Uncategorized

  Hi Everyone We are finally coming to the end of our journey. One more blog and this adventure is over. We started exploring Essaouira by being given a city tour by our guide. I can tell you that it is so pleasant walking around this ancient port city. The beach is so calm and beautiful. Lots of people were wind surfing and enjoying themselves strolling along the promenade outside the walled city by the ocean. We walked to the harbor where all the fishing boats were tied up. We were told there were no fishing boats going out since the ocean was too rough. Looked pretty calm to me. Our city tour lasted until about 10:30 and then it was the rest of the day on our own. Olivia and myself walked into the souk. This souk is much more civilized than the one in Marrakesh and in Fes. There were lots of people and vendors, but the entire suck is outdoors so it seems that you are not as confined within a mass of humanity. We walked past vendors selling leather goods, clothing, spices, vegetables, fruits, butchers, fresh fish and more. Olivia could not help herself and bought some more pants and tops. All of the clothing she has bought is very Moroccan and colorful. She was carrying so much that we made a detour back to our Riad to drop off the bags. By the way, our Riad used to be a lodge for the people traveling on caravans many years ago. How cool is that. Imagine staying in a house that is probably four to five hundred years old and was used by caravans crossing the desert. I needed a nap and immediately fell asleep as Olivia packed and sorted out her goodies. At about two o’clock I woke up and needed lunch and some good coffee. We found a beautiful restaurant that was right out of “Casablanca”. We ordered Moroccan salad and chicken tagine. There were songs being played that sounded like Nina Simone but in French. If I close my eyes I could believe that I was in Rick’s American Cafe. After lunch it was time to do some more shopping. Throughout the trip I have been searching for a djellaba. What is a djellaba? It is a long robe that is worn by Muslim men with a hood. They wear their clothes under it. I finally found one to my liking. It is a dark white with green stripes. Very Moroccan. The vendor started the bidding war. He started at 1000 Dirham. That’s around $100 US. I countered his bid at 500 Dirham. His response was “What are you crazy? I will loose money”. I then started to walk out and he countered at 700 Dirhams. I stood my ground. Five hundred Dirhams or I leave. He said go. This is a quality djellaba and can be worn all year long. It was now time for me to do something. I decided that was enough. I turned to leave and he said OK take it. Our tour guide said I got a great deal. A lesson in bargaining in Morocco. Most vendors know you want to bargain so they will purposely start at a higher price so that you they have room to go down. We then walked around some more and finally decided we had enough. Went back to the hotel to rest before meeting everyone in the lobby at 6 o’clock. Olivia wanted to take the stairs up to the roof of the Riad. There is no elevator. Our room is on the second floor and the roof is on the fifth floor. The stairs were winding as we worked our way up. The. It’s from the roof was beautiful and there were lots of sea gulls flying all over. A special scene. At 6 o’clock we all met for a performance of “Gnawa”. Gnawa is traditional Moroccan song and dance. Three locals gave a performance that included spinning and all sorts of acrobatic feats. We had a nice light dinner of Moroccan appetizers. After the dinner, a local woman gave everyone temporary tattoos. Of course, I had her draw one on my arm. They last about seven to ten days. One more day and night in Morocco. Where should our trip end? Of course in “Casablanca”. Stay tuned for the finale tomorrow night. Love Larry

  Hi Everyone Of course, it was up again early, eating a horrible Moroccan breakfast and finally checking out of our five star hotel in Marrakesh. I hope it doesn’t rain much so the internet does not keep on going out. I never knew that rain effects the internet. Our first visit was to a cooking class in Marrakesh. We visited an authentic Riad in the Medina. Remember what a Riad is. A Riad is someone’s former home that has been converted to a sort of bed and breakfast. Very popular in Morocco. The cooking class Riad had separate cooking stations and stoves for each one of us to use. The cooking school was only run by local women. They were dressed up in their traditional wear and we were first given a lecture on the different spices and ingredients that we were going to use. After that, it was then upstairs to cook. We were going to cook our own lunch. Chicken tagine and Moroccan salads were to be prepared by each of us. We were told and shown how to cut and dice various vegetables, spices, fruits and the chicken. It was all put into a tagine dish and cooked over a slow and low flame for forty five minutes. While the chicken tagine was cooking, we prepared our Moroccan salad. Diced and cut garlic, eggplant and other vegetables