Frankie's travels - More west then east bound once more.

We got up very early this morning to continue our travels to the first site of the trip - which was in Port Nolloth. One of the very furthest west points of South Africa.

We passed over several mountains and hills and each new section bought colourful and wild tints of the Northern Cape. monochrome scrubby grass gave way to grey greens and brown pinks of grass which gave way to bright green bushes and clumps of pink and purple tiny flowers and little yellow daisies. All of this interspersed with rocky hillocks and boulder strewn grassy mounds.

The trip felt a little more like tourism for the first three hours (which is basically about how long it took to drive from Pofadder to Port Nolloth) from the beach where I took this shot we drove back up the road to the dirt road leading to the site.

The site was located a little off the beaten track an so we had to walk the final stretch - This was quite fine with me because my rear end was about to fail in all its cushioning duties from sitting so long in the car.

After we completed the task we stopped off for a bite while a member of the party conducted some business and we watched South Africa and Namibia meet on the rugby field.

In due course of things we turned the car back eastwards and drove back to Pofadder to drop the client off at his car where he left it in the morning.

Then we continued eastwards to find the next site to inspect. Unfortunately an incident occurred where (as I don't have straight facts I can't explain the incident) the client for the next spot was unable to take us on a tour of the site. So we decided to go take a look at where we thought the site was according to the maps given. on the way there we were accosted by a rather curious Boer-sized-shaped farmer who was curious why we were making tire tracks up and down his road on his farm. Luckily we were able to explain our presence and he gave us a tour to the exact piece of ground to be seen and some ice cold water to parch our thirst!

By the time we were finished there it was 30 minutes to sunset and we were 250km from our booked beds for the night. My colleague had done most of the driving thus far and asked if I could take over for his eyes were exhausted.

I bravely said yes and adjusted the ix35 to my legs. The ix35 is a splendid car... however, compared to my trusty old Tazz, the brakes are too responsive, the gear stick is too small, first gear is a small wrist flick and the steering is overly sensitive.... compared to a trusty old Tazz. but golly it glides away at a quick speed. 

I was fine when the road were straight and freaked out a little with the brake around the corners.... then it got dark. The N14 does not have street lights. My night eyes tried very hard and with the help of the greatness that is car light brights on a brand new hire car I was doing pretty well (minus the people driving towards me with their brights on) 

Honestly, it was a very scary stressful 250km drive. my eyes were bad, the road was dark and winding and the car was too quick to jump to 120km/h. 

But finally at after 8pm we found ourselves 5 towns away in Kenhardt and driving into the parking lot of the guest house. 

The owner-lady came out and showed us to our rooms and then said the greatest thing....


"Your dinner is almost ready"

Better yet. she then produced braai-ed ribs, wors and chops with potato bake and salad.   

Bliss....

Now, one dinner and a hot shower later I am ready to rest my tired little eyes and be ready to face the third and final day of this Northern Cape road trip :)

Frankie's Travels - Westward bound

I am on another business trip. Basically we are travelling west from Upington to almost the far north western point of the country and then turning around and driving back to Upington over a period of three days.

The trip didn't start well - we missed the flight. - I'll say no more on this topic because missing flights is annoying and ultimately results in lots of expensive phone calls and rerouting and rescheduling of the trip and many feelings of regret. This doesn't help when the team is yourself and the foreign specialist.

Anyway - 6 hours later we were finally zooming up into the sky and getting on our way with the visit. This is my first visit to this section of the Northern Cape so secretly I was pretty very excited.

First observation is that Upington airport is a really fancy pretty airport. I would proudly send tourists there.

The roads were really quiet and we set off west towards Pofadder. we were travelling at sunset so the landscape was bathed in a poetic golden glow but even with out it, it still is a very pretty route dotted with rocky outcrops and multi-hued grassy patches and (what we assume to be) wine farms.

We rolled into Pofadder in the dark and my trusty GPS pointed us to the correct road to turn down. The Hotel was kind enough to paint their name across the entire flat walled section of the building. There was a friendly business man to chat to us while we waited to check in. Then we found our client booked into the rooms next door and arranged to meeting and gossip I mean make the next days arrangements over the dinner table.

This hotel is simple and plain but not unlikable. the people are friendly and the hot tap in the shower is hot and the beds are clean and sleep enabling.

My business trip has improved greatly from the stressing sprinting pleading regretting disaster this morning and I have many plans to organise a more leisurely holiday road trip this way in due course.

Sunset on the way to Francistown

Some days there are perks to my work (other days {cue: palm facing upwards, shrug} eeh... Its okay.

I just spent a full day of traveling on site in Botswana and after driving a good 600 km we were pretty much feeling the whole tired vibe. So on the way dodging enthusiastic land rovers and tailing construction trucks, I snapped this picture of the wicked awesome sunset. It was impressive enough that it made me feel good for a little while. For the record, I was not driving at the time....

Sunsets woooo!

Scenes on the way home

Beginning of the year traffic is always a nightmare and going home on fridays especially are times when I think about biting chunks out of my steering wheel in frustration.

