The Trans - Off to the Sahara

So this is my last message for probably like 10 days as we cross the Western Sahara and Mauritania (which I'm not supposed to talk about for security reasons but I already mentioned it before - so I guess just everyone reading this get ready to chip in for my ransom-thanks!)

Anyways - catching up from my last posts - we left Essaouira yesterday afternoon and got on a big coach bus (picture attached - the caption at the bottom of the bus says "the other way to travel" which made us laugh a bit as we have hopped off our big yellow truck...) and we drove down a long windy highway to Agadir. Now - I haven't gotten motion sickness since my younger days on the coach buses heading to basketball games in the UP...but I must admit the bus ride yesterday tested me!! It was a super windy coastal road and the bus driver was insane!! Luckily we had a 20 minute stop after an hour so I was able to jump out and get some fresh air. I was fine after that - but the first part of the journey was tough! There was some stunning scenery of the sea and beach as we drove by - especially the siunset - so it was worth it. Until we got to Agadir and I got a text from our tour leader...now they were adamant that they wouldn't go through Essaouira to pick us up because it was like 10km out of the way - so we had to take the bus to meet them in Agadir where they were stopping at the grocery store. So my text in Agadir says that she hopes we haven't left Essaouira yet because turns out they are going to stop there and they can pick us up!! LOL!! If only that would have been decided a few hours sooner - oh well! Agadir has been ok! A new city to check out. We stayed in a proper dive hotel last night though! Which was sad because we thought it was our last time with a shower and toilet for like 10 days-but luckily we get to stay in town tonight too - so Jo and have have upgraded further and are in a lovely hotel with a proper bathroom and a flatscreen TV (pictures included above - my bed has the zebra stripes!). So I had a shower this evening and I'll have another in the morning because then I think its 3 nights of bush camping (ie. no water) and then a night camping in a really crappy hotel carpark and then more bush camping. Basically the next 10 days are pretty much 8-10 hour days of driving!! Hopefully the scenery is good! Oh - and the weather is warmer!! So all should be good - soon I'll be complaining that its too hot :P

Anyways - we met the truck at the grocery store today because its our last chance to stock up on anything for days and days and days...so I got a bunch of water (did I tell the story before about how they forgot to treat water and gave everyone dysentery...I think I did...so I'm not risking dysentery and I'm buying my own water!) And I also bought my "secret santa" present. We basically spend 5-10 euro and exchange gifts on Xmas...I bought a bunch of random small snacks and little toys...junk mostly but it should alleviate some boredom for a few hours :P

After dinner we got into the discussion again about our local payment and how because there is no transparency we don't trust that its being spent properly just because no one tells us anything and we don't trust the tour leader basically - I'm sure its all above board (and she isn't siphoning off the local payment for a deposit on her new house after the trip) but without any accounting (yes I'm an accountant) its just hard to be sure - and more and more people are questioning it. So I sent a quick email to the Oasis office this evening. Hopefully when I get through the desert and get internet again - all our questions will be answered!!!

I think that's it!! But I'll likely be gone 10 - 14 days - so don't worry if you don't hear from me! We are hoping to get to St. Louis, Senegal for Xmas - so it will be long days driving but I'm still so happy I got my Mauritania visa and don't have to fly over!! Saves me so much money that its ok to super upgrade and pay £15 for my share of the hotel room tonight (compared to the £5 I paid last night). I'll write as much as I can and upload it all!! It will be interesting to see the interactions of the group after being away so long! I've heard that there are 2 leaders that have emerged that set the course in  picking on the weaker members of the group!! Oh boy - the drama!!PS that last picture is the beach in Agadir! Not too bad! Merry Christmas if I'm not online before then!!!

