Days 47, 48 & 49 - Rome, Abu Dhabi & Sydney

I am writing this early as I will not have wifi for the next couple of days. We start the epic 62 hour door-to-door journey home. First stop is Rome then a six hour layover. Then to Abu Dhabi for an 18 hour layover. Finally then off to Sydney. Then K's brother Kevin will pick us up from the airport and drive us to Hornsby before hopping into our car to drive to Lochinvar.

So our final journey as a family comes to an end. It's back to reality for the next few years at least although we are already planning our next trip. 

It's been an amazing journey and along the way we have met some wonderful and beautiful people. I have taken thousands of photos, passed hundreds of beggars, caught 12 different flights, explored eight countries, been away for seven weeks, walked on four continents, been ill three times and have zero money left. We have caught up with family and friends, been part of a tour group and have been on our own and I wouldn't change a thing. What a magic experience and what an education. 

K was hesitant in travelling within a year of our last trip and was particularly reluctant to travel to Morocco and she got me thinking the same but now she thinks it was the best thing we could have done and I agree. You just never know what lies around the corner and I must admit with every trip I do find climbing a little more difficult. As I quoted before - "The most dangerous risk of all is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later." I truly believe this.

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Day 46 - Malaga, Spain

A rest day for the kids but K and I walked to Los Boliiches and had lunch before walking along the beach. It poured most of the night and has been raining a moment ago so we have the very long beach to ourselves. 

I didn't bring my camera and wish I did so we walked back to the apartment, grabbed the camera and went back again. After a spot of shopping it's back to the apartment to enjoy a wine on the balcony one last time. 

We all need to pack for tomorrow we head home.

Gibraltar

The Rock ofGibraltar 

St Michael's cave

Very British

Some Gibraltar apes

Crossing the border from Gibraltar to Spain

Day 45 - Gibraltar

Up early to catch the train to Fuengirola then the bus to Gibraltar. Gibraltar is governed by Queen Elizabeth II therefore another change of currency (Pounds Sterling or Gibraltor Pounds) although they do accept the Euro. The entire country is 6.5 square kilometers and the main road crosses the runway strip. 

The native language is English and the city architecture makes you feel you are in Britain however they still drive on the opposite side to us and the UK. 

We had a great time in this tiny country. We visited St Michael's caves where concerts are held within. Just wonderful. We then got close up and personal with a number of Gibraltor apes - some with a couple of babies. It was quite cool so we were fortunate as in hot weather they hide in the coolness of the bush. They roam wild on the road and lounge about on top of walls and a quite tame.

It was good old fish and chips for lunch before doing some shopping. We hadn't returned long to the apartment and we were off again to catch the train to have a farewell dinner at Ed's mums as Ed and his lot fly out tomorrow for six days in Paris before returning to Australia. We said our goodbyes and rocked up home at 11.30pm.

Day 44 - Malaga, Spain

We ventured by train to Malaga Central and caught the topless double decker bus to explore the city further. First stop was the town square for a wonderful tapas lunch. We then visited the birthplace and home of Pablo Picasso. It is now a museum in his honour with many of his personal items and artwork - amazing.

We then visited the Musco Interactivo de la Musica (The Museum of Interactive Music). On display was every instrument from all over the world including musical machines such as gramophones and troubadores. In other rooms, you could play an array of instruments including items from native origins.

We then walked some of the old town before returning to catch the topless bus and train home. Finn, in particular, did really well today given he is unwell with the flu. 

Tomorrow we spend the day in Gibraltar.  

Day 43 - Malaga, Spain

We are going to Gibraltar on Friday so I went for a long walk to Fuengirola to buy the tickets. It doesn't take long to work out an area.

In the evening we caught the train to Ed's family's house for a dinner party. Had a great time it's always good to meet other people. Some were from Ireland and others from Spain. The drinks flowed until 11.30 when we left to catch the last train home. We always try to go to bed by 11pm but seem not to until after midnight. A great night.

Day 42 - Malaga, Spain

Another sleep in before catching the train from Los Boliches to Fuengirola. We met up with Ed, his kids Kalvin and Ashleigh and his partner Jenny, Ed's mum Vera and brother Ron. It was great to catch up as I hadn't seen Ed for nearly two months and his family for more than a year. 

We spent the day in Mijas which is a donkey town high on the hill surrounded by traditional white buildings. It was great to sit and have lunch all together but strange to do it on the other side of the world. Mijas is full of souvenir shops catering for the hoards of British that flock here particularly during summer.

Tomorrow evening there is a party happening at Ed's family's place - should be good and give me an excuse to crack open that 1985 bottle of wine Karinne's uncle Petrie from Korcula gave me.

Day 41 - Malaga, Spain

A day to recouperate. I went for a an hours walk to explore before buying some groceries. Back in bed and awoke at 3pm. Mind you I do have a cold so not feeling the best.