Conversely, the number one way to make sure the traffic moves is to find something else to do while your clutch wears out.

I acquired a fabulous new phone a few weeks ago. (more on that in an other blog post.) So after moving 10m in 5 minutes - less than a kilometre my house... I decided to play with my mobile phone camera. (thrilling story this...)

As I set up the shot of the dark thunder clouds behind the pine trees, the robot changed and I had to move up five cars lest I be hooted at. So here's some pictures of some other foliage amd storm clouds instead :)

Morocco in pictorial summary

This collection is by no means a full summary of all items of the tour, but I thought 9 pictures to show the 9 days of the trip was a nice way of representing things. (Note: since I arrived a day late on the trip, the day numbering of this entire travel blog exercise is not the same as the day numbering of the trip itself - I am not particularly bothered if this bothers you)

I picked some of my favorite snaps and the ones that bring back good memories for me. Have fun identifying pictures to stories!

Day 1 - Marrakesh, outside the market, looking at the Mosque at sunset

Day 2 - The glass doors in the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca 

Day 3 - The Roman Ruins, now inhabited by storks

Day 4 - The citrus fruit on a classic Moroccan ceramic plate after lunch and shopping in Fes

Day 5 - Leaping in the air in the Sahara - I have a silly face on but this will be a favourite photograph for a long time to come

Day 6 - Lunch at the home of the Tour Leader - simple and oh so delicious.

Day 7 - Henna tattoos with my buddy Jenn

Day 8 - A very old mud brick town on the way back to Marrakech

Day 9 - The fabulous Yves St Laurent gardens in Marrakech

Frankie's Travels - Last flight then Moroccan adventure's over.

{cue: tears and sad face} sigh holiday's over...

I am event too tired to shop in the Abu Dhabi Duty free with my left over money.

The ring I haggled for yesterday makes me a little bit less sad. it is one pretty ring :)

See you in the morning Joburg! I have a lot of showing off to do!

Frankie's Travels Day 8 - Last Day in Morocco

It is my last day in Maroc. :( I would gladly do the entire tour all over again. Not quite homesick enough yet...

Today I slept in a little then said some good-byes over breakfast. We then set off on foot to the Yves St Laurent Memorial garden which was filled withal lot of plants that I have seen in my grandmothers garden. The structures were all painted cobalt blue and the plant pots were all painted sky blue, buttercup yellow and bright orange. So fabulous and really great on the eyes.

Then we walked to the medina and went shopping!

I purchased a few last gifts and a really pretty ring for me (I bargained like a champ for it) and then we walked all the way back almost to our hotel for lunch.

After all the walking today my legs are feeling all zingy and quite tired.... At least I got the circulation going before sitting on a plane for almost 20 hours tomorrow.

The airport taxi is coming at 3am so Ill take a cat nap then dinner then repack my suitcase. I plan to stay up all night and sleep on the aeroplane. (9 hours from Casablanca to Abudhabi should do it)

Zoom zoom zoom in T minus 11 hours!

Frankie's Travels Day 7 - Last dinner

We finally arrived back in the big city and installed ourselves back into the hotel we started at. (Smelt as bad as it did the first time)

So I changed into fresh clothes and found a comfy couch with wifi connectivity.

I have missed 61 new work emails and a whole lot of family and friends news. I think I might need a day or two once I return home to sort out my life and catch up on everyone else.

I can't say I am home sick yet... I do miss my bed tho. And living out of a suitcase isn't that much fun. But I think I will enjoy coming home and telling all about my great trip of Moroccan exploration and how it turned out to be much much better than what my pre-trip stress told me.

Right now I am chilling in the reception waiting for the rest of the group to join us for one last dinner together. Then I am going to sleep in tomorrow (Guess Ill set an alarm to not miss breakfast tho), do some exploring, maybe find a few more gifts, repack my suitcase from scratch to fit in all the stuff I have bought, catch a cat nap and try make it out the hotel around 2am on the 10th to catch my early early flight.

For now, my biggest decision is whether to have chicken or beef, couscous or bread for dinner, Independent Seasoned Traveller Frank can wait for me tomorrow.

Frankie's Travels Day 7 - Ouarzazate Valley

We left the Dades Valley in the morning and wound our way back out from the bottom of the valley and back onto the open road. We stopped off to take pictures of an impressive huge red rock formation called the Monkey's Fingers.

Our next stop was at the Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate which has been used as a location for several films such as Gladiator, Cleopatra, Babel, Star Wars and Prince Of Persia.

We then drove another 25km and stopped off to view and photograph a really old Casbah in Ait Ben Haddou. Again a popular film location. The Casbah is one of the oldest in Morocco and is made of mud and straw bricks.

Throughout the journey so far today we have seen many old mud and straw buildings. Some are in good shape, some are not and look like giant abandoned sand castles on a hill.

