Sofitel Thalassa Marinasmir Tetouan

... journey. In Tetuan we visited:   -A school with artesian workshops for young students to apprentice and learn special skills -La Medina.  The twisty-turny center of town and market place.  This was the most authentic part of the trip. -A music school where we attended a lovely presentation on Andalusi music -We also had an language exchange with Moroccan students who are studying spanish at The Cervantes Institute there ...

... morning and spent the next day exploring more of the city (disappointing market after Fes, but what are you going to do) and hiked up a hillside to a mosque way above the town. There we hung out with the goat herders, donkeys, and little kids trying to sell us flower garlands. There was also a cool place where they have routed the water from a river through these stone system for clothes washing - the water flows ...

... place and when the guards summonsed our truck for a second customs inspection I was a bit worried. I think the guard just entered the truck to have a look at the girls because they didn't really care too much for inspecting any bags or otherwise searching the truck. After about an hour of waiting, horn blowing and more waiting we were into Morocco.



For the first nights camp we were near Tetouan on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco and ...

... would get lost, and it was evident once we reached the top of a hill near the old Spanish buildings that overlooked the Medina. Around us was a labyrinth of small alleyways in no particular order. Achmed, our guide, lead us to: an area where the sheeps wool was being prepared for and dyed, a carpet shop (where we were given a demo and asked to buy one....we didn't), a spice ...

... looked green but it was pink or purple or red depending on your skin tone (it actually did work). We had an opportunity to buy anything we saw, which people did. Not me. I personally didn't believe in anything they were selling. Next stop was lunch where we had a very traditional Moroccan meal, which included a vegetable soup, beef shish kabobs, and a platter with coos coos topped with beef and various steamed vegetables. It was actually very good. After lunch there was Moroccan ...

... to Tavi. We are using this opportunity to get our 'Morocco legs', before heading off tomorrow to the chaotic but fabled city of Fez. We are still mourning but we feel that some of the strength from Virginia's grandmother has passed through to Virginia, who has been very good at hauling the backpack without a whimper of complaint, all the while deflecting the Moroccan touts. As the computers here in Chaouen are quite antiquated; we will upload some pictures later.

... could tell how much he enjoyed sharing what he knew about Morocco. When we finally got through the border, we started our way to our hotel in Tetouan. Abdul told us a bunch of interesting things about Morocco, its history and culture on our way to the hotel. Everybody was pretty exhausted when we arrived, but we were welcomed at the hotel by three men playing instruments for us, tea, and cookies ...

Hammams, are public bath houses, open to men in the morning and women in the afternoon if there is only one room. I had read about these in our guidebook and wanted to experience going to one. When we arrived at Chefchaouen, a quaint town surrounded by the Rif Mountains, I managed to persuade Mum to go with me. She really wasn't keen and was hoping that we wouldn't find one, but I succeeded in my search and led her up some stairs into a room full of half naked women and children ...

... me for Jeff Spicoli), and, as expected, the rug salesmen, who are relentless anywhere you go. I wish I could find a shirt that read, in Arabic, "I Already Bought A Rug" but I doubt that would help at all anyway.* Away from the plaza, near our hotel, the predominant noise is from children playing in the narrow, cobbled streets. We've been followed down these streets by stray children, stray cats and stray rug salesmen, and ...

... little boy came out of the cafe with an icecream cone and the cheeky little monkey beside him just as much said "Ill take that!" and the boy was left stunned. it seemed that the monkeys took most attention away from the stunning view from the rock. The Strit of Gibralter - that centuries old sought-after strategic piece of Rock was a bright blue ribbon of water separating Europe from Africa, Spain from Morocco. We all had a moment of reckoning, gazing at ...