We arrived back in Toronto a couple days ago and have started to get back into life over here.
I took 951 pictures over the four weeks. I've posted some of them on Picasa in three albums. Click on the pictures below to see the album.
[Editor's note: Picasa no longer exists. The photo albums can be found in Google Photos]
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Casablanca, Morocco
Rabat was a nice city to spend a few days relaxing. We saw most of the major attractions: Le Tour Hassan, the masoleum of Mohammed V, Chellah & Sala Colonia, the medina, kasbah des Oudaias and the Archaeology Museum.
Chellah and Sala Colonia are ruins in the south end of the city. Sala Colonia are Roman ruins, upon which the Merenid necropolis of Chellah was built in the 14th century. The whole site is overgrown with wild flowers and plants, and there are hundreds of nesting storks. It's a great ruin to wander around and sit and wonder. I liked it much better than Lixus, and about the same as Volubilis.
The medina in Rabat is different from other medinas, in that there's listed prices, and not much haggling. It's a good place to pick up souvenirs, because you know you're getting a fair price. Unfortunately most of the things we liked are difficult to transport, and it's easier just to buy it at Pier 1 when we get home.
The kasbah was okay to wander through; it's dusty and not as impressive as the kasbahs we saw in the High Atlas. The only nice part was the Andalusian gardens in the kasbah.
We also visited the Archaeology Museum. There's quite a few artefacts from the Roman ruins that we've visited. I've also just finished reading The Rubicon, which is a narrative history of the Roman empire, and so I recognized some of the names on the statues.
Aside from the tourist attractions, Rabat's a nice city. The ville nouvelle has large boulevards with pedestrian-only paths, which were filled every evening with strolling locals. There are plenty of restaurants, and we found an english bookstore that had second-hand classics. We spent our mornings sightseeing; the afternoons reading and sipping Moroccan wine from our terrace; and then having a nice dinner.
Our terrace overlooked a park, as well as a mosque. On Friday we were fortunate to witness the Friday noon prayers -- the attendees overflowed from the mosque into the surrounding streets! It was busier than a Catholic church on Christmas or Easter. The prayers are broadcast from loudspeakers atop the mosque, and so we could hear (although not understand the arabic), and see the men pray.
On our last night in Rabat we ate at an italian restaurant that had excellent pizza. It's the 2nd best pizza I've had (nothing comes close to the pizza at Fortino's in Vaughan).
We took the train from Rabat to Casablanca, staying at the Ibis hotel because it's right beside the train station (we'll be taking the train to the airport as well). Tomorrow we're off to see the Hassan II mosque (one of the few open to non-Muslims), and the next day we fly home.
Chellah and Sala Colonia are ruins in the south end of the city. Sala Colonia are Roman ruins, upon which the Merenid necropolis of Chellah was built in the 14th century. The whole site is overgrown with wild flowers and plants, and there are hundreds of nesting storks. It's a great ruin to wander around and sit and wonder. I liked it much better than Lixus, and about the same as Volubilis.
The medina in Rabat is different from other medinas, in that there's listed prices, and not much haggling. It's a good place to pick up souvenirs, because you know you're getting a fair price. Unfortunately most of the things we liked are difficult to transport, and it's easier just to buy it at Pier 1 when we get home.
The kasbah was okay to wander through; it's dusty and not as impressive as the kasbahs we saw in the High Atlas. The only nice part was the Andalusian gardens in the kasbah.
We also visited the Archaeology Museum. There's quite a few artefacts from the Roman ruins that we've visited. I've also just finished reading The Rubicon, which is a narrative history of the Roman empire, and so I recognized some of the names on the statues.
Aside from the tourist attractions, Rabat's a nice city. The ville nouvelle has large boulevards with pedestrian-only paths, which were filled every evening with strolling locals. There are plenty of restaurants, and we found an english bookstore that had second-hand classics. We spent our mornings sightseeing; the afternoons reading and sipping Moroccan wine from our terrace; and then having a nice dinner.
Our terrace overlooked a park, as well as a mosque. On Friday we were fortunate to witness the Friday noon prayers -- the attendees overflowed from the mosque into the surrounding streets! It was busier than a Catholic church on Christmas or Easter. The prayers are broadcast from loudspeakers atop the mosque, and so we could hear (although not understand the arabic), and see the men pray.
On our last night in Rabat we ate at an italian restaurant that had excellent pizza. It's the 2nd best pizza I've had (nothing comes close to the pizza at Fortino's in Vaughan).
We took the train from Rabat to Casablanca, staying at the Ibis hotel because it's right beside the train station (we'll be taking the train to the airport as well). Tomorrow we're off to see the Hassan II mosque (one of the few open to non-Muslims), and the next day we fly home.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Rabat, Morocco
We've reached Rabat, which is our last stop on this trip before returning to Casablanca to fly home. There's quite a lot to see in Rabat. We're planning to spend four days here, which is the longest we'll spend in one spot.
...
Asilah was a nice place to relax. On Saturday we took a little trek along the coastline to get to Paradise Beach, about 4km south of Asilah. There were great views of the Atlantic Ocean as we walked. Paradise Beach was a wide, long beach with fine sand, which we had almost all to ourselves. There was another person off in the distance, and oddly, a cow. We looked around for a few minutes, and then headed back to town. The round trip trek took us about four hours, and we were glad we left in the cool early morning hours (9am).
Dinners were hit-and-miss in Asilah. The first night we were very disappointed with the fish we ordered (swordfish and calamari). The next night, (at a different restaurant), the fish was excellent! (merlan and loup)
From Asilah we took a quick (30 minutes) grand taxi ride to Larache. We had reservations at La Maison Haute, and it was a short walk to the hotel with our packs. Larache is not as touristy as other northern towns, and we were pretty much ignored as we walked through town.
We were initially really impressed with La Maison Haute. It's a restored Hispanic-Moorish house, with 15' ceilings and large common rooms. The view from the rooftop of the city and beach was one of the best we've had in a hotel. However, our room was musty (and hot without a/c), and the manager was very overbearing, and so we cut our stay short, for only one night. It was our least favourite hotel this trip.
