Moon over the Sahara.

Two days ago we were in the snow and now we are in the desert. 
It is amazing!

Snowballs next to the Sahara

This man just took me away over the sand dunes for a walk with his camels.

Dad let me drive across the dirt on our way to the desert.

It was getting very late while we were driving into the desert.

Yesterday at 8 pm we rode camels into the Sahara Desert. It was a 2 hour camel ride and dad’s back did not like it one bit.  CC and I went together and mum on one and dad on another one. CC and my camel was called Bob Marley and he was so cute. Mum’s was called Jimmy Hendrix and he did lots of sneezes and dad’s camel was called Alpha Blondy.

While we rode we watched the moon rise into the night sky. When we got to our camp we had a little tagine dinner and then went to bed in a tent.

We had so many blankets over us we couldn't move.

There was not much water to drink so we did not brush our teeth. In the morning CC did not feel good and then after breakfast she got worse and she started vomiting so dad decided we should catch the express camel out of the desert a day early. CC didn’t even want to get the quad bike out, she loves camels so much. When we got back to the car we went to a hotel and I had 3 hot chocolates. We also got a hotel room to freshen up and brush our teeth. Brahim, our guide soon had us move on to a town of musicians.

M@D!$oN

Rocks and Fossils.

We met our guide, Ibrahim, 130kms out of Fez at a town called Azrou where our 5 night tour through the desert was going to begin. He was a little shy to start but very friendly and so kind.

The most interesting thing for me so far has got to be the precious stones and fossils which we can find in Morocco. Ibrahim is a geologist and fossicker, and he knows all about fossils and stones. When we first met him he gave Maisy and I each a fossil of an ammonite which is 240 million years old that he had found. I just couldn’t believe it! He also gave us a fossilised dinosaur shark tooth that is 70 million years old.

We then went to see Ibrahim’s mine that he has been digging for 5 years. We had to drive for a long way out through mountains and rocky landscape. There were lots of different crystals that Ibrahim showed us. One type was quartz and it was very shiny. We were even allowed to take some. In one piece of some quartz I could see a vein of dark grey metal looking thing.

Another was aragonite, and that was an orange crystal. Brahim gave one of these to mum. It is so bright and beautiful. There was also malachite - green, azurite - sparkly blue, amethyst - light purple, agate - a whitey red crystal, baritone - rose pink and  gypse - a cloudy white crystal. It was just so amazing.

aragonite

azurite

When we went to Ibrahim’s house he showed us ALL of  his fossils and stones that he has found. We bought 2 halves of a bigger ammonite. Ibrahim also gave Maisy and I each a piece of azurite. He is so nice. He also showed us a meteorite which he had seen flying through the night sky and crashed into the desert and he had spent 4 days searching for. It was so cold and heavy and if you put a magnet next to it, it just stuck to the meteorite. It was truly incredible. That stone would have been flying through space for sooooooo long.

On the way to the Sahara, Ibrahim showed us how people dig up and cut the fossils
out of the dry river bed

One of his friends had dug up this gigantic clump of orthoceras fossils.
We just couldn't believe it was taller than dad!!!

Today we are going to be looking for fossils.
I just can’t wait!!!

 Charlotte

Fabulous FEZ.

There is just one modern coffee shop in the Medina of Fez and we have it 50 yards from our door, so when chatting with the owner I asked him if he knew someone that could speak English and could show us the real town, off the tourist trail. By chance he looked up and there was his friend Mohammed, and he would be very happy to do so for a princely sum of 150 dirhams or $20 for the day.

Our first stop was on top of a hill outside the town so we could see the entire Medina,  we took our car and travelled through what seemed to be a rubbish tip and then a bit of off-roading through a hillside of olive trees to get to our vantage point. The view indeed was wonderful and I just couldn’t get out of my mind the scene of “Life of Brian” where everybody lived on and over everybody else. Thankfully nobody opened up the window and stood there starkers! Then back through the new town which still looked every bit of a thousand years old and I smiled as Mohammed referred to it as the modern town 'ville nouveau'. Donkey’s carrying sheep in side pockets and people walking all over the road that was filthy didn’t seem that modern, but to them it was.

