Spain

We both slept fantastic and the alarm woke us up at 5 AM

We met Swiss Melanie at the front reception at 5:50 AM  and together we headed to the airport in our pre-paid taxi ( actually a Sprinter type vehicle)

All went well and it didn’t take long for us to clear security and passport control. Our flight left on time at 9:05. 

The flight was uneventful although the Ryan Air seat was uncomfortable for me. 

After hearing recent stories about difficulties getting into the EU we were pleasantly surprised that getting our finger prints and photo taken (EU  registration: as it is our first time in the EU since the upgraded entry/exit system), and then followed by local immigration was really easy and quick. Our checked luggage made it through and after getting our e-sims activated we headed out to the bus area. I had not pre-booked bus tickets as I didn’t know how long entry would take so when we got to the ticket booth we couldn’t get a bus ticket until the 3PM scheduled bus (which was over 2 hours away). This gave us great time to enjoy lunch and cool refreshments before we were on our way through the beautiful countryside. 

We rolled into Granada about 1 hr 30 minutes after leaving and we tried getting the Uber app to connect but in the end we didn’t book with them, we just grabbed a cab from outside the bus station. Interestingly Uber was going to cost us E10.54 but the cab only cost E8.

We got into the hotel (it wasn’t obvious at first how to get in) and got our room. It wasn’t long before we headed out as we were hungry. The following photo was taken on the street just below our bedroom

At the end of the street in this photo are umbrellas of restaurants (of which there are many). We chose one and had a recommended (by Fernando) plate called black paella

Following our meal we walked on the streets for quite a while.

Lots of people here and the reasons are obvious. This is s UNESCO World Heritage site and lives up to the hype.

We cracked a bottle of Rose wine and are relaxing. I am washing some of my clothes in the wash bag

Relaxing day in Marrakech

 We had a quiet day today. We needed a break and I am not quite well yet so needed to stay close.

We washed some clothes using our travel clothes washing bag, then went down the street to use the coin operated clothes dryer.

We finished off the remainder of the food we purchased yesterday at the supermarket before heading down to the pool area where Caro had a swim and we sat in the shade enjoying 33 degrees.

We met Swiss Melanie at the pool.She and Holly had gone on a hot air balloon flight at 5:30 AM. It looked like fun.

The two of us went to a recommended pizza place for a 5:30 supper.I didn’t really like it and as before with meals here we couldn’t finish it.

We left about two pieces of the pizza.  I really prefer pizza with tomato sauce.

Back at the hotel we met up with the Irish couple and later, Holly (from the US) and had a glass of Baileys courtesy of teh Irish couple . Those three can really hammer home the booze; not us.

We are packed and ready to go to the airport. We leave the hotel at 6:00 AM. Swiss Melanie is coming with us (and an interesting co-incidence is that she is the first one we met from our tour group)

In Marrakech

 We had a super long day. It was so long and exhausting that I am writing this the morning after.

This morning we drove from Ait Zenab to Marrakech through the Atlas Mountains going over quite a few passes and down into valleys. The closer we got to Marrakech the greener the scenery. 

The mountains were beautiful but with very little vegetation. There were numerous rockslides along the roadway. 

Overall the trip had wonderful scenery

We arrived in Marrakech at our hotel about 12:30. We scrambled to unload, get our rooms, and out the door to a local supermarket where we picked up some lunch food which we shovelled down quickly in order to meet the others in time for our city tour.

Some confusion in the group as we had anticipated the driver was being tipped from the “kitty” we paid into at the beginning. This turns out not to be the case so some people are scrambling to get cash. The driver is getting a combination of Euros and American dollars from us as we have only a small amount of dirhams left and we will keep these for emergencies only ( or buying water etc). Dirhams are not easy to exchange outside of the country so we really don’t want to take any with us to Spain.

We took the VW tour bus one more time to the medina where we thanked our driver and started a two hour walking tour (with a local guide) of the winding, narrow streets of the old town. We enjoyed this one much better than the one at Fes. It was still super easy to get lost but the streets were slightly wider (which meant that we had to be aware of people on motorbikes). This medina was a little smaller than Fes and we were able to see more of the types of activities and everyday life of shopkeepers and craftsmen. We really liked it (from our tourist perspective).

One highlight was the snake charmers.

In the following photo you see the charmer taking a photo of the cobra (with Ahmed’s camera)

The next photo is the one from Ahmed’s camera (with Ahmed looking on and a pensive Caro upper left behind Holly and Melanie -this Melanie is our “neighbour” from Canmore).

I got a harmless snake placed around my neck. I did not enjoy that at all

We were given an option to either go back to the hotel (to rest etc) or wait at the centre square (right beside the market) until 7 PM when Mohammed (our tour guide) would return and show us a bit of the nightlife on the square. I think four went back to the hotel and the remainder of us stayed. As it was only 4 PM we had time to kill so a group of us went to a restaurant overlooking the square for something cool to drink. Following that, Caro and I struck out on an own to an area of the medina (souk) previously visited where Caro bought a souvenir necklace and some traditional treats.

