Kasbahs and Camels, Sahara, Morocco

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We made another one night stop in Marrakesh, but this time it was to meet our friends Steph and Jeremy.  We originally met these guys in Kelowna, and we very excited to see familiar faces on our travels, especially somewhere different like Morocco.  We met them at the train station with a "Mr and Mrs DeWaard" sign, since they were married only a few months ago and are on an extended honeymoon. 

Ribbon road up to Tizi 'n Tichka

As a group, we had signed up for a 4 day/3 night trip from Marrakesh to the Sahara desert, and we left at 7AM the next morning.  Joining us at first were Debbie from England, and a trio of young Japanese around 20 years old who were very nice.  As we gained altitude from Marrakesh, into the Atlas mountains, we made different stops for interesting views over Berber mud walled towns.  At each location, locals were out in force trying to sell us quartz or crystallized rocks, herbs or over-priced almonds, even shoving them in front of my camera while I was taking a photo.  Of course, after each offer was declined, there was the obligatory request of "un dirham" - begging for money (1 dirham local currency).

The road became exceptionally curvy, and we started climbing quite quickly up to the Tizi 'n Tichka pass at 2260m.  A great view of the ribbon road from above, with waterfalls and lush green valleys below.

At Unesco Site of Ait Benhaddou

The first major stop of the day was on the far side of the Atlas Mountains, the Unesco Heritage listed town of Ait Benhaddou.  This stunningly preserved Kasbah is quite a vision coming from the dry desert scrub.   The mud brick brown walls of the Kasbah towers against the blue sky, with the lush green trees along the river, provided some great photo ops.  This town has been used as a location or backdrop for some major motion pictures, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, The Living Daylights, and The Mummy to name a few.

Crossing the river, the girls had many children "helping" them over the sandbag stepping stones.  I think the kids were more trying to distract them, hope they fall in, then help them out of the water for a "tip".  Once in the Kasbah, the streets were full of character, and the views from the top of the hill were amazing.  You could see the snow capped Atlas mountains in the distance, behind the green oasis.  I was in Benhaddou 10 years ago, in the heat of the summer, and it was almost unbearable.  This trip was much more pleasant.

Our long first day continued through very interesting scenery, and eventually we made it to the town of Zagora.  It was from here we were to climb aboard our dromedaries, for a stroll to the desert.  Camels are an interesting beast to ride, but the most exciting part is standing up.  Camels have both a knee and elbow in each leg, so the back legs straighten first, leaning you very far forward, and then you level out with the fronts.  They are also quite wide, so a longer ride leaves you struggling to walk after until your legs eventually stretch closer together.  All great fun though, and the crew had a good laugh along the ride.  The Japanese kids really looked the part, as they had bought the head scarfs for sale in Zagora, and were wrapped up like Berber.  We did arrive in the "desert" in the dark, and were led to our berber tent over small, surprising dunes.  The tent accommodation was a thin mattress and blankets, but still comfy.  We were served a group tajine dinner, and enjoyed some Berber drumming and singing around a fire until we retired to the tents.

I woke up early enough to catch the sunrise.  We were not in the big sand dune desert, but I was surprised to see some small dunes, with scrubby wasteland around and some hills in the distance.  All made for some nice morning photos, and the camels were for good models, although their moans broke the morning serenity.  I did have a laugh at the camel parking brake - they tie a leather strap around one of the knees of the camel so it cannot run away.  One did get agitated, and started hopping on three legs, and not running away very smoothly.

We said goodbye to our Japanese friends and 5 of us continued on towards Merzouga (the big dunes) through the Small Atlas mountains and Tazzarine.  I enjoyed the dry, desert scenery most of the journey and this day was no exception.  Very few towns in this dry terrain, but amazing green oasis' provide water and life for some little towns.  We were taken to a hotel in the middle of nowhere for a lunch stop.   As there is very little on this road, we thought we were stuck at this expensive restaurant that we really didn't want to afford.  I guess they think that all foreigners have lots of money, and the price for lunch was probably in the $13-$15 range.  Too excessive for Morocco, and for all of our budgets, and as a group we asked to move on to the next town where we would try to find some food there. 
As luck would have it, the town of Alnif was not far.  Our driver let us out to roam, and we found this little place that served us a wonderful lunch, with huge plates of salad, tajine, frites, and oranges all for the low price of $5 each.  We were stuffed and content, but still managed to walk around town and chat with the local guru on his huge collection of Trilobytes that are quite prevalent in the area.  They painstakingly drill our the rock surrounding the fossil, to expose the ancient creature.
I was surprised to see a road leaving Rissani, heading towards the red dunes in the distance, some 30 km away.  10 years ago, there were just tracks in the dirt, and you figured out your own directions there.  We did, however, have to travel the final 14 km across the dirt, all the while with the dunes looming ahead, growing higher as we approached. 

Camel Train in Erg Chebbi dunes, Merzouga

A disappointment to me as we arrived was seeing the immense amounts of vehicles, and visitors to the dunes.  I recall that we didn't see many other tourists at all back in 2001.  Now there were hundreds and hundreds - where would they all go???  Although, this was not my biggest disappointment.  To my horror, there were tons of 4x4 and ATV tracks throughout the beautiful dunes   What a major lack of sustainable tourism.  I guess we are all to blame being the tourists, but I think people need to visit the dunes by making the least impact possible.  I'm not sure how long these tire tracks will take to blow over, by they were a hideous site.  The locals also need to make strides to reduce all the vehicular traffic in the dunes if they wish to sustain their income from tourism to the dunes.  Everybody has to make a better effort.  Luckily, we didn't see any vehicles on the dunes during our camel trek, so maybe they are already making efforts to reduce that aspect of the tours.