The Trans - Pictures in Essaouira

Attached are my few pictures I've taken on my BB from Essaouira - which is the lovely seaside town we've spent nearly 5 days in! Its super laid back...reasonably warm (if a bit windy) and has been really relaxing! This afternoon we head down to Agadir to meet up with the truck again tomorrow afternoon or Thursday morning - depending on when they finish sorting out visas in Rabat this afternoon! We are hopping on a bus in a little bit and this is possibly my last time with internet for about 2 weeks as we cross the Sahara! Although its likely I'll find some wifi in Agadir as it is apparently a very touristy resort town! But if not - I'll try to write everyday while on the truck (we'll basically spend 8-10 hours a day driving) and I'll upload everything when I find internet!

Enjoy the pictures - I'll try to take more as I go along!!! The seafood picture is only about half of my plate of food from the first day in town! They had to cook all our food in batches as they gave us so much!!!! Yummmmm!!!!

The Trans - A Lovely Day

So after my last post the day just went on to get better and better. I went back to get Jo for lunch and convinced her to go to the pizza restaurant with me - not only for the pizza but because it has a beautiful view from the terrace. So we spent a few hours there eating and drinking wine and sitting in the sun watching the ocean crash over the shore and the battlements of the fort! Lovely! Then we went back to the hotel for a couple hours nap until Eti woke us up to go to the hammam. So I packed up my new hammam soap and my hammam glove and Eti and I were off to the hammam the hotel lady recommended. That was a bit of an interesting experience. Its apparently a new hammam and very very popular!!! It was super busy! Really big - but really busy!!! Old people to young children. Anyways - we were too late to get the good spots so we ended up in the last room which is also the hottest!

It must've been at least 40 degrees (Celsius) which is way too much for me - and the floor was hot. Oh - we also learned why they all have little chairs they sit on!! They like to shave (and by shave I mean all of their hair everywhere) and they just leave big clumps of like pubic hair all over the floor - so anyways - we don't have stools so we had to find a relatively clean and safe place. But we were in the hot room so it wasn't quite as relaxing as I hoped because I couldn't stay in there long! But I scrubbed up good and bought a big bottle of water after to rehydrate myself!! I'll have to shower tomorrow because I sweat so much after the hammam I'm probably not that clean anymore :P

But then we got back to the hostel and one of the guys invited a street performer back. He's an older Parisian man that plays the accordion. Now the accordion has a bad reputation - but actually it was really lovely!! It was like Paris in the Springtime!! He played a few songs in the background while we all chatted! Very nice! Waybetter than whatever our group on the truck is doing!! So then we just had some wonderful conversation with interesting people from around the world!! A wonderful evening!! And now I'm off to bed because its like 10pm and the hammam exhausted me (which is my excuse because honestly I've been in bed around this time every night - Morocco exhausts me)!!!

The Trans - The Sea Side!

So - it's been a few days since I have written.  I got a bit lazy!!  Marrakech was overwhelming so I didn't want to write anymore there...I just wanted to leave.  So let me think - not much happened there after my last post.  We had a lovely dinner and the next day we had to go and meet the truck in the early afternoon to head to Essaouira, which is about a 3 hour drive from Marrakech.  Now - I thought the plan was to stay in Essaouira for 2 nights...but apparently that's too expensive because there is an actual campsite.  So we drove about 2 hours and we saw the sign that said "Essaouira - 8km" and then we turned around and drove off the highway onto a super rocky road and found a place to set up camp in the middle of lots of scrubby bushy and rocks!!  Excellent.

The Trans - Dinner

Just so you aren't all ashamed and think I've completely given up on
the local cuisine in favor of pizza and McDonalds...here's a photo of
my dinner last night. Its Tagine with kefta (meatballs) and eggs!!
Very yummy but I think it may have been less healthy for me than the
McDonalds!!

The Trans - another day in Marrakesh

Its amazing how some warmth and a cheap hotel room can make a person so much happier!! Oh and being clean! The shower in our cheap hotel room is amazing! I just got out from a super long super hot shower \
bath combo!! I feel clean and happy and ready to face another day in Morocco!! Which saying that - now that I'm warm and not in a tent - I've stopped hating Morocco :)

The Trans - Marrakesh Adventures in Cooking and Eating!

