Morocco 2016

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco at this time of the year is usually a calm one-hour ferry crossing. Not so for us - a windy, drizzly, cool day resulted in a very rough passage. The ferry staff were kept busy handing out sick bags - they were extremely attentive and did a wonderful job. Thankfully our group of 4 weathered the crossing unscathed.

Kasbah of the Udayas

Morocco has some of the oldest cities in Western Europe. These ancient cities have such a colourful history. So much to learn - so little time. Rabat is the capital of Morocco, and the King has his palace there. While there we visited a kasbah (fortress) built in 1150 AD. It still functions as a small village with homes, shops and gardens. It was also home to numerous cats! Some of the ancient doors were amazing. 

The land was green and fertile up north near Rabat, but became progressively dryer as we got closer to the Sahara Desert further south in Marrakech (350 km from Marrakech to the middle of Sahara Desert). Water used to be found at a depth of about 40 meters, now they are lucky to find it at 100-200 metres. Shepherds with small flocks of around a dozen sheep were seen at frequent intervals - wandering the paddocks that we could see from the bus. There aren't many fences, instead walls of cactus often provided a barrier, so the shepherd has to keep his sheep out of farmers' crops as he meanders his flock along. Some shepherds also had a cow or two along with their sheep. 

Hassan 11 Mosque

Then there is the city of Casablanca, made famous by the movie with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (there are currently 9 Rick's Cafe replicas in Casablanca), and home to the second largest mosque in the world: the Hassan 11 Mosque built right beside the Atlantic Ocean. 

To me, Casablanca was nowhere as near as impressive as the 'red city' of Marrakech. The red refers to the colour of the buildings using local sandstone - similar to my memories of beautiful Sedona in the USA.

Market Marrakech

The marketplace in Marrakech was an eye opener - we saw the snake charmers and other entertainers during our lunchtime visit, but the place really comes to life after 5pm - the pickpockets and wandering street sellers become a pest as the crowds increase, so we were glad to get out once we had a good look around under protection of our tour guides! Not for the faint hearted. We had a most entertaining and knowledgeable city guide, and during our tour of the Bahia Palace he provided us with a fabulous insight into how a wealthy Sultan lived with his 4 wives and 32 children. He also explained why Moroccan homes have no windows on the outside, and the philosophy to build a house with a plain exterior, and save the beauty for inside. Fascinating to hear him explain the way they think. We also visited a herbal pharmacy and learnt about local products and their medicinal uses. Marrakech is part of a triangle which is the only place in the world where Argan trees are grown - Argan nuts have traditionally been used to make cooking oil, but recently they have been touted as the latest wonder ingredient by pharmaceutical companies who use the nuts in face creams, body lotions, hair products and numerous other potions! Marrakech is a very popular destination for many Europeans - especially French visitors, as it is almost the second language here! Did you know that Winston Churchill loved coming to Marrakech where he spent many hours enjoying his hobby of  painting. Yves St Laurent loved Marrakech and spent the years from 1962 until his death in 2007 living in Marrakech.

Belly Dancer in Marrakech

The 500 km drive North East from Marrakech to Fes was long, but there was always something interesting to see. You could never go very far without seeing either a shepherd with a handful of sheep, or a few cows grazing along the roadside. Or else there would be a field with a single man using a scythe to cut the wheat or other crop and pile it onto a cart pulled by a donkey standing patiently. Laborious work. We didn't see much machinery at all until we got close to Fes. Nearly all the land was under cultivation due to the healthy rain catchment area between two sets of mountain ranges: crops included cherries, olives, almonds, peaches, apricots and citrus, and the crop of sugar beets were being harvested as we drove past. All crops looked very healthy, but the villages we passed by looked so derelict. The recent rains (unusual for this time of year) turned village centres into mud baths - but the locals just seemed to go about their business as usual.