With two nights in cold locations and the amount of dust in the air and in the bus, at least half of the people on tour with me have caught a cold and the bus trips are a symphony of sniffing and snuffling and blowing noses and sneezing and coughing. Honestly I am surprised that it took me this long to get a sniffle... Sadly my stock of Sudafed is running low. Stocks in Moroccan Tissue Factories are Up...

Frankie's Travels Day 7 - Op pad na Marrakech ...toe

(I am sure MrT will correct my grammar)

After the Ouarzazate Valley, the Red iron oxide mountains changed to Chocolate brown hillsides sprinkled with grass. There were also a few black mountains to be seen which is where is material that makes kohl for eyeliner is from.

After another hour of travelling we made it to the highest mountain pass in Morroco. We could see the road ahead snaking around and down the mountain side. The tour leader let us stop to take in the mountain view and nervously watched us advance to the edge to take photo's. Once back in the bus he tells us stories of people falling down the mountain by their own stupidity in looking at the camera view and not where their feet are going. We could also see the paths where the hikers and mules can walk. I think it would take a little longer to walk than this speeding two-wheel cornering bus.

On the way down the mountain we passed a village made of the same brown stone as the mountain. It would have been almost entirely camouflaged but for the windows and doors that were painted in bright blues and purples and reds.
(and the big white satellite dishes)
We also passed some goats that had scaled a seemingly sheer rocky cliff face to get their teeth on some juicy grassy titbits.

We are winding our way back through this mountain pass from Southern Morocco back to Marrakech for our final night of the tour (but first lunch... I hope).

I have an additional day in the city before leaving before the sparrows are awake for my three flights to get home. The biggest wish in my heart right now is that it all goes to plan and I get home with minimum hassle.

Frankie's Travels Day 7 - 70 km from Marrakech

We have been travelling pretty much the whole day so far returning from Dades to Marrakech. The red iron oxide sandy cliffs changed to chocolate hills with sprinkles of grass to tall mountain pass gravel to now near the end of the mountain pass with hills covered in a thick green layer of Juniper and Oak trees.

We stopped off along the way for lunch and had Berber omelettes. The omelette is made of egg (obvious) and fine chopped vegetables all cooked in a Tajine. It was tasty except for the profuse use of coriander which is not a flavour I enjoy.

Now 70km from Marrakech we are in the final stretch of twists and turns in the mountains before returning to the urban city scenery.

Frankie's Travels Day 6 - Todra Valley and Gorge

We stopped off first for a top view of the Todra Valley. The entire area has steep craggy mountains (imagine Drakensburg region but all brown no green.) and square buildings built up the mountain sides. The streets are narrow and hemmed in with the flat facade of the buildings. The buildings are earthy oranges and whites and pinks and grays and this contrasts well with the green of the palms and the red-brown of the valley walls.

Then we drove up and around some steep bends and into the Todra Gorge. We stopped at the bottom of the gorge which has sheer walls going up about 300m. The first comment of several members of the group was Where do they do the rock climbing? (Roy, I know you're reading this... You would have told us to leave you behind.) We walked a little up the road at the bottom of the gorge while hearing about the flooding in the gorge in 2006 when some people died. We were able to see on the rock face, the effect of the high waters.

As the gorge is deep and narrow and we were there late afternoon, we were feeling very cold, very quickly. Fortunately the bus met us at the end of our walked path and we packed ourselves back in and made for the Dades Gorge. (Pronounced almost like Daddy's Gorge) To get there, we are travelling along the Road of 1000 Casbahs. A Casbah is a fortress house often with at least one tall tower in the corner. (I am unsure if I got this correct in the previous post about a Casbah...) I can confirm we have seen several Casbah's in passing already. I want a tower in the corner of my house. It looks pretty hardcore. Now as the sun is setting we're looking towards getting to Dades.

I made the joke, if the Dades Gorge is a fridge-chilled as the Todra Gorge we could sing:
"Dades, Dades cool..." (get it right?)

Frankie's Travels Day 6 - Dades Gorge

We seemed to travel the entire length and breadth and width and height of the Dades Valley before arriving at our hotel for the night.

The Dades Valley is soft red stone and the valley slopes are ragged and craggy with eroded stone and red dust. The houses are all the brown sand shades of pink and red with white detailing around the windows.

We passed by every man woman child and donkey along the way at a scary speed on the bumpy roads and around the many curves and bends. I notice that a lot more people seem to ride bicycles in Morocco and this place is no exception.

I am only disappointed that we arrived at the start of the valley at sunset and we proceeded at such speed that I didn't snap many pictures. I hope we travel a part of the valley to leave again tomorrow and Ill be able to preserve the experience then.

Our hotel is at the bottom of the valley and as is typical with houses at the bottom of a valley... it was frigid inside. My Berber carpet style decorated 3 person room (for just me) was equally chilled... but as I was contemplating three hot hot showers before bed... The tour leader knocked with the remote control for the aircon/heater. Oh I am fond of a thoughtful man.

Now we're preparing for dinner and then we're getting henna tattoos after. And with that I will tick off another Morocco trip outcome. Check!