 We then went to a Tannery that was on the small river on the edge of the Medina and were really taken aback at how these guys worked so hard in really difficult conditions. They would have to coat oil all over their arms and legs because they would have to get into the “wells” where the skins were in the natural dyes. From there they would step up and down on them to work the colour into the leather. Then they would soak the skin in salt and chalk, and cover it with pigeon droppings so the acid would help make the skin softer.

A half-moon knife is used at this point to clean the skin of all hair and impurities. By scraping the skin it also helped the leather to be softened. This process is repeated for 10 days until the skin is soft and has lost its smell so only a faint leather odour is traceable at the end. As mentioned, these guys are working really hard, it was raining the day we visited but there was no rest. Other things that shocked us was the smell that was to say the least very unpleasant and also the fact that all the filthy water along with anything else not wanted, ended up in the local river with no filtration of any kind. Even before it reached the tannery, it had to go through the village so all the butchers off cuts and other businesses waste just floated on by.

Not so happy shoppers

Other stops along the way were a ceramic factory which had fountains we fell in love with, but not the price. Rug outlets, spice stores where we tried myrrh and frankincense and bought white musk and amber to put in our suit case, some argon oil to help the wrinkles dissappear and a thousand other little shops to gawk at as we passed.

A good day had by all.

With Anthony from Dar Al Waha
The best Riad in Fez

 www.fez-riads.com/dar_al_waha.htm

Paul

Eid in Fez.

Since arriving in Morocco we had been made aware of the upcoming festival of Eid. Many of the shop owners were encouraging us to buy their products in the lead up so they could afford a bigger sheep for their family's feast and all too often, for delicate Charlotte, we saw the trade of sheep and goats on the street.

One good size sheep (according to hefting and prodding) was being traded for between 1000 and 3000 dirham ($150 - $450 AUD), and so, every family was spending the week in search of the prize sheep to coax home on the end of a rope, carry on the side of a donkey, stuff into the boot of a 123 Mercedes or piggy back over the shoulder of a strong young man.

The closer we got to Eid the sheep seemed to know their doom and put up more of a protest. Some street scenes were quite humorous if not for the thought of the final result.

Three days before Eid we made it into Fez (Sat Navs are not so reliable in North Africa so we are relying on primitive maps and helpful bystanders). Here, we encountered the first serious rain for us in 6 months. Luckily though, we are staying in a spacious Riad right in the centre of the Medina above the hubbub of the market and surrounded by families living a centuries-old lifestyle. The locals were so pleased about the rain as it was perfect timing for their crops and a heavy fall for 2 days was a fortuitous answer to many prayers to Allah.

Eid al-Adha is the ‘Festival of Sacrifice’ and commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead.

After 3 days of exploring the streets and alleyways of Fez in the wet and mud the day of Eid arrived and so did the sunshine. We woke to a perfect day of crystal clear skies and the sounds of bleating coming from the rooftops. The butchers were kept busy riding their painted horses from riad to riad as their tunics became blood-soaked and their voices sang out in hoarse chants. All the shops were closed and the streets were unnaturally empty apart from the occasional gathering of young men and boys barbecuing the most gruesome parts of the sheep on open pits in the streets. Carts of whole sheep fleeces were being taken to the tannery and knives were being sharpened on grinding stones at front doors.

 

We thought we’d take this opportunity to let the girls catch up on school work while the people celebrated with their families.

Charlotte moved to the rooftop to get better internet connection and not long after the teenage girl who had been sitting on the next door terrace watching the world below struck up a conversation with her. Charlotte and Maisy were whisked away into another world for half a day where Lameia, the 15 year old girl visiting her grandmother for Eid, enchanted them with stories of her family and visits to grandma's kitchen. In the evening we walked around the Medina with Lameia and noticed how brave Charlotte had become in the company of this confident young girl whose third language was English.

Charlotte and Maisy were invited next door for the celebratory dinner and Charlotte left whispering, “I just can’t eat the poor sheep."