into a nice mix and then added olive oil and other ingredients. Every ten minutes we would turn over the chicken while it was cooking. At about 11:30, we all went downstairs to a set of two long tables that were set up. Our names were previously put on our tagine dishes so that we could now be served our lunch made by each one of us. I could honesty tell you that no one would ever hire me as a cook. I was not impressed with my performance, but Olivia’s tasted fine. It was now time to hit the road for another long bus ride to Essaouira. Our first pit stop was about two hours away and I immediately fell asleep. I woke up as we were pulling into a Moroccan pit stop that served coffee, ice cream, cakes and cookies. The restrooms were very clean and that’s all that matters. Your Moroccan version of seven eleven. We then entered a strange looking region of Morocco. Really not desert nor agriculture. We made a stop at a woman’s cooperative that made and sold Argan oil products. What is Argan oil? Argan oil is made from the Argan tree and only grows in this part of Morocco. We were told the Argan tree cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The tree grows small nuts that are then broken open and crushed until the oil is released. Argan oil is used for many things. You can put it on food, shampoo your hair, use as an aftershave, as skin treatment etc. Argan oil is also known to lower cholesterol and is good for people with diabetes. No machines were used in the crushing of the nuts. There was a building that had older women sitting on the floor holding the nuts on a large rock and crushing them with another rock. Then some women were using a crusher like machine to further the process. Another example of thinking of someone doing this when you are having a bad day. Don’t forget the men dying the hides in Fes standing in large barrels of dye and hand soaking the hides. Your heart could break from both scenes We then went to the cooperative store to look at the products for sale. I felt obligated to buy some items. Bought shampoo, body lotion, aftershave cream, lots of different soaps and something called black soap. Black soap is used to get rid of the dead skin and keep your pores clean. It was then onto Essaouira. Essaouira is on the Atlantic Ocean and we are staying in a beautiful Riad with great internet. We saw the outside of the souk. Our tour guide told us that the best shopping is here. Dinner was very good. We went to a restaurant on the beach named “Fanatics”. Olivia and myself shared the mixed grill and it was more than enough for two people. The prawns were huge and the other fish was so tasty. Tomorrow we spend the whole day in Essaouira eating and shopping. Our Riad is right inside the Medina or walled city. This souk was the only one that was planned in Morocco. The others were just added on as time went along. Essaouira was founded and built by Mohammed the Third in 1764. Two more facts about Morocco. Morocco was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States. Also, there were only two countries that refused to give the Nazi’s a list of all their Jewish citizens. The first country was Denmark and the second country was Morocco and as you know, Morocco is a Muslim country. Will I need more money tomorrow for shopping? I hope so. Only time will tell. Love Larry

Hi Everyone The internet is horrible in our five star hotel in Marrakesh. The front desk told me that it rained yesterday and that is the cause. They really believe that. Do you? I don’t. The internet has consistently been horrible throughout Morocco. I don’t mind but it delays my blog and important situations are currently happening in the world that greatly effects our way of life. Oh well, we will endure Seven of us met the bus for an optional tour of the Ourika Valley. The travel company we use sometimes sells optional tours that are not included in our itinerary as part of the total cost of the trip. We always buy all the optional tours and this one was exceptional. The Ourika Valley is locates about thirty minutes outside Marrakesh. It is a very fertile area where livestock and agriculture are the main products, but tourism is catching up. The Ourika Valley is also at the foothills of the higher Atlas Mountains and is Berber country. Our first stop was to visit a Berber household and see how they live. Their house has been expanded many times as the family grew. All the generations of that family live in the house from grandparents to the very young. The house and its additions were built of hard adobe clay, mud and straw. The hole in the ground served as the bathroom. The kitchen was very basic. One interesting item was the Berber sauna. Th sauna is a small house made of the same materials as the house that is kept hot by a fire inside. There was no shower and the Berbers use this to take a shower in by extending a hose to the inside. The family served us great mint tea and hot bread freshly made with honey, olive oil and butter. Olivia loved the bread. Far different way of living than most of us live. How lucky most of us are. We