Martin and Jeremy playing in the sandbox

Our camel ride was enjoyable, and surprisingly, we did walk to an area of dunes untouched by any vehicles.  The camps did look a lot more permanent these days, but you still managed to feel a long way from anywhere.  I think we were a little behind schedule because of the lunch issues, so we arrived at dusk.  Our crew of 5 quickly hustled up the closest dune to catch last light in the desert.  I was pretty impressed with everyone, as it is quite tough going climbing up the sand.  2 steps forward, 1 step back….   The views were truly spectacular, and we took some fun photos, while soaking up our coordinates.  It is one of those "pinch me -where am I?"  type of places.  Of course, for me, one of the thrills of climbing all the way up, is the downhill.  I coaxed Jeremy into the run down, and we had a blast digging our heels in, and hopping all the way down.
Dinner that night was a really tasty tajine, and we sat outside on carpets to eat under the stars.  The berber guides also brought out their drums and clangers, and we attempted to join them playing and dancing around.  The 5 of us decided to sleep out under the stars instead of in the tents, so we prepped our beds outside before Jeremy and I climbed up the dune again to take some night photos of the stars.  A few shooting stars were spotted, and we all loved our time outside.  Unfortunately 5AM came all too soon for us.
Why we had to get up and leave at 5AM, I have no idea.  I would have liked to head up our dunes to watch sunrise, but we saddled up onto our camels and trekked out to a "sunrise" location which I felt was not as good as where we were.  I think they just wanted to get us going, and some of the group had to get all the way back to Marrakesh.  We did have a sunrise view looking towards Algeria, but were back so early out of the dunes.  Jeremy and I thought we needed more time, so walked back in to explore and play a little.  Climbing up, and running and jumping down the dunes until we were hailed back by our driver.

Martin with Kareem Abdul Jabbar

On the "dirt" road again, we were on our way to the Todra Gorge.  I think the most impressive part was the drive towards the gorge, where there were colourful buildings and ruins in the red dirt, with again, the green palm tree oasis'.  The sheer walled gorge itself would be quite impressive, but there were so many tourists and buses there, I was ready to leave as soon as our time was up.
Now in our vehicle was  berber guide, who was set to take us on a tour of the berber area of Tinehir.  We really just walked around the lush fields of the oasis, looking at various crops, and were then taken to a carpet making co-operative.  When we walked in the room, it looked all too familiar.  I think I was in the same co-op 10 years, when the salesman introduced himself as Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  A group of us had a good laugh, but he didn't seem to know that he had the same name as one of the best Basketball players ever to play the game.  Well, I thought, "what the heck", and asked if Kareem worked there, and sure enough, out walked Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  Small world I guess, but we had a good laugh, and enjoyed the usual tea procedure.  Second time was not the charm for Kareem, because once again, I didn't buy any carpet and neither did anyone else in the group.  But, They did invite Michelle to stay for a month or so, to weave a carpet for me as a wedding present!!  Not a bad idea I thought, but she insisted on coming back with us!!
Our final location, and hotel for the night was in the beautiful Dades Gorge.  The rocks here form some phallic symbols, and also a brain-like shape in the hills.  The locals actually call them Atlas' brain.  Our hotel was in a great location, overlooking the weird rocks, and we had a nice relaxing time playing games with the hotel owner Hussien.

Village and oasis on the way to Dades Gorge

The final day was mainly driving, although we did stop briefly in Ouarzazate, which is a relatively large town next to a big lake in the desert.  This town is home to a well preserved kasbah, with nesting storks, and an enjoyable old town.  We walked around, chatting with the locals, while cheering on the local checkers (draughts) champion.  On the way out of town, we could see a couple of film studios, as this is a major location for movie making since it is soooooo out of the way.  You could see some interesting sets built in behind, like roman temples.
We returned over the Atlas mountains, stopping for a good lunch with a view of the snowy peaks, and then it was over.  Back in Marrakesh for the third time on the trip - it feels like it's becoming a home.   *Stub

Beaches of Agadir and Cascades of Immouzzer, Morocco

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Sunset at Agadir

Although the large Atlantic coastal port of Agadir is full of rich Europeans and package-tour holiday-makers, it is a breath of fresh air: the locals are pleasant, much more relaxed and not pelting us with "You want hotel...restaurant... tannery...museum  .. for good price my friend". Normally we are afraid to make eye contact with people because of all the hustling that Morocco is famous for, but here, people just smile and say 'Bonjour' with no underlying motives of getting money out of you. Wow! It's the people, usually, that we enjoy most on our travels, so it's a wonderful relief to finally relax and feel comfortable with the Moroccan people.
 

Agadir Beach - Interesting beach attire

Agadir, Morocco's main beach resort town, was founded by Portuguese traders in the 15th century, and then recently rebuilt after the 1960 earthquake that killed 18,000 people here. The huge bay and sandy beach (sadly full of litter) was packed with local families and foreigners alike.  Local women of course, remain all covered up while their kids splash around, mostly covered up too, in the sea.

At Cascades De Immouzzer

Agadir for us was a stepping stone to Immouzer Waterfalls - a series of cascades in beautiful Paradise Valley - not really on the tourist trail unless you pay 350 dirhams (about $45 or 35quid) for a day tour. Instead, Martin and I decided to piece together our own transport by taking a local bus then 'Grand Taxis' (shared local taxis that cram in 6 passengers - 4 people on the backseat, 2 in the front seat, plus driver) to get there. We waited less than an hour for fellow passengers going up into the hills and (we think) we didn't get too ripped off, and we did make it there - and back! The drive through Paradise valley was extremely scenic and the waterfalls were great. Climbing up to the top of one of the falls gave us a great panorama of the valley below. And either sitting in the river below, or getting a view from afar in the wheat fields provided us with scenic vistas.