Frankie's Travels Day 6 - leaving the Sahara

After dinner (which was spectacularly delicious) the drums and tamborines and percussion came out and there was dancing and singing. A beautiful Berber woman came out and swung her hips and swayed her hands and put us all to shame. We got a chance to participate in the drumming and so several people in my tour group are complaining of aching hands this morning.

After dinner and the usual night ablutions we were lead across the sand to a set of five tents arranged corner to corner in a circle with a campfire in the middle. We sat around the fire and talked until each person turned in for the night.

Our beds were mattresses on the floor covered with a sheet and a top sheet and a thick blanket. Then two additional thick blankets were provided for each bed. So under three blankets and with my winter woolly PJ's on, I was certainly not cold... Except my nose, my nose was a little icy point in my haven of cosy-ness.

In the morning not many were pro-active enough to catch the sunrise but after breakfast we packed up our bags and headed back out of the desert towards the Todra Gorge.

Frankie's Travels Day 6 - Fossil factory

First stop was at a Fossil Factory (tour leaders words). The Sahara used to be covered by ocean in ancient times and now the sedimentary rock is quarried out and the gastropod, shrimp and marine life fossils are revealed. We went to a place that gets the stone from the quarry and makes a whole array of artwork revealing the fossilized life forms.

I purchased a few small items specifically a small gift for my brother who I am so proud of passed matric and will be studying geography next year. (geography includes stones right?)

Astonishingly I managed to not blow the budget on gems. Good for Me...

Frankie's Travels Day 6 - Family Lunch

We stopped off at the Tour Leaders family home for lunch made by his mum.

We had couscous with veggies and chicken followed by clementines. It was tasty and flavourful and our plates were cleaned off in the way that home cooking makes hungry bellies do.

Now after discovering the local ablution facilities we are back on the road and ready to visit The Todra and Dades Gorge.

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - the Ziz valley

The grass and shrubs have given up almost completely and the terrain is covered in steep hillsides and huge boulders and sheer cliffs of layered sheets of rock. This is the Ziz valley.

I think this scenery is really beautiful in an earthy kind of way... It is in stark contrast with the clear blue skies and it feels very remote out here.

And then occasional water source location pops up along with the palm trees and castle looking buildings - exactly like how I imagine an oasis.

From the crowded narrow streets of Fes yesterday, this wide open space is a refreshing change and I think any trip to Morocco would not be complete without experiencing both.

And now after all my dramatic poetic speech... We turn a corner and there is a huge dam ahead of us. This dam is used to generate hydropower and irrigated the valley. The rocky steep hillsides with sparse vegetation remain but the dam is a big wet blue contradiction to my "we're in the middle of nowhere" descriptions. The scenery is still pretty good for staring at tho...

After lunch we made our final stop off before the last stretch of driving into the desert where we will be camping. We stopped off at a look out point 250km from the (closed) border with Algeria. The look out point looks over a green date palm rich section of the Ziz valley. There are 1.5 million date trees in the valley And both male and female plants. The Ziz valley is famous for dates. There are many many different kinds of dates from here.

The architecture is Berber style with square windows and minarets and the people are traditional with large extended family groups residing together and the women dressed conservatively with everything covered except one eye. They are garbed in black from head to toe because black is not see through and so preserves modesty however their clothes are not without self expression. The head scarves are embroidered and fringed in multicolours. Different colour trousers peek out above different fashion shoes. The fashion, it seems, is yellow slippers.

Next stop: Desert camp for sunset! (by an amusing co-incidence, the reading book I have with me is Dune)

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - and finally, the Sahara desert

The terrain to the desert was flat and hard and sandy and dark brown.... And bone jarring bumpy.
But in the distance was the red sand dunes of the Sahara desert.

We travelled for about half an hour across the sand after turning off the tar road and arrived right up at the dunes in a place called Merzouga. (40km from the Algerian border)

Then we took cameras and mounted camels and rode off into the dunes to see the sunset.

The desert is a quiet place and our ride was only disturbed by the soft crunchy sound of the camels feet on the sand and the occasional prolonged camel snort.

After 40 minutes of side to side riding camel we stopped and climbed the dunes. While waiting for the sun to sink we took a few leaping in the air shots. (crouch, say go, then Jump!... Don't forget to smile)

The sunset glided below the horizon in blues and purples and yellows and oranges and pinks. And after plenty more group photo's we mounted camels again and turned back to the desert hotel.

We are sleeping in Berber tents tonight on mattresses on the ground under a tent of Berber carpets. It's going to be cold but a very unique experience. (well cold outside of the three thick blankets and the piled on sleeping clothes)

The desert is peaceful and the stars are bright and the spirits in the group are high and this night may go down as one of my high points of the tour.

The friendly Berber people are handing out mint tea and peanuts while we sit around a fire. Buffet dinner later. Mmmmm.

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - the other side of the mountains.

On the other side of the Middle Atlas it is not green at all. Finally we are at the desert (however not the Sahara yet...) The ground is stoney and dotted with small scrubby bushes and woolly sheep,

Yes I did take photos of the sheep and it is a good shot.