then made two stops to take pictures. Camels were on the side of the road at each stop. The first herd of camels had a baby and the baby was nursing. I had never seen a baby camel nurse. The second stop looked onto a huge mountain range that was covered with fresh snow. Imagine seeing camels and then looking at mountains covered with snow. How diverse can you get. Let’s talk about picture taking for a minute. The Moroccan people are very photogenic and I could have taken thousands of pictures of them. Unfortunately, most of them do not like their picture taken and stop you before you can take the picture. Furthermore, some of them demand money to take their picture and I refuse to get involved in that. It is what it is and life goes on. Our last stop on the optional tour was to a local botanical garden. We were given a tour by a young local Berber girl and explained and shown all the flowers, spices and other plants that were being grown. We were then each given a foot bath in our own separate sinks. The Berber girl added some ingredients that made my feet very relaxed and refreshed. We were then led to an outdoor dining area to be served lunch. Next to the area men and women were cooking our beef and chicken over an open flame. Freshly squeezed orange juice was served and I can tell you that it felt like drinking a bottle of five hour energy. Various Moroccan salads were in the middle of the table and of course fresh bread. We were then served the beef and chicken. The beef was made as Kufta. I can honestly tell you that I have been eating Kufta for fifty years and this was the best I have ever had. The Kufta or ground beef was mixed with various spices and herbs that were all grown there. We then boarded the bus for our drive back to Marrakesh. We were dropped off at the Djemaa el Fna Square with another couple to go back into the Souk for more shopping. I have grown tired of shopping while I am traveling, but Olivia has taken up my slack. I have bought nothing, but Olivia has more than made up for me. The Souk was very crowded since the weather was sunny and dry. It is not enough to navigate people while you are walking, but you also have to navigate carts and motorbikes as well. We started at around 2:30 and by 4:30 I had enough. Olivia and myself left the other couple and we went into an old original restaurant on the Square names “Cafe France”. There were some old black and white photos of what the Square and the restaurant used to look like many years ago. We both sat down and drank some great coffee. The Moroccan coffee is served with hot milk. We just sat and watched the waves of humanity walking by. It seemed like we were watching a movie and could have sat there much longer. After about an hour of people and other character watching, we finally got up and fought our way to the taxi stand for a ride back to our hotel. It was then about an hour to relax and fight with the internet. Oh I forgot, it rained yesterday. We walked across the road to a beautiful mall and had a great Moroccan dinner of beef tagine and cus cus. We leave Marrakesh for Essaouira tomorrow.  Essaouira is on the Atlantic Ocean and our guide recommends the shopping there. I hope I do not run out of money. Love Larry

Hi Everyone So how did our day start? Of course, we all got up early and met for breakfast at seven and then it was time to hit the road for a city tour of Marrakesh. Marrakesh is the biggest city in Morocco. One interesting fact is that there are no buildings over six stories tall since the main mosque is seven stories high. No large and tall skyscrapers. The Medina or inner city is surrounded by a clay and hay adobe wall that was built in around eight hundred years ago. The new portion of the city is outside the wall and Medina. We started our Marrakesh tour with a visit to the Majorelle Gardens. The Majorelle Gardens were rescued from being destroyed by Yve St Laurent. He purchased the gardens in ruin and restored them. Most of the gardens were originally planted over one hundred years ago. Majorelle was a famous French artist who fell in love with the beauty and colors of Marrakesh. In the middle of the the Gardens was his studio. The studio was refurbished into a Berber Museum. The museum is quite extraordinary. There are exhibits of the Berber culture including their amazing style of jewelry and clothing. We then visited a mosque called the “Koutoubia”. This is the main mosque of Marrakesh and the reason why there are no buildings over six stories high. The clouds appearing around the mosque made for some interesting images. It was then onto the Bahia Palace. The palace is the only one in the Medina and the walls and ceilings were hand crafted and very beautiful. We then paid a quick visit to the towns of the Saadi Dynasty. It was raining hard and the visit was not as interesting as it could have been. The tombs were all laid out in the ground amongst beautiful gardens. Now the day really picked up. The group broke up and Olivia, myself and another couple decided not to go back to the hotel but be dropped off at the “Djemaa el