In the morning before we took off from Larache, we had a quick trip to the roman ruins at Lixus. These aren't restored at all, and not worth more than the 30 minutes we spent at the ruins.
A very comfortable CTM bus ride brought us to Rabat. We're staying at the Hotel Royal, beside the French embassy. Our balcony overlooks Jardin Triangle de Vue, a large park in the Ville Nouvelle. Last night we ate at a fancy french restaurant (I had braised lamb shank, Heather had half rack of lamb), for less than $30 CDN!
This morning visited Le Tour Hassan, and the mausoleum of Mohammed V. The rest of the day we're just going to relax...
(GoogleMaps was giving me trouble so I haven't updated the map)
...
Asilah was a nice place to relax. On Saturday we took a little trek along the coastline to get to Paradise Beach, about 4km south of Asilah. There were great views of the Atlantic Ocean as we walked. Paradise Beach was a wide, long beach with fine sand, which we had almost all to ourselves. There was another person off in the distance, and oddly, a cow. We looked around for a few minutes, and then headed back to town. The round trip trek took us about four hours, and we were glad we left in the cool early morning hours (9am).
Dinners were hit-and-miss in Asilah. The first night we were very disappointed with the fish we ordered (swordfish and calamari). The next night, (at a different restaurant), the fish was excellent! (merlan and loup)
From Asilah we took a quick (30 minutes) grand taxi ride to Larache. We had reservations at La Maison Haute, and it was a short walk to the hotel with our packs. Larache is not as touristy as other northern towns, and we were pretty much ignored as we walked through town.
We were initially really impressed with La Maison Haute. It's a restored Hispanic-Moorish house, with 15' ceilings and large common rooms. The view from the rooftop of the city and beach was one of the best we've had in a hotel. However, our room was musty (and hot without a/c), and the manager was very overbearing, and so we cut our stay short, for only one night. It was our least favourite hotel this trip.
In the morning before we took off from Larache, we had a quick trip to the roman ruins at Lixus. These aren't restored at all, and not worth more than the 30 minutes we spent at the ruins.
A very comfortable CTM bus ride brought us to Rabat. We're staying at the Hotel Royal, beside the French embassy. Our balcony overlooks Jardin Triangle de Vue, a large park in the Ville Nouvelle. Last night we ate at a fancy french restaurant (I had braised lamb shank, Heather had half rack of lamb), for less than $30 CDN!
This morning visited Le Tour Hassan, and the mausoleum of Mohammed V. The rest of the day we're just going to relax...
(GoogleMaps was giving me trouble so I haven't updated the map)
Friday, June 01, 2007
Asilah, Morocco
We're now back on the Atlantic coast after taking a couple grand taxis from Tetouan to Asilah (where we are now) via Tanger.
Chefchaouen was a nice place to relax. We ate dinner at the same restaurant (La Lampe Magique) for three nights in a row. The restaurant was right on the main plaza, and from the rooftop terrace there was a great 360 degree view of Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the restored kasbah, the mountains and houses in the distance, and of the full moon. It was one of the best settings for a restaurant that I've ever seen. The food was great, and each night we stuffed ourselves full.
From Chefchaouen we took a grand-taxi to Tetouan. Originally we were going to take the CTM bus at 12:30pm, but we were packed up and ready to go by 10am. Rather than wait around for a bus, we took a grand-taxi. It was a good move as we were in Tetouan by noon.
Both of us felt good to be back in an urban setting. So far on this trip, we have stayed in the touristy parts of Morocco -- riads, kasbahs, medinas. However, most places also have a "nouvelle-ville", which are more cosmopolitan and modern.
There's a large spanish influence in Tetouan. As we walked through the pedestrian-only streets, we felt that we could have been in any city in Europe. I guess that's why most Europeans avoid the nouvelle-villes and head straight to the medinas -- they can get european at home.
In Tetouan we walked briefly through the medina but we both felt out-medina'd. We visited the archaeology museum, which was quite good. It had a number of artefacts from the roman ruins of Volubilis (which we've visited), and Lixus (which we're going to in a couple days).
There was not much else to Tetouan, and so this morning we took a couple grand taxis to get to Asilah (via Tanger as there's no direct grand taxi).
Asilah is a resort town on the Atlantic. The medina is heavily gentrified. It's nice to walk through, and does not have the hustle and bustle of souqs in other medinas. We walked around the medina for a bit.
We're staying at the Hotel Patio de la Luna, which looks like a nice place to have a bottle of wine after dinner tonight.
As you may guess from the name of the hotel, spanish is more prevalent as a 2nd language as we've travelled through northern Morocco. Between Heather's french, and my spanish, we've been able to travel quite easily throughout our trip.
Morocco is the only country I've visited that it has been difficult and expensive to have a beer (and I've been to other predominantly Muslim countries). Most cities / towns have only a handful of licensed restaurants, where a 200ml bottle of Flag costs Dh20 (about $3 CDN). On occasion we've been buying a bottle of wine in alcohol stores, if our hotel room had a nice terrace to have a drink. The alcohol store in Asilah is right beside the hotel, so we're thinking of having a cold beer before dinner!
Chefchaouen was a nice place to relax. We ate dinner at the same restaurant (La Lampe Magique) for three nights in a row. The restaurant was right on the main plaza, and from the rooftop terrace there was a great 360 degree view of Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the restored kasbah, the mountains and houses in the distance, and of the full moon. It was one of the best settings for a restaurant that I've ever seen. The food was great, and each night we stuffed ourselves full.
From Chefchaouen we took a grand-taxi to Tetouan. Originally we were going to take the CTM bus at 12:30pm, but we were packed up and ready to go by 10am. Rather than wait around for a bus, we took a grand-taxi. It was a good move as we were in Tetouan by noon.
Both of us felt good to be back in an urban setting. So far on this trip, we have stayed in the touristy parts of Morocco -- riads, kasbahs, medinas. However, most places also have a "nouvelle-ville", which are more cosmopolitan and modern.
There's a large spanish influence in Tetouan. As we walked through the pedestrian-only streets, we felt that we could have been in any city in Europe. I guess that's why most Europeans avoid the nouvelle-villes and head straight to the medinas -- they can get european at home.
