Blogs from Meknès-Tafilalet, Morocco, Africa - page 2

Our second full day in Morocco began with a generous buffet breakfast held in the hotel’s strikingly modern El Patio Restaurant just off the lobby. Even at the early hour of 7am, the restaurant was bustling with activity. Having no appetite, I opted for rolls and tea to settle my stomach. Rick perused the buffet stations which offered both hot and cold choices and came back with a plate of nice selections from both. Rather than a leisurely start to our day, we were forced to eat rather quickly as we still needed to check out of the hotel and confirm that our luggage was actually put into our tour bus’s cargo hold. I was eager to see more of Morocco, but I was disappointed that my being ill in Rabat had prevented us from seeing ... read more

Endurance pierces marble ~ Moroccan Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling northwest from Moulay Idriss to Volubilis. We emerged from the steep narrow lanes of Moulay Idriss around 9:30am, piled our packs into a waiting taxi and made our way towards the archaeological site of Volubilis, a mere 10 minute drive from the intriguing hillside village we loved so much. Once a distant outpost of the Roman Empire, Volubilis is located in the middle of an agricultural plain, and we soon discovered we were at the mercy of strong winds that amassed incredible force as they made their way across the flatlands of the Fertassa and Khoumane valleys. There were times I could barely stand, which made it difficult to hold a steady camera for photos. I couldn’t help but question Rome’s logic as we ... read more

Meknes, Alto Atlas, Morocco January 2019 “When you do something, if you fix your mind on the activity with some confidence, the quality of your state of mind is the activity itself. When you are concentrated on the quality of your being, you are prepared for the activity.” Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind Beginner's Mind “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.” Michelangelo “Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.” Salvador Dali “Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality.” Albert Schweitzer Meknes (33.89352 -5.54727) is located in northern central Morocco close to Fez and is one of the four Imperial cities of the country. It was established as a military site by the Almoravids in the 11th century and ... read more

Greetings from Midelt, Morocco, as I enjoy a gin and tonic and paprika flavoured potato chips. We have a couple of hours to rest in our room here at the Hotel Taddart before dinner at 8 pm. We had another leisurely breakfast this morning at our riad, and left about 9 am for our drive to Midelt, with various stops along the way. Our first stop was in Ifrane, a small town located in the Middle Atlas mountains. It was built by the French in the 1930s, deliberately to look like an alpine resort. The town, at an elevation of 1,664 metres, gets lots of snow in the winter and is a skiing area. It was markedly cooler in Ifrane, compared to Meknes, due to the elevation. We had a coffee, and a WC break, and ... read more

Wieder ein Tag mit wenig Kilometer aber Millionen Kurven. War die Straße geteert? Am Anfang und Ende. Gab es Brücken? Meistens. Schöne Aussicht? Immer. Verkehr? Nix. Bergrutsche? Straße unterspült? Regelmäßig. Wegweiser? Keine. Navi hilflos. Es war also auch noch spannend, den Weg zu finden. Immer wenn ich zu einem Bach runter kam, wurde es interessant - Brücke oder nicht? Paul wurde zickig. Das rote Licht leuchtete auf. Das bedeutet stehen bleiben und BMW anrufen. Ersteres tat ich. Ölstand und Temperatur ok. Telefon hat sowieso kein Signal. Als ich den Motor anließ, war das Licht weg. (Gleiches später nochmal. ) Öldruck? Nächster BMW Heini in Rabat. Ich würde gerne nach Europa kommen. In Südspanien waren viele große MR unterwegs. Übernachtung im Ibis Meknes, was natürlich schwachsinnig ist. Es gibt so viele nette, kleine Hotels.... Aber ich bin ... read more