Hotel Casablanca

... we are always in a nice hotel, which is nice in a place like Morocco to not have to worry about stuff like that. We had a Moroccan buffet dinner that night at the hotel and hung out there for a while. There were numerous SAS groups staying in hotels nearby in Marrakech, so that was cool. Katie was on another trip and was staying nearby, so I went and got her and we walked back to our hotel. Marrakech was a much more touristy and therefore comfortable ...

... maybe the big mosque) and its quite a bustling city with a modest Central square. What it does have is an interesting range of crumbling/restored 20's building as highlighted on the Lonely Planet walking tour - loved the cinema (pity it was showing Night at the Museum 2). It also has an enormous orphan French church.<br>The image from the movie is not here at all, bar the OTT ex-pat Ricks Bar. I didn't make ...

... that a chunk of you have already hit 'delete' (i'll be the first one to admit that i often fall into that same catagory). i tend to think the word 'blog' is a bit onomonopiatic, and when i receive one, i tend to catagorize it next to, and get the same feeling from, the word 'flog.' and in most instances would rather press my luck with not responding to a chain letter then to read about about someone's trip to aunt kate and uncle steve's (by the ...

... offered 3000 camels for my roommate. It amazed me how people were not prepared for the culture shock that they were walking into. Even if I did not study this area of the world in college with as much emphasis as I have, I would have known what to expect to an extent. Most of these people had no idea what they were stepping into. Anyway, we had the best Moroccan food and it was so funny because our health team had worried everyone about food in foreign countries and ...

... in town.  The Mosque is gorgeous and set right on the ocean.  We sat on the sea wall for quite a while watching the locals boogie boarding and trying not to get splashed be the waves.  We walked through the plaza, but didn't approach the mosque since they generally don't welcome non-Muslims.  (We found out later we could have toured it - and seen the glass floor that overlooks the ocean, bummer!)  But just walking by the structure ...

... Djema el Fna. The current king of Morocco is very popular with a young Moroccan population (over 50% are under 24). He went to university in France and married a professional woman (an engineer) from the middle class (She is also the first of the king's wives in history that the public has been allowed to see.). He has done a lot to make things better for women in Morocco, especially in divorce settlements. Divorce is very high in Morocco. Mariam has been ...

... dollars.   Walking away with our Schwarma style seasoned chicken wraps served with french fries in a twist of paper (the French not only left their language in Morocco, they also left the fries, with everything! always with the fries!)  and wandered for awhile longer enjoying the spiced chicken on our tongues and the noise and colour of the medina on our eyes and ears.   Tomorrow we are off to Marrakesh, wish us luck. All our best from Morocco Dan and Gabes

... the last overnight sail up into the Straights of Gibraltar. Day 2 of the sail and the weather takes a turn again. Nothing as bad as before but not as pleasant as the first day out. It's Tom sweet 16th birthday and we celebrate in typical daggy Crossley tradition with balloons, party favours, a nice meal, cake and presents. We tried to tell Tom that this was the rockingest birthday ever. I don't think he appreciates our humour. Day 3 seems to be the most frustrating ...

... stands majestic on the coast of the Atlantic. It has the tallest religious minaret in the world, standing at 200 metres. The mosque is built ...

... or if, they were called, we were then able to enter the check in area downstairs. I spent a couple of hopeless hours wandering around the arrivals concourse dragging my huge suitcase and backpack, when suddenly I heard my flight being called. Fantastic! I would be flying, I had no idea exactly when but it was a good sign. A mini stampede ensued, down the ramp to the check in concourse. Again we were turned back by staff and told we had to go ...