Life in Rural Morocco

Fes

Old Medina, Fes

Our last stop in Morocco was the ancient city of Fes, in the central north. Click on the photo above to do justice to the panorama photo. Founded in 789, it now has a population of just over 1 million. It is also home to the oldest, yet still operating, university in the world. We visited the old Medina (original city) that was built in the 9th Century  - it's easy to get lost in the labyrinth of 9,000 alleyways. We visited the oldest tannery and both Murray and Peter bought a handcrafted leather belt. Donkeys are the work horses of the Medina, and 800 are used for removing rubbish, and many others are used for carting goods, and even used as a taxi service within the medina as no cars are allowed - in fact it is reported to be the largest car-free urban area in the world (Wikipedia). On our last night we dined and experienced a mock Moroccan wedding ceremony inside a 14th Century traditional house that had intricate mosaic panels on the floors, walls and supporting columns. The ornate carved and painted ceiling was at least two storeys high and designed to help dissipate the heat of hot Moroccan summers.

Donkeys carting rubbish in the Medina, Fes

Asleep in the Onions!

Along the way, we saw some amazing sights. like this gentleman catching a snooze in a cart full of onions that were on their way to market. Perhaps he had been up all night pulling them out of the ground. 

Some of the teens

Our scariest moment of our tour of Morocco came as we were about to catch our ferry to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. The Strait is only 14 km wide at the narrowest point and is a bridge from the African continent across to Europe. Consequently, many illegal immigrants try to get access into Europe from this point. We had been warned to expect young males to try and stow away under our bus during stops at toll booths or red traffic lights, but we were unprepared for the sheer numbers trying, and their desperate actions to get underneath, even when the bus was still moving. At the last toll booth before our ferry, there were 16 young lads, and 6 successfully climbed under the bus. The driver knew he had seen 2 lads, and so he pulled over and the police came to check. Not a single teen was found initially, but a group of those who didn't get a handhold kept looking at our bus and the police search, so we knew there had to be at least one teen left under the bus. After a few minutes a teen scrambled out, then another few minutes, a second one did. We thought that was it, but the group of teens kept looking at the search, indicating that perhaps there was one more teen. The police and others kept searching without any success. Eventually, another - not one - but another 4 teens ran from their hiding place under the bus. It was unbelievable. Little did the lads know that due to the stowaway problem, the bus goes through an electronic scanner which can detect a heart beat of even a cat. After we pulled away from the toll booth we approached a round-about, and some youths tried again to clamber underneath. A police car turned on its siren and the boys fled, and from that point we had a police escort all the way to the ferry terminal. Phew, I thought we might even miss our ferry! At least the crossing was nice and smooth, unlike our trip coming over.

It has been such an eye opener visiting Morocco. We learnt so much in 5 days and are richer for the experience. 

Baby camel with mother at Berber village

Portugal 2016

I have to say that apart from Fatima, Portugal was never on my radar, however after visiting this country for the first time, I have learnt so much about its ancient and interesting history. The population of 10.3 million people is 90% Roman Catholic, a big change from our earlier stop in the predominately Muslim city of Dubai. This area was originally inhabited by neanderthals, and later invaded by Romans in 219 BC. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe. Mind boggling! Portugal produces 45% of the world's cork production. In shops here you can buy cork handbags, hats, shoes, and even postcards make of cork!

Coimbra

Our first stop in Portugal was to Coimbra, the original capital city during the years 1131-1255. What a delightful old city, surrounded by a bustling university population. The university is internationally renowned and attracts many overseas students, and has one of the oldest European universities (founded in 1290).

Oak tree site of Fatima apparitions

Only a one hour drive south was the city of Fatima, put on the map after The Virgin Mary first appeared above an oak tree to three young shepherd children in 1917 - the apparitions continued once a month for 6 months. During the final apparition, the 'Miracle of the Sun' phenomenon was witnessed by thousands of others, both in Fatima and surrounding areas. The oak tree where the apparitions occurred is still standing and Murray and I couldn't resist having our photo taken beside it. The Fatima sanctuary is a huge area that attracts about 4 million pilgrims a year. Inside the Basilica are the tombs of the 3 shepherds. People from all over the world come to Fatima hoping for a miraculous cure for health ailments. 

Next stop was Obidos where we visited within the walled city. The buildings date back to around 715 AD, although the current buildings were constructed in the 14th Century. Quaint cobblestoned streets and whitewashed buildings made for picturesque photos. Our guide Julian informed us about the local alcoholic cherry liquor called Ginja de Odidos - it is traditionally served with chocolate. Samples of the liquor are served in tiny chocolate cups for anyone willing to part with €1. It was delicious, and if I had any room in my suitcase I would have loved to take some to share with Kim in Copenhagen. Sorry Kim! 