We are staying on the Costa del Sol. I'm always reminded of what George Cole, famous for his role as Arthur Daily in Minder would call this area - Cost a Packet. The kids went swimming whilst K and I grabbed a coffee. It is so much civilized here where the lawlessness of road use we are used to does not exist. As I said yesterday a bit of a shame in a way.

Out for dinner then to find wifi. Hopefully catch up with my mate Ed and his family tomorrow.

Day 40 - Malaga, Spain

Another early start to catch a taxi to Marrakech Airport. From here we flew to Casablanca with initially one and a quarter hour layover. We ended up waiting, waiting and waiting and as I write this we are still waiting seven hours later. There is some technical difficulty with the plane and at this stage we are uncertain when we will leave. To appease the passengers, Air Maroc offered us a meal voucher. The meal was substandard. It appear three of their aircraft are grounded - a bit of a worry.

At 6pm we had boarded the plane - 6 hours late. By the time we were out of customs, it was 9.30. We caught a taxi to pick up the keys from the letting office then to our apartment. Finding the apartment was difficult but we turned the key at 11.30 so nearly an 18 hour day.

I haven't seen much of Malaga given it was dark but it is in complete contrast to Morocco. It is modern, clean and civilized. A bit of a pity really as we thoroughly enjoyed the grittiness of the last few weeks. 

Tomorrow we'll explore.

Our flight that was delayed.

Snake charmers

And monkies - quite sad

They even have a McDonalds in Marrakech

Day 39 - Marrakech, Morocco

This is the second place we have stayed with no hot water or should I say where the hot water has run out. So it has been cold showers for the last few days. 

Our last day in Morocco and this morning we said our goodbyes to some of the wonderful people we have met on this tour. As I said previously, this is our first organised tour and I am quite impressed. It's funny how a handful of people are thrown together by a common interest such as travelling to a particular place and learn, grow and become friends in such a short time. We exchanged email addresses so hopefully there will be some ongoing contact being made.

K decided to spend the day with those in our group that remained and visited the Jardin Gardens. She then went to the Matesse Museum but it was closed as was the Berber Museum.

I, on the other hand, went for a walk back through the medina which dates back to the 12th century. I also walked through the market square which was almost as lively as last night. There were more snake charmers playing flutes which seemed to antagonise the cobras which I guess is the whole purpose. There were some people with monkeys dressed in clothes which they would try to put on me as I walked past, a man with a rooster and dove on his head that tried to collect money for his effort, some performing magic, fortune tellers, many women wanting to apply hena and the usual canvassers pushing the hard sell.

We met up with some of the remaining group for dinner in the square and decided to encounter the madness one more time before we left. Eating dinner was constantly interrupted with saying no sometimes to two people at a time begging or attempting to sell us something. Very often children, as young as four, begged or tried to sell us something.

Tomorrow we head for Malaga, Spain which will be very different from our last nine days. We have truly loved Morocco and met some wonderful people. We will really miss it.

Day 37 - Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco

Another amazing day. Again, another night in a kasbah before heading to our final destination being Marrakech tomorrow.

We traveled along the "route of 1000 kasbahs" - the town of Ouarzazate. This town is the home of Atlas Studios where many films including Flight of the Phoenix, Lawrence of Arabia, Jewel of the Nile, Braveheart, Indiana Jones and Gladiator, to name a few, have been shot.

Next we visited Aït Ben Haddou which has a wonderful Kasbah which is a type of fortress or palace. This is one of the best preserved kasbahs where we lost ourselves in the narrow, winding passageways. 

Whilst Tilly and I did this, Finn opted to stay at the kasbah and K had a henna tattoo applied to each hand. Tilly got one earlier and as K was the last one the lady invited her into her home for tea. Whilst neither could speak each other's language, they spent an hour together and became friends on Facebook. That's one of the great things about travel, you never know what's around the corner or who you might meet.

All food places seem to have exactly the same menu so for dinner it was something different we had pizza. It's nice to be in a quite town but tomorrow it's back to the maddening city.

Day 38 - Marrakech, Morocco

Our last destination is Marrakech. After driving through the winding roads of the Atlas Mountains and feeling quite sick we arrived in another mad city where everyone constantly beeps their horns - Marrakesh. We walked through the narrow streets of the medina where we constantly had to avoid donkeys and motor bikes.

We found some snake charmers who became quite insistent that we wear snakes and take photos.  Several charmers insisted on giving us snakes whilst another played a flute to charm another snake. I constintently indicated no then they put out their hat for money. I explained when I take some pictures I will pay. K took a couple of pics of Finn and when paid with a coin the charmer insisted on a paper note. We began to get surrounded by them and it became somewhat confusing. The guide intervened and that's when the charmers started to,yell. We quickly walked away and the charmers ended up with no money.

Later in the evening we returned to the square where thousands and thousands of people crowded. I had researched and we had been warned to be aware of pickpockets. I carried only the hotel key just in case.

