Wendy has left me for another man

And you can see why!

Essaouira - the windy city

Fes - view from a taxi

More sights and sounds of Fes

Medersa Bou Inania in Fes

Fes tannery

The powerful smell emanating from some of these ancient tanneries is quite overwhelming. A part of the process of turning the animal hides (camel, goat, sheep, cow) into leather involves marinating them in pigeon poo for a few weeks. Given these tanneries have been around since the 13th century, a slight pong is understandable. Fortunately our guide, who not surprisingly was also a leather goods salesman, gave us each a handful of fresh mint to cover the smell.

WE ARE IN AFRICA

Well we finally made it to the dark continent. As you can see I am fitting in just fine. Here is my casual dress for when Rob lets me take off my full burqa. I also have to walk 15 paces behind him at all times and address him as The Big Cheese.

I am just joking. We are in Fes in Morocco, typing on an Arabic keyboard so qpologies for qny typos. The city is incredible, huge bustling streets, vibrant colors and even more vibrant smells. Rob blends in perfectly.

The people are incredibly nice and the food is delicious. Have a look at the videos and turn up the volume to get the sounds of the city. We will be sad to leave here in a few days.

Check out the history of Fes here (it goes back to the 8th century while most of the enormous medina is 13th century.

We are also adapting well to our new camp lifestyle. We have even learnt to hand wash our own laundry. Wonders never cease. Allah be praised

In search of Rob's family roots in Gibraltar

One of my main objectives during this trip is to get to know Rob better. Since we are in Gibraltar, and the English roots are very strong here, I did a little research and found out that Rob actually has some distant cousins here. What is most remarkable is that their mannerisms are almost identical, even though they have never met - it is amazing! Check out below:

In all seriousness, I actually hiked up the Rock of Gibraltar to see these guys and they were so cute. Check out this video.






We also got our first view of Africa! I was so excited I could barely contain myself. All this work and I can finally understand what we have come here for. Now it is finally within our reach. Here is the view across to Morocco from our bedroom window.

In Granada for the Alhambra

In our continuing quest for spiritual enlightenment we have rejected our bourgeois lifestyle of hotels and restaurants and have embraced a new, purer and more environmentally considerate life of camping and cooking our own food. We are loving it, although a pained expression clouds Wendy's face whenever she comes near me and she asks frequently if we can upgrade our shower (which is a hand operated car washer).

Having said that, we are eating very well. Wendy cooked some of the best omelettes I have ever had this morning, while last night's lamb chops disappeared in moments to be replaced by contented smiles.

We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Alhambra which was almost as good as the omelettes. It is a fortified complex of palaces - from both Christian and Muslim rulers - churches, gardens and courtyards on a hill above Granada in the foothills leading up to the snow-topped Sierra Nevadas. It is a beautiful spot.

Far more interesting than such cultural glories, however, is the fact that we are sleeping on top of our car. It is quite comfortable and surprisingly spacious - but that was last night when it was unsasonably warm and very still. This evening we are huddled around a fire in the restaurant of the campsite since it has turned cold and there is a gale blowing outside. So it remains to be seen how we will sleep tonight. Still, however it turns out it is far nicer to wake up to birds singing than to fire trucks racing down Broadway.

The Sevilla Serenade...

Sevilla was our next stop. We stayed in a hotel that was about a 25 minute walk outside of the city center. And what a beautiful walk it was! It took us past the Plaza de Espana and through some beautiful gardens that at certain points reminded us of tropical rain forests. The birds were all very vocal and the people flew by on bikes and horse and carriages. I spent a bit of an afternoon sitting on a bench with a ice cream (how cute..) watching the river that flowed thru the park, and it was all very serene until a few rusty beer cans floated by. The cathedral in the center of town was ENORMOUS. It looked like it was stitched together through so many different periods that i couldn't really grasp it all. That aside, the interior was cavernous and stunning. One night we went out to meet a friend of my friend's (Heather) brother (Josh). His name was Vincento (and i believe it still is). We went to his bar and had some wine and next thing you know I am being sweetly serenaded by a band of spaniards, and they even kindly inserted my own name into the chorus. (If you don't understand why half the last few lines were green then click on them). Well of course I ate it up and gave them a bigger tip than i should have, but they were STUDENTS and i remember how hard it was when i had to sing on the streets of Philadelphia for book money. Well not really, but that got Rob off my back. So Vincento was then kind enough to take us out to dinner with his friends and we had a blast. After some amazing food and even better company, we called it an early night (at least for Spanish time..). The next morning we got up, picked up our clean clothes (YEAH) from the lavanderia, and headed off to our campsite in Granada for our first night camping out!!