| Diary
October
Agadir, Morocco 2003-10-27 14:47
Marhaba!
We ended up staying three nights in Rabat. Not that there were a lot of things to do there but we had to wait for our laundry and it didn’t dry that quickly in the rain. We were supposed to fix our Mauritanian visas in Rabat. We went to the address written in our guide book and we found a lot of things but no embassy. After a while we realized that there is no Mauritanian embassy in Rabat but in Casablanca. Do not always trust your guide books… So what did we do in Rabat? Well, we ate a lot of good food (among other things the Moroccan speciality Tajine, a meat and vegetable stew), we looked at Rabat’s most famous landmark “Tour Hassan” (a tower that belongs to a mosque that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755), we drank heaps of coffee and mint tea and then we ate a little bit more. The highlight was definitely when we found a café that served pieces of cakes for 0,6 Euros each. Beautiful, delicious, tasty and big pieces of cakes for only 0,6 Euros each. I think we must have eaten one piece of cake for every country we have been in so far…
When we finally got our clothes back, not dry but almost, we went to Casablanca. Another big and dirty city with absolutely nothing to offer. Casablanca can brag about the Hassan II mosque witch is actually the third biggest religious monument in the world. If we were impressed? Well, it was really big, but not much more than that. Good news is that we now have our visas to Mauritania. The visas were really easy to fix and it only took a couple of hours.
After some boring days in the big cities we arrived in Marrakesh. An extremely modern city (compared to the rest of Morocco) with an absolutely amazing atmosphere. The city is well-known for its huge square in the heart of the medina. During the late afternoon and in the evening the square is filled up with food stalls, musicians, snake charmers, crazy Arabs trying to sell a lot of crap an a lot of tourists (99% French tourists). The only sad thing being a tourist in Marrakesh is that all the locals associate you with money, money and money . For example we got in to a big fight with a snake charmer that wanted us to pay 20 Euros (!) for the picture that you can se below. We ended up paying him 0,5 Euros…
Yesterday we had one of the best days so far. We went from Marrakesh to Agadir through the High Atlas Mountains. Winding mountain roads and the most amazing scenery. The first 100 kilometres took us four hours to drive.
Agadir is very different from the rest of Morocco. It’s very clean and modern with a lot of hotels and a nice beach. It really looks like another Spanish tourist town missing the charm that you’ll find elsewhere in Morocco. The good thing about the city is that they sell beer everywhere, something that we have been missing for a while. We are going to leave Agadir tomorrow heading off to the Sahara Desert and Mauretania.
Take care,
Helena & Daniel
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| Daniel is not only a driver he's a snake charmer too... |
Helena's favourite old man! |
High Atlas Mountains between Marrakesh and Agadir |
Rabat, Morocco 2003-10-21 16:51
Hi There!
We are finally in Africa!!! Right now we are staying in the capital of Morocco, Rabat. After have sleeping in our tent since Salzburg, Austria (one exception sleeping on our air madras in Bordeaux) we are now staying in a hotel. It's so nice to have a real roof over our heads and to sleep in a real bed. Yesterday we even had a hot shower. What a luxury!
After our visit in Benidorm we spent a couple of days in Torox on the east coast of Spain waiting for our "desert tyres" that were supposed to arrive in Malaga last Thursday. We were so exited when we came to Malaga on Friday morning and we got so disappointed when the staff in the post office told us that the tyres hadn't arrived and that it might take another week. We REALLY wanted to go to Africa... In the middle of all the disappointment Daniel decided to go back to the post office and for real charm the lazy girls in the desk. It worked!!! We got our beloved tyres. It's almost impossible to describe the happiness in that moment.
Last Saturday we went by ferry from Algeciras to the Spanish colony Ceuta in Africa. In Africa we headed off to Chefchauen in Morocco. The road to the city was "pretty" bad containing a lot of unfinished asphalt and holes and there were a lot of donkeys and camels walking beside it. It is so nice to be here!!! Even though the bike is a little bit tired because of the heavy luggage we don't have any problems passing the half rotten Moroccan taxis in the hills:-)
Chefchauen turned out to be an extremely relaxed and cosy city. The city is well known for its Medina (old town) that contains a kind of a labyrinth with blue painted small alleys. Very cool! Since it was raining the whole Sunday we spent the day in the campsite. The two of us and a Swiss guy got invited to the reception where we sat the whole evening chatting, drinking the famous Moroccan mint tea and helped the night guard writing a love letter in English to a kiwi girl that he once met.
Yesterday we steered to the capital Rabat. After half an hour on the road it started to rain again. It was not raining cats and dogs but whales and sharks. It must have been the worst rain we've ever experienced. After four hours in the heavy rain we finally came to Rabat. As we mentioned, we are now staying in a hotel and this in the middle of the Medina. Very nice! Today we are heading off to the embassy of Mauritania to get our visas and then we are going sightseeing.
We have to add that we really love it here in Morocco. The atmosphere is just perfect. Before we came here we heard so many bad stories about the Moroccan people and we were a little bit sceptic in the beginning. But so far they have all been sooo nice and helpful. It's also nice to finally be in a country that's cheap. We are paying 8 Euros for our double room and a descant dinner in a restaurant is around 3 Euros...
