L is for Laroussi

Travel Date: May 8, 2014
Cities: Tarifa, Spain and Tangier, Morocco 
Author: Luke Bonney

L is for Laroussi, our bad ass guide while in Tangier. That's right, we went to Africa bitches. If I had purview to write about M I'd do that too as we were in Morocco. L is also for 'loose pockets' as our tour companion, a fellow and his wife from Ecuador, managed to spend money on some fairly useless items.

You'll notice them to the left of Nick here carrying the large bags...

Our trip started with 35 minutes on a fast fairy from Tarifa to Tangier. Upon arriving in Africa we we're detained for 30 minutes as our passports didn't get stamped. We were well on our way to the Hague in Brussels on charges of international treason before the policeman decided to stamp our way into his country. Phew.

A view from the ferry as we were leaving Tarifa...

Laroussi toured us around the city in a sweet microbus driven by his dear friend mr. Muhammad. We saw golf courses, horse stables and homes belonging to 'really important people.'


We stopped by a Berber market and had a chance to walk through a few open air markets. Both were very cool. Then came the fun.

Laroussi was obviously loved by nearly every person we walked by. I thought he was just a nice guy. Our next stop was a four story store. We we're brought up to the top floor where we met the owner of the place. He talked to us for 30 minutes regaling us the glory of hand made Berber carpets. Upon finishing his tutorial it became obvious we were expected to reward his efforts by purchasing large numbers if expensive carpets. When we didn't he wasn't happy. James quickly escaped down the back stairs to avoid confrontation.

Here's James walking beside Laroussi...

While we steadfastly stood our ground, our Ecuadorean friend didn't fair too well. It was all in Spanish so no one knows what was really said, but it appears his manhood was brought into question. It ended with his wife picking a carpet and him carrying it around for the rest of the day.

Next came lunch, including pretty damn good Moroccan cuisine, serenades from 4 old dudes, and a worn out belly dancer. 

The full crew at lunch...

We finished up and continued touring the old city. Two noteworthy events. One, there was a persistent wallet salesmen. Very good wallets, very good price. He fought a battle of attrition. While we were able to fend him off, Ecuadorean man did not. He's now the owner of a nice red leather wallet. Two, the woman who owned the carpet store where we received our Berber carpet education drove by in her black Porsche Cheyenne. Well done.

Check it off the list. L is for Luke's stellar blog posts.