Peter and Murray in Obidos

Lisboa (we know it as Lisbon) has been the capital of Portugal since 1255 and has a most interesting history, but far too much to cover here. It was from this port that Vasco de Gama sailed to India in 1497 and opened up that sea route, and Lisbon prospered exponentially as a result of sea trade with other countries. We saw Vasco de Gama's tomb in the beautiful Santa Maria church in Belém (Lisbon) today. That evening we experienced a traditional FADO cultural evening, serenaded by 4 FADO singers whilst dining in the former stables and cellar of a 17th Century palace. 

Jen in Cascais

Only about 20 minutes drive west out of Lisbon, first following along the north side of the Tagus River until it meets the Atlantic Ocean, we passed through the town of Estoril and stopped at the pretty seaside town of Cascais. It was spitting rain during our visit, so not the best time to visit the seaside! This was the favoured summer holiday resort for Portuguese royalty (before Portugal became a republic in 1910). Also unbeknown to me, Portugal remained neutral during WW11, and so Kings and Queens from most Europeans countries fled to Portugal for sanctuary, and in particular Cascais, where they enjoyed the seaside location in their royal enclaves! The neutrality status also benefitted spies during the war, and many of them lived and traded their secrets in Lisbon and Estoril. "During World War II, Lisbon, as a neutral city, was full of spies. In fact, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, writers and artists, escaped POWs and black marketeers filled the city's cafes, hotels, casino and bars. Ian Fleming (then a British agent who came as part of Operation Golden Eye) was a young employee at the British Consulate. He would often work at the Estoril Casino, as Estoril became the refugee destination for European aristocracy from the war. These aristocrats included six royal European families that made Estoril their exile destination. The Casino was a nexus of espionage, as spies and deposed royals played at the famed Casino’s tables. It was here that Fleming wrote the first part of Casino Royale, centered on the legendary figure of James Bond." (http://www.insideportugaltravel.com/news-a-ideas/story-ideas/10409-when-james-bond-came-to-portugal.html)

Sintra

After trying the local cuisine of Grilled Sardines and Portuguese Chicken in Cascais, we took another short drive to the ancient mountain village of Sintra, where Roman artefacts dating back to 1st - 2nd Century BC (around the time of Caesar and Octavius) have been found - the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We did a tour of the Palace of Sintra, inhabited by royalty from 15th to late 19th Century, and marvelled at the tiling, ceilings and chapel that dates back to the 14th Century. The view to the misty mountain in the distance was so pretty.

As we were driving around Portugal, it was stork nesting season, and young chicks were in most nests - but we could mainly see the adults. The birds seemed to nest in groups atop a row of electricity poles. Amazing. 

The weather was glorious on our first few days, fine, warm and sunny with clear blue skies. Rain detracted from our morning tour of Lisbon city,  but thankfully the weather had cleared in time for us to enjoy the afternoon sightseeing around the seaside and mountain areas away from Lisbon. 

Portuguese Tarts

Last but not least, I discovered a few years ago (whilst travelling around the USA) that I liked the flaky pastry and smooth custard of Portuguese tarts. However, to eat a Portuguese tart in Portugal is something else again! (A bit like having a Danish pastry in Denmark!). I had a Portuguese tart with my coffee to finish off my breakfast, and often a second tart for morning tea for the first 2 days in Portugal ... Well, they are very small tarts after all! 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates April 2016

Dubai - Madrid - Portugal- Morocco - France - Italy - Denmark

Gold

Dubai, in the Persian Gulf, is the first stop on our 2.5 month trip this year. Jenny and Peter are our travelling companions for the most part, but they will fly home from Copenhagen when we join our Baltic Sea cruise with other friends, two American couples, Jan and Dick, and Rainie and Tom. The map above shows our itinerary from 25 April until we get to Copenhagen a month later.