So far so good. Yesterday we came into Marrakesh and last night I stayed in a proper hotel again!! Yay!!! And itas warm during the day!!! Amazing!!! We were going to get a really nice hotel room with private hammam and pool and stuff but due to some strange circumstances with one of the slightly odder guys on the trip - Jo had to downgrade us...so we are in the hotel Geoff and Eti are staying in-which is nice enough. We have both a toilet and a bath in our room and its right off the main square and has a big balcony that almost
overlooks the square. Poor Jo was scared I would be mad because we weren't in a nice hotel (we've been planning it for days) but really all I needed was a bed and a hot shower...and the shower I had last night was amazing!!!! So we are all set!!

The Trans - Marrakesh and warmth!!!

So far it seems promising for warmer weather as we drive towards Marrakesh! We have taken a gorgeous drive through the High Atlas Mountains - which isn't the fastest route to Marrakesh but is the
prettiest!! And we just stopped for lunch near the bottom \ end of the Mountains and it was warm enough for me to take-off not only my long-underwear but to put on my shorter trousers and put my sandals on!!!! Amazing!! Such a change from the -2 degrees when we woke up this morning!!! Brrrr!!!

The Trans - pictures 2

More pics that didn't fit in first post -

Pictures 461 and 462 are the ruins at Volubilis.
Picture 463 is a shell somewhere that reminded me of my camino earlier this year! Awww...memories! I also found some yellow arrows the other day when we walked around Tondra Gorge but those pics are on my real camera.

Picture 464 is me in front of the Royal Palace in Fez and Picture 465 is me and a view over Fez from the South Fortress or something.

Finally 466 I just took is the inside of the truck as we drive along!

The Trans - pictures 1

I don't remember what I've already uploaded so here are all the pics
on my BB so far.
Pictures 451 - 454 are in Gibralter.
Picture 455 is me in front of the truck
Picture 456 is my first proper Moroccan Tangine in Rabat
Picture 457 is a view of Rabat from Sale' across the river.
Picture 458 is my lovely seafood meal in Rabat.
Picture 459 is the truck from a bit further away - I've had a lot of
requests to see the size of the truck.
Picture 460 is a view into my tent. This is where Jo and I sleep when
we aren't in hotels :P my stuff is the pink stuff!

The Trans - Yup...its cold again!

So...I think this was our last cold night. Hopefully!! I thought everything was happy because I got warm yesterday and we were coming out of the mountains...but it turns out we have to go back into mountains to get to Marrakesh...oh boy! So we just camped in like the worst possible place ever...its a barren like wind tunnel near the top of one of the mountains. And lucky for me...I was on cook group last night (Saturday Dec 3rd I think). Bloody freezing!! Most people sat in the truck while we cooked! We make a stew like borscht (my idea) which was perfect for a cold night...but I added too much chili....oops...I thought it was the paprika!! But I guess it kept everyone warmer and cleared out the sinuses of those of us that are sick :P

Anyways!! Freezing! As soon as we finished washing dishes I went to bed! It was like 8:15!!! Which might be why I'm the first one awake this morning! I couldn't remember what time we were supposed to do breakfast...so I've been up since 6am!! No one else is awake and I don't want to wake up the driver and tour leader who are sleeping in the truck - so I can't even start a fire (pretending I actually knew where all the stuff for starting a fire are...) So I packed up all my stuff in the tent. Jo must hate me by now. I was also up at like mid-night and unable to sleep. So that's why blogs got uploaded. I decided to put my UK SIM back in my mobile and spend lots of money on data to entertain me. Oh - other people are starting to wake up now! I hope someone will come sit with me! Luckily I don't feel so cold anymore....I don't know if I'm just numb or what happened...LOL - I must look silly sitting in my robe in the dirt outside the truck surrounded by my bags!!!