Fna Square”. The square is a UNESCO world heritage site. This place is hard to describe. It is a huge flat cobblestone square surrounded by stores and restaurants. There are alleyways leading off the Square to the Souks of Marrakesh. In the Square are snake charmers, people with monkeys, people dancing, acrobats and story tellers. The scene is truly epic. We first needed to have lunch. I had eaten very little for breakfast and I felt light headed. We found a great restaurant on the Square named “Arganan”. The four of us sat down and ordered. I had the rabbit tagine. Very good. Made with dried fruits and in a casserole. It was then off to the souks. I have always told people that you have not lived until you experience a market in Southeast Asia. The same is true for the Souks of Marrakesh. They are alleyways of stores selling everything you could image. It is expected that you bargain. I always will never pay more than one third the starting price and always give the vendor the impression that I am prepared to walk. Almost all the time, the vendor will always say “What do you want to pay?” Olivia had a field day buying earrings, necklaces and clothing. The vendors are very friendly and it is an experience just talking to them and watching the people go by. This Souk, unlike the one in Fes, is much wider so locals deliver goods on motorcycle and cart. We spent about three hours walking around and experiencing this amazing place. It was now back to the hotel to rest for one hour and freshen up for dinner. We were picked up at the hotel by horse drawn carriages and were driven in them to our restaurant. The restaurant was very Moroccan. Our salad was served in about thirty to forty small dishes and consisted of a variety of eggplant, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins and carrots all made in different ways and styles. The main course I chose was veal cooked with dried fruits. Very tasty and the combination was quite good. While were were eating Moroccan musicians played traditional music and a belly dancer entertained us. I am so tired and weary from this exhausting and boring day in Morocco. Talk to everyone tomorrow Love Larry

Morocco Day 8 Hi Everyone We woke up at 7 AM in the middle of the Atlas Mountains near a town named Ait Benhaddou. It was raining buckets. Ait Benhaddou is famous since an important scene from “The Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe was shot there. It is the scene where Russell Crowe is taught to be a gladiator and he has his first batter in the arena. I can tell you that the village has not changed since that movie. The gate to the village was also used in “Lawrence of Arabia” and scenes from “Kundun” were shot there. While we were eating breakfast I was watching the rain fall in buckets and saying to myself “Should I go?” I answered a resounding Yes since I doubt I will ever be here again. Put on my raincoat and put my camera in a waterproof bag and joined Olivia and some of the others. This whole area is covered with adobe and when it gets wet it is very slippery and the red adobe mud flows all over in little rivers. We started to walk through the village when I took a flop and got my pants, raincoat, hands and camera bag coated with the red adobe mud. Thankfully I did not hurt myself since the ground is soft. That was it. I left the group and walked back to the bus in the rain. The bus driver then took me back to the hotel to clean up. Oh well, “Shit Happens”. Fortunately, after I cleaned up and we picked up the rest of the group, we stopped to take pictures of Ait Benhaddou from a cliff. Olivia told me it was very interesting and she bought some beautiful paper sketches painted in a unique way. It is now onto Marrakesh. We drove on a two lane road that went up and down the mountains through little clay and adobe villages. There was some terrace farming on the sides of the mountains. The area reminded me of when we drove through the Sacred Valley in Peru except we were not as high now. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant Nd I had the vegetable soup with a Berber omelette. I love the Berber omelette. Maybe Olivia will make it when we get home. It was then back on the road and going up and down these majestic mountains. We reached an altitude of about 7500 feet and there were places that had fresh snow. Imagine snow in Morocco and having visited the Sahara Desert 24 hours ago. We finally made our way out of the mountains to this huge valley. Our guide, Larbi, played “Marrakesh Express” as we drove closer. We reached our hotel at about six and the rain had followed us. The skis were raining cats and dogs. Our hotel is a nice hotel but it is a hotel. Not that different from what you normally find except furnished in a Moroccan style. Give me something more unique. Dinner was a buffet of all you can ask for. Meat, chicken, fish and great vegetables. I will miss the Moroccan food. Tomorrow we have a city tour and then it’s off to the souk to explore and blend in. Love Larry