We caught up with the remainder of our group and Mohammed just before 7 PM and he showed us the night life there. The highlight was definitely the musical group. Mohammed paid them some money and they started playing.  A traditionally dressed dancer with only eyes visible came out to dance for us individually and I had my turn. 

The dancer spoke to me a bit and that is when I realized it was a fellow. Too funny! Lousy photo !

With Mohammed leading the way we grabbed a local city bus ( very new and clean) and headed back to the hotel area, going on our own to a restaurant while Mohammed ran back to the hotel to get the others. 

We had a great meal at a VERY good restaurant for one last time together. The problem for us is that eating about 9 PM  is way too late and we just don’t have an appetite for a huge amount of food ( which is, of course, is what you get here).

The following photo is my favourite of the group taken the day before yesterday. 

Still sick

 First thing this morning after breakfast (I tried a bun only) we took a walk in the valley of Todra Gorge and it was a wonderful time.

In the valley are very small plots of land. We saw women working their vegetable and herb gardens, and while it would have been nice to take their photo in their traditional garb they would not allow it. 

We shared the small single paths with local people and animals

At the end of our walk we ended up on a road with people visiting from everywhere it seemed. Lots of motorcycles and smallish tour buses. This is absolutely a “must see” for tourists.

Breathtaking scenery!

We carried on for a few more hours of rocky, boring Sahara desert, passing a few towns along the way. We stopped at one point for lunch in a small city and I tried a small chocolate milkshake. Note to self; DO NOT do that again as I had a setback health wise again and am writing this while Caro has supper with the group. Another member of our group, Helen, took very sick last night and had a worse day than me

The city where we had lunch is the Hollywood of Morocco and many famous movies have been made there

We came to our hotel with the express point to see a UNESCO heritage site here. A Kasbah called Ait Ben Haddou. 

Parts of Gladiator 2 were filmed here. We walked across that bridge to get to the base of the hill and then walked, winding our way through the tiny streets of the town in the photo up to the top of the hill.

Yucky day for me

 I  missed the festivities last night as I started feeling woozy and couldn’t eat much at the supper.

I went straight to bed and Caro came in an hour or so later  after having a bonfire and seeing the stars (I assume)

We both ended up with a crappy sleep.

The entrance to our hotel complex. You can see the tracks in the sand where you drive in across. There is probably a mile drive across the desert to get from the paved road to the entrance

This morning three of our tour group had paid for a jeep excursion which was great for us as we lounged around  pool and used the wi-fi.

This is where we were.

We were on the road by about 12:15 picking up the jeep excursion people about 30 minutes away.

The day was really long for me as I got worse before eventually feeling a bit better tonight. I didn’t get out of the van except for the meal and I didn’t order anything except sparkling water, At our lunch stop we had musicians play local music. It was actually quite neat and most of us got up to dance when the musical group asked us to join them.

Almost 4 hours of typical Sahara scrub land. Not sand dunes like we think of but just flat rocky landscape with occasionally bushes (I missed most of this anyway as i was trying to sleep). We went through a few dusty,dirty towns which are as close to being “the middle of no where” as any places we have been to.

It is 8 PM as I write this. The rest of the group is at supper. I ate a fresh date and it seems to not give any troubles! YAY 

This area is gorgeous and tomorrow’s blog should have lots of photos 

Sahara camel ride

We went on a camel ride last night into the desert. The idea was we would get up into the dunes to see the sunset however there was cloud cover.

The following is a collection of photos from the camel ride.

Now the fun begins

We didn’t have the helmets on for too long. Actually I had no trouble with my staying on the camel as it stood up (I was impressed with myself LOL!)

Sahara desert-Morning and afternoon

 

We were on our way at 7 AM. A few of us were a little “off” in our stomachs however the Irish lady was very ill and we had to stop a few times for an emergency run for any available tree or rock. I gave her our travellers diarrhea medicine. 

The drive today was absolutely phenomenal as we headed up into the Atlas Mountains. We saw many areas of dry wasteland followed by irrigated fields. As we ventured higher into the mountains we stopped a couple times for driver breaks and for fresh bread ( one time) and apples another. The apples tasted just like those from our tree. 

We stopped for lunch at 1:20 in a town that is famous for falconry. There are rich people from Qatar and area that have houses here so they can enjoy this sport.

We continued on through fantastic scenery and lots of ooh’s and aah’s; driving around corners where if you went off the road there was no hope.. Quite a few Oasis’s surrounded by palm trees

We stopped at a town for last chance snacks,pops and ATM’s and then headed out about 30 minutes to our overnight destination which was a hotel built on the edge of the Sahara with dunes “right there!!” The final mile was driven over a rough dirt track into a little paradise of a place. It is 39 degrees today so we have time to go in the pool

Incidentally we are 30 miles from the Algerian border