Now I want pictures of some wild camels in the veld. Funny story: when I arrived at the airport in Marrakech and was driving to the hotel I saw some camels "parked" on the side of the road like motorbikes. Haven't seen any camels since. There is however an optional camel ride in our programme. I will start flexing and exercising my thigh muscles in preparation for hanging on for dear life...

The town we passed through has a wide main road through the middle and flat fronted shops and buildings. It reminds me just a little of Western movies... More cactus required methinks... And chaps and cowboy hats instead of head scarves and djellaba's.

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - Desert wandering

As our white bus rolls on through these dry places, the passing scenery seems pretty much the same. Scrubby bush, rocky outcrops, sandy hillsides, goats and sheep and donkeys and mules and squat flat houses made from bricks of sand, hay and water (so the tour leader says)

The road route seems to be matched by a winding river grey sand. The desert sand is red and brown but the "river" is filled with grey gravel. How curious...

We have been driving in a southerly direction all morning. I have been sitting on thwarted east facing side of the bus. I am going to have on sunburned side of face... Oh Joy.

We have passed several pointers to caravan holiday resorts. I am sure it is a different style of caravan they refer to but I am struck by the amusing idea of my family having a caravan holiday like old days in the Moroccan desert... Wait a minute That would actually be kinda fun... If we could take the heat.

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - Ifrane

This town is called Moroccan Switzerland. I can understand why. It is green and the air is clean and it is up in the mountains. (and it's pretty lettuce-crisp cold) The houses even have the traditional sloped roofs with the gable windows in the roof. Apparently it snows here so this is a popular ski destination too. Many people have summer and winter holiday homes here. Are you getting the Switzerland metaphor yet?

There is a big stone lion in the centre of the town so we stopped off for photos and to stretch our legs. the line for the loo was too long so we're leaving now. Driving out of the town we can see the start of the Cedar forests as we cross the Middle Atlas mountains...

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - Monkeys in Cedar trees

We stopped off on the side off the road to look at some monkeys in the Cedar trees.

The place where stopped seems to be a popular place for tourists to stop for the monkeys. In typical tourist fashion everyone was feeding the monkeys to get them to come closer for better photos. In my experience of wild animals this is not the best idea because it stops the animals from feeding for themselves and makes them really aggressive. So I did not give any food.

I did however walk a little away and I found two monkeys cleaning each others fur. Pick pick nibble nibble pick pick.

The monkeys have super thick fur and no tails and are kinda cute in a They-look-almost-human way... Until they started climbing on peoples backs. Then you realise they are wild animals.

Back on the road we see a few remaining snow drifts and I realise how cold it is. In true Frankie travelling style, this is the one day when I haven't packed on the layers and my legs and feet are turning Icy... Hopefully the bus driver will be kind and let me retrieve my suitcase to take out some stockings and a warm woolen hat (knitted by my grandmother).

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - Snow on the mountains

We must be passing over the top of the Middle Atlas Mountains because there is snow in the hillsides we are passing. Not a lot of snow just enough that the scenery looks like chocolate cake dusted with icing sugar. The road is winding around the hills allowing everyone a good view at times.

The hillsides are rocky and some of the rocks are big enough and scattered in such a way that you can't tell the difference between the sheep and the rocks. (the sheep are also a dirty brown color which aids their camouflage).

Is it an odd contradiction that the only Canadian in the group is the one that is snapping lots of pictures of the snowy slopes?

Frankie's Travels Day 5 - Fes to Merzouga

We left Fes early in the morning abduction started driving (south?) towards the Middle Atlas Mountains. The scenery on the way to our first stop in Ifrane is green with stick-like apples trees and streams running down along next to and near the road. This is so not the scenery expected when you're driving to spend the night camping in the desert.

It maybe to cold and early for animals so only rocks and old houses dot the landscape with the mountains shadowed on the horizon. Most people on this bus are sleeping or reading.

There is also the odd Juniper tree plantation (sorry not G&T's found here) and olive grove. I on the other hand am looking out for power lines. Yeah yeah geek-alert...

Frankie's Travels - News from Home

I got news today that my younger brother has not only passed matric but got 4 distinctions And university entrance.

I am feeling kinda homesick in this proud moment. I wish I could be there to join the celebration at home.

Either way my heart is overflowing with joy for my brother and is overflowing in little salty tears (that may be the tiredness and bright sun in part too) This may be interesting to explain if any of my fellow tour mates notice.

Congratulations Jo! You have made us all proud!

Frankie's Travels Day 4 - Fes

(note spelling correction)

So we finally arrived in Fes and drove to our hotel in the old town. The hotel is one of the prettiest we have been at with mosaics and fountains and courtyards and balconies. My room was also pretty with painted wooden doors but smelt like some horrible middle ground between tomatoes, eggs and tuna.

We drove into the new town and had a very pleasant dinner at a simple modern city style pizza place. I had the tuna and onion pizza which was delicious.

Today we were due to spend the who day discovering Fes.