Fortuitouslee.

Eid

Lameia lead us down the  backalley to her grandma’s house. When we stepped in the door we were transferred into a COMPLETEY different world from what we had ever experienced. We walked in the door and right in front of us was a lady cutting up and cooking the sheep that we saw walking around and baaing this morning. We walked up stairs and Lameia showed us where the other poor, dead sheep were hanging upside-down, skinned and with parts of their insides hanging out. That was when I decided that I was  NEVER EVER going to eat sheep or goat again. I thought it was really very cruel. We sat down with her family around a tiny table and drank sickly sweet mint tea.  Then the Bollywood dancing came on the TV and Lameia's cute 2 year old neice, Weisa started dancing, which then lead to Lameia dancing and then before we knew it Maisy and I were being pulled up to dance with them. The mother's of Lameia and Weisa were singing out so loud in Arabic it was crazy. The dance also included a big shake of the hair. Lameia had hair that reached down to her waist and everyone loved to watch her. On the other hand everyone laughed so much when little Weisa tried to do it and almost fell over, luckily she has a fair few more years to practice before she could dance on stage. We then went up the rock stairs and to the terrace. The terrace had a crumbly knee high wall which was meant to prevent you from falling at least 8 metres onto the medina alleyway below. It was pretty scary but you just couldn't help leaning over and seeing what was happening on the streets below.

We then went onto the street where we hung out with Lameia’s older brother who had a motorbike. Then Lameia took off holding both of our hands and we ran through the alleyways. We finally came to a halt down a narrow alley standing right in front of a cardboard box. When Maisy looked inside we could see that it was a home for about 10 tiny little kittens. They were all sooooooo cute. I wish I was allowed to take them home with me.

It was then time to go back to ours. Dinner was on the table, roast chicken and vegetables. Just as I had my first few mouthfuls of mum's delicious dinner the door bell rung. It was Lameia’s cousin, and she said they were just about to have their dinner and we were invited.  So we were off again and back to hers. First of all there were lamb skewers and mushy vegetables. No one spoke much English and they obviously didn’t understand when I said I didn’t like to eat sheep. Lameia’s dad sat down next to me and fed me the first lump of meat by hand. It was all gristle and there was no way I was going to eat it so I had to store it in my cheeks like a squirrel and just said ‘no thank you’ to the next piece. Then a big lamb tagine came out. I stuck with my 'no thankyou' but my delightful little sister Maisy kept saying as loud as possible “Charlotte, you haven’t had anything to eat yet!” and they could somehow all understand that and tried to feed me more. So after 30 minutes, I decided it would be time to go.  I tried to tell them that our dinner was getting cold. But no one understood. Then I remembered that their second language was French and that Lameia’s dad spoke fluent French so I said “de poulet et légumes ma famille, ‘’ then I pointed to the table and next door. They understood that it was time to go and that dinner was on the table so finally we left to go home. As soon as I got in the door the sheep was out of my mouth and in the bin. I then told mum that I would never ever eat lamb or goat again. I am also going to get Maisy back BIG time for making me eat the sheep!!!

Charlotte 

Chefchaouen.

We arrived off the 25 hour ferry in Tangier, Morocco, where our month long journey around North Africa was just about to start. We then drove for one hour through the sunshine, into the cloud and mist until it turned very dark. We stepped out of the car and looked around for our accommodation, ‘Riad Baraka’, Chefchaouen. It didn’t take long to find it with excellent directions and so we turned up at yet another bluey purple house, the identical colour from the one next door and the one next door to that. Everything is painted in indigo here. We were relieved to hear a clear English voice say “Hello Mr Carr?”, and we were here, in Morocco. That night we went to a massive market, the medina which weaved through the back streets. The markets had hundreds of small stalls trying to sell you whatever they had. There were also lots of carpet sellers and restaurants everywhere. Everything is soooooo cheap. Things range from a vial of saffron for $1.00 to a cute tortoise for $6 and even a well fed goat or sheep which they will kill in 5 days for their festival for $150. Yesterday dad bought a caftan and slippers and they ONLY cost $20, plus it was made from cotton. As well as that he also got a shave from an extremely friendly man with the sharpest cut-throat razor for only $1!

