I realize this is a "Spanish" message board but I think this info. might be able to help a lot of people that travel in Spain. My bro that is living in Spain just got back from spending the holidays in N. Africa. Its a pretty popular thing to do for a lot of visitors to Spain from what I hear. However, he and his friend were assaulted right after getting off the ferry in Tangiers. They were threatened, choked, and almost stabbed by a group of locals trying to get money. My brother said that he would never recommend anyone to go this route if they are trying to get to Morocco because Tangiers is so dangerous but try instead to go through the Spanish colony which is supposed to be much safer.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Jaime

Thanks for the tip Jaime; I hope mc got it before he left! That is a horrifying piece of news and I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more often--everywhere! I carry a pepper spray in my right hand pants pocket at ALL times anyway,....not because " you never know who's out there",...but because;.." you DO know who's out there, they're still out there, and they always are out there"....please, please, please,...everyone;/DON'T GET CAUGHT OFF GUARD!!!.........and by all means try to not look vulnerable, or as 'we' say..stay in your body!! OWN YOUR SPACE!!.xxxRev. Mike

Munchimike, I am not 100% sure but I think those kind of sprays are ilegal in Spain and if you use them the guy who attackted you can take you to court and he might win. I am not very sure about this, does anyone know for sure?
Nuria

[This message has been edited by Nuria (edited 12-29-2000).]

Nuria, I heard on the news today that you can buy them but it's illegal to use them. I guess only the police is allowed to use this kind of things in Spain.

i have never been to morrocco but i know lots of spanish and brits who have.

lots of people go for the marijuana, sort of a stoned vacation, others go because it is cheap and obviously a very interesting place.

i myself would love to go. but i have also heard more than once about Tangiers. people say casablanca, marrakesh and other places are safer and enjoyable, but Tangiers has a reputation, a bad one.

so maybe entering through Ceuta is better. i will bear this in mind when and if i go there (which will be from spain, of course

If you buy 'Hash' or 'Kif' or 'Marijuana' in Morocco and try to bring it into Spain, you may be in for a big surprise. Some of those vendors in Morocco wil inform the Spanish Police and you could be facing a long time in a Spanish prison: not the 'Hilton' of prisons, I am told.
Some time ago some American students found themselves imprisoned in Malaga, for a few grams of 'hash.' Don't be stupid!

These kinds of warnings are a bit alarmist and dangerous, I think. I know that the original poster means well, but anecdotal stories are just that .. your brother had bad luck. You should be careful when travelling, and yes, you should be on your toes more when you are in border towns of 3rd world countries than when in a country like Spain.

I was just in Morocco for a week and had an amazing time. It is very different from travelling in western Europe, but I was never threatened physically, nor were the other travellers that I met. Tangier (I was there) does have a poor reputation, and perhaps it is justified-- be careful. But if I go to Morocco again through Spain, I will likely take that route b/c it is more convenient than going through Ceuta, and b/c I don't think that physical violence is really all that prevalent -- attacks like you describe happen here in NY from time to time, but that does not make it a city that is too dangerous to consider visiting.

Alice:

You wrote in your post;

"Tangier (I was there) does have a poor reputation, and perhaps it is justified-- be careful. But if I go to Morocco again through Spain, I will likely take that route b/c it is more convenient than going through Ceuta, and b/c I don't think that physical violence is really all that prevalent -- attacks like you describe happen here in NY from time to time, but that does not make it a city that is too dangerous to consider visiting."

Well, is it your perception that Tangiers is safer than NYC (I'm assuming that's what you were implying by your post)?

How is Tangiers reputation justified and why should I be careful?

My bro went through about 10 cities...Fez, Casablanca, Marakesh, etc... over a period of almost two weeks in the area and the Tangiers episode was not the only incident except it was definitely the most significant because their lives were threatened. This happened right after they got off the boat at the bus station. The locals and workers at the station said it was a daily ocurrence with these bands of thieves. When a local man at the station tried to step in to help my brother and his friend the mob threatened to stab him as well. I was not saying people shouldn't go to Morocco but find a better route than Tangiers.

I was definitely not saying that Tangier is safer than NYC. (Though your cahnces of being murdered in NY are higher, even with the homicide rate lowere than it has been in many years). I was only trying to make the point that attacks of this sort can happen anywhere. It is certain that in whatever town you are sitting in right now, there have been random violent attacks. If one person said that they had been atacked in your town, would you advise people to never travel through it, or would you advise them of your experience and to be careful?
http://www.travel.state.gov/morocco.html
This is the travel warning on Morocco from the US government. It does speak of theft and scams in the country, and while it mentions several areas specifically, Tangier is not named.

Also, murder is rare in Morocco. As scary as it must have been for the persons being robbed at knifepoint, it is extremely unlikely that the perpetrators would have killed or injured the victims.