In Tetouan we walked briefly through the medina but we both felt out-medina'd. We visited the archaeology museum, which was quite good. It had a number of artefacts from the roman ruins of Volubilis (which we've visited), and Lixus (which we're going to in a couple days).
There was not much else to Tetouan, and so this morning we took a couple grand taxis to get to Asilah (via Tanger as there's no direct grand taxi).
Asilah is a resort town on the Atlantic. The medina is heavily gentrified. It's nice to walk through, and does not have the hustle and bustle of souqs in other medinas. We walked around the medina for a bit.
We're staying at the Hotel Patio de la Luna, which looks like a nice place to have a bottle of wine after dinner tonight.
As you may guess from the name of the hotel, spanish is more prevalent as a 2nd language as we've travelled through northern Morocco. Between Heather's french, and my spanish, we've been able to travel quite easily throughout our trip.
Morocco is the only country I've visited that it has been difficult and expensive to have a beer (and I've been to other predominantly Muslim countries). Most cities / towns have only a handful of licensed restaurants, where a 200ml bottle of Flag costs Dh20 (about $3 CDN). On occasion we've been buying a bottle of wine in alcohol stores, if our hotel room had a nice terrace to have a drink. The alcohol store in Asilah is right beside the hotel, so we're thinking of having a cold beer before dinner!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Chefchaouen, Morocco
We're now relaxing in Chefchaouen, a little vacation within our trip. Chefchaouen (the 'ou' is pronounced as a 'w') is a little town in the Rif mountains. Most of the buildings are painted a sky-blue on the ground floor. The main square, Plaza Uta el-Hammam, contains a beautifully restored kasbah. The streets are all narrow cobblestone, climbing steeply up and down. The men here wear gowns with pointed hoods, and pointed shoes, which adds to the fairytale-like atmosphere. The only downside is that one of the main sources of income is from kif (aka marijuana). It's annoying to walk about town when every second step you have someone whisper to you if you'd like to buy some kif.
We've spent most of the time eating in nice restaurants overlooking the plaza, and reading / relaxing on the terrace in our hotel. Today we scrounged up enough energy to visit the kasbah and museum.
The weather has been a bit cooler since we left the desert. In the Todra Gorge and Meknes it was about mid-20s, and here it's been about the same. Today it feels a bit warmer.
We've spent most of the time eating in nice restaurants overlooking the plaza, and reading / relaxing on the terrace in our hotel. Today we scrounged up enough energy to visit the kasbah and museum.
The weather has been a bit cooler since we left the desert. In the Todra Gorge and Meknes it was about mid-20s, and here it's been about the same. Today it feels a bit warmer.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Meknes, Morocco
We've spent the last three days in Meknes, which is the longest we've been in one spot so far this trip.
We arrived very early in the morning in Meknes (5:30am!). Fortunately our hotel let us check in early as well, without charging us for the extra day. After showering, we headed out to the medina and souq. The souq wasn't that impressive. However, lunch was great. We had brochettes at an open-air restaurant in the main plaza, Place el-Hedim, watching the scene.
The next day we had a day trip, visiting both the Roman ruins at Volubilis, and the pilgrimage village of Moulay Idriss. We hired a driver for the half-day (Dh300), who of course drove a Mercedes.
I love visiting ruins and Volubilis did not disappoint. It was cool to see the expanse of ruins, spread over 40 hectares!! There were a few houses with cool mosaics still preserved.
Next we headed to Moulay Indriss. We were fortunate to be there on a Saturday, market day. It was nice to wander around the market without being hassled (there were very few tourists). Had lunch from a market stall, a brochette sandwich. Meat (usually beef) is barbecued, and stuffed into a pita-type bread, along with tomatoes, olives, some spices, and sometimes french fries. The breads are amazing here, as well as the olives and tomatoes and ..., generally all the ingredients are amazing. (We'll be on a bread and olive hunt when we get back to Toronto).
After lunch we hopped into our Mercedes and asked our driver to take us home. (Okay, so the Mercedes was circa 1975).
Today we had a day trip to Fes, about an hour east of Meknes. Most people head to Fes on a trip to Morocco; but we decided to stay in the less touristy Meknes, and see Fes on a day trip.
The souq in Fes is one of the better ones we've visited, topped only by Essaouira. We were trying to find the tanneries (where leather is cured and dyed), and were able to wind our way through the souq all on our ownsome! The occasional maps on the wall (similar to the PATH maps in the Toronto downtown underground) helped.
The leather shops have figured out that tourists want to see the tanneries, and so the only access to view them is from the roofs of leather shops. After, you may purchase an item or two if you so wish...
The smell was a bit intense (the leather is cured with pigeon dung and cow urine). However, it was a photographer's dream. You cannot take a bad picture here. Thank goodness for digital photography, because I took about 50 pictures.
After, Heather bought a purse from the co-operative. She had wanted to buy one from Fes, so the whole leather-shop-with-a-view-deal worked out.
While in Fes we had some b'sara. This is a local specialty, a soup made with chick peas and garlic, and other spices, served from little carts in the middle of the souq. It was really really tasty.
We made our way back to Meknes. The previous day we had seen a small butcher that made sandwiches that was extremely busy. So we checked it out for lunch. It was one of the best brochette sandwiches I've had. The place was a California Sandwiches of Meknes (California Sandwiches is an italian sandwich shop in Toronto that has huge line-ups of locals for the food).
This afternoon we saw a bit more of the medina in Meknes, including the masoleum of Moulay Ismail, and Heri es-Souani.
The masoleum was very beautiful. Its calmness was broken by numerous busloads of tourists following their guides. We waited about fifteen minutes to get a tourist-less picture of the fountain in the masoleum. Unfortnately the picture didn't look as good as I hoped.
Heri es-Souani is a huge granary that once held grain for 12,000 horses. It fell into disrepair, and is now being restored. It is massive. We wandered about, mostly on our own (very few other tourists made it here).
Tomorrow we're on a train/bus journey to Chefchaouen.
