July 27, 2018 Tangier, Morocco

I'm really stoked right now! Yesterday's swim here in Tangier was on a public beach with 100s of people. This was not a problem elsewhere, but it felt odd here where there is a much higher risk of theft. I not only have my cloths and shoes, but my glasses and orthotics. I left them laying on the beach with the clothes spread out instead of a stuffed bag that may seem more tempting to take. I went out for my swim, but didn't feel comfortable so I came back after 20 minutes. Everything was still there, but I'm still glad I came back. I saw a local fellow sunbathing with his hand holding on to his knapsack. Made me realize I shouldn't trust the place.
I talked to my host and he suggested another place the other direction from the Airbnb. I tried that today and voilà, along the main thoroughfare heading out of Tangier is several miles of rock and riprap shoal only visited by a hand full of fisherman, a couple of kids swimming and actually a couple of local fellows spearfishing. It's bordered by an 8' retaining wall and every 3-400 meters are sone rocks piled up where you can easily climb down on to the riprap. There's practically a worn path along the tops of the flatter rocks that was rather easy for me to navigate. So I staked out my private 50 meter spot hid my bag in the rocks where only I could see it from the water. And slipping into the water brought immediate reward. It was safe, no currents, a little choppy but no crashing waves, the fish where abundant and there were know jellyfish! The visibility was great and the depth remained a fairly consistant 10-15 foot depth with an abundance of boulders on the sandy bottomed which the fish love. I would swim out and back to keep an eye on my things. And after my 40 minute swim I literally climbed back to my Airbnb. Since my Airbnb is perched up a 150' hilltop the stairs and paths I used to get to the water and back was like climbing. But I loved it. It took me to the back neighborhoods where I could chat with the regular folks from time to time. Anyway, I wasn't planning on swimming in Tangier but I've experienced my favorite swim yet.
 The steep 150' hillside prevents development so it is secluded accept for the highway. But interestingly the highway is more of a parkway with manicured grass cover and a costera (bike/pedestrian path) then the rock wall. I actually brought along my surf booties to help me navigate and walk on the rock surfaces when entering and exiting the Mediterranean.