Sep 21, 2010 - Fez

I am now in my Riad in Fez. I sure miss SOME of the west, mainly dsl which is NOT slower than dial up. 36-48 mbps is like dying a slow death. I promise not to ever complain about 256 mbps again. I think this message will take 3 minutes to transmit. I will try to upload pictures but I can probably fly them home faster, Better luck tomorrow. Pray to ALLAH and the internet gods! Spent today driving from Chefchaouen , to Volubilis, to Fez. Volubilis is a Roman city from the 3rd century. Mostly destroyed by earthquake but intact enough to see...

Sep 20, 2010 - Chefchaouen

After a long two day getting here, i spent my first day getting used to the people and the culture. The Moroccans, love the US and it's people. I have learned that this country has been our friend since the beginning. The is a secret desire for Morocco to be our 51st. state. The village i am in reminds me of Greece but all the buildings are pale blue with the "Greek" blue trim and doors. It is erie to look into a home or passage way and see nothing but irredescent blue. I am a bit tired from 10 miles walking up and down cobblestone streets....

Sep 11, 2010 - Crazy in Cairo

Well...we left the Atlantic shore and headed for our final destination in Marrakesh...a very tricky city to find your way around. We walked for what seemed like miles (OK, it was) to start our tour at the Royal Palace only to find it closed. Then, we could not really find our way into the medina where the action was so we missed seeing a few sights. However, our hotel was blessed with a pool so at least we had a way to cool off from the heat that remained in the 40's. Our flight left from there...stop in Casablanca (for six long hours) and...

Sep 4, 2010 - Essaouira - sun, sand, wind and a view of the Atlantic

We are now in the tourist town of Essaouira...a beautiful spot by the sea. In the hotel (Riad) that we wanted, only a studio was available (about $60.00 per night) but it is nice...canopy bed with a beautiful view of the beach and ocean. Oh, and of the mosque which means we can easily tell when it is prayer time and the loudspeakers come on (believe me, we are certainly NOT saying praise Allah at the 4am one that seems to last forever). Otherwise, this is the quietest sleep we have had. Temperatures are a bit lower here..low 30s and with...

Aug 30, 2010 - African Hot/Howfreakin' Hot?????

Four hours by train from Casa to Fez...46 degrees, no air-con and we had to sneak water drinks when our fellow passengers (in Ramadan) left the car or were sleeping and we did not want to be disrespectful. We have never sweated so much in our lives... We are now in Fez. We are staying in Pension Campini for just over 40 Canadian a night. Comfy Bed, FAN and private washroom (typical shower with no stall so you clean the whole bathroom having a shower, which we do minimum three times per day in this heat. Breakfast a little extra (bread,...

Aug 27, 2010 - Arrival in Casablanca, Morroco

August 25th, we leave the familiar and wonderful life of the cottage to embark on the first leg of our journey. We drive to Orangeville for a few last minute items to tuck into our bags. Lynda's sister Nor kindly drives us to the airport in time to check in for our 7pm flight...through Paris and after a stopover where we slept in the chairs...we arrived after a much shorted flight (3hrs) to Morrocco. Then, a trainride and 'petit' taxi (so small, bags were on the roof with only the two of us as passengers) and we arrived at the American...

Jun 16, 2010 - La maison qui rend fou

À Casablanca, nous manquons notre correspondance de 5 minutes car le vol pour Fès a été retardé et notre vol de Montréal était en retard de 2 heures... Ce fut une visite intéressante de l'aéroport de long en large de bas en haut avec des indications contradictoires... on vous raconte à notre retour. Royal Air Maroc nous a mis sur une voiture avec 3 autres passagers pour Fès (4 heures de route) car leur prochain vol était juste à minuit et demi... Nous sommes arrivées à notre "Riad" dans le vieux Fès (médina) saines et sauves et reposée...

Jun 16, 2010 - L'épopée de deux filles dans la maison qui rend fou

Une fois, c’est deux filles qui manquent leur correspondance à Casablanca pour Fès. Elles arrivent avec deux heures de retard de Montréal et ignorent que le vol pour Fès a été devancé. L’agent de bord de l’avion ne sait absolument rien de leur correspondanece et les dirige vers les « comptoirs de transit ». Elles finissent par trouver où sont les dits comptoirs et demandent si elles sont à temps pour le vol pour Fès. L’agente pointe à leur gauche et dit : « C’est par là. » Elles lui demandent le no de porte et l’agente répond 16A. Elles se...

May 15, 2010 - Casablanca

In the morning, Niall and I explored Casablanca on our own. Walked to the Atlantic Ocean, passing by Rick's Café restaurant. Visited the exterior of the Hassan II Mosque, large square in front, and adjacent buildings with gardens. Tour group meets. Only two other people: Chantal and Amanda.

May 14, 2010 - Casablanca

Arrival in Casablanca. Medina [Niall: One of the pleasant surprises for Terri and I, throughout the trip, was that our French, which I had assumed was long forgotten, came back quickly, and steaded us well. Most Moroccans speak Arabic as a first language, and French as a second. So their French was not much more advanced than ours, and we usually communicated comfortably. I even bagan to hear long-forgotten French songs rolling through my head. Remember Harmonium and Beau Dommage? Pour un instant, j'ai oublie mon nom. Our tour group was...

Apr 21, 2010 - Arrival and Acclimation

Hi Again Everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since the last post. The two weeks have been overwhelming and exciting, and now I finally seem to be acclimating quite nicely. Today, I'll try to give you a brief update on what I've been up to since I last posted, and I'll share a few observations of my initial impressions of الرّبات, the capital of Morocco, and my hometown for the next few months. The next couple of posts have actually been written in bits and pieces across the past two weeks, so I've tried to make the dates as accurate as...

Apr 4, 2010 - Casablanca

@@@@@@@ We came very close to skipping Morocco altogether. As we read through the Lonely Planet we came across more warnings of hassles, scams and thefts that we ever remember encountering for any of the other countries we have visited. That coupled with my memories of vile abuse I faced when travelling in Morocco in the early 1970s with my girlfriend, compounded by the poor reports from my brother David, when he came on business with his wife Jeong Ae in the 1980s, we weren’t at all sure that we were up for it. Instead of heading straight...