We arrived very early in the morning in Meknes (5:30am!). Fortunately our hotel let us check in early as well, without charging us for the extra day. After showering, we headed out to the medina and souq. The souq wasn't that impressive. However, lunch was great. We had brochettes at an open-air restaurant in the main plaza, Place el-Hedim, watching the scene.
The next day we had a day trip, visiting both the Roman ruins at Volubilis, and the pilgrimage village of Moulay Idriss. We hired a driver for the half-day (Dh300), who of course drove a Mercedes.
I love visiting ruins and Volubilis did not disappoint. It was cool to see the expanse of ruins, spread over 40 hectares!! There were a few houses with cool mosaics still preserved.
Next we headed to Moulay Indriss. We were fortunate to be there on a Saturday, market day. It was nice to wander around the market without being hassled (there were very few tourists). Had lunch from a market stall, a brochette sandwich. Meat (usually beef) is barbecued, and stuffed into a pita-type bread, along with tomatoes, olives, some spices, and sometimes french fries. The breads are amazing here, as well as the olives and tomatoes and ..., generally all the ingredients are amazing. (We'll be on a bread and olive hunt when we get back to Toronto).
After lunch we hopped into our Mercedes and asked our driver to take us home. (Okay, so the Mercedes was circa 1975).
Today we had a day trip to Fes, about an hour east of Meknes. Most people head to Fes on a trip to Morocco; but we decided to stay in the less touristy Meknes, and see Fes on a day trip.
The souq in Fes is one of the better ones we've visited, topped only by Essaouira. We were trying to find the tanneries (where leather is cured and dyed), and were able to wind our way through the souq all on our ownsome! The occasional maps on the wall (similar to the PATH maps in the Toronto downtown underground) helped.
The leather shops have figured out that tourists want to see the tanneries, and so the only access to view them is from the roofs of leather shops. After, you may purchase an item or two if you so wish...
The smell was a bit intense (the leather is cured with pigeon dung and cow urine). However, it was a photographer's dream. You cannot take a bad picture here. Thank goodness for digital photography, because I took about 50 pictures.
After, Heather bought a purse from the co-operative. She had wanted to buy one from Fes, so the whole leather-shop-with-a-view-deal worked out.
While in Fes we had some b'sara. This is a local specialty, a soup made with chick peas and garlic, and other spices, served from little carts in the middle of the souq. It was really really tasty.
We made our way back to Meknes. The previous day we had seen a small butcher that made sandwiches that was extremely busy. So we checked it out for lunch. It was one of the best brochette sandwiches I've had. The place was a California Sandwiches of Meknes (California Sandwiches is an italian sandwich shop in Toronto that has huge line-ups of locals for the food).
This afternoon we saw a bit more of the medina in Meknes, including the masoleum of Moulay Ismail, and Heri es-Souani.
The masoleum was very beautiful. Its calmness was broken by numerous busloads of tourists following their guides. We waited about fifteen minutes to get a tourist-less picture of the fountain in the masoleum. Unfortnately the picture didn't look as good as I hoped.
Heri es-Souani is a huge granary that once held grain for 12,000 horses. It fell into disrepair, and is now being restored. It is massive. We wandered about, mostly on our own (very few other tourists made it here).
Tomorrow we're on a train/bus journey to Chefchaouen.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Er-Rachidia, Morocco
We spent the last two days in the Todra Gorge, trekking and relaxing at one of our favourite hotels so far on this trip.
We took a CTM bus from Ouarzazat to Tinerhir, and then a grand taxi (a shared taxi -- six of us in a car for four) to our hotel, Auberge-Camping Le Festival, in the middle of the gorge. The road from Tinerhir travels along the bottom of the gorge, and in places is only 20m wide with 300m walls on both sides. It's really cool to see.
Our hotel was built out of stone from the surrounding area. The people who worked at the hotel were really friendly. After dinner, they handed out instruments (percussions for us and the other two travellers, sitar and guitar for them) and we played traditional Berber songs. It was really relaxing.
Yesterday we did a little trek through the High Atlas. It was supposed to be four hours through the mountains to a berber town called Tamtattouchte, and then two hours back along the road to our hotel.
We started from the hotel (1600m) at 8am, and followed the occasionally marked trail up a dry river bed. We picked out trail markings every 10-15 minutes, a small pile of stones here, or a red paint mark there. After two hours, we didn't see any more markings; however, we had a general idea of the geography and so weren't too bad off. We had to crest the range at 2400m, and then walk down the other side towards the main river (which the road followed). It was a beautiful walk, with only the two of us and the High Atlas. We ran into a couple of nomadic Berbers, but that was it.
A friendly dog from the hotel had followed us, and we hoped he would turn around at some point. But he kept with us, and so we had to share our water, with Heather cupping her hands for the dog to drink from.
It took us four hours to crest the range, at which point we could see the main river in the distance. We found a feeder river (dry at this time of year), and followed the river bed down. It was a bit difficult, and it took us two hours to descend to the main river (which did have water), and then to the village.
At this point the dog took off in Tamtattouchte. We were worried about the dog finding its way back home, and so ran all over the village trying to chase it down. He was scared of the local kids, and didn't have a collar, so when I found him, I had to carry him through the village back to Heather. We must have looked quite the sight, two tourists running about the village yelling for a dog. We attracted a merry bunch of about 20 kids, all eager to be part of the adventure.
We had lunch at a restaurant, and then debated walking back to our hotel. It was 15km down the road, and it was already 3pm so we decided to take a grand-taxi back (with the dog).
We got back to the hotel, at which point we found out that the dog was stray, and had showed up at the hotel about two weeks ago! He was well-behaved and looked to be well taken care of, so we're not sure where he came from.
This morning we took a much more leisurely two-hour walk, down the road through the gorge. It's amazing to see the 300m walls rise up beside the road. Unfortunately there are plenty of makeshift stalls selling souvenirs, which mar the pictures. I guess they give scale...
Right now, we're in the middle of bus rides to get to Meknes. It was a short bus ride (two hours) from Tinerhir to Er-Rachidia, where we're waiting for our overnight bus to Meknes. CTM only runs buses overnight between the cities. There are other private bus lines with dayside buses but they're not as clean or punctual as CTM.
