Blogs from Morocco, Africa
May 23rd 2012
Sensibly we chose to leave Chefchaouen for Fez at midday, so we would be en route in the hottest part of the day. Sure enough the temp gauge quickly rose to 30C and in full motorbike kit anything black attracted the full ferocity of the North African sun. It was hot and tiring work. The road out of the Rif yielded visual treats aplenty and the road snaked enough to be interesting, without being that technical. But you had to concentrate like f*ck and you certainly would have been foolhardy to corner at anything like close to the limit. You never knew what was round the corner – a suicidal truck driver trying blind overtakes with near head-on misses ahead, or homicidal maniacs cutting the corner forcing you off line. Both were commonplace. The road surface ... read more
May 22nd 2012
We set off for Tarifa, both now on F800GS, via the superb A-355(?) which swooped around the foothills of Marbella, winding slowly through its descent of the hills. As we approached the coast you were rewarded with pristine vistas of the med, dropping away far to your left in an azure blue sky and you could clearly see Gibraltar sat up proud and arrogant. Once we hit the coast motorway there was less interest until it again climbed near to Tarifa and at last you could see Africa looming as close as the Isle of Wight. Surely even Vince’s stomach would hold for that? Err no. We messed up the ferry times so had a 2 hour wait at the dock, but finally the catamaran got underway. Once Vince’s yawn rate exceed more than 2 a ... read more
May 20th 2012
Things come in 3's:3 phones, 3 taxis, 3 disturbances. We had agreed to ph the riad (inn) to let them know that we arrived so rhat they could meet us at the Bab (gate) to walk us through the maze of streets to the riad. We had already consulted someone about which digits in the long ph number were the ones to use. When we did find a public phone, and the correct change (we were told 1 or 2 dirhams), R tackled the job. Try #1: money into slot, number entered-- call goes through but cuts out after a few seconds. Try #2: more money + number entered. R can hear voice on other end but they can't hear R. Waits a few minutes in case he calls back. Try #3: R goes to Tele-boutique ... read more
May 18th 2012
Just a quick blog post from a cyber cafe in Marrakech. It has now been one month of nearly non stop travel. It is hard to give a complete description of all I have done. It seems like a much longer time has past. In retrospect it seems like the problems I had before have gone away. As usual my method of charging in to a horrible mess and then dealing with it on the ground works. I will write more about Morocco a) when I actually leave it and b) when I find a computer with the necessary plugins to load pictures. Until then happy trails!... read more
May 18th 2012
BLOG composed May 16 On arriving in Marrakesh I was struck by the intense heat and dryness. 42 degrees C. Pretty hot compared to 12-15 degrees back home. Then I was impressed that so many people here speak French. I thought that the French influence would have died out by now. Arab and French are the main languages of instruction in schools, with English and Spanish next. We were met and warmly greeted by the driver then host at our Riad (a private home used as guest house). Riad Alaka has about 4 rooms each with bathroom, centred around an open atrium which has a cool plunge pool. We've already cooled off in this amenity! There is also a rooftop sitting area with jaccuzzi (too hot right now, but a great idea in cooler weather). On ... read more
May 18th 2012
Here is a short list as I think of them...After so many years of teaching, I am always thinking of creative ways to use things: 1. Save the .187L plastic wine bottle from the airplane trip--it is small enough to fit in a pocket and large enough to slake your thirst. 2. Save the flimsy bowl from your airplane meal. It can serve as a cereal bowl, hold a snack. 3. Of course you won't throw away those tiny plastic utensils. Great for eating that cereal or yogurt. BRING FROM HOME:A. U-shaped travel pillow. I use mine a lot to prevent neck kinks. But then I take a lot of siestas! Sometimes the hotel pillows need a supplement. The newer ones have a snap so if yr luggage is full you can carry pillow attached to ... read more
Dicas, comentarios, sugestoes sobre Marrocos
Published: May 20th 2012Africa » Morocco » Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz
May 13th 2012
Para cada viajante, a experiencia eh diferente. Isto porque somos todos diferentes, temos gostos, ambicoes, desejos, ideias, tudo diferente. Eu estou numa fase de mudancas, de conhecer o mundo. Adoro natureza, minha ambicao nao eh ser uma pessoa bem sucedida, mas sim, uma pessoa cheia de experiencias, historias para contar e para ouvir. Escrevo meus pontos de vistas e ideias sobre esta viagem linda pelo Marrocos. Moradores - os primeiros habitantes do Marrocos sao conhecidos como Berber, antes dos arabes migrarem para o pais. Atualmente eh uma mistura destas racas. Alguns estrangeiros moram no Marrocos, mas nao encontrei muitos. Ouvi falar de alguns. Linguas - as linguas predominantes sao o Arabe Marroquino e Frances, mas tambem falam muito Arabe classico, Berber, ao sul do pais, Espanhol (nao encontrei muitos que falam fluente, varios arranham) e Ingles ... read more
Marrakech e adeus Marrocos, ou quem sabe ateh logo?
Published: May 13th 2012Africa » Morocco » Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz » Marrakech
May 12th 2012
Cheguei em Marrakech e jah fui negociando preco de taxi. Oh coisa chata, mas consegui desconto, e ainda acho que paguei caro, mas nao dah nada, melhor que caminhar no calor de 40 graus. Encontrei o Omar, que trabalha no hostel pelo caminho indo comprar vegetais para fazer tajine. Fiquei pelo hostel a tarde inteira, comi tajine e tirei soneca. O hostel estava vazio, eu e mais 4 rapazes. Claro que me juntei a eles, fomos jantar na Praca Jamaa El Fna, eu comi tajine novamente, nao sei quando vou comer o proximo nao eh? Depois fomos caminhar pela praca ateh a mesquita Koutoubia. Um dos rapazes estah promovendo freeline, que eh um tipo de skate soh que em duas pecas, um para cada peh. Os rapazes ficaram horas brincando com o novo brinquedo, tentando novos ... read more
Mais uma vez em Ouarzazate, curtindo a familia
Published: May 13th 2012Africa » Morocco » Souss-Massa-Draâ » Ouarzazate
May 11th 2012
Chegamos em Ouarzazate e fomos direto para a casa da Bedian, irma do Jamel. Ela tinha acabado de chegar de Rabat com os filhos. O quarto com malas abertas e ela bem cansada. O Jamel foi para o centro e eu fiquei em casa com a Bedian e as criancas. A conversacao eh uma risada soh, de todas as partes, pois uma parte eh em frances, a outra em arabe e a maior parte com gestos, mas a gente acaba se entendendo... Amigas dela vieram na casa e trouxeram couscous, pois como ela acabou de chegar de viagem, nao tinha comida em casa. Uma das mulheres me "sequestrou", ela mora na casa ao lado. Lah fui eu... Chegando na casa, 6 mulheres estavam lah, preparando cha e petiscos para eu provar. Come mais!!! Elas se matam ... read more
May 9th 2012
Nador, it did not look too encouraging from the boat as we approached the harbour, a long sprawl of concrete apartment blocks and cheap hotels. The place had only been built after independence to provide Morocco with an alternative port to Spanish controlled Melilla a few kilometres to the north and the place had the look and feel of a town that had been thrown up in a hurry. After several manoeuvres the captain slotted the boat into the docking berth and powered down the engines. We felt the clunk and thud of heavy machinery and the opening of doors beneath our feet as we waiting to be allowed to return to our vehicles. This was it, we would soon be on African soil. We emerged from the bowels of the ship blinking as our eyes ... read more