Hi Everyone We are back in the semi real world and my website is fixed. Some of you may have received Day 2 twice, but everything is now fixed and my blogs will be running a few days behind the trip. That means that you will still be getting my blogs after the trip is over. So how did the day start at the Bedouin Camp? First let me tell you that our bed was very uncomfortable. It seemed like I was laying on the springs. If anyone was up, I would have asked someone for a sleeping bag and slept outside on the sand. Would have been much more comfortable. Sunrise was at 7:30 and coffee was served at 7. We all got up early to walk up the dunes and see the sunrise over the dunes. By the way, last night was a full moon so there were very few stars out. I was disappointed that the sky was not putting on a show like I saw in the Kalahari. Sunrise was not spectacular since there were quite a few clouds in the sky and they blocked the sun from painting the dunes. Sunset was very special and I will always remember the sunset in the Sahara. We then walked back to our Camp and had breakfast. Another boring typical Moroccan breakfast. How many more of these can we endure? We all boarded our four by fours and off we went for the long drive back to semi civilization. This will be our longest day in the bus. Olivia and I are lucky that it was our turn to sit in the first row of seats with extra legroom and the chance to take pictures of local people walking along the way. We were not on a highway, but traveled over a two land narrow road through villages. This made the drive longer but much more interesting.Our first stop was the “Todra Gorge”. The Todra Gorge is a deep ravine that was formed by the Todra River many years ago. The walls of the ravine were all around us as we left our bus and walked through the Gorge where our bus met us. Vendors were selling their wares along the way and Olivia bought a beautiful long Moroccan pullover that went down to her feet and some handmade jewelry. As we drove, I was able to take some great images of local people going about their daily lives. My SonyA9 did me well since you need a fast camera to take pictures like this. I was lucky I was sitting where I was, since any other seat would have not allowed me to do this kind of photography. After leaving Todra Gorge we drove about thirty minutes for lunch. Lunch was a buffet and there was a dish there called a Moroccan omelette. This is a big stew of meat, vegetables and scrambled eggs. Very good. I had my cups of Moroccan coffee and off we went. It seemed like this bus ride would never end. Morocco is a big country. In the Sahara we were ten miles from the border with Algeria and the locals pointed Algeria out to us while we were standing on the dunes in the morning. I was lucky that I sat where I sat and kept on searching for images. A great way to not go crazy. We were going through villages that were all built in adobe and some of the structures had crumpled and fallen down. The high Atlas Mountains were also beautiful as a backdrop. One town that we passed through was Dades. Dades is famous for roses and there is a festival there every May. The French built a rose water factory and it is still in use. At around 6 PM we finally arrived at our hotel in a town named “Ait Benhaddou. The hotel is quite nice but the rooms are very small. Thankfully we are only spending one night here and then the next three nights in Marrakesh. Thankfully this hotel has internet and Olivia has a smile again. Our guide told us the hotel in Marrakesh has large rooms and is beautiful. I have been told Marrakesh is a special city and there’s lots to do including great shopping. Hopefully I can get a good nights sleep and be ready for our continuing adventure. My back is sore from the camel ride. The camels in Morocco have only one hump unlike the Mongolian camels. They have two humps and are larger and much more furrier. Olivia said that is probably due to the climate. It’s much colder in Mongolia. LoveLarry

Hi EveryoneWhere am I? Would you believe in a Bedouin Desert Camp in the Sahara? That!s right. How did we get here and why even go there? Let’s pick up when the day started. We were staying in a Casbah in the town of Erfoud. I woke up at 7:45 to the sound of Olivia milling around. Had a great nights sleep in a huge bed. We rushed down to breakfast. Breakfast was a kaleidoscope of Moroccan food. I had a Moroccan man make me a huge egg omelette and sat drinking that great Moroccan coffee. We then boarded the bus to go to a daily market in Erfoud. Outside of a few major cities, there are no supermarkets in Morocco. People go to the market daily and buy everything fresh. Canned goods are almost nonexistent. We walked through the aisles looking in amazement at the food vendors. Many of the vendors were selling dates. This region is the biggest producer of dates in Morocco. The people hand pick the dates. They climb up a large date palm tree and cut the branches down that have the dates. They then collect them from the ground. By the way, you can walk around our Casbah and pick the dates off the palm trees and eat them. No charge. How cool is that? Dates