Life from abroad

Hello Marrakech, goodbye Africa

robjkentjr — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:13:22 +0000

This is actually the second time we were in Marrakech, the first being after we came out of the mountains, but I felt it was the perfect post to end our extraordinary journey. Spending four days here it was nice to finally be back in a major city with all its cosmopolitan energy.



	The buzz, glow and smoke from the Djemaa el-Fna square food stands.



	Lost in the maze of alleyways beyond the square it is easy to find just the color plate you need.



	The famous snake charmers of Marrakech. When taking pictures here we are repeatedly asked for tips but this guy wanted $50. I will give you one guess what my blunt two-word reply was.



	I must have spent at least five minutes watching this poor old man trying to close the door. I half expected him to brace his foot against the wall.



	The elaborate entryway at the Musée de Marrakech.



	Saying our goodbyes to David, Peta and Priscilla. That huge map almost fits our entire journey on it.



	Here is Priscilla being loaded into her container to be shipped from the UK back to South Africa.

This will be the last post for Africa but you still have a whole year’s worth of pictures to look forward to. Some of those highlights will be Baltic Europe, California, Fiji, New Zealand and of course Australia.

Seafood in Safi and Essaouira

robjkentjr — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:07:12 +0000

After passing through Marrakesh, and staying for three nights, we gorged on seafood along the coastal cities of Safi and Essaouira. Besides the seafood, these cities were worth visiting just to see their ancient buildings nestled behind fortress walls.



	The sea wall protecting the city from the waves. Behind where I am taking this picture is a fortress that is home to all the fishing boats below.



	The fleet of blue fishing boats waiting for slack tide to slip back out to sea.



	The fish market along the dock, stocked by all those little blue boats. Just pick what you want and the cooks throw it on the grill to eat.



	Grilling up the tray of fish we selected from the stall. We picked a John Dory and the freshest sardines we have ever had.



	The crenulated tower and walls that surround Safi.



	The white buildings of Morocco that look very similar to the well known Mediterranean style.



	A lone chicken that dares to poke his head out.

It was in Essaouira that we decided to part ways with David and Peta in order to visit Rasa’s grandmother in Lithuania. We were going to fly out of Marrakesh so we all headed back there for our last stop in Africa.

Tiz n’ Test to Imlil Village

robjkentjr — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:05:03 +0000

Overwhelmed from tagine shopping, we wanted to elevate our position and passed over one of the highest mountain ranges in Africa. Crossing the Tiz n’ Test Pass at 2,100m (6,900ft), we found ourselves in the freezing village of Imlil, which is the launching point to climb Mount Toubkal.



	Our motley crew overlooking the valley below as we enjoy an excellent and scenic lunch with a bottle of rose wine.



	A better view of the track leading us over the High Atlas Mountains, one of Africa’s highest ranges. No room here for oncoming traffic.



	At the top of the pass, looking out at the low cloud ceiling but considering we are at 2,100m, it is really not that low at all.



	Imlil is a small Berber village at the base of the impressive Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa.



	A picturesque view of Aroumd Village.



	I find this sign of restriced activities in a glacial moraine very interesting. I can understand no scuba diving, but flower picking?!?



	Yet another village fortress on top of a hill.

We did not even attempt to camp here because of all the snow and ice on the ground but we did sleep comfortably under five blankets. From here we did go to Marrakesh but I am going to save that as my last blog and skip ahead to Essaouira and Safi.

Agadir to Taroudant

robjkentjr — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:58:56 +0000

After leaving Tafraoute, we drove through Agadir to camp at Arhoud, which was an unimpressive stretch of beach. After this disappointment, we started to drive to Marrakech and stopped in Taroudant along the way.



	Goats in the argan tree eating the fruit. We could have stopped and paid for a good picture but we just did a drive-by.



	A hilltop fortress that contains an entire village within its walls.



	I am sure they really are sweet girls but I would not want to be caught in a dark alley with them.



	Modern European camping with all the amenities of home brought along with you. This campment facility had over 2,000 spots in it.



	This was our wonderful hotel in Taroudant, which came to be an unexpected surprise to stop for a night.



	If you ever want a tagine, go to Morocco. They have mountains of them just lying around.



	A donkey cart and his carrots at the local market. It would be too funny if there was actually a stick with a carrot dangling on it.

On this eventful stretch of road we also saw an endangered Northern Bald Ibis, could not find a campsite around Taroudant and found our first African McDonald’s. Tomorrow, we will be in the area of Marrakech but will have to make it over a remote High Atlas mountain pass first.

Tafraoute Village

robjkentjr — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:19:42 +0000

With a quick detour along the coast after leaving Fort Bou-Jerif, we headed back inland and up to an elevation of 3,300ft (1,000m). To best describe our time there, I’ll give you one guess for which season is not covered when a tent is rated at only 3-seasons: the freezing winter!

Below is a link to our route map through Africa. It is only updated to Dakar, Senegal (where we got hopelessly lost) and I will be working on the last stretch this week. So far there are four parts but I will be adding a link to download the entire route for Google Earth.

http://robrasa.com/maps/maps.php



	We should have expected colder weather as the road just kept going higher and higher and the locals started wearing more clothing.



	Tafraoute looked beautiful in the afternoon sunset as we arrived.



	We decided to go strait to lunch and try a tagine with roasted almonds and chicken over couscous (what else would there be?).



	After we visited the market and were so tempted to buy some custom made shoes.



	If we did buy shoes we would have had to get a Tatooine outfit as well.