First we met the tour guide at the gate to the King's Palace. The gate actually has 7 different entrances representing the seven days of the week with the central biggest most ornate one being for Friday - the islam holy day.

Then we walked through the Jewish quarter and past the entrance to the Muslim Quarter. Weirdly the shops right by the Palace gates (a major tourist attraction) were very ordinary and common local people oriented - mattress shops and appliances and a green grocer.

According to the tour guide, the Muslims and Jews live in peace in this country because they are all Moroccan and the Jews left only to respond to the call to return to Israel. This is a pretty cool thing if what they say is true.

Perhaps they save all their disagreement energy for the Algerians.

Then we drove up a steep hill to a military post to take pictures of the overview of the medina. The medina is characterised by tall square buildings close together and narrow streets and many many many satellite dishes.

If my facts are correct, I think Fes medina is the biggest car-free zone in the world. (this does not mean the air in there is clean and fresh on the nose)

The Medina is ENORMOUS and only the locals know how to not get lost in it... Well even the locals Sometimes get lost.

Then we drove down the hill to a ceramic factory to see how the tiles and mosaics and crockery is made. The ceramic factory is outside the Medina due to the smoke from the kilns and the smell. I may or may not have spent a chunk of my holiday money there.

Then we finally drove down the hill and walked into the Medina (after a serious talk about not getting lost and watching out for criminals and pickpockets and not buying from funny looking people.)

First we hustled through the streets and stopped past a few pretty historic sites to finally reach the famous 14th century leather tannery. (which smelt so bad, the factory shops automatically give you springs of mint for free to push close to your wrinkling nose) I may or may not have spent another chunk of my spending money on some really beautiful awesome leather shoes.

Then we walked across to a factory where fabric made of cotton and or silk and or wool and or velvet is made. The fabric was very beautiful and I nearly spent my months salary on sheets and curtains and tables cloths and pretty other things until I realised that I don't have a months salary with me and it would just silly. The salesmen took head scarves and made Berber head dresses for us (think Lawrence of Arabia) and photos were taken.

I picked out some pretty scarves for some lady persons I am fond of and was then lured upstairs to the kaftanand djellaba shop. I bargained my way (with help entirely from the tour leader) into a pretty cool but uncheap Moroccan ladies shirt. So fashionable!

Then as Fes is famous for good food, we went to a great restaurant for lunch and had a chicken pie whose name I cannot say (pastilo? passilo? pastio?) it had cinnamon and sugar on top, crispy pastry, and chicken and almonds and other savoury filling inside. It was an odd mix of flavours about so so delicious.

We also stopped past a mosque to peer in at the door (nonMuslims are not allowed in) and visited the oldest university in the world and visited a Koranic School.

All these places were beautiful but in a years time it will be a blurred memory of very artistic colourful mosaics, carved cedar wood, plaster and marble.

Finally we went back to the bus and drove to the Blue Gate which is the main entrance to the Fes Medina.

Tonight, very little planned but the hotel walls are sure to ring of the wails of the 9 women on my tour trying to repack their bags before we leave for the desert tomorrow.

I am way way excited for the desert. Might not update blog until we get back tho...

So today was a busy busy expensive day. But if I can get it all inside my suitcase... It will definitely be worth it.

Day 4 complete :)

Frankie's Travels Day 3 - Meknes

After lunch we first stopped to admire the Meknes old city view from a hillside and then passed through Meknes to admire the main gate of the medina.

The view shows 7 minarets that were built. There used to be 8 minarets but one fell down in February because it was old. You can see the motor way curving around the hills and around the old city (medina).

The main gate of the medina is decorated with green to symbolize the mint tea that Meknes is famous for and blue to symbolize Fez which is the big city that we are travelling to next. The tour leader says that Meknes is in the shadow of Fez. The old men sit under the trees on the one side of the gate and play cards. The old women sit on the other side of the gate and we assume, complain about the men. (this according to the tour leader)

Now we hit the road again and are travelling towards Fez where we will spend two nights. The driver has tuned into a local radio station for some Moroccan road trip music. Doo dee doo dee doo... Yeah!

Frankie's Travels Day 3 - Roman Ruins

We stopped off at some Roman Ruins. There was a whole towns worth of temples and churches and homes and brothels. It was very very interesting. The cherry on the top is that it was very much like the Roman Ruins I saw in Italy but cheaper, less crowded, more excavated and uncovered. We were also able to admire several beautiful mosaics.

You have to appreciate the skills of the ancient romans. We saw evidence of hot tubs, fish ponds, sewage disposal, toilet facilities and sliding doors for privacy.

The only chap in the group was tricked into sitting on a stone that was part covered by the tour guide jacket. The jacket was then removed to reveal a carved phallic symbol much to the amusement of the the girls in the rest of the group. The phallic symbols were used in streets to point people to the brothel. Ill leave your imagination to figure out the kind of pointer.

We then stopped off to take in the view of the Zarhlun Valley and be alternately verbally abused and seranaded by a man selling stones and curios.

The appeal of the view is it combines the clean whites and greens of the olive growing mediterranean and the artistic beauty of the mosques and arab architecture. Along with the occasional goat and chicken.