Martin over Immouzzer

One funny thing, as we were walking back through the little village, an old, hunched, wrinkly faced man stopped us and started serenading us with a French song "Allouetta".  We had a good laugh with him and the locals.
We were a little concerned about our return trip though, as we were not really in a touristy area, and not much transportation options.  Luckily, a Moroccan guy, who we'd traveled with in the grand taxi, was also waiting for a taxi back, and managed to call someone to pick us up.  We made it back easily with his help.  A pleasant day trip, and not bad for 70 dirhams - a fifth of the normal tourist price! * Mush

The Oasis of Tighmert, Morocco

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Maison D'Hotes Darnomades - Tighmert

After a brief research day in Marrakesh, and then a quick overnight in Agadir, we were on the road to Guelmim.  Paola, a girl who worked in the Tarifa hostel had recommended this place to us, and in particular, the oasis of Tighmert 15km East of town.  So, not sure where or what we were heading to, we arrived in Guelmim.  We contacted Brahim, from Maison D'Hote Nomades, who happily picked us up from the bus station since he was already in town shopping, and drove us to Tighmert, and his little maison.  i had an excited feeling after we approached the palm tree lined oasis area, after seeing scrubby, rough desert for so long. 

Salah, Michelle and Brahim at dar Nomades

Brahim's Maison was a little piece of paradise, and very cosy to chill out for a few days.  Dressed in beautiful blue jellabas, Brahim and his helper Salah were exceptionally hospitable and friendly.  We were greeted with tea, made and poured in the traditional method.  First couple of glasses are filled from high above, and poured back into the pot to cool the tea.  Then, after the glasses are full, a "saha" (cheers) is spoken and you drink.  I'm not really a tea drinker, but the stuff I've had in Morocco has been delicious.  We were also treated to some of the local dates, and nuts.  And introduced to Brahim's camel called Yacutah.  Apparently, Brahim's family has another 10 camels that he can use to acquire himself a wife.  He introduced us to the woman that he hopes will marry soon - in shellah.  I guess the transaction of camels has to be made first.

The Oasis of Tighmert is still inhabited by 650 families.  It is one of the only oasis' that has not been abandoned as the people leave to cities in search of prosperity.  This oasis actually has new schools and co-operatives set up to encourage people to stay, which is a formidable achievement.  Although, walking around, it really didn't seem like there was much going on, but everyone was quite relaxed and friendly.  A nice invitation in to a women's cooperative to view the weaving, but we were under no obligation to buy.  The ladies just watched, weaved and giggled.  We even got invited in to the house of Abdul Salam, for tea and offered food, and they didn't even want any money from us for anything!!

Kasbah in Tighmert

On arrival, we were basically told that Salah would take us to the local Kasbah, where we got a tour around from a man named Takki.  The Kasbah is basically a caravanserai, an ancient hotel of sorts on the camel trading trail through the Sahara.  It was actually really interesting with a huge collection of berber items used on camel treks, in the home, or for work.  Then we all enjoyed tea in the berber tent set up in the middle of the Kasbah before a casual stroll home. 

Back at Chez Brahim, we had some delicious meals.  In the south, it seems that they use more fruit in the tajines, and we enjoyed chicken with prune, and also a delicious camel meat with egg.  Yum!!!   After this, we relaxed in the berber tent on carpets, sheepskins and cushions at low tables, and were able to play some games and listen to music.  A very relaxed time indeed.  Did I mention that we had our cosiest room on our trip so far…..  a mud and straw walled building, with all the requirements we needed, and a nice temperature both day and night.

Eagerly awaiting the Camel meat tajine

One of the jobs we were getting desperate to do was laundry.  For some reason, we haven't found any place to do our own laundry in a machine, so we asked Brahim for a bucket and he pointed the way to the location where all the local ladies do their laundry, fed by an aqueduct from the spring.  We were part way through our laundry, before one of the local ladies arrived to clean some sheets.  It was obvious that we were doing something wrong, as she quickly called us over, grabbed our clothes and started 'showing' us how to do the laundry properly.  It was really great, as she basically did our whole pile of clothes for us, with a smile on her face.  She wasn't expecting money, just to help us.  All we could offer was some bites of orange for her and her boy, and an attempt to wring out the clothes.  After she was finished, she smiled, grabbed her bucket and sheets, filled up another bucket with water, balanced it on her head and was gone!!  Great experience, and so helpful!   *Stub

Fes - Not just a Hat, Morocco

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Bab Bou Jeloud from our Terrace

I visited Fes 10 years ago, and at the time, I really had no patience for the place.  I have since had plenty of worldly experiences and people experiences, so was eagerly awaiting giving the ancient town another chance.  The previous trip here, at times, I felt like the Pied Piper with 20 kids trailing behind asking for money or to show me to the tannery for a commission.
Well, this visit started off quite poorly, as we were greeted at the hotel we planned to stay at by a strange character who got quite angry and refused to speak with Michelle because she was a woman!!  Being that she is our communications officer, and my French is very poor, and anyone who knows Michelle's personality - this didn't go well.  We quickly walked out before there was more of a problem, and we did find out later that the guy had been on hash and was asked never to enter the hotel again.  Needless to say, he didn't get any commission!!

Meat Market stall with Camel's Head

After we fended off a few more annoying touts, we found a cheap hotel "all by ourselves" thankfully, and our price was not increased to cover and commissions!
Here I was thinking "here we go all over again", but things were to change for the better almost instantaneously.  We were invited in to a cheap restaurant called Des Jeunes - Chez Hamid, and had a delicious meal of tajines, in a great outdoor seating area with the hustle and bustle of the medina traffic going by.  We returned to this restaurant numerous times.... always a good idea when you're onto a good thing!
Luckily for us, we arrived on a Friday - the Muslim Holy Day, and therefore, many of the medina stalls and shops were closed.  This allowed us to wander the more than 30,000 streets and alleys that make up the medina, in a relatively peaceful fashion.  Now, we didn't hit all the streets, but definitely got our bearings!  We then returned to our hotel for our regular pastime of sitting on our 4th floor terrace with amazing views over the city, and watched sunset whilst listening to the Muezzins call to prayer!
One of our favourite Moroccan people, we met the next morning.  Jawad had a little stall selling some leather goods and earrings.  I think he called Michelle a scallywag for purposely missing a high 5, and we laughed with him everyday after.  A treat to have someone fun to joke with, rather than be weary of his sales pitch.  Needless to say, we did buy some stuff from Jawad.  We respond to this type of "pitch" much better.