Check out our picture galleri which has been updated!!!
So long,
Daniel & Helena
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| Look how happy we were... |
The first picture in Africa!!! |
In the Medina, Chefchauen |
Benidorm, Spain 2003-10-13 19:47
Hi there!
We have heard that it´s getting cold back home:-)
We've had a brilliant week that's been very nice and slow. We've recharged our batteries for Africa that we are planning to reach next weekend. Our desert tyres have been sent to Malaga, south part of Spain, so hopefully they will be there in time.
After our visit in Bordeaux, France, we went to Andorra. The way to this tiny country was very nice. After have spending a couple of hours on winding mountain roads we came to the top and found this mini country. It was pretty cool to see. In Andorra we didn't see much besides shops, shops and hotels though. This country is pretty cheap, so there are a lot of French and Spanish people who go there to shop. There are around 60 000 inhabitants in Andorra. The biggest part of the population is immigrants who are having the time of their lives not having to pay any income taxes.
Our first stop in Spain was Barcelona. We put up our tent on a camping right beside the sea with around 15 minutes to the city centre. So perfect. It was very nice to get some sun and warmth again. We had really good weather in the beginning of the trip and on the French Riviera, but besides that it's been pretty cold. We've had some rough nights in the tent. Even if we've slept in layers and layers of clothes we have still woken up, I don't know how many times per night, freezing.
We ended up staying four nights in Barcelona. It was nice to take things easy after some stress around the rest of Europe. Daniel took the opportunity the serve the motorbike. Among other things he changed the braking oil, checked the antifreeze and changed some broken lamps in the speedometer. Other than that we just relaxed. We studied some Africa and explored the big city. We have for example bought a new Lonely Planet book about diseases in Africa. It tells you about in what areas you can get ill, how you recognize the different diseases and what you should to if you get sick. A very good book.
The highlight in Barcelona was, except for the atmosphere, the extraordinary church "La Sagrada Familia". This is a very powerful and amazing church. They started to build it in the middle of the 18th century and it will be finished 2021. There are a lot of details on this church...
Yesterday we arrived in Benidorm (on the east coast), where we are now. Benidorm is a real tourist paradise with heaps of hotels and a nice beach. It may not be what this trip is all about, but once and a while it can be nice. Right now we are sitting by the pool and writing this diary. Can life get much better?
Our "training camp" in Europe has by all means been useful. For every day that passes by thing are going easier and quicker, to put up the tent, to pack, to find different things etc. The only thing that goes slower and slower is to pump up the damn air madras. But hey, you can't have the time of your life all the time:-)
This week we have driven 1300 kilometres, 6300 in total.
Next time we write in this diary we will hopefully be in Morocco. We are really looking forward to Africa. Now is when the adventure begins for real.
Se you soon,
Helena and Daniel
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| The camping life is getting to Helena. |
On the way to Andorra. |
La Aagrada Familia, Barcelona. |
Bordeaux, France 2003-10-06 17:21
Bonjour!
We are getting closer and closer to Africa. Today we are leaving Bordeaux, France heading off to Andorra. Andorra, the tiny country in the Pyreneans on the border to Spain, is supposed to be very cheap. We are planning to buy some equipment like “Lonely Planet” books, Zip-off pants, hiking boots and a compass.
Since the last time we wrote we have seen a bit of France. From Italy we went to the luxury and touristy French Riviera where we, among other places, saw Monaco, Nice and Cannes. In Cannes we ran into the Swedish luxury yacht “Mälarprinsessan” that actually has been chartering the Swedish king and queen. This motorboat has been the biggest one in Sweden, but in the company of all the other enormous boats in the Riviera it almost looked silly small. The boats in these harbours are definitely something else.
After a couple of days on the French Riviera we steered to Bordeaux to meet Helena’s former job colleague Birger, who are living there to study. The way to Bordeaux was really nice. We saw everything from really brutal roads in the mountains to flat areas with nothing but wine ranches. On the way we also passed a lot of small city’s that were either specialists in perfume, nougat or wine (of course). For example we drove on a road called “Route de Napoleon” that is supposed to be ranked as one of the ten nicest roads in Europe.
After have spending nine nights in our tent it was very nice coming to Birger and his ten square metre student apartment. It’s not every day we have a roof over our heads and a shower nearby. What a luxury! On our arrival we got to put out our thirst with beer from Birger’s new fridge. So damn good! Since we hadn’t been drinking since the departure from Sweden we got very happy very quickly and it turned out to be a really good party night. We learned one lesson though. Always pump up the air madras before you go out partying. It was pretty boring and tuff doing it 6-7 a clock in the morning…
The motorbike is still going as a clock. Because of heavy equipment at a lot of winding roads in the mountains the tyres are getting a little bit worn. We are sure they will last to Western Sahara though, were we will change to new “desert tyres”. This week we have been driving 1620 kilometres, 4490 in total.
So long,
Super driver D & glam passanger H
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| Picknick in San Remo, Italy |
Luxerious Monaco |
"Route the Napoleon", France |
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