We took a CTM bus from Ouarzazat to Tinerhir, and then a grand taxi (a shared taxi -- six of us in a car for four) to our hotel, Auberge-Camping Le Festival, in the middle of the gorge. The road from Tinerhir travels along the bottom of the gorge, and in places is only 20m wide with 300m walls on both sides. It's really cool to see.
Our hotel was built out of stone from the surrounding area. The people who worked at the hotel were really friendly. After dinner, they handed out instruments (percussions for us and the other two travellers, sitar and guitar for them) and we played traditional Berber songs. It was really relaxing.
Yesterday we did a little trek through the High Atlas. It was supposed to be four hours through the mountains to a berber town called Tamtattouchte, and then two hours back along the road to our hotel.
We started from the hotel (1600m) at 8am, and followed the occasionally marked trail up a dry river bed. We picked out trail markings every 10-15 minutes, a small pile of stones here, or a red paint mark there. After two hours, we didn't see any more markings; however, we had a general idea of the geography and so weren't too bad off. We had to crest the range at 2400m, and then walk down the other side towards the main river (which the road followed). It was a beautiful walk, with only the two of us and the High Atlas. We ran into a couple of nomadic Berbers, but that was it.
A friendly dog from the hotel had followed us, and we hoped he would turn around at some point. But he kept with us, and so we had to share our water, with Heather cupping her hands for the dog to drink from.
It took us four hours to crest the range, at which point we could see the main river in the distance. We found a feeder river (dry at this time of year), and followed the river bed down. It was a bit difficult, and it took us two hours to descend to the main river (which did have water), and then to the village.
At this point the dog took off in Tamtattouchte. We were worried about the dog finding its way back home, and so ran all over the village trying to chase it down. He was scared of the local kids, and didn't have a collar, so when I found him, I had to carry him through the village back to Heather. We must have looked quite the sight, two tourists running about the village yelling for a dog. We attracted a merry bunch of about 20 kids, all eager to be part of the adventure.
We had lunch at a restaurant, and then debated walking back to our hotel. It was 15km down the road, and it was already 3pm so we decided to take a grand-taxi back (with the dog).
We got back to the hotel, at which point we found out that the dog was stray, and had showed up at the hotel about two weeks ago! He was well-behaved and looked to be well taken care of, so we're not sure where he came from.
This morning we took a much more leisurely two-hour walk, down the road through the gorge. It's amazing to see the 300m walls rise up beside the road. Unfortunately there are plenty of makeshift stalls selling souvenirs, which mar the pictures. I guess they give scale...
Right now, we're in the middle of bus rides to get to Meknes. It was a short bus ride (two hours) from Tinerhir to Er-Rachidia, where we're waiting for our overnight bus to Meknes. CTM only runs buses overnight between the cities. There are other private bus lines with dayside buses but they're not as clean or punctual as CTM.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Ouarzazat, Morocco
We've just come back from a two-day trip into the Sahara, including a night in a berber tent in the Sahara.
...
The cooking course was excellent! We made the two standard dishes of Morocco: couscous and tajine. The couscous is made in multiple steps, steaming it slightly, adding a bit of water and oil, mixing by hand, and then repeating three times. Our couscous actually came out quite light and fluffy! Tajine is basically a stew, cooked in an earthern pot slowly over coals. The locals all have a place that they take their pot to slow-cook. Ours was a few doors down from the riad, in the basement where they had a firepit for the hotwater for the hammam. Many people already had their tajine cooking, and so we had to mark our names to identify our pot. Unfortunately we had to walk through the streets in white aprons that screamed tourist!
We ate our meal with a bottle of Moroccan red on the rooftop of the riad, by candlelight with the sounds of the market off in the distance. It was really nice.
From Marrakesh we took a long bus ride through the Tizi'n'Tichka pass, with many hairpin turns. Many people got sick from the journey, including Heather. She was happy to finally get to Ouarzazat.
Ouarzazat relies heavily on the movie industry. That also means that there are not many places catering to backpackers. We stayed in a kasbah, just for the experience. In other countries, these would be called crumbling adobe buildings. However, in Morocco they're called kasbahs, The Clash wrote a song about them, and now they're expensive places to stay.
The kasbah actually contains many buildings in a fort, all linked by tunnels under the main floors. This provided protection in the old days, and the system also kept the living floors quite cool during the day. (It was 42C outside when we stayed here).
Our room was really nice, with dark pise walls and crimson upholstery, giving it an oriental feel. Plus, it had a/c!
Aside from the nice room, though, we didn't get a good feel from the town. The next few days promised more heat, long bus rides on winding roads, and so-so accommodation, in order to reach the dunes of the Sahara outside M'Hamid. So, we dropped into a travel agency, and signed up for an organized tour.
It's low season, so there was just Heather and I in a large Toyota SUV, along with a driver and a go-fer. Instead of taking a couple days by public bus, we were able to hit all the highlights in the Draa Valley in one day, reaching the dunes by mid-afternoon. It was another hot day, reaching over 40C. (A dry heat, which supposedly makes it feel better). There were some great views along the drive, of kasbahs and palm groves and Berber villages. Our driver (also the guide) was excellent.
We reached the Erg Lehoudi dunes around 6pm. There was a strong wind, and it was not pleasant to be outside the SUV, facing the blowing sand which gets into everything. We climbed the tallest dune (I was surprised at the lack of footprints from other tourists, as even in a strong wind, footprints take a while to be erased). We quickly ran down (the wind had packed the sand into a hard surface, so it wasn't a fun run down loose sand that I was expecting).
Dinner was couscous and tasted quite good, with a little bit of grit (did I mention the sand gets everywhere?)
Into the night, the wind died down and the desert became quite pleasant. The stars were amazing.
We woke up at 5am in order to catch the sunrise. It's not the actual sun that's impressive, but rather the lighting on the sand dunes. It was well worth the early rise -- the untouched sand dunes were really impressive. The only other time I've seen sand dunes without footprints was in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It was really a treat to see untouched dunes again.