After a relatively smooth 14.5 hour Emirates flight from Brisbane direct to Dubai, we landed at 5.30am on Tuesday and the temperature was already 25 C (77 F). Our accommodation has been in a traditional heritage guest house in the original city of Dubai. It is conveniently located near the gold and spice souks (markets) and only a short walk to the 'Creek' which is a hive of dhow activity day and night. Most days we jumped on a small dhow used as a water taxi and paid our 1 dirham (about 35 cents) fee, and went across the river to the cafes and market stalls on the other side. We also hired a dhow to do a 1 hr cruise around the area which was a great way to see this part of Dubai. Over time we have learnt that while Dubai has been on the silk road trade route for centuries, the United Arab Emirates only formed in December 1971.

Not wanting to waste a minute, we jumped on a train on our first day and visited the world's largest shopping mall - the Dubai Mall. Only a handful of skaters were using the indoor skating rink but hundreds of fish could be seen through the world's largest aquarium viewing window which can be viewed from three floors within the mall. After catching a water taxi and dining beside the river as the sun set, we wandered back to our hotel via the spice and gold souks - street after street of shops selling mainly 21 carat gold jewellery - 250 shops in fact! We walked over 18,000 steps on our first day in Dubai and many of these were walked around the gold souk!

Cruising on a dhow: Peter, Jen and Murray

We managed to hit most of the high spots during our 4 day visit: the Burj Khalifa (highest building in the world); the 3 storey aquarium and watching the water fountain at the Dubai Mall (largest mall in the world) as it danced to music; the iconic sail of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah (most luxurious hotel in the world: rooms start at $1400 per night) and we watched the live penguin show and also skiers at the indoor ski field in the Mall of the Emirates. The sails of the Burj Khalifa can be seen in photo on left.

Live penguin display

Murray going local

Within 1.5 hrs drive of Dubai is the capital city of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi. We took a trip there and saw the 3rd largest mosque in the world, the Sheikh Zayed - without question it is touted as the prettiest Mosque of them all. The largest Mosque is in Mecca, and the second largest is in Morocco, and we expect to see that in a few days time. Despite both Jen and I having a shawl that covered our arms, plus I had a long sleeved cardigan and we were wearing long trousers/dress, we were not allowed in as we needed to both be wearing long sleeves as well as a head scarf. It was such a hot day (34 C/93 F) but felt hotter due to all the concrete), so we were thankful to be able to escape to the air-conditioned bus to wait for Peter and Murray while they braved the oppressive heat to take some photos of the interior for us. 

We paid a short visit to the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village where we were able to get a good photo looking back to the Abu Dhabi skyline. The heat gave a haze to the photos. It's not evident in these photos, but everywhere you look in Dubai and Abu Dhabi there is construction going on - the Emirates must have the largest explosion of new buildings in the world! Jenny and Peter visited here only two years ago, and they hardly recognise the place. Many businesses are attracted to operating out of Dubai as it provides a tax free haven, and tourism (for Brand shopping) is a huge economy here. Wealthy people from places like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar buy luxury properties here and enjoy the luxury lifestyle.

Panorama of Abu Dhabi skyline

Map showing route from Dubai in the North to Abu Dhabi (South) with Persian Gulf to West (left)

Did you know that only two man-made structures can be seen on earth from outer space? One is the Great Wall of China, and the other is the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. See photo on left. The Palm is an artificial archipelago, 5.5 km long and in the shape of a palm tree. It is densely filled with luxurious resorts and apartments that began selling in 2006 with a 99 year lease. The amazing coincidence is that on the same day that my friend Rainie was visiting the Great Wall, I was visiting the second structure, the Palm Jumeirah! Uncanny!

On our last day in Dubai, we did a desert tour to experience a little of how the traditional bedouins lived - surrounded by sand, riding camels and eating under the stars…We were picked up in a 4WD - V8 Toyota Land Cruiser (one of 18 in our group making a total of 100 people) and taken sand dune bashing in the Arabian Desert. Thrilling, but not for the faint hearted - one of the cars had to stop as a passenger was violently ill. 

What a ride!

Sand, sand and more sand

It was 41 C (106 F) as we drove into the desert and it sure felt like it too. We were thankful for the efficient  air-conditioning in the vehicle. After the dune bashing we paid a visit to a camel farm, then made our way to a meeting place where we had a camel ride, held a Falcon hawk, and were entertained by 2 Egyptian dancers, one who was a very, very talented belly dancer. 