The Trans - Still freezing!!!

OMG!!! Its still freezing!! We are at Tondra Gorge...which is even higher in the mountains and its SO cold! We came to a hotel that will let everyone sleep inside in the like restaurant...but even that has open ceiling bits and stuff...so a bunch of us have upgraded to hotel rooms...but its still freezing!!! I'm huddled under my blanket now shivering!! We have a small heater in our room...but its not doing much - plus there is only electricity from 5:30 until mid-night...ahhhh!!! But its better that sleeping in a room with 15 other people and open ceilings and no heater! Hopefully it will get warmer. We have to go outside to eat dinner though! I'm gonna wear my robe!! It will be warmer. We were gonna go out for dinner but Jo and I made the mistake of making friends with the guy at the restaurant. Long story short ... we don't want to go back there!!
So...its the next day from the last post (Friday I think it is) I'm still freezing! I'm actually sitting in my hotel room with my hat on under my blankets surrounded by used tissue because I am now sick because I've been cold for so damn long!! We went for a lovely walk this morning though! We went through Todra Gorge! Some really nice views and I actually got warm for a little while! There was lots of sunshine at the top!! It was a nice relaxed walk. Some people wanted to go a lot faster and got annoyed, but I don't know why since we had nothing else to do today and its a super small town!! So anyways - it really was a lovely walk and we spent lots of time sitting in the sunshine...then we came back to the hotel at bottom of the gorge where the sun only shines less than 2 hours a day!!! Which would be ok if this was August...but its December and its freezing!!! So yea...Jo and I have just been hiding in the hotel room! We don't even get hot water in our shower!! I had a cold shower this morning (again)!!! Ahhhh!!

Ok-dinner is over! We had "Spanish Tortilla" cooked over an open fire...but they forgot the potatoes and there was no bread. Basically it was scrambled eggs with some pepper and onion. And then there was coleslaw to go with it. It was a very strange combination and not anything good for a cold night! But I guess it was food so as long as I don't get sick from it - whatever.

But now...I am finally warm!!! Its a miracle! Everyone in the group kinda hates us right now because we aren't sitting in the hotel parking lot around a smokey campfire in the freezing cold with them...but whatever. After dinner we went to the restaurant to have a cup of tea and one of the ladies in the group came down and said she had a hot shower!!! I instantly became anti-social!! So Jo and I got our gear and came to turn our shower on. The trick is apparently to let it run for 10 minutes before getting in. So I just had my first hot shower in days!!! And our room is a reasonable temperature. Things are looking up! I found my cough drops (have I mentioned I have a cold now with a sore throat and runny nose?!?) And I'm tucked up warm in bed and clean!!! Yay!!! It won't last long because we are bush camping tomorrow night on the way to Marrakesh so we'll be cold and dirty - and its my groups turn to cook again ... But whatever! Right now I'm warm and happy...I guess you have to be freezing for 2 weeks to really appreciate a semi-hot shower... :)

The Trans - Camping in December in the Mountains!! (Thursday Dec 1)

All I can say is WTF?!? What am I doing here?? In the Atlas Mountains camping in December! It was so bloody cold last night I barely slept! I didn't do a good job sorting out my blankets and sleeping bag so it was just a big tangled mess and I was too cold to sort it out! And on top of that I had a few drinks before bed so I had to get up to pee twice!!! Ahhhh!!! Miserable! The damn tent had ice on it this morning! Jo and I were too lazy to carry our tent down the hill with the others last night so we camped on the road. Good times...or something...

The Trans - Fez 2...a tour of the Medina!

So - its day 2 in Fez...I just typed out what I wrote before Fez...and now I'll go from there.  Basically - after Volubilis.  I know I wrote a bit yesterday - but I'll repeat some of that :P

The Trans - Chefchaouen and the Rif Mountains

Ok and I'm going to apologize for this now...but I am on a crappy computer and the space key doesn't work very well....

