Heaven is... fresh fish for Lunch. ... the endless hospitality of the couple who's guest house I am staying in, here in Essaouira. Their website is www.essaouiranet.com/dar-nafoura tel 00212(0)44 47 28 55. I wouldn't normally give a plug for the places I've laid my head, but their service has been exceptional. Heaven is... the scenery in Essaouira, and if you are a surfing dude it's a great place to windsurf. Oh, and the food is excellent. Having said that, its not a place to swim, as the rip tides are very strong. The journey here was uneventf [View Full Entry]

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I am now in Marrakesh. I am not spending long here because I've got my Mauritanian Visa. The Visa is for one month from the day that it is issued. So, I need to make for the border. The Visa was issued yesterday. I was at the consulate at 8.30am. They said to come back at 3pm. I did, but they kept everyone waiting outside the Consulate for 1.5 hours! After getting the visa I did a bit of shopping including buying a new pair of Chino's for 100 Dirhams, from a shop which had everything for a 100 Dh offer [View Full Entry]

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Got up early this morning to get a Taxi to the Mauritanian Embassy in Rabat. Only to find a note pinned to the wall saying that they don't issue Visas! Serves me right for believing the Lonely Planet and not checking! The note said that Visa's are issued at 382 Route d'El Jadeda, Bequsejour, Casablanca. As a result I'm now in Casa. I'll be at the Consulate in Casa first thing in the morning! I visited the Hassan II Mosque this afternoon in Casa. It is the world's 3rd largest religious building. It can hold over 20,000 people and another 80,000 [View Full Entry]

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Haven't done a lot today. I've moved from Meknes to Rabat the capital of Morocco. Rabat looks like a very modern city and in many ways it is, but in fact it has a history of 2,500 years. Last nights hotel was a bit of a splurge - I spent 340 Dirhams - that's about 21 Pounds sterling. I went from the sublime to the ridiculous. One night in a 40 Dirham hovel, the next in a 340 Dirham hotel! But the more expensive hotel not only had decent sanitation but also a swimming pool! There was also a big banner [View Full Entry]

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Today I visited the Roman remains of the City of Volubus which is 33 km from Meknes. I switched hotels from the cheap hotel to a more expensive hotel, this morning. The room in last nights hotel was only just big enough for the bed. It was probably 8 foot by 7, it had a sink but no electric sockets. The hotel had one shared squat toilet and one shared shower for the whole hotel. After changing hotels I made full use of the facilities - including using their bathroom sink to wash my clothes. At about 11am I walked from [View Full Entry]

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I am now in Meknes, it's much less hassle here. I almost miss the aggressive touts! On the bus here, a young man practised his English by talking to me - which passed the time. He said he was studying English at college. When I arrived I looked round 4 different Hotels in the Medina - all of them pretty dire. I finally took one for 40 Dirhams, it looked the nicest because it had at least been decorated recently. Although it has a very basic communal shower, and smelly communal squat toilets. I walked around Meknes this afternoon, some of [View Full Entry]

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Fez. Fez El-Bali and Fez El-Jdid. The old city is a maze of dead ends, Mosques, Madrassa's and souks. It's also a tourist trap. But some places are a tourist honeypoot, for a good reason. The Medina of Fez is beyond compare - it's the Moroccan City of your Dreams. I arrived in Fez yesterday by bus. I walked into the old city from the bus and was approached by a tout who I got rid of. I looked at 4 Hotels. At the last hotel, I was approached by someone outside the hotel I assumed was a tout, but he [View Full Entry]

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As one of the pushers in Chefchaouen said last night "If you have no grass, you no have been to Chefchaouen." He was right, I'm wrong. I wasn't there. I must have been in an Alternative Universe, because I wasn't stoned. I missed out on dope head heaven. After all I couldn't possibly have been there for the stunning views of the mountains or the relatively relaxed atmosphere for Morocco. Or, could I? I'm writing this in Fez, after a five hour journey on the bus. I spent a second day in Chefchaouen yesterday, wandering around the town, drinking mint tea [View Full Entry]

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It was a short hop this morning from Tetuan to Chefchaouen - a trip of 1 and a half hours by local bus. It was cold and wet when I arrived in the morning. When I arrived I spent some time looking around various lodgings till I found one I liked. Whilst I was wandering the streets looking for hotels, I was offered kif (hashish). I refused all offers very firmly. Kif is a local industry in the area, for want of decent prices for other products for the local farmers. I spent the day walking around the town - its [View Full Entry]

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Left Tangier this morning - used one of the touts to get to the bus station quickly. I could have found it myself but the touts have some uses! I arrived in Tetuan in blazing Sun, after a 1 hour journey. I was latched onto by another tout, who wouldn't take no for an answer. I was maybe a bit soft and allowed him to follow me around. Maybe he thought he was giving me a tour I hadn't asked for. In fact I had made it very clear that I didn't want anything from him. No hotels, taxi's, tours etc. [View Full Entry]

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