Peter and Jenny holding a Falcon

As the sun set we were served a tasty buffet dinner including salads, lamb chops, tandoori chicken and beef rissoles. There was light cloud cover which obscured most of the stars, but a few were twinkling merrily. What a wonderful experience. The four of us were very impressed with this particular desert tour and would highly recommend it. We will say farewell to Dubai in the morning, and be in Madrid soon after lunchtime. 

Sunset in the Arabian Desert

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Christmas 2015 to April 2016

One of my American friends from Louisiana emailed today and reminded me to keep them updated with the blog. I realised that it had been some time since I had done an update, however I was shocked to read my last entry was before Christmas last year! So here I am in catch up mode...

L-R: Aunty Dympna, Benn, Daina, Kim, Murray, Trish and Ret

What an exciting Christmas we had with lots of family around. Benn and Daina were both over from Japan, and Kim bought 3 of her Danish friends over from Copenhagen to share their first Aussie Christmas with us. In the photo at left Kim's Danish friends Sara, Adam and Sine are with Kim and Murray on our back patio. We shared a few of our Christmas traditions with them (lighting of the plum pudding) and they shared theirs with us (home-made paper decorations). In the photo below you can see most of the 21 family (includes 3 Danes) at our Christmas feast. 

 Christmas feast - missed my youngest son Mark

In the second week of March, Ret and I flew to Sydney to look after two of her grandsons for a few days while their mum and dad took a break. While the boys were at school/day care, we took a bus and met some friends for lunch at Sydney Harbour, but mainly just enjoyed our time with her grandsons Jethro and Noah. If all kids were as well behaved as these two, parents would be a lot less stressed!

Later in March we got to catch up with dear friends from our Air Force days, Toni and Ron Cox. They have a 'summer' property not too far away from us in Ballina, and hopefully we will get to catch up with them a bit more frequently. 

Time stands still for no man, and before we knew it, Easter had arrived. Murray flew to Melbourne to spend time with his kids and grandsons and I drove up to the Gold Coast for a family lunch at Ret and Pete's, followed by an overnighter at Tony, Yudian and Jackson's. The next morning  Ret and I joined Tony and Jackson for their usual Surfers Paradise early morning walk - well, 6.30am is early for me!! 

The big family event for us so far this year has been my brother Tony's 70th birthday in April. The revolving restaurant in Surfers Paradise is the ideal location for a celebration and 18 of us enjoyed the function. Tony's eldest son Nicholas was the birthday surprise - his mum Bronwyn flew him over from Canada as her gift to Tony, and Nicholas's presence was the icing on the cake for all of us! Tony had his 4 children there - Nicholas from Canada, Kate from Brisbane, Anna from Darwin, and Jackson (RIP Rebecca). 

Yudian, Tony, Kate, Anna, Nicholas, Bron 

Siblings: Ret, Trish, Rose, Tony, Gemma, Tracy (Missing Peter RIP, Chris in Japan)

We last saw Benn and Daina at Christmas, but had the opportunity to catch up again recently. They had taken 7 days to complete the epic 9 day Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, which they followed by a few days deep sea diving and paddle boarding. They were flying back to work in Japan with a planned overnight stop in Brisbane. We knew they would be  exhausted, but as they weren't likely to get back to Australia before the end of the year, I wanted to see them (if only briefly), before their flight the next morning. We arranged to pick them up from the airport and have a quiet dinner with them. Benn hadn't seen his cousin Nicholas for some time as he lives in Canada, so he joined us as well. We picked Nick up from Tony's en route, and I took the opportunity for a cuddle with Jackson. The quiet dinner catchup in Brisbane was just what the doctor ordered, and after too many yawns to ignore, we let Benn and Daina hit the hay. 

Daina, Benn, Trish, Nick (Murray took the photo)

Only days before we are due to fly to Dubai and Europe for a 2.5 month trip, I spent a delightful two days sharing a resort apartment with my Aunt Dympna in the seaside town of Yamba. Located less than 1.5 hours drive from home, Yamba has only one quarter the population of Ballina and is a popular holiday destination. Staying in another apartment in the same resort were my sister Ret, her husband Peter, Ret's son Peter and his 3 sons. It was a nice battery charge for me before the final packing for, and rigours of our upcoming travel...

Jethro, Noah and Ret