We did start to feel at home more in Fes.  We started seeing the same people, and they would recognize us and chat - both tourists and locals.  Nice to start having a bit more of a relationship with others. 

Chouara Tannery pits

A busier attempt at the medina awaited us.  We decided we would try to find the tannery, and knew we would have plenty of 'help' even if we didn't want it.  There are many faux guides in the medina that always want to show you around for some money.  These guides are actually illegal, but they try anyway.  We fought off the hordes and managed to find a great terrace to view the colours of the tannery from.  Of course, a free terrace is not so much free, but a view with an expectation of browsing the leather shop on exit.  It was well worth it though as we spent a great deal of time just watching the action of the tannery.  We were given fresh mint to help with the horrible smells, as some of the colours are created from pigeon crap, and many other chemicals.  We can't imagine being one of these guys, spending their days thigh deep in the various colourful pits.  Not much of a life.  Makes you think when you buy any leather goods again.  They still use the same original methods, and all around you see the freshly coloured skins drying on rooftops and hanging from walls.  A sight you definitely do not see everyday!!

It's hard not to get lost in the medina as it really turns you around, and since you cannot see the sun, there is little help for your directions.  I wouldn't say we were lost (as we had nowhere we had to be), but I sure didn't know where we were at times.  We just kept walking and finding new and interesting sights such as the dyer's souq, and the silver/bronze souq, along with some elaborately decorated medersa's (theological colleges).   Another bizarre sight is a meat stall with a camel's head hanging from it - this indicates a specialty meat shop.  We did find a few other lost tourists along our path, and pointed them in the right direction (we think). 

The remainder of our time was spent either outside

A view over Fes Medina

and on the city walls enjoying a stunning view over the old city, and in a cool little cafe called Cafe Clock.  It was really impressive from high above, when the call to prayer started, as you hear the myriad of mosque's muezzins wailing over their loudspeakers.  Music to the ears, but not as good as the traditional music at Cafe Clock whilst enjoying a date milkshake.  Bongo style drum, three string guitar, and clanging metal maracas complete with outfits and spinning head tassels!  We really enjoyed our time in Fes, and things improved so much from first impressions!!   *Stub

Imperial CIties - Meknes, Morocco

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Bab el-Mansour in Meknes

One of the three Imperial Cities, Meknes lies inland between Rabat and Fes, south of the Rif Mountains.  A horrible bus ride from Rabat awaited us when we arrived at the bus station.  After being rushed to the bus because "it's leaving now", the bus jostled around the station for almost another 2 hours before leaving and people were lined in the aisles on plastic chairs.  Big storms were ahead, and apparently the bus was a bit leaky, as everybody on the window seats got wet from all the dripping water, and through the vents.  Thankfully it was only a couple of hours drive.
We arrived in yet more rain, and first had to try to figure out where we were.  It seems like a lot of bus stations have moved since the Lonely Planet was written that we are using.  Meknes seemed more expensive than previous towns, but we managed to find a little gem of a hotel, if it wasn't for the yelling of the hotel owner and his young helper.  A little weird.
A super tasty chocolate covered croissant filled with chocolate filling awaited our exit from the hotel, as it was the adjacent shop.  There were many more of these delicious treats eaten, and the shop ladies laughed every time we came in.
Starving, and looking for food is not a good thing in the medina.  Everyone wants to get you into their restaurants, and are almost fighting with each other.  In the end we wanted no part of it, and walked the medina streets looking for street food.  This place really felt like a maze, and it was very disorienting.  Eventually we found a place and gobbled back some rotisserie chicken.  A little further down the road, and in the dark, we came across a couple of backpackers looking intently at the book.  They definitely needed some help, so we guided them back through the souqs, to our hotel and they were very grateful.  Felt like I now had a grip on the navigating of the tiny streets.

Triumphal Arch at Volubilis

The next day, we decided on a day trip out to ruins of Volubilis - a Unesco Heritage site.  Getting there was half the fun, and we took a collective taxi with 4 others crammed in to the town of Moulay Idriss 33km away.  From here, another collective only 4km to the ruins.  After paying and entering, the rains hit.  We were totally exposed and the rain was coming down sideways at times with the strong winds.  And the winds were really cold!!!   Am I really in Morocco???   There was only a little wall of the ruins for shelter, and we huddled under there for some time before braving a lesser rain to tour around. 
The ruins themselves are quite impressive.  There are still some buildings somewhat visible like the Basilica and the Capitol, and also a huge Triumphal Arch at the end of the main road.  The most impressive part of the ruins were the numerous mosaic floors still in pretty good shape, but exposed to the elements.  There were some excellent designs and pictures still very visible in the floors.
Back to Moulay Idriss to 'escape' the rain, but after a lunch under cover, we searched for the mausoleum and panoramic overlook, only to be hit with more torrential rain, that turned the roads into rivers, and some nice young girls offered me a spot under their umbrella.  Still more rain dampened our walk home in Meknes, so we retired early to try to warm up and dry out.
The next day, we arose to sunshine, so we hit the roof terrace for breakfast views over the city. 