The drive back to Ouarzazat was much more pleasant, because it was in the (cooler) morning hours. A couple of seemingly mandatory stops at carpet shops and the inevitable cup of sugary mint tea later, and we were finally back in Ouarzazat. Our first priority was a shower, but first we had to have more tea with the tour operator and look at fine Berber artefacts. Finally we checked into a hotel, showered and cleaned up.
Tonight we're relaxing, and having dinner out. The first night here (before the Sahara tour), we ate at an Italian restaurant (which caters to the many Italian film types here). We had gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce, and spaghetti in pesto sauce. It was a nice break from Moroccan (I generally like the food of the country I'm in, but it's nice to have some variety now and then). Tonight we are looking at a French restaurant.
Tomorrow we're off to the Todra Gorge for some trekking.
...
The cooking course was excellent! We made the two standard dishes of Morocco: couscous and tajine. The couscous is made in multiple steps, steaming it slightly, adding a bit of water and oil, mixing by hand, and then repeating three times. Our couscous actually came out quite light and fluffy! Tajine is basically a stew, cooked in an earthern pot slowly over coals. The locals all have a place that they take their pot to slow-cook. Ours was a few doors down from the riad, in the basement where they had a firepit for the hotwater for the hammam. Many people already had their tajine cooking, and so we had to mark our names to identify our pot. Unfortunately we had to walk through the streets in white aprons that screamed tourist!
We ate our meal with a bottle of Moroccan red on the rooftop of the riad, by candlelight with the sounds of the market off in the distance. It was really nice.
From Marrakesh we took a long bus ride through the Tizi'n'Tichka pass, with many hairpin turns. Many people got sick from the journey, including Heather. She was happy to finally get to Ouarzazat.
Ouarzazat relies heavily on the movie industry. That also means that there are not many places catering to backpackers. We stayed in a kasbah, just for the experience. In other countries, these would be called crumbling adobe buildings. However, in Morocco they're called kasbahs, The Clash wrote a song about them, and now they're expensive places to stay.
The kasbah actually contains many buildings in a fort, all linked by tunnels under the main floors. This provided protection in the old days, and the system also kept the living floors quite cool during the day. (It was 42C outside when we stayed here).
Our room was really nice, with dark pise walls and crimson upholstery, giving it an oriental feel. Plus, it had a/c!
Aside from the nice room, though, we didn't get a good feel from the town. The next few days promised more heat, long bus rides on winding roads, and so-so accommodation, in order to reach the dunes of the Sahara outside M'Hamid. So, we dropped into a travel agency, and signed up for an organized tour.
It's low season, so there was just Heather and I in a large Toyota SUV, along with a driver and a go-fer. Instead of taking a couple days by public bus, we were able to hit all the highlights in the Draa Valley in one day, reaching the dunes by mid-afternoon. It was another hot day, reaching over 40C. (A dry heat, which supposedly makes it feel better). There were some great views along the drive, of kasbahs and palm groves and Berber villages. Our driver (also the guide) was excellent.
We reached the Erg Lehoudi dunes around 6pm. There was a strong wind, and it was not pleasant to be outside the SUV, facing the blowing sand which gets into everything. We climbed the tallest dune (I was surprised at the lack of footprints from other tourists, as even in a strong wind, footprints take a while to be erased). We quickly ran down (the wind had packed the sand into a hard surface, so it wasn't a fun run down loose sand that I was expecting).
Dinner was couscous and tasted quite good, with a little bit of grit (did I mention the sand gets everywhere?)
Into the night, the wind died down and the desert became quite pleasant. The stars were amazing.
We woke up at 5am in order to catch the sunrise. It's not the actual sun that's impressive, but rather the lighting on the sand dunes. It was well worth the early rise -- the untouched sand dunes were really impressive. The only other time I've seen sand dunes without footprints was in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It was really a treat to see untouched dunes again.
The drive back to Ouarzazat was much more pleasant, because it was in the (cooler) morning hours. A couple of seemingly mandatory stops at carpet shops and the inevitable cup of sugary mint tea later, and we were finally back in Ouarzazat. Our first priority was a shower, but first we had to have more tea with the tour operator and look at fine Berber artefacts. Finally we checked into a hotel, showered and cleaned up.
Tonight we're relaxing, and having dinner out. The first night here (before the Sahara tour), we ate at an Italian restaurant (which caters to the many Italian film types here). We had gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce, and spaghetti in pesto sauce. It was a nice break from Moroccan (I generally like the food of the country I'm in, but it's nice to have some variety now and then). Tonight we are looking at a French restaurant.
Tomorrow we're off to the Todra Gorge for some trekking.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Marrakesh, Morocco
We're now into the heat that I was expecting in Morocco. Along the coast the temperature was mild (we were wearing our fleeces at night), but here in Marrakesh it's stinking hot (35C).
Even getting here by bus was hot. CTM only had one bus, late in the afternoon, so we took another line. There was no air conditioning, but I figured that if we sat on the shady side (going east this was on the left) and by a window, we'd be fine. I had bought some pistachios to share with the locals on the bus (as the Lonely Planet had suggested). Heather had a knot in her back which I was trying to massage, when an old lady (who looked like the old lady in Babel) in the seat behind took over and rubbed Heather's back quickly, stretched Heather's arms behind her back, and presto, knot gone. We shared some pistachios, and she offered some mint in return (which you nibble on). The bus ride was nice, until the old lady motioned to us to close the window (maybe she was cold?) Neither of us were going to suggest that maybe we could keep the window open, so the bus gradually became hotter as the journey continued.
I have a good sense of direction and figured I could find our way to the riad when we arrived in Marrakesh, despite the Lonely Planet warnings that it is difficult to find anything in the souq. I hit all my landmarks on the way to the riad, but then we just couldn't find the place. We asked a few people in the souq, and it was always around a corner, juste là. Finally we had to pay a kid Dh10 to lead us. It was down at the end of a twisty alley, without any markings or signage on the door (as is normal). It was Dh10 well spent.
The riad is really nice, although a bit of a splurge (Dh1050). It's even nicer than the previous place in Essaouira.