Women are of the marriaging age at 14 and Tilly has been the focus of many a young man often commenting on her blue eyes. We spoke to her before coming to Morocco about holding our arms (as, according to her, she is too old to hold our hand) and I always walked behind both her and Finn. 

There was different music playing from every direction and beggars - some in a very sad state, were everywhere. When we went through an eating area we walked the gauntlet of canvassers who, with every step, tried to persuade us to eat at their small area and none would take no for an answer. We finally chose one and every few seconds whilst sitting, waiting and eating there, were pestered by people attempting to sell their wares.

The smell of spices filled the air as did the voices from shopkeepers beckoning us to look at their wares. It was an insane experience and after two hours we decided it was enough. Returning to the hotel was just as crazy with cars, horses, bikes and people just going everywhere. It is organised chaos as despite what appears as an absence of road rules and the sense that it is every man, woman and child for themselves, people seem to get where they want to in one piece.

Day 36 - Todra Gorge, Morocco

We awoke at 6.30am to ride back during sunrise. The wind had stopped and the sun gave the dunes an amazing colour. It was one of the best sights I have seen but my legs are a little sore.

We drove toward Todra Gorge and along the way marveled at the alley of mud buildings in an oasis of Palm trees surrounded either side by mountains and desert.

We arrived at the gorge which are huge rock formations that are frequented by rock climbers. Later, we visited a place where they make rugs. It was located in a little village where we crossed streams and entered back alleys to get to. k bought a rug made from baby camel (2 to 6 years old as camels live on average 30 years). I got into a dispute with the owner but as always the Moroccans are very calm and accommodating and it was soon sorted.

I've leant a lot about the Muslim faith and it interesting to hear how Westerners are often exposed to the negatives of this religion through our media. There is a real sense of community and communal projects that focus on helping rather than looking at what's in it for me?

We will spend the night in a kasbah before heading to Aït Ben Haddou.

Day 35 - Merzouga, Sarah Desert, Algerian Border, Morocco

My tummy is still a little tender but I'm moving on. An absolutely amazing day. The environment constantly changes as do the people. I don't know how people live in the villages as they are close to third world conditions. Each village are packed with people on the streets. Morocco has more satellite dishes than houses as they receive 4000 stations for free. 

It was a big day with a ten hour drive. Merzouga is near the Algerian border but this has been closed since 1994 due to accusations of terrorism on Algeria's part. Hence there is many army bases to be seen. On the way we saw a woman injured and bleeding on the road and were told that she attempted suicide by falling in front of a car. She was moving so hopefully will be ok.

Again we saw many nomads and in fact visited one in their makeshift accomodation. We are having to buy so much water as it is very, very hot.

We drove through the Atlas Mountains and arrived in the Sahara at about 6pm. It was quite windy so it was overcast with sand. It was difficult to ride the camel and try to use the camera and protect it from wind blown sand. We rode camels from the kasbah for an hour and a half through the dunes during sunset and K was ready to get off about half an hour prior to reaching our campsite but she put up with a sore bum for a little longer. We climbed a sand hill to take pics of our campsite at dusk and were fed and entertained by the camel herders. K got a chance to play the drums with the herders. It was lamb tagine for dinner followed by fruit.

The tents were far too hot to sleep in so we all dragged our mattresses out and slept under the few stars we could see. About 3am I awoke to a view of the moon, stars and clear skies. This was one day that we will never forget.

Day 34 - Fés - Morocco

I have had several bouts of vomits and diahorrea. So was in two frames of mind whether to go on a tour of the medina. I decided to go with several strong plastic bags. Fez is a wonderful city and just as mad as Casablanca.

Went out for a traditional dinner and belly dancing last night (see photos). Visited the kings palace today in Fes and went for a 5 hour walking tour with a local guide through the narrow walkways of the old Medina where we saw a decapitated cows head being shaved at the butcher shop with a million flies hanging around, chickens being beheaded right where we were walking, many donkeys carting goods in the narrow walkways, (they always have the right of way so you have to be on guard and squeeze over to the side) beggars and the hagglers. We visited the pottery, leather and weaving co-ops where we brought scarves for our camel trip to the Sahara tomorrow. We also saw how they colour the skins/hide of the camels, goats, sheep and cow at the tannery. 

The Fés medina is 1200 years old, surrounded by an ancient city wall, has 9400 alleys spread over 280 hectares and is a lybarinth so it is incredibly easy to get lost. It is the largest living medieval medina in the world. There are people everywhere so trying to fit through some real narrow places is difficult particularly with the donkeys. There is the smell of spices and among the craziness the call to pray by the muezzin echoes throughout. We're just loving Morocco.

At the tannery

You can have a tooth extracted at this dentist for 50 Dirhams ($AU5.60)

Inside the university

The entrance to the medina

Tilly getting a henna tattoo that women would have actually tattooed to their chins at ten years of age to signify the area they where from.

Finn getting ready for the Saraha Desert

A 1800 year old jacuzzi