Food Storage Crypts under Meknes

Another chocolate croissant and a walk in towards the palace.  Passing throughout the main gate Bab el-Mansour, we first found an interesting crypt that used to be a food storage area.  It had great archways underground and quite high ceilings.  On to the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, who was the greatest ruler of Morocco.  His mausoleum had great detail, and the surrounding rooms were very impressive.  As a non-muslim, we are not allowed to enter the main building, but could look from afar.  Outside the mausoleum, we met a really nice girl from Finland called Maaret.  We ended up spending the rest of the day with her, walking around the city. 
The three of us walked around the massive, long walls around the palace but are not able to enter because the king still uses the place - some nerve!!!  Our goal was the Heri es-Souani - the stables of Moulay Ismail - that apparently stabled about 12000 horses.  An impressive number for sure, and the building was of the same magnitude, and quite a good engineering design with underground water channels used to cool the rooms.  The first couple of rows of rooms had been restored, but out back there were rows and rows in ruins, only archways, but no roofs.

Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

We finished the day navigating the souqs, seeing sights from mattress stuffing shops, crumpet like pancakes, interesting musical instruments, goats heads, and many kids playing soccer as usual.  A great little side market had very creative cones of olives, and pyramids of spices with different spice coloured designs, and sweets galore all decoratively laid out.  Out in the main square Place El-Hedim, there were some interesting berber salesmen selling ostrich eggs, heads and legs.  Also, some snake charmers and fire eaters!!  On to another of the Imperial cities, Fes, in the morning.   *Stub

Morocco's Capital - Rabat

Martin with Street-Meat Vendor in Rabat

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We hadn't really planned on heading to Rabat, but thought we needed to go to plan our future journeys.  We were pleasantly surprised by Rabat though as it had a few impressive sights, and a good vibe to the town.
As is often the case, we arrived by local bus at a station far away from where we needed to be.  We then had to negotiate the throngs of taxi drivers and touts, to get to a city bus to head into town.  We were quite surprised that we didn't have many touts in town asking us it we are looking for food, or place to stay!!  We effortlessly found a decent place to stay in the medina and took off to stroll around the various souqs.  We found that Rabat just seemed to have a nice feel to it, and we found it easy to just stroll around.  The medina was easy to negotiate, and they had some interesting streets, and very importantly, they had a lot of good looking street food.  We felt like we needed to give plenty of the cheap eats a try.   So from flatbread stuffed with veggies and spice, to deep fried potato patties, to pastries, and my favourite - the grilled spiced lamb meat sandwiches pictured here - we tried them all.
On our first night, we walked through the impressive old medina walls, and along the small streets to accidentally arrive at an overlook at sunset.  It was a great view over the cemeteries, the beach, ocean, and across the river to the town of Sale. 

Guards at Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

The next day, after haggling with fruit vendors for a good price, we set off for the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.  It took us hours of walking through souqs and along the riverfront to get there, but it was an impressive sight.  Firstly, the very noticeable Le Tour Hassan towers to 44m.  This enormous minaret was started in 1195, and was supposed to rise to 60m, making it the tallest in the Muslim world.  But, the sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died, and so did his dreams and it was abandoned at the present 44m.  The adjacent mosque was also destroyed in an earthquake in 1755, and all that is left are a bunch of columns around the square.  The base of the tower is huge though, so is still very impressive.  Also adjacent to the tower is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.  The present kings father and grandfather are also buried there along with good old Mohammed V.  This place is guarded on each of the 4 doors, and inside the elaborately decorated building you can walk around a platform overlooking the tombs, with a man in the corner reading (singing) the Koran.  It was a moving sight and sound experience.  

Our tour of Rabat continued through all the various consulates, and on to the Chellah on the outskirts of the main city.  This impressive early walled city was built in 40 AD and was now mostly in ruins except for the ramparts.  There had been many additions to the city, and some of the newer portions were still somewhat intact, including the Muslim minaret.  Abandoned, it has now been taken over by nesting storks, and there is quite a flock of them there.  Must be in the hundreds and you see these huge wingspans soaring over the sight.  We were lucky to be there during mating season, and were able to witness and hearing the rituals.  First, both birds would clack their beaks together noisily and tilt their necks back contorting them into a weird shape.  Then, when both were ready I suppose, they got down to business.  All over the place you could hear the noisy beaks clacking away, which made quite a great soundtrack for our visit there.  The town was impressive and tranquil, but the storks really made it for us!!

Storks hanging out on Rampart of Chellah walls

On our final day, we tried to do some research and found out that flights around Africa are exceptionally expensive, even just to the next country.  Along with the fact we had been dealing with a lot of rain, and it appears that rainy season for the West is just around the corner, we have tentatively decided to head South sooner, and try to follow dry season down in the south and work our way North.  We'll see how it all shakes out, and we haven't bought any flights just yet.   *Stub

Kif in the Rif - Chefchaouen, Morocco

Above Chefchaouen, Morocco

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Well, Kif is the Moroccan term for drugs... or in particular - hashish.  Apparently, the little town called Chefchaouen that we are in, up in the Rif mountains is actually now the hash capital of Morocco.  I have been told that it is being grown and farmed up in the mountains above town by the villagers.  It is very apparent in town also, as today was actually a good day, and I only got offered hash about 10 times.  Michelle is free from the hassles because they do not offer it to the women here!  Lucky Her.  But in actuality, the guys are not really shady characters that you would imagine, they seem quite normal and nice, and it is a part of the culture here - that's why the police turn a blind eye to it all.