	After the market, we went to the women’s cooperative to buy some freshly pressed argon oil. It is like an olive but with a more nutty flavour.



	Then it was time to sleep. We were wearing everything we had (all three shirts) and anything else we could use. Oh, to be back in Mali!

We would have liked to stay longer but it was just too cold and did not want to spend another sleepless night in the mountains, even if the campsite did have Wi-Fi. We made a beeline back to the warm coast via Agadir and discovered what modern European camping is all about.

Merry Christmas!

robjkentjr — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:28:36 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Rasa and I just wanted to send you a Merry Christmas wish. We hope you have a great 2010 and we look forward to sharing a new adventure with you.

Peace,
R&R

Fort Bou-Jerif

robjkentjr — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:45:16 +0000

After leaving Western Sahara, we had more freedom to travel and explore the inland areas without a fear of finding landmines. We decided to try an old French Foreign Legion fort in the high desert.



	We decided the freezing coastal winds were too much and we found inland campsites from here on out. Here, we used the sand to bury the edges of our tent and try to keep the cold air out.



	Cactus is a major crop of the area and here is a local making the rounds with the help of their donkey.



	A local mosque on a mountaintop filled with succulents and cacti.



	Work with what you have. Since no trees grow here the locals use rocks as fence posts.



	Here is the road passing by Fort Bou-Jerif. We spent two days here in the nearby luxury campment.



	One of many old citadels perched on a mountaintop as we make our way back to the coast.



	The misty mountains of a coastal valley.

The deeper we went into Morocco the more we fell in love with the country, its people and the food. Coincidently, we just received an invitation from Peace Corps to serve in Morocco and would be happy if our site was a little Berber village like Tafraoute, which is our next stop, was the coldest night of our trip and the last time we slept in our tent.

Tale of two cities

robjkentjr — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:08:52 +0000

The two cities of cities of Nouadhibou, Mauritania and Dakhla, Morocco are similar in regards to their geography, resources and culture. The major difference between them seems to be the governance of the two countries, which immediately noticeable as we entered Dakhla.



	Here is a shot of Nouadhibou taken from the lighthouse. You can make out the iron ore refinery through the haze, which adds a nice purplish tint to all the dunes downwind or it.



	There is a rumour about why there are so many beached ships. Supposedly one ran aground in a storm. All the other captains heard of the insurance payout so decided to do the same. It was only after this they discovered that intentional destruction is not covered.



	This thin strip of water adds about two hours of driving to get around and into the city which lies out on the end of the peninsula.



	This is the vegetable market in Mauritania. You cannot really make them out but there are flies on everything.



	Four hours north is this vegetable market in Morocco. The differences in the city infrastructure were even starker. Morocco even had sidewalks and a seaside promenade!



	The only problem with Morocco is all of the European tourists. This was the first crowded campsite we encountered.



	This little door at the back of a hotel is the only place in Western Sahara to buy beer for take away. I have never been to a speakeasy before so this was an experience.

We instantly fell in love with Morocco when we entered Dakhla but it was really the endless variety of food in the markets that made our hearts melt. Good thing too because now we seem to spend every coming night freezing in the desert where just two weeks ago, we were sweating to death.

Banc d’Arguin National Park

robjkentjr — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:13:33 +0000

After about a week of sand, the cold, dark blue water of the Atlantic Ocean was a welcome sight but we had one more sand dune to make it through before we could take a swim. After that we enjoyed another couple of days lounging on the beach while fishing and bird watching.



	We saw a pass in a large sand dune but were devastated to discover it was soft sand and swallowed the car up to the axel. It took about an hour of digging and letting the tires down to get us out.



	After our night stuck in the sand, we set out in the general direction the sign pointed to find the coast.



	We ended up staying at the town of Iwik, which is a little fishing village that survives off a solar powered desalination plant.



	A day’s haul of fish from one boat. The catch from these rich fisheries mostly end up being flash frozen and shipped to Europe.



	A late return from a day of fishing. We did not see a single high capacity ship here; the entire fleet was all wind powered boats.



	The sunset followed by an early moon.



	David and Peta walking back to our camp in the desert.

Unfortunately, it was too late in the season to see the peak of migrating birds from the shore (we could have paid a fortune to hire a boat but passed). After a night here we visited the two very similar cities of Nouadhibou and Dakhla.

Crossing the Sahara

robjkentjr — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:11:55 +0000

After a quick stopover in Atar to restock supplies and try to buy some more local currency, we set off across the Sahara Desert to the coast. With a GPS it was a breeze but I can only imagine how bad the situation would be if something happened in the middle of nowhere.



	Wikipedia says this monolith called Ben Amera is the second largest in the world. The largest is Uluru in Australia, which after visiting this one, we did not feel like making the long pilgrimage to go see.



	The morning sun breaking over the horizon and catching the rock face.



	The crawling sand dunes as they slowly move around the rock.



	This photo is to give an idea of how large this rock is. If you look down to the right, you can barely make out our camp and I am only about a third of the way up the monolith.



	Our second day we came across a lot more sand tracks but the wind was starting to pick up and wipe away our road.



	After almost three days of driving, this convoy of cars were the only other people we saw. They must have paid a fortune for this high class tour.



	Coming out of the desert, Bon Lanuar is the first city you come across. Does not look like much but we were happy to see people again.

I really do love the desert and even though we only saw a small portion of its vastness, we were relieved to be back on the main road. Our next stop is the Banc d’Arguin National Park and the two million migrant shorebirds that stop there.