Now to lunch! Beef couscous with vegetables... Mmmm.

Frankie's Travels Day 3 - Rabat and onwards

So we left Rabat this morning after visiting the Mausoleum of King Hassan II.

The Mausoleum was another beautiful structure of craved wood and fountains and multicoloured marble and intricate tile work.

We have seen a lot of cats around in Morocco. The tour leader explained to us that the cat is seen as a clean animal and has religious significance.

Now the Mausoleum is adjacent to a half complete mosque structure that was constructed in the 12th century. This has a partially crumbling wall around it that has holes in it I assume for old school ventilation. These holes are perfectly sized for pigeon nests.

As we were wandering about the area in front of the Mausoleum, we saw a cat had some how scaled a wall fragment about 3m up and was trying to stalk some pigeons. I have no idea how it got up or how it will get down. I assume the part of the cat doing through thinking is it's belly and when it's hungry for something on the ground it's belly will tell the cat's feet how to defy gravity and it will slither down like a lizard.

We then left Rabat and got on the road to eventually land up in Fez tonight. (we'll be stopping off along the way)We took the motorway for a bit and have now taken an alternate route through some rural part of Morocco to see more of the locals in passing.

It is weird because the structures and the scenery looks a lot like rural South Africa except the woman in the houses and hanging up strings of washing and the men walking down the road are all Arab... It's a little odd for me because I never see Arab looking people in rural areas in South Africa... And I then had a special moment feeling realising I am in a foreign country. This is far away from my home. Way Cool!!!

Frankie's Travels Day 3 - Road trip to Fez

We are travelling to finish at Fez today. We are taking a winding road through the farm lands. The scenery is rolling green hills dotted with the occasional herd of sheep and a few passing donkey carts. The mountains are in the distance. According to the tour leader we will reach the mountains at some time during our tour.

It seems like a good time for reflection... Or sleeping, You can only have so many blurry pictures of sheep and donkeys on a green carpet background as the road whizzes past.

Frankie's Travels - Day 2 Rabat

We drove out of Casa and towards Rabat.

We arrived in Rabat in time to see the Casbah city wall and the Main gate and minor gate and walk through the Casbah a short way to look at the sunset and the ocean... As well as the Moroccan locals discreetly conducting their love affairs on the beach at sunset.

I have found a new way of evaluating foreign cities based on how much it looks like my home town (Oh Johannesburg/Joburg/Jozi I will always call you Home) or looks like places in South Africa. Marrakech looked a little like Yeoville... Casablanca like central Jozi and Rabat like Cape Town... In general None of Morocco looks like my home town. I was interested how green Morocco is - it actually reminded me much of the scenery I saw on road in Germany and Italy. Rolling green field with sheep and cows and farm building. The national road way traffic is far less sedate than Europe. Car hooters are used often and all the time... So glad we have a bus driver.

I am now sitting in the reception of my hotel in Rabat waiting for the rest of the group to come down to walk round the corner for dinner. I might try more chicken today.

I will start looking my own Tajine when I return home. They are hand painted and beautiful here but far too heavy for my luggage.

Frankie's Travels - Day 2 Casablanca

We left Marrakech and headed North(ish) to the ocean and Casablanca.

Casa (as the man at the airport called it) is a big ol' city. Very modern and city like with cars and people rushing and bustling about. But not an ugly city. The main roads are lined with palm trees and even the security bars on the gates and windows have pretty twirled and flourishes.

We visited the Hassan II Mosque. It is the most beautiful religious structure I have seen since visiting the Dommo in Florence. This mosque however is a couple of centuries more modern. It is a colossal structure adorned from top to bottom in intricate carvings and marble and tiles and patterns. The minaret is 200m tall and has pretty green patterns around near the top.

Yes, I went tourist-crazy and snapped tons of pictures that I will unlikely print. I will not reel off all the facts of the mosque, you can read it yourself. Just know it is well worth passing through Casa for a look.

What is amazing is that the mosque is built mostly from locally sourced materials. I should hope that it was built by Moroccan labour. If you're going to spend a lot of money on a big landmark structure of great beauty, you might as well get the whole entire country involved.

One of the girls on tour with me remarked that it is really that big religious structures of equal beauty to the cathedrals of Europe are still being built.

I think I agree.

Frankie's Travels - Casablanca in transit(almost there)

The rebooked flight from Beirut to Casablanca was a major fail in my book. As in worse ever.

My window seat was on a wing.
The toilet smelt so bad I nearly chucked my guts.
I would complain about the large chap next to me but he was very friendly and pleasant.
And no TV entertainment. None! For 6 hours of Flying!

Anyway the flight was otherwise uneventful.

it is however my new mantra to not jump to conclusions and not judge a country by their aeroplane food... Or else I would never ever go to Lebanon again.

I landed in "Casa" and proceeded to the domestic departures lounge. Which was packed wall to wall with people so I turned around and went to passport control and left the airport... To get on a shuttle and try find a hotel to get some sleep.