Blue and White alleys

Other than that, this little blue and white-wash town is very quaint and peaceful.  I visited here 10 years ago, and at the time, it was a nice break from all the touts you get in the rest of Morocco.  Well, things seem to be busier here with tourism and it is noticeable that there are more touts and shops, but still quite relaxing.
Chefchaouen is a town built on the hillside.  It's medina is a series of steep streets and alleys, and as I stated before, is painted in mostly blues and whites which gives the town quite a fresh feel and look.  It is really pleasant to just walk up and down and get lost in all the blues!  There are some great little restaurants in the maze of streets, and around the main plaza and Kasbah.  These restaurants serve up some delicious tajines and couscous dishes, all with a chillout sort of theme!
Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative during our time here - it rained most days and made the steep painted streets and alleys quite slippery.  Therefore, we didn't really get a chance to do much in town.  We did have a nice little hotel called Mouritania, and we spent some time there chatting with other travellers.

Chefchaouen houses as seen from the Mosque

On a break in the weather we managed to hike up to what was described as a ruined mosque on the hill overlooking town.  When we arrived at the mosque, it was definitely not ruined and had magnificent views looking back over town.  As is our usual fashion, we continued hiking past, and trudged through some small paths alongside little houses and farm fields to another mosque further away, but did not attempt any mountains.  Parker and I had attempted some of the mountains before, but we couldn't find the correct paths and the heat finally turned us back.
So, after a few days, we left relaxed Chefchaouen and headed for the capital of Rabat in search of better weather to the South.  *Stub

The Kasbah as seen from high above in the town

Northern Morocco

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Men in their Jellabas

The boat from Tarifa, in southern Spain took just 35 minutes to cross the mouth of the Mediterranean to Tangier, Morocco.  Our initial goal is always to find a place to stay, and we were surprised at how little hassle we were greeted with from touts for taxis or hotels or restaurants on arrival. Unfortunately, searching the steep streets for the hostel took over two hours. It didn't help that people thought they knew it and would send us in the wrong direction. We discovered that the hostel was no longer. Tired and exhausted we eventually found a clean, cheapish substitute.

The Moors, Spanish, Portuguese and English have all fought and occupied Tangier at some point in history, and as a result it is such a mixture of cultures that it's not really Moroccan, or African, or European! Now a large industrial city, it still has its old town, or Medina, which was exciting to explore with its cobbled, narrow alleyways and people selling absolutely everything under the sun. I especially liked the egg shop: a man surrounded by large plastic laundry baskets of eggs of different sizes and colours, and then cardboard racks of eggs behind him stacked as high as his head! Crazy.

The people are interesting to watch. Women wear long kaftans in a kaleidoscope of colours, most with scarves over their heads, some covering the mouth and nose, and only very occasionally you'll see a full burka covering the whole face (inc. eyes). As for the men, they sit around in their Jellabas (a type of kaftan with a pointed hood) sitting in front of cafes sipping fresh mint tea, watching the world go by, or bickering loudly over games of Ludo (bit like 'Sorry'), and Drafts.

View from the top of our Asilah guesthouse

Occasionally, they get angry as we experienced getting our bus to Asilah. A bus station employee had helped us buy our ticket, but as we got on the bus, the 'bus boy' decided that we needed to pay extra for our bags. Before he knew it, Martin had two 'bus boys' shouting at him.  Of course, Martin remained firm and calm, until the bus station employee noticed and came over and, we guessed, told them that we had paid everything we needed to. A relief.

Asilah feast

The little beach town of Asilah has a little white-walled Medina, and exploring its narrow streets and alleys we came across the 'cultural centre' where some teenagers were performing singing and drumming. It was pretty cool to be invited in to watch, but the audience were very noisy and just talked and chatted the whole way through.  On the 21st anniversary of 21st Birthday we headed up in to the hills to the Sunday village market at Had Gharbia. The usual stuff for sale: fruit veg, meat, nick-knacks and plenty of schtuff - crap, but good people watching. Later, we celebrated with a tagine feast outside the 1540s Portuguese-built city walls.

Date and fig stall, Tetouan

Tetouan was our next town and its Medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We thought it was pretty dirty and rundown, but it definitely felt more busy and labyrinth-like than the other Medinas we'd been to so far. Our Hotel Victoria was basic but clean with a balcony from our room that we could sit protected from the rain to watch the people pass by below. * Mush

Little Brit in Little Britain, Gibraltar

Martin crossing the runway into Gibraltar

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This unexpected little bit of England in Spain was a surprisingly welcome break. Everything's in English. Everyone speaks English. And there are things like Fish and Chip shops, and red post boxes and Marks and Spencer's! Bloody marvellous. Couldn't be better timing for a restock on knickers and Cadbury's! Plus, it was heaven to speak full-on English and not feel even remotely guilty! Yippee.

I have to say, I don't think I've ever entered a 'country' (or whatever) by walking across its RUNWAY, because that's exactly how one enters Gibraltar! Pedestrians and car/bus traffic are halted so that planes can land and take off. Bizarre, but makes perfect sense as this is pretty much the only flat bit of 'the Rock'.

Martin and Michelle at the top of The Rock

The Gib, as it's also known, is an interesting geographical feature - a massive rock jutting out into the Mediterranean from the Spanish coastline connected by the flat airport-bit.  Legend says that Hercules pushed apart the continents of Africa and Europe to create the passage between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, with two big rocks on either side to mark the strait - Gibraltar being one. 

Of course, you can't go to Gibraltar and not go up to the top, so we walked up (instead of cheating and taking the cable car).  Weaving our way up the tiny STEEP streets, we thankfully stopped every once in a while to check out the Moorish castle ruins and battlements, and the Great Siege Tunnels. in 1772 when Britain and Spain were fighting for this strategic position in the Med, the British dug about 33 miles of tunnels with windows and holes for cannons. The tunnels continued to be used for defence in  subsequent different sieges and battles with the Spanish.  33 miles is crazy considering that Gibraltar is only about 3 miles long to start with.