are one of my favorites. A perfect food made by nature. One thing I noticed was that there were much more women wearing burkas in Erfoud. Erfoud is a Berber town. They are the majority. Our guide then took us to a local bakery. A local food is bread pies made stuffed with meat, chicken and vegetables. People on bicycles were loading up baskets to sell the bread. It was then onto a Berber housing complex. Around 75 families lived in this housing complex that was made of adobe with long and winding alleyways. We saw an elderly woman wearing a burka filling large bottles with water at the unlicensed well. How different our lives are. It was then onto a fossil museum. Fossils are found all over the edges of the Sahara. The store was like a stone quarry where big pieces of rock were cut and carved to expose the fossils. We then traveled back to the hotel for lunch and a short time to relax. Lunch, of course, was spectacular. We all sat around the pool baking in the warm Sahara sun wondering what lies ahead. We all boarded four by fours for the afternoon ride at 3:30. Our main luggage was kept at the hotel and we only brought what we needed for two days. When we Erfoud we drove over a dried river into the Sahara. Desert as far as the eye could see. At first we traveled on a single lane road that was partially paved. We turned off to visit a Berber family living in their traditional nomadic way. They lived in tents and little huts built out of clay and palm tree shoots. The family were sheep and goat herders. We saw their kitchen and large sleeping area. Everyone slept together in a large tent. After leaving the Berber family we turned off the road and onto the desert floor. I remember traveling like this in Western Mongolia and the Gobi. No roads. Just our six four by four making a lot of dust as we traveled on the hard and then soft surface. We all met on top of a large hill and facing us were sand dunes. I clicked away at this beautiful sight. We then got back into our vehicles for the long drive towards the sand dunes. We stopped at a desert outpost to use the restroom facilities. Next to the area were men with large herds of camels waiting. I ignored my urges and walked around the back to take some excellent pictures of the dunes and the camel herders. The Gobi is said to have the largest sand dunes in the world and I can say that that is true. These sand dunes seemed more beautiful. It was around 5 PM and the colors were truly astounding. We then got back into our vehicles for a short ride to a group of camel herders with their camels. It was now time to really become Moroccan. We all got on a camel and rode through the dunes. Olivia was in back of me. Seeing her on a camel in the Sahara was a true treat and a memory that will last me for the rest of my life. We rode the camels for about thirty minutes, up and down the dunes, to the base of a large dune. We then got off the camels and were helped up the sand dune to watch the sun set over the Sahara. What a way to end the light of the day. Seeing the sun set over beautiful sand dunes and watching the sun change the colors. Almost indescribable. Hope my pictures do it justice.Some of us were held by our feet by the camel herders and dragged down the dune. Myself and Olivia went along fir this unique ride. It was then back on our camels for a thirty minute ride to our Camp.When we arrived at the Camp, local musicians were playing traditional Berber music and warmly greeted us. We then were assigned our tents for the night. Our tents are nice with toilets and a stall shower. Not like the Yerts I used in Mongolia. The band played on and we all sat around a campfire. Olivia asked our tour guide what the password was? What password? Will we survive without the internet? I am sure we will. It was then time for dinner. Vegetable soup, chicken and a large Berber bread pie filled with meat, chicken and vegetables. Need I say more. The band played again for us and one of the musicians danced with a tray of hot tea in six cubs

Hi Everyone Still poor internet. So here it goes. We left our Riad in Fes at around 8:30. Breakfast was your typical boring Moroccan breakfast of great coffee and eggs. Older men pushing pushcarts picked up our luggage and dragged them to our bus. It was then time to hit the road. We drove until around ten all uphill. Went over lush forests and stopped in a town named “Ifran”. Ifran is a ski resort in Morocco. The French built it. There was no snow on the ground. It looked like a village that should have been in the mountains in Europe. There were lots of trees growing all over and saw the empty ski lifts. We were about 6500 feet up in elevation. On the way out of Ifran, we spotted wild monkeys and pulled over to feed them and take some pictures. Very different from the Morocco we have seen so far. It was then back on the road to travel through the Atlas Mountains and onto the Sahara. The further we traveled from Ifran, there were less and less trees and the ground started to look like one of my favorite places. The terrain reminded me of Western Mongolia except for