up a few steps. If he did think of assaulting Leonardo maybe it was the stares of several people in the street that had dissuaded him. Leonardo had claimed their attention with his shouting, as he had expected to do.

His stalker turned around and sauntered off, probably with the intent of finding another tourist to squeeze some money out of. But he didn’t miss the opportunity to make another menace yet before leaving, this time coupled with an insult: ‘You will find big trouble, watch your back in Morocco, you stupid sun-of-a-bitch!’ 

‘Whatever, good day to you too!’ Leonardo screamed back at him. ‘I hope not everyone is “this welcoming” in Morocco,’ Leonardo thought.

 His answer came straight away.

‘I’m sorry for his behaviour, sir. There are some stupid people in Morocco, like everywhere else, but most of us are not like that,’ said a man who had witnessed his quarrel. ‘There are some people in this city who see tourists and try to trick them in order to get money out of them, because they are scum. Those people give all of us a bad name, so normal people like myself hate them.’ His words sounded truly sincere and made Leonardo feel more at ease. He thanked him and asked him if he knew where he could find a place to stay that was decent but not too expensive. The man gave him clear instructions on how to reach a street where he could find some affordable hostels.

He followed the instructions and got to a narrow, steep street that linked the beach to the medina. As the man had told him, on both sides of the street there were visible ‘Hostel’ signs, written in Arabic, English and French.

As he walked into one of the Hostels, a man greeted him in Arabic: ‘Salam Aleikum. ’

   ‘…huh… Hello, I’m looking for a place to stay. Do you have any available rooms?’

The man smiled kindly and asked, this time in English, how long he wanted to stay.

‘I’m not sure. But I will probably stay for quite a few days…’  

They went up the stairs as the man walked him to his room. It was as small as a bedroom can be but Leonardo did not mind. He sat on the small bed, which occupied almost the whole room, and looked through the tiny window at the decaying buildings that made up most of Tangier’s urban landscape.

‘If you need anything, say us; we downstairs always,’ the man said kindly before leaving the key and returning to his post at the reception.

  Finally alone, and with a place to call his own, at least for one night, he allowed himself to relax. As he lay down, his tired muscles loosened, his eyes slowly closed, and his consciousness drifted into the world of dreams. 

The Traveller is listening to:

Arab Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHGBouCAdS8&feature=related