On our way through the streets we met another man who wanted to show us his carpets, rugs and blankets. First off he lead us into his personal home and told us about his life. He also had two tiny kittens that Maisy and I played with. THEN he showed us all of his carpets, rugs and mats. Dad said he was an excellent salesman and did everything to get a customer. In the end we bought two things; a carpet made by the blue tribe (a darker coloured tribe who rub blue dye on them to protect themselves from the sun. Also the tribe in the mountains that he came from), we also bought a beige coloured cotton rug that could also be a blanket. Mum tried out the blanket that night and said it was toasty warm. I hope I can use it when we go into the desert!

Moktar and his rugs

Chefchaouen is a lovely town that I wish we could stay longer in. I will really miss the blue buildings and its friendly people.

View from the roof top terrace of Riad Baraka

www.riad-baraka.com

Charlotte

Last Day in Barcelona.

On our last day in Barcelona we had to get on the ferry to Tangier in Morocco. It was the end of day-light savings so the clocks went back an hour and we thought we had plenty of time to get on the boat.

So, just before we went to the port we stopped at a huge church called Sagrada Familia, although it has scaffolding, ladders, ropes and cranes all over it, it was huge and so intricate.

While we were there we stopped at a coffee shop to admire the view, then this big van parked up right in front of us and blocked our wonderful view. So we left early to go to the port.

It was an enormous port and just by luck we got to the correct place where our ferry was leaving from. We parked our car in the long line of cars waiting to board and mum and dad sorted out passports and tickets.

Then we went to a flea market along the edge of the port. There were lots of interesting trinkets but we found nothing to get so we walked further around the port to get some lunch. Mum and CC got a sandwich and orange juice each. Dad and I got a big M (Maccas) and I got a plastic Snowie (Tin Tin’s dog), a blue pencil and a quiz booklet. 

While we were sitting on the wharf enjoying the sunshine we suddenly realised we were late for the boat and we got up and ran as fast as we could through the crowds to our car. When we got to the giant car park ours was the only car left there and all the police and guards were standing around it. We jumped in and drove on board. We were the last car on the boat. So we made it on alive. Late again! 

Last car on board.

M@D!$oN

Cooking up a storm.

In Hoi An, Vietnam we as a family had done a cooking class and I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed it. So, while in Barcelona we decided to do another, this time to make the traditional dish Paella. We met at a downtown bar along with about 10 other eager travellers and headed off with our chef to La Boqueria market to buy our produce. 

We had been warned by just about everyone we met about pickpockets in this town so I had only left a folded-up map in my back pocket. The market was crowded and had a real buzz and we were all interested to immerse ourselves with the locals. Great fun. At one point I got shoved in the back by a short young girl with a beanie and as I turned around to protest she just marched off with head down and kept going. I thought no more of it until I needed the map and yep, it had gone! I had been “taken” and didn’t even know. Two woman also bumped into Lee one right after the other, obviously a well rehearsed routine to distract and pilfer. Luckily Lee was penniless.

After we bought our fresh ingredients like prawns, octopus, mussels etc,  we were off to the back of a restaurant for our lesson. Out came a huge paella dish capable of feeding about 25 people and off we went. From woe to go was about 3 very enjoyable hours and we drank Sangria and ate till our tummy’s were full, meeting new friends and all telling our stories. Our girls at one stage hanging out with a table of backpackers entertaining them with tales of our travels.

We even got a compliment about our “very interesting and well-mannered children”

By this time it was way past 10pm so off to the bus station through the still very vibrant Las Ramblas, where Charlotte and Maisy, not accustomed to being out so late in a major town took it all in with the lights all around like little twinkling jewels. 

We should have thrown a coin in a fountain somewhere in Barcelona as we want to return one day for more exploring, eating and entertainment.
 

They really enjoyed the “night scene” but, almost midnight, we stumbled into our little apartment after missing our bus stop and walking back about 3 kilometers in the dark, it was time for bed.

Paul