Last night we ate dinner in Djemaa el-Fna, a huge open air food market. The food was actually quite bland :( There's a lot of tourists here (even a Club Med right on the square), so I think the food is westernized-down a bit. After eating couscous and tajine, we tried another stall, which had cow's tongue, camel hump and some part of lamb. The camel hump was spongy like tofu. The tongue and lamb were quite good.
This morning we visited Ali ben Yousef Medersa (a theological college), Koubba Ba'adiyn (a sanctuary) and Musée de Marrakech. This afternoon we're taking a cooking class in our riad!
We're not that impressed with Marrakech, although it is interesting to visit.
Even getting here by bus was hot. CTM only had one bus, late in the afternoon, so we took another line. There was no air conditioning, but I figured that if we sat on the shady side (going east this was on the left) and by a window, we'd be fine. I had bought some pistachios to share with the locals on the bus (as the Lonely Planet had suggested). Heather had a knot in her back which I was trying to massage, when an old lady (who looked like the old lady in Babel) in the seat behind took over and rubbed Heather's back quickly, stretched Heather's arms behind her back, and presto, knot gone. We shared some pistachios, and she offered some mint in return (which you nibble on). The bus ride was nice, until the old lady motioned to us to close the window (maybe she was cold?) Neither of us were going to suggest that maybe we could keep the window open, so the bus gradually became hotter as the journey continued.
I have a good sense of direction and figured I could find our way to the riad when we arrived in Marrakesh, despite the Lonely Planet warnings that it is difficult to find anything in the souq. I hit all my landmarks on the way to the riad, but then we just couldn't find the place. We asked a few people in the souq, and it was always around a corner, juste là. Finally we had to pay a kid Dh10 to lead us. It was down at the end of a twisty alley, without any markings or signage on the door (as is normal). It was Dh10 well spent.
The riad is really nice, although a bit of a splurge (Dh1050). It's even nicer than the previous place in Essaouira.
Last night we ate dinner in Djemaa el-Fna, a huge open air food market. The food was actually quite bland :( There's a lot of tourists here (even a Club Med right on the square), so I think the food is westernized-down a bit. After eating couscous and tajine, we tried another stall, which had cow's tongue, camel hump and some part of lamb. The camel hump was spongy like tofu. The tongue and lamb were quite good.
This morning we visited Ali ben Yousef Medersa (a theological college), Koubba Ba'adiyn (a sanctuary) and Musée de Marrakech. This afternoon we're taking a cooking class in our riad!
We're not that impressed with Marrakech, although it is interesting to visit.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Essaouira, Morocco
We've stayed in three places so far in Morocco, and each place has been better than the previous. Here in Essaouira (esa-wera), we're at the Riad Emeraude. (A riad is a traditonal town house set around an internal garden). We have a cosy room on the top floor. The bathroom is more modern than ours at home, straight out of a interior design magazine. The bed has curtains all around. Outside our room are a number of little tables to sit and read or eat or sip mint tea.
We took a grand taxi from Oualidia to Safi. A grand taxi is a car, normally (over)shared here with six passengers. We split it four ways with a french couple we met in our hotel in Oualidia, to be in comfort. The car itself was a Mercedes circa 1984, (there are a lot of old Mercedes here). From Safi, we took a CTM bus to Oualidia. The bus station is just outside the medina (old walled city), and we walked to our reserved room at the riad. We were both amazed at the beauty of the riad and room (and for Dh400!)
We cleaned up (one of the nicest showers I've had travelling), and then went out for dinner. There is an outdoor fish grill near the harbour, and that's where we headed. Along the way we sampled escargot from a street vendor -- ladled from a hot peppery broth into a tin cup (you also sip the broth) (for Dh10!). We watched a beautiful sunset from the harbour, and then made our way to the fish stalls. We picked out some seafood -- red snapper, calamari, prawns, and whiting, which were then perfectly grilled, and served with khoobz (the artisan bread), and tomatoes and onion. Mmmm. On the walk back to the hotel, we bought some Moroccan slippers for use inside the riad. They're both in traditional funky colours.
Morocco is mostly Muslim, and drinking alcohol in public is frowned upon. However, there are wine stores (mostly catering to tourists), and so we picked up a bottle of Moroccan red. Heather and I drank it on the roof-top terrace of our riad, and chatted the night away under the stars.
This morning we had breakfast on said terrace -- freshly-squeezed orange juice, french pastries, and tea (Heather had a cafe au lait). We then walked along the boardwalk to Borj el-Berod, a ruin half-buried in sand, about 4km outside the medina. It's really windy in this town, and we were blasted by sand at a few points.
The PCs in this internet cafe don't have available USB slots so I can't upload any pics. Otherwise you could check out our new shoes!
We took a grand taxi from Oualidia to Safi. A grand taxi is a car, normally (over)shared here with six passengers. We split it four ways with a french couple we met in our hotel in Oualidia, to be in comfort. The car itself was a Mercedes circa 1984, (there are a lot of old Mercedes here). From Safi, we took a CTM bus to Oualidia. The bus station is just outside the medina (old walled city), and we walked to our reserved room at the riad. We were both amazed at the beauty of the riad and room (and for Dh400!)
We cleaned up (one of the nicest showers I've had travelling), and then went out for dinner. There is an outdoor fish grill near the harbour, and that's where we headed. Along the way we sampled escargot from a street vendor -- ladled from a hot peppery broth into a tin cup (you also sip the broth) (for Dh10!). We watched a beautiful sunset from the harbour, and then made our way to the fish stalls. We picked out some seafood -- red snapper, calamari, prawns, and whiting, which were then perfectly grilled, and served with khoobz (the artisan bread), and tomatoes and onion. Mmmm. On the walk back to the hotel, we bought some Moroccan slippers for use inside the riad. They're both in traditional funky colours.
Morocco is mostly Muslim, and drinking alcohol in public is frowned upon. However, there are wine stores (mostly catering to tourists), and so we picked up a bottle of Moroccan red. Heather and I drank it on the roof-top terrace of our riad, and chatted the night away under the stars.
This morning we had breakfast on said terrace -- freshly-squeezed orange juice, french pastries, and tea (Heather had a cafe au lait). We then walked along the boardwalk to Borj el-Berod, a ruin half-buried in sand, about 4km outside the medina. It's really windy in this town, and we were blasted by sand at a few points.