the scattered tree and bushes. The road was narrow and winding over hills and into valleys that were covered with ground vegetation. We also went over some rivers. The further we went the more the terrain was starting to turn into a high desert environment. At about one we pulled into a restaurant for lunch in the town of Midelt. The restaurant was located in a beautiful structure that looked like it was someone’s former home. We had shish kebab. Excellent and the the vegetable soup was quite good. It was then back into the bus. The further we drove, the more houses we started to pass built out of adobe. I could close my eyes and then open them and think we were in New Mexico except for the people and date palm trees. We passed villages that looked like they were out of a Star Wars movie. Maybe Jaba the Hutt was around. At about 6 we finally arrived at our hotel. The hotel is located outside the town of Erfoud. The hotel is called “Hotel Xaleca”. The resort is built like a Casbah. A Casbah is someone’s mansion that is surrounded by walls. We walked in the lobby and there was a group of people playing traditional music and they served us mint tea and local cookies. Our room looks like a thatched hut and is very pretty. Dinner was a buffet with every Moroccan dish you could ask for. We had a grand time talking and sampling the many flavors and tastes. Tomorrow it is off to a Bedouin Camp in the Sahara. We are leaving most of our luggage in the hotel and only taking what we need for two days. Camel riding is included and I have asked for Dune Surfing. Should be interesting. LoveLarry

Hi Everyone It’s back to copy and paste for this blog. The internet has been horrible in our hotel and we are going further into the desert part of Morocco tomorrow. As you know, I go to places where problems like this are common. Will publish when I can. We all met for breakfast at 7 AM. Love the coffee. Almost like real Turkish coffee. Thick and strong. Just the way I love it. After breakfast it was time to board the bus and go to the ancient Medina of Fes. Let me remind you what a Medina is. A Medina is the true City that has existed for thousands of years. We were dropped off after a five minute bus ride and met our local guide. His name was Hassan. He was born and raised in the Medina. Great guide. So funny and honest. He could not lead us for more than one minute before someone would recognize him and stop to talk. No cars are allowed in the Medina. A real maze of winding narrow streets and alleyways. The Medina was also named by UNESCO as a world heritage site and is said to be the worlds largest car free urban area. Two hundred and fifty thousand people make the Medina their home. If the population is not dramatically decreased, then the Medina will eventually collapse. The problem facing UNESCO is that no one wants to leave. We walked and waked passing by food and other stalls that sold everything imaginable. A true feast of the senses. We eventually wound our way to a large carpet store where we we should some beautiful carpets made by hand in the Berber and Moroccan style. I was tempted to buy one, but Olivia pulled me away. We have lots of Persian and Turkish carpets at home and amongst our four children. After being treated to this beautiful carpet display, we walked to our restaurant to have lunch. This lunch was one of the great meals I have ever had. Had Kufta made with eggs. Kufta is chop meat with spices. It was served in a meatball stew with fresh vegetables on the side and eggs on top of the stew. The smell and taste was classic. I then had one of my great cups of coffee. The dense full flavor kept my senses at their peak. Olivia tried it but said it needed milk. No way. Perfect as it was. After lunch we visited a tannery. When we arrived at the entrance a Moroccan man gave each of us each a bunch of fresh mint to keep and smell. We then climbed a few flights of very narrow winding stairs to the top. I looked down and saw something that will stay with me for a long time. In a large courtyard were barrels upon barrels of dye and men were soaking animal hides in the barrels to dye the hides. The scene was truly amazing. Men were in and out of the barrels of dyes soaking the hides. We were told that this was the way the hides were dyed since the fourteenth century. Whenever you think you are having a bad day, think of these poor souls in the tannery of Fes standing in barrels of dyes soaking, by hand, animal hides. OSHA would have a field day. I could not even think of the health hazards associated with this. Of course there was leather coats, bags, shoes and other leather items for sale. Olivia bought two pairs of leather shoes and a handbag all for $100. Other members of the group bought some coats. Also, they would make you a coat and deliver it to your hotel by the end of the day if they did not have have your size. I could not stop thinking of those poor men going in and out of barrels of dye soaking the hides. It was then onto visiting some gates. We also paid a visit to the Jewish Cemetery. There are four thousand Moroccan Jews living in Morocco and 1.2 million in Israel. The cemetery tombstones were different and beautiful in their own way. The tombstones were all white hard clay. It was then back to the Riad and some rest. Dinner was very special. We visited a local family for dinner. They introduced themselves and the families grandmother was the head chef. What a feast. Dessert was served first. This is a Moroccan tradition. Fresh dates, sesame cookies and little egg rolls filled with rice and coated with honey. Need I say more. The next course was a local Fes soup. The soup had anise and saffron. So good. Then came the salads. Numerous dishes were brought out with beans, eggplant, tomatoes and pumpkin. 