http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/frequentflyer/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from frequentflyer en-us Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:10:08 +0000 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:10:08 +0000 A few of us leaving Marrakech later in the day walked to Menara Garden in the morning a popular local hangout. We unknowingly took the less scenic route through the industrial area on the way over but its lagoon and villastyle pavilion offered a peaceful retreat. The view of the snowcapped Atlas Mountains in the background was incredible too bad it was a bit hazy that day.We walked back alon http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-398252.html In the morning we had guided tours of Koutoubia Mosque Saddian Tombs and Bahia Palace. The Moorishstyle mosque dated back to the early 12th century and was a model for the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville. If you look carefully the minaret is topped by four orbs instead of three. The extra one was offered by the mother of the Saadian sultan Ahmed el Mansour Edhabi in penance http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-398247.html A short drive today took us to Marrakech. It is one of the four Imperial Cities. It is also known as the Red City because of the terracotta construction of many of its buildings city of gardens for the many gardens. My first impression was not favourable because it was noisy and air was polluted from tailpipe emissions. In the afternoon we walked to Majorelle Gardens the resting place of Yve http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Marrakech/blog-398245.html In the morning we walked along the beach back to the medina. Essaouira is also known as ldquoWindy City Africardquo and draws hundreds of surfers. In addition to wind surfing you can also kite surf sail quad or if you havenrsquot had enough of camels yet ride camels.I was going to buy a rug if the price was right. After visiting a few shops JM got a large rug for about 13 of the aski http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-398244.html Early morning hike from the gite back down to Imlil was invigorating and we encountered a Berber shepherd and his herd of goats. It was back on the road again driving through Marrakech to reach the seaside town of Essaouira. Along the way there were many argan aka goat trees a thorny tree whose nut is much valued for everything from dip for homemade bread protection for skin and acne treament http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz/Essaouira/blog-398243.html Another long drive today took us into the High Atlas Mountains with some stunning scenery along the way. Our starting point was Imlil a village filled with guides hikers and equipment rental places. We had a 1 1.5 hr leisurely walk through some mountainous terrain flowing streams with fresh snow runoffs and fields of wild flowers Irises poppies etc to reach a village called Armed wher http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss-Massa-Dra-/Imlil/blog-398241.html Even after a thorough cleaning last night albeit with a weak shower I still had sand everywhere. We made a quick stopover in Dades Gorge. There are rock formations called ldquomonkeysrsquo fingersrdquo that look more like gorillasrsquo fingers to me. Our destination today is Ait Ben Haddou along the Route of 1000 Kasbahs and Ouarzazate an area for many film productions such as Law http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Souss-Massa-Dra-/Ouarzazate/blog-398237.html I heard the morning call to prayers around 0500hr must have been from Merzouga and got up for another sunrise in the desert. This one was better because it wasnrsquot cloudy. It was back on the camels again to go back to the auberge for breakfast and get cleaned up. About half way back I was kind of numb from the waist down from camel riding but I decided to tough it out. Some people deci http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Todra-Gorge/blog-398236.html Some of us got up at 0530AM to see sunrise over the dunes. It wasnrsquot terribly exciting because it was somewhat cloudy but since I was up I figured that I would tackle a 140m high sand dune that didnrsquot look very far away. The entire trip took close to an hour but it was very rewarding to reach the top Got back just in time for breakfast which consisted of dates olives flat bread http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-397871.html Today was a LONG driving day 800 1900 because we had to make it all the way to Merzouga. We made a few stops along to way to be wowed by the scenery as we drove over the Middle Atlas mountains and to stretch our legs. Ifrane aka Little Switzerland was one of the stops. Built in 1929 for French expatriate diplomats and functionaries it was so named because it looks like a Swiss town with http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-397870.html We started with a visit of the exteriors of yet another Royal Palace this time in Fes. The guards are dressed in different uniforms and were friendly enough for me to get a picture with them. Then we went to a lookout point with panoramic view of the city of Fes before going to the medina to experience getting lost. One of the highlights here is the medieval tanneries. I knew we were getting http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-397861.html This morning we walked to the old medina walled city of Meknes. There were many orange trees bearing fruit along the way and we figured out the hard way why no one picked them. Meknes probably has the most number of billboards with pictures of King Mohammed IV. Due to misdirection by a local we walked through a nontouristy part of the medina before a boy redirected us back to the central m http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Meknes/blog-397855.html Today began with a morning tour of the Hassan II Mosque. Itrsquos the third largest in the world and one of two mosques in Morocco thatrsquos open to nonMuslims. It rivals many of the large cathedrals in size and craftsmanship but I was too busy admiring the mosque so I didnrsquot catch much of what the guide said. It has a retractable roof but it wasnrsquot open at the time.We then dr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Grand-Casablanca/Casablanca/blog-397853.html Today was a long travel day to Casablanca Morocco. Just to make it interesting I was chosen AGAIN for a random patdown at the Calgary airport security area second time in my life and both times in Calgary. Do I have the words ldquosearch merdquo written on my forehead Needless to say the guy was disappointed that he didnrsquot find anything.The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful. Upo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Hessen/Frankfurt/blog-397846.html This is not my typical travel blog entry but I feel it's justified because it involves travel. I was scheduled to fly out to Vancouver from Edmonton tonight. I was somewhat concerned because all Air Canada AC inbound flights to Vancouver from Alberta were cancelled yesterday due to weather conditions. However I remained optimistic as I had already checked in online last night and according t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Edmonton/blog-361965.html I actually had to start on day 0 because I flew Edmoton gt Toronto gt Cancun. This was a much longer trip but since direct charter flights to Cancun didnrsquot work for me datewise and I would do anything to avoid flying through the US this was the best option. I flew into Cancun at 1030AM but it took a long time to clear customs. I guess thatrsquos why the phrase Mexican time. It http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cancun/blog-350031.html After a quick breakfast we were on our way to Chichen Itza. Our transport for the rest of the trip in Mexico was a 18seater van. Including the driver Pascual we were at capacity. Lucky for me I donrsquot suffer from motion sickness so I was quite happy taking any of the seats including riding atop the van with our bags.Chichen Itza is one of the more visited ruins given its relative proximi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Chich%E9n-Itz%E1/blog-350034.html I had a relaxing breakfast this morning before heading out to explore Merida. I went to check out some of Francisco Castro Pachecorsquos paintings at Palacio del Gobierno. Most of them were about Mayans and the Spanish conquistadors. By this time many food vendors were setting up around the periphery of the main plaza. Nothing looked very appealing to me. I wandered around aimlessly for a b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Merida/blog-350037.html Today was the first of many long driving days. We left at 0645 to have breakfast at a local market in Uman. We had panuchos with beans and salbutes no beans and a fresh fruit platter. Even though it was fried it still hit the spot. A meat market was next door so we went and took a look. Itrsquos really not that much different from traditional markets in China and while some may questio http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Uxmal/blog-350039.html Today was another long driving day destination San Cristobal. We were ready for breakfast at around 0700 but as usual it took forever for the food to arrive. By this time Irsquove decided that Mexicans like their food salty There was a line of tour buses when we got to the Palenque ruins apparently because itrsquos the start of the peak season. Many structures were still not excavate http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/Palenque/blog-350041.html