I'm going back to Saturday (Nov 26) we made the long drive from Rabat to Chefchaouen which is a smallish town in the Rif Mountains.  I am retyping this from my BB as I can't find any wifi connection to upload from my mobile...anyways - according to the Lonely Planet, Chefchaouen is one of the prettiest cities in Morocco and is very popular with backpackers because they sell lots of pot.  It was a cute enough town.  They had a small medina with a central square with lots of cafes around it.  You could tell it was more tourist focused than Rabat because there were a lot of kids begging and the shop keepers weren't as hassle free as Rabat.  But it was nice and full of twists and turns and winding alley-ways.  I love the blue and white buildings!!

The Trans - Fez

Hello - from Fez!!  I have another post in my mobile that I need a wifi connection to upload - so this will be short.  I am in an internet cafe somewhere.  I have no idea where...we did a quick city tour this morning and the tour guide dropped a few of us off at a hammam...but it was a hammam in the middle of no where...it was a very interesting experience.  But I am super clean now!!  So that's good.  Then I'm with Spanish Toni and she and I just had a quick lunch and the poor waitress took pity on us and walked us over to the internet cafe so we would stop bothering her I think :P  So here I am checking my bank balance (I've spent a lot of money) and checking my email!!

The Trans - Rabat...still...

So - going on from my last post (sorry these are bits and pieces...I'm writing when I can and uploading when I find wifi...I can't figure out how to set up my Moroccan SIM to get internet on my phone - I think its because I have too old of a BB...) Anyways - I'm sitting in the internet cafe waiting for my turn on a computer...so I can properly set up my email and sort out my storage unit drama!!! And see how things are going online in general...so I'll write a bit more about our time in Rabat. I'll do a quick recap (mainly for myself because I feel like I've been gone for weeks...but its been less than a week-which is why I suppose no one has really emailed me to say they miss me or tell me any stories...) Its Friday today...so this is the 6th day - and our 3rd day in Rabat. Apparently we'll spend tonight at the shitty campsite outside of town and leave tomorrow morning and actually see some more of the country this weekend before coming back to Rabat on Monday to finish sorting out the visas. It kind of sucks that this whole first week is filled with visas and stuff. I wish they would have had us just get them all before we left!

The Trans - rabat 2

Onwards from the campground - we drove into Rabat city around 8am...rush hour so it took ages and I'm sure the locals were thrilled to see the giant yellow truck :P. We drove to the embassy area where I
had to rush off to make copies of my second passport so that I could lodge it with Mauritania while my first passport was at the Mali embassy. Hopefully by Friday we'll know more about my ability to get
a Mauritanian visa...anyways...we rushed around getting cash and copies and visas...and then finally we left Embassy Land and went a bit more into Rabat. By this time I had decided for sure I was staying
in Rabat that night whether anyone else stayed with me or not! Luckily some others stayed or I would have had quite the adventure alone!!!!

The Trans - Rabat

We are in the capital of Morocco! After a long 300km drive from the port yesterday...we arrived to our "bush camp" in the rain and in the dark! Fun times to set up the tent! Luckily I didn't have to cook dinner!! The campsite is well used by Overland Truck tours so its got a lot of rubbish everywhere - ICK!

The Trans - Into Africa!!

We crossed into Africa this afternoon (Tuesday 22 November). We left Algeciras (the Port in mainland Spain) on the ferry and arrived in Ceuta (the Port in Africa but still part of Spain) after about 1.5 hours of uneventful ferry riding...the highlight was the sandwich!! While it was a terrible bocadillo compared to the ones I ate during the camino - it was perfect because to be honest...the one cheese sandwich we were allowed to make for lunch just wasn't going to get me from 8am breakfast until 10pm when I think we'll have dinner tonight!! I have a feeling I'll spend quite a bit of my budget on food...