5e pumpkin dish melted in your mouth. Indescribable. We then we served large appetizers. One large cookie was made of filo and had chicken, rice, and vegetables in it. The final dish was almond cookies that Olivia fell in love with. Hope you get the idea. Morocco seems like a food orgy. We then walked back to our riad and am getting up early for the long ride to Erfoud while crossing the Atlas Mountains. We will be much higher up in altitude. Erfoud is known as the Moroccan Alps and there is skiing in the winter Love Larry

Hi Everyone We finally left Rabat. I was so sorry to leave. We were staying in a beautiful hotel and in a beautiful city on the ocean, but its time to move on. We boarded our bus for the long ride to Fes. Fes is the fourth largest city and is inland towards the Sahara. Along the way we stopped at two places and had lunch. Our first stop was in the city of Meknes. Meknes is in the middle of Berber Country. A caliph built Meknes and surrounded the city with walls like a fortress. The caliph was Arabic and up until the past hundred years the Berbers and Arabs did not get along. There was never intermarriage, but toady it is allowed. The caliph decided that he needed a walled fortress. We were told that his two compassions in life were money and women. Sounds like some people we already know. Meknes is walled in and has these huge gates that you drive under to enter. We stopped at the Bab Mansour Gate which was patterned with mosaics and quite beautiful. After entering the city, the bus pulled over and our guide decided to take us to a local food market. There were lots of vendors selling all sorts of products. The olives and dates were displayed like a tapestry of colors and patterns. The meat vendors displayed their products in a way that Olivia has almost decided to become a vegetarian again. Use your imagination. We then drove to a nice restaurant for lunch. I had chopped meat and a salad. The meat was very tasty and we all enjoyed our lunch. The food is interesting, quite good and very reasonably priced. It was then onto a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site is named Volubilis. This is a Roman ruin site and was the Romans African administrative center for the Roman Empire. The ruins were very extensive and the excavations were still going on. We walked all over as our local guide told us the history of some of the homes and gates. The site is located in the middle of farm country. There were lots of Olive trees growing and the cacti were extensive. I am not a ruins guy. They don’t turn me on anymore. Once you have seen the Roman ruins in Turkey and Greece, other Roman ruins are sort of pale in comparison. This site had some large mosaics, but did not compare to the Roman mosaics we saw in Sicily in a Roman bathhouse that was being excavated. It was then onto Fes. We were not driving on a highway, but over a local road and through some serious farm country. The local farmers were getting ready to plant their crops. This area grows soybeans, peas, wheat, barley, chick peas etc. The ride to Fes took about ninety minutes and the landscape and topography was quite interesting. We finally reached Fes. In Morocco there are hotels called Riads. Riads are former homes of people that have been converted to hotels. The one we are staying in was built by the Salam family about five hundred years ago. The lobby area has hand made tiles ad mosaics and the whole area has small fountains with bubbling water all over. The Riad is located in the Medina of the old part of Fes. The Medina is sort of the old quarters of the city. This was what the city was like prior to expanding outside the Medina as the population grew over the years. There are narrow streets and lots of vendors selling almost everything. Old men pulling carts met us when the bus stopped to take our luggage to the Riad through narrow twisting streets and alleys. Our guide told us not to go out at night and Olivia is sort of scared even during the day. Tomorrow we have a full day of being with the group so there will be no leisure time on our own anyway. Our room is quite small and the bathroom is the size of a small closet. We will survive. Its only for two nights and then its off to the Sahara. Maybe we have really caught up to the real Morocco. Rabat did not seem to be like a real Muslim country and was so beautiful and clean. Time will tell. Love Larry