Finally at the top (or at least the middle of Gib's three peaks), the views were amazing. Basically, the peak is a knife edge with cliffs straight down to the Mediterranean one direction, and then open steep-ish slopes the other way with views over the Atlantic and Algeciras (in Spain) in the other direction.  As Algeciras is a major industrial area and shipping port, there are lots of huge ships and tankers in Gibraltar Bay heading in/out of the Atlantic.  Crazy. You also get a good view of the airport/runway that we walked across to enter the country.

Martin making friends over Gibraltar Bay

The tourists are not the only ones to enjoy the views - there is a  large colony of macaques who inhabit the area.  Macaques are tail-less monkeys and they certainly seem used to humans, but I wouldn't put it past them to be aggressive.  One actually hopped on a guy's head and started picking and nibbling bits out of his hair.   When Martin visited with Parker 10 years ago, one cute little guy snatched at their bag of sandwiches, but not getting away with anything.

The Concert Hall inside St. Michael's Cave

One of the highlights was also St. Michael's Cave.  This naturally formed cave was pretty impressive with some huge features.  It was so big that they actually have a concert hall set up inside and have different shows throughout the year.  The acoustics are pretty fantastic in there, but unfortunately, they played the same song (Pachibel's Kanon in D) over and over and over again. 
Time to get back to the difficulties of a language barrier, and we left our little bit of Britain to set back to Tarifa.   *Mush

Tarifa, Spain - Kiteboarding Capital of Europe

Looking at the lighthouse, with Morocco behind

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We were recommended a visit to Tarifa by our friend Russell.  Until a couple of days before, I didn't even know exactly where Tarifa was, but found it situated on the southernmost tip of continental Europe, and only 9 short miles from Morocco.  You can see Morocco so clearly that you can see all the houses.  Makes us nervously excited about our next adventure there.  We also found out that this is the best place to take the ferry to Tangier, so will leave by fast ferry for the 35 minutes trip across the pond.
Tarifa is interesting in the fact you are standing on European soil, and have views of the Atlantic out to the West, the Mediterranean to the East, and of course Morocco to the south.

Tarifa Beach

Also, another interesting point for me is the fact that because of it's location, it receives 300 windy days a year here, and the long, soft sand beach is ideal for kiteboarding.  I had recently taken up kiteboarding but am not very proficient at it.  It is a blast though, and is great to be in a place that is a mecca for the sport.  Unfortunately, we are here in off-season, and there hasn't been enough wind for anyone to get out on the water.  Probably a good thing for me though, as I probably can't afford to rent all the gear.  Must be crazy here in the summer though.
We did walk around the small town, and of course, it's castle (every town has a castle right).  Views from an abandoned arabic looking building on the point were great for sunset.  A day at the beach also provided some nice rest in preparation for our next legs.  We are staying at a cozy hostel called 'The Melting Pot' and didn't realize at first, we were there on opening day of the year.

A home-made Unimog for my Freightliner friends!!

Wish us luck - on to Morocco now!!   *Stub

Viva España!

Plaza de Espana

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A four hour bus journey from Lagos and we were in Sevilla, Espana. Martin had stayed and enjoyed Seville back in 2000. For me, with its narrow alleyways of history and mystery, exuberant buildings rich in ancient architecture and just the whole buzz of the orange tree-lined streets, I fell in love with the city - instantly.

The Real Alcazar or Royal Palace was an amazing highlight. Home to several rulers of Sevilla over the centuries from Muslim times to Catholic royalty, the palace complex (originally built in 923AD) was filled with Islamic tile and stucco work mingled with later additions of gothic, renaissance and baroque elements. We spent a whole afternoon exploring the complex and palace gardens (complete with maze). I think this is one of Sevilla's best treasures.

Queen's Bath house - Alcazar

La Giralda

Another favourite, was the Cathedral - the largest gothic temple in the world - and third largest christian cathedral (after St Peter's in the Vatican and St Paul's in London) and it is massive! The Cathedral was built on the site of a Moorish mosque originally built in 1184. In later centuries chapels, altars, choir stalls, and various extensions were added on and on and on.

View of the Cathedral from the tower

La Giralda, or tower, of the Cathedral was the original minaret of the mosque (82m high) and built on Roman foundation stones. We climbed the tower for some spectacular views of Seville via the ramps that were originally built for the Sultan to ride up on horseback to pray at the top. Over time various architectural levels were added taking the tower to 97m high; in the 16th century, twenty-five (working and very loud!) bells were added along with a two-tonne rotating statue (the Giraldillo) that acted as a weather vane for the mariners of the time. One mariner in particular, the Italian Christopher Columbus, was on the scene doing his thing discovering and bringing back gold and spices from the West Indies. The Spanish, of course, loved him and his alleged! tomb is on display in the cathedral.

A walking tour of Sevilla revealed more gems of architecture and history such as as the recent (1929) Plaza de Espana, the posh Alfonso XIII Hotel (where actors and celebrities stay) and the Gold Tower where taxes were collected for traded goods brought in from the Bahamas and Central America.

Michelle making Paella

We spent hours walking the lively orange tree-lined streets of old Santa Cruz, enjoyed sangria and paella at our hostel, and picnics of tortilla de patata (spanish omelette). No visit to Sevilla, however, would be complete without seeing some traditional Flamenco. The singing, dancing and passion were pretty authentic (the lady almost had a look of anger on her beautiful, latin face), not to mention some genuine "Olés" were thrown in. The stunning venue - a thick curtain of creepers and plants in an ancient azulejo-tiled courtyard created an atmospheric backdrop for some very passionate and impressive flamenco. Olé!  *Mush

Alcazar from La Giralda

Lounging in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal

Martin drinking Sangria in the Lagos Square

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It was time to leave the nest in Cascais and what better place than Lagos, on the Algarve coast in the South.  I had visited Lagos 10 years ago with my buddy Parker, and we loved the place.  Probably had something to do with meeting a couple of other Canadian lads, and partying our time away during the nights, and relaxing on the beaches in the daytime.  Oh yeah..... I was also there in the height of the summer, and obviously the busy season!!!
Lagos was, nonetheless, still fun and beautiful in it's quiet phase.  It's also nice to see that the town hadn't changed too much.  The old town was still the same quaint area it was before.