Shuttle operator said hotel was fully booked so I took my cold sorry tired self back into the airport.

I think this moment was the lowest moment of this entire air travelling adventure. Low on sleep Hungry and very Cold. I considered maybe getting my luggage, and buying a flight home and never leaving again. Instead I manned up and tried to console myself over a cup of Hot Chocolate. (which was luke warm small and overpriced booo)

Finally I decided to go take a look at the Departure Lounge Horror again and found it deserted. So I decided that the only option (other than taking a taxi to another hotel and hoping to find one with space) was to spend the next 10 hours in the departure lounge.

Unfortunately I did not dress very warmly for my air travel because I really didn't expect to need to be dressed warmly. (lesson: Morocco in winter is as cold as a proper Joburg winter. Which is Pretty chilly to me)

So I took out my scarf and wrapped my head and shoulders and took out my towel (homage to Douglas Adams) and spread that over my knees and put on the freebie aeroplane socks and considered wrapping my cold ears with my spare tshirt...

And then I shivered for the next 10 hours trying to get some shut eye.

The kindly guard woke me later and directed me to three seats together which was a marginal improvement.

It was mostly very unpleasant but I survived and at 8am I was in line and ready to hop onto my fourth and final flight.

They took out a 737-200 to transport 20 people 300 km to Marrakech. Needless to say... I had the best amount of leg room on this flight.

And then and hour later... I Finally... Arrived At My Destination... And when I found my airport transfer bus driver. (amazingly my luggage was waiting for me and had arrived at my destination without any hitch - this was a big relief) I was only just strong enough to not break down into weeping with Joy that finally I was no longer alone in being responsible for what to do and where to go.

Thus, Frankie's Moroccan Adventure Commenced...

Frankie's Travels Day 1 Marrakech

So I found my airport transfer and we travelled to the hotel where I met my tour leader who sent me off in a big hurry with the local guide to catch up with the group. So I dropped my bags in my room - threw on a fresh shirt and ran.

I joined them riding in horse drawn carriages. We stopped off at the tombs of a previous dynasty of Morocco and then the Palace of Bahai and I got my first views of the beautiful building designs and carvings and marble tile work that I wanted to see.

One day when I am wealthy, my house will have a beautiful road with a fountain and tiling and trees.

Then we went through the market and visited a herbal pharmacy. Moroccans have a herbal or mineral remedy for everything! And I had my first glass of Mint Tea (another trip objective Tick!)

We stopped at a souk. It was not as exciting as I expected - but this is day 1 so I am open to be impressed again.

The market is busy and packed at easy to get lost in. The store sellers are constantly calling at you and often with rude names Some of the others on tour with me were called Big Feet, Small Breasts and Slow One.

In our free time, I was wandering the market with two others and we were tired so we stopped off for Dh10 mint tea and talked. I really enjoyed this because I got to have a really interesting discussion with someone from Canada and the UK. I am always fascinated by hearing how people from other cultures think.

This first day was a good day for getting to know the group. There are 10 of us. I am the only South African and I thought "Yeah cool! I am the only Saffa! I am interesting" this was a bit of an ego-over-boost on my part because the group has One Canadian, Two English (one originally from Ghana and One originally from Nigeria), One American, One Italian and Four Australians. So we're all pretty unique. So I am not any more special than anyone else here... But we're a proper interesting mix of cultures! (yeah yeah it never is all about me)

Once we made it back to the hotel we had an hour before dinner. And I did the one thing that I had been thinking about for 3 days... I brushed my teeth. Hurrah! It was so good - I brushed my teeth again. (I had looked in the mirror midday and was horrified by my dirty teeth - 2 and a half days of travelling will do that) Then I did the second thing I was dying to do - I had a shower. Second Hurrah!

For dinner I had chicken kebabs with chips and fresh OJ. One of the things I had worried about before the trip was about the food - would it taste funny? Would I have to eat lots of lamb? Would it have a weird middle eastern flavour? So far the food has been simple, tasty and quite deliciously edible. (I had couscous and veggies for lunch) I haven't been adventurous but I am not an adventurous eater anyway.

Finally back at the hotel I trudged up to my room and did the greatest thing all day. I slept... Horizontally... In a bed... Not an aeroplane seat Not a departure lounge chair but a big soft warm bed... And you know I was dead to the world for the next 8 hours. Third Hurrah!

Frankie's Travels - Hello Beirut!

So my missed flight was rebooked via Beirut.
Flying in I sadly did not have a window seat but I saw that the airport is Right On The Beach! It is the highlight of this insane flying non-sleeping day that I have a window seat flying out of here.

Sea on one side, Runway on other side, Sand strip in the middle. Gonna be a kick ass view!

The airport is manned almost entirely by people in army uniform. (based on my observation only) This is a little scary and intimidating. However after 3 flights I am used to the Take Off Shoes and Belt security routine.

Zoom Zoom Zoom in 5 minutes!

This post was written a full 2 and a half days ago... Sadly my window seat was on the wing... On the wrong side of the plane. Booo.