The PCs in this internet cafe don't have available USB slots so I can't upload any pics. Otherwise you could check out our new shoes!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Oualidia, Morocco
We're in the fishing village of Oualidia, population 4,000. It's on a beautiful little lagoon, which feeds the neighbouring oyster farms. Yesterday the village and beach were bustling, filled with locals on weekend trips. Today it's much quieter, although very windy and not very comfortable beach weather.
...
Dinner in Casablanca was excellent. I had lamb tanjine, and Heather had the seven-vegetable couscous (a Casablanca specialty). The Lonely Planet describes couscous as "you know the yellow stuff that comes in a box that you boil for 3 minutes and let sit? well that's not couscous". And they're right. The stuff we make at home nowhere resembles how good the couscous is here. It's light, fluffy, tasty... We shared a 50cl bottle of Moroccan wine (also quite good), and tried a Flag beer (not so good - reminded me of Bud Light).
The next morning we caught a CTM bus (the national bus company) to Oualidia. (The "Ou" is a "w", as in the french "Oui"). The CTM buses are very efficient, with computerized seat reservations and tagged luggage. No worries about my pack getting stolen here. I slept for most of the trip, still a bit jet-lagged.
Oualidia is small enough that it doesn't warrant a map in the Lonely Planet. We walked down the road leading to the beach, and found the hotel. Heather had called the day before to reserve a room at the Hotel L'Initiale. It's a quaint little place with six rooms, about 50m from the beach, for 400Dh.
We explored around the beach and the village. We had dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, but we were still hungry, so went to another place that was filled with locals. This place was much better, (they even gave us a half-dozen oysters on the house!) We both liked the oysters here in Oualidia, very distinctive from other places.
A very common sight here is people sitting in cafès having a mint tea. We have had a few so far, although I can't pace my sipping and usually end up drinking half of Heather's as well. The mint tea is some sort of tea leaf, with a lot of mint leaves and some sweetener (maybe honey). It's really good.
Today for lunch we had sardines freshly-caught from the ocean and grilled streetside, with artisan bread. It was very tasty. We had to be shown how to eat the sardines, first peeling away the skin, and then creating a sardine sandwich. Mmmm good. Very cheap too -- about 30Dh for the two of us.
...
Dinner in Casablanca was excellent. I had lamb tanjine, and Heather had the seven-vegetable couscous (a Casablanca specialty). The Lonely Planet describes couscous as "you know the yellow stuff that comes in a box that you boil for 3 minutes and let sit? well that's not couscous". And they're right. The stuff we make at home nowhere resembles how good the couscous is here. It's light, fluffy, tasty... We shared a 50cl bottle of Moroccan wine (also quite good), and tried a Flag beer (not so good - reminded me of Bud Light).
The next morning we caught a CTM bus (the national bus company) to Oualidia. (The "Ou" is a "w", as in the french "Oui"). The CTM buses are very efficient, with computerized seat reservations and tagged luggage. No worries about my pack getting stolen here. I slept for most of the trip, still a bit jet-lagged.
Oualidia is small enough that it doesn't warrant a map in the Lonely Planet. We walked down the road leading to the beach, and found the hotel. Heather had called the day before to reserve a room at the Hotel L'Initiale. It's a quaint little place with six rooms, about 50m from the beach, for 400Dh.
We explored around the beach and the village. We had dinner at the restaurant in our hotel, but we were still hungry, so went to another place that was filled with locals. This place was much better, (they even gave us a half-dozen oysters on the house!) We both liked the oysters here in Oualidia, very distinctive from other places.
A very common sight here is people sitting in cafès having a mint tea. We have had a few so far, although I can't pace my sipping and usually end up drinking half of Heather's as well. The mint tea is some sort of tea leaf, with a lot of mint leaves and some sweetener (maybe honey). It's really good.
Today for lunch we had sardines freshly-caught from the ocean and grilled streetside, with artisan bread. It was very tasty. We had to be shown how to eat the sardines, first peeling away the skin, and then creating a sardine sandwich. Mmmm good. Very cheap too -- about 30Dh for the two of us.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Casablanca, Morocco
We arrived safely in Casablanca none worse for the wear. The biggest adjustment is to this french keyboard, which is not labelled correctly on the keys. It took a bit of experimentation to find the period so I could log into a website.
So far today we have had a sandwich at a popular little local bistro; bought bus tickets to Oualidia for tomorrow; walked around a few pedestrian only streets; sipped a mint tea at a sidewalk cafe; and explored the medina. The medina is packed with little stores and has great photo ops.
I have been pleasantly surprised at the lack of hassling; we have seen very few other tourists, perhaps because it is early in the season. (I cannot find the apostrophe on the keyboard and so feel like Data from Star Trek). The weather is very comfortable, mid 20s with a slight breeze.
Tonight we are having dinner in the hotel restaurant, which is supposed to be quite good.
So far today we have had a sandwich at a popular little local bistro; bought bus tickets to Oualidia for tomorrow; walked around a few pedestrian only streets; sipped a mint tea at a sidewalk cafe; and explored the medina. The medina is packed with little stores and has great photo ops.
I have been pleasantly surprised at the lack of hassling; we have seen very few other tourists, perhaps because it is early in the season. (I cannot find the apostrophe on the keyboard and so feel like Data from Star Trek). The weather is very comfortable, mid 20s with a slight breeze.
Tonight we are having dinner in the hotel restaurant, which is supposed to be quite good.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Toronto, Canada
We called today to reserve a room at Hôtel Guynemer in Casablanca, the "Author's choice" in the Lonely Planet. (I like to reserve ahead for the first night on a trip, because I feel more of a target fresh off the plane.) The Hôtel Guynemer offers an airport pick-up service to boot! I conferenced in Heather to make the reservation (Heather used to be fluent in french), however their english was really good so we conversed in english. They did have problems with her name, so it will be interesting to see the sign (my guess is Hither).
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Toronto, Canada
I found a cool tool, Atlas (which is based on GoogleMaps). I created a sample of my Thailand-Cambodia-Lao trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)