Michelle on the 'private' beach in Lagos

 We walked the streets as I reminisced about the previous trip - many of the landmarks were still there.  I even returned to the square to drink my sangria, although there was nobody else there this time, when before there had been hundreds!
We watched sunset from the Praia Batata (Potato Beach) the first couple of days while getting in some relax time.  On the second day, we hopped on a boat to check out the rugged coast and grottoes around Lagos.  There were many features that looked like elephants, camels, and even the Titanic and iceberg.  The boat passed through archways into little pools and grottoes.  It's nice to be on water again, as Michelle mentioned, she couldn't remember the last time she was on a boat - which is strange for her!!

Grottoes of the Lagos coastline

On our final day, we decided to walk the cliffs above the grottoes, and check out some of the small beaches we had seen the day before.  We had grand ideas of making it all the way to a town called Luz, but after much weaving along the cliffs, and time on the beaches (with hundreds of steps down to them), we found ourselves barely halfway to Luz when we decided to stop.  We had seen all the same formations from the cliff tops, and stunning views out into the ocean.  The trips down to the beaches were great, and we almost had our own private beaches if it wasn't for a few nude sunbathers.  There is a lighthouse at the point, but definitely not that impressive looking, so we passed on by.  We parked ourselves on the Praia de Mos, and took in the dusk lighting while watchers some surfers, before walking back into town for dinner at the hostel.  On to Spain early in the morning.   *Stub

Using the Lisboa Card, Lisbon, Portugal

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Lousy weather delayed our final trip to Lisbon, then a glitch about most museums closed on Mondays, delayed it another day.  On the Tuesday, we made it back to Lisbon on our Lisboa Card.  This card gives you free entry to a bunch of museums and attractions, and all the public transport you can handle for 24 hours.  So, we had to get our money's worth.

National Coach Museum - Lisbon

Our first stop was Belem, and a walk down the waterfront past the monument to the old Portuguese explorers - Padrão dos Descobrimentos.  These guys got everywhere hundreds of years ago, as I think Portugal was one of the most advanced in overseas exploration.   The Torre de Belem was a short walk away, and this tower dates back to the 1500's, as a defensive point along the river Tagus.  The tower is a Unesco Heritage site and still in great shape.  You can walk up the little stairway for great views over the river to the South. 
Again in Belem, there were the beautiful buildings of the Museo de Marihna, and Museum of Archealogy that were attached to the Monesterio Jeronimo.  In the chapel of the Monesterio is the tomb of Vasco de Gama - the Portuguese explorer that discovered India, and then on to South America.  A very elaborate tomb, in a church where all the pillars looked like palm trees.  All part of the Unesco Heritage site.  We had a lunch planned with Michelle's parents in Lisbon, so we would have to return to tour it in more detail later. 
We met the parents in the Rossio area of Lisbon, and enjoyed a great lunch with them at a favourite restaurant of theirs where they enjoyed their staple bacalhao (dried salted cod).  I tried my luck with squid, and had two of the slimy guys on my plate.  MMMmmmmm, tasty.

Martin enjoying a tasty custard tart - Pasteis de Belem

Back to the Belem area, but our first stop was the National Coach Museum.  We were really surprised with this place.  In a beautifully decorated neoclassical building were housed some amazing old horse drawn coaches built for royalty.  Dating back to the 17th Century, all were quite elaborately decorated, but showing their age, except for one coach which had undergone extensive refurbishing and glowed with all the gold trim.
A short walk away to enter the Monesterio Jeronimo.  Again, we were really surprised at what we saw here.  The cloister behind the cathedral was amazing.  Every column, archway, water spout, etc was of a different design and were in excellent condition.  It was a treat to walk around and see this Unesco Heritage site, and get a view of the cathedral from up on the upper choir platform.
One more treat in store for us in Belem.  We had noticed this little bakery/pasteleria down the street that seemed to have a big queue all the time.  Upon entering the place, we spoke with the security guard, who took us back to the kitchen area for a look.  Here, they bake around 40,000 pasteis de belem (a delicious custard tart with flaky pastry) EVERY DAY.  The place was huge inside with rooms all over the place.  Not at all what you see from the front!  40,000!!!  Unbelievable.

Martin on Castelo de Sao Jorge over Lisbon

Our time was now running short on our window of opportunity to use our Lisboa card.  So one last stop in the old Alfama area of town.  A climb up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge (St. George's Castle), which occupies a commanding post over the city and dates back to the 2nd Century BC!!  Although, most of the present castle is from medieval times.  For us it was worth it for the views over the city, and walking around the fortifications was just a bonus. 
We finished up our long day and took a train back to Cascais to spend our last few hours with Michelle's parents as we were off on our own in the morning, heading down to Lagos on the Southern coast called the Algarve.   *Stub

Cascais, Portugal

Cascais harbour at sunset

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Using Cascais as our base has been great for exploring locally and afar. It´s a great little tourist town with clean beaches, pretty cobbled streets,  nice old town, and a pleasant harbour and yacht club. We got free bikes and rode to Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell) to watch the monstrous waves come crashing in to a small cove. Rode as far as we could along the coast, on a really nice well paved bike trail.  Walking along the seafront promenade to the apparently world-renowned Estoril (though we didn't think much of it) was pleasant and made for interesting surf and surfer/skim boarder-watching as the swells came rolling in. Good, too, to hang out with my parents, occasionally tucking in to monster feasts as it seems to be the way of the De Sousas!  We are staying at my parents apartment/flat in Cascais, which has been a relaxing change of pace.  * Mush

View of Cascais waterfront