Thursday, July 20, 2006

Stari Most


Stari Most
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

This bridge is the most famous thing in Mostar. We are headed back to Croatia tomorrow.

Mostar


Mostar
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Leaving Croatia


Leaving Croatia
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

We left Croatia after a couple nights and have now headed to Mostar, in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Small harbor


Small harbor
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The walled city and a fisherman


The walled city and a fisherman
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The Placa


The Placa
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The old city's promenade.

Digital clocktower


Digital clocktower
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Kev in Dubrovnik


Kev in Dubrovnik
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Crowded Dubrovnik


Crowded Dubrovnik
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Dubrovnik's walled city is beautifully rebuilt after the bombing it suffered in the 90's, however, it is crowded and relatively expensive.

Welcome to Croatia


Welcome to Croatia
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Kevin and I caught a flight to Dubrovnik from Manchester, finally ending my week of travelling every other night.

Still ill leaving Spain


Still ill leaving Spain
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

We had a evening in Torremolinos before hopping on a plane to London for Emily to recuperate and for me to catch an overnight bus to Manchester to meet up with Kevin.

Leaving Morocco


Leaving Morocco
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Ill on the ferry


Ill on the ferry
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Bad lamb couscous nearly killed Emily in Marrakesh, and she had to endure the rest of the weeks' overnight travels with frequent trips to the toilet on a buckling train and on a fast boat to Spain.

Avenue el-Mouahidine


Avenue el-Mouahidine
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The palace


The palace
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The square at night


The square at night
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Snail vendor


Snail vendor
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

A variety of foods


A variety of foods
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Djemma el-Fna


Djemma el-Fna
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Food stalls are crowded and smoky with grilled meats and noisy with touts trying to veer you over to their stall.

Snake charmer


Snake charmer
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Orange stands


Orange stands
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Only 3 Dirham a glass, or about 40 cents. The main square in Marrakesh, a seemingly unpronouceable Djemma el-Fna, is filled with snake charmers and orange juice stands by day and food stalls in the evening.

Another night journey


Another night journey
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

After spending a night in Fes, we took the night train from to Marrakesh, some ten light-years away, it seemed.

Bab bou Jeloud


Bab bou Jeloud
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

A tannery


A tannery
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

For a small tip, we were led to a tannery to witness and smell the process of tanning hides. We were given mint leaves to hold under our noses to cover the stench or animal skins in the sun. Of course, we had to browse the goods and pretend to be interested afterwards.

Reading


Reading
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Washroom


Washroom
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

A cool reprieve from the heat was this washroom.

Mint tea


Mint tea
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

We got a free visit to the rooftop and a cup of delicious mint tea, and in return we waited as Tim pretended to be interested in some carpets.

Fes el-Bali


Fes el-Bali
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Old Fes' rooftops.

Souq


Souq
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Reed coverings kept the sunlight from melting everyone in the heat of Morocco.

Door


Door
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

There are loads of blind alleys and neighborhoods closed off to foreigners in the maze they call a medina.

Passing horsecart in the medina


Passing horsecart in the medina
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Fes el-Bali, the old city in Fes, is one of the largest living medieval cities in the world, or so says the LP guide.

The Swiss and the American


The Swiss and the American
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

We met Tim, an American, and Valerie and Nadia, two Swiss, while disembarking in Tangier. We shared a taxi to the train station and then a cabin down to Fes, six hours away.
The Swiss girls were just starting their four month overland trip down west Africa. Tim, a chemistry graduate student at USC, was trying to get down to Morocco from Grenoble and make it back to Paris in time for his flight back home.

Clean shaven again


Clean shaven again
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Tanger ville station


Tanger ville station
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

This was much more modern than I expected.

There be Africa!


There be Africa!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Ferry terminal for Morocco


Ferry terminal for Morocco
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Ferries are scheduled to leave the Spanish port of Algeciras every 30 minutes, but they actually don't leave on time, rather they wait until they fill up with passengers.

The week of overnight travelling begins

From Guadassuar, I headed on an overnight bus down to Algeciras, in southern Spain, where I could catch a ferry to Morocco. It began a week of overnight travelling every other night. It was like being on call back in residency again.

Massive gin and tonic nightcaps


Massive gin and tonic nightcaps
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

You finish your evening with a nightcap with or without ice cream around midnight in Spain, and you are never alone. What a great country!

Loads of tourists not far away


Loads of tourists not far away
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Cullera, a beach town not far from Guaduassar, has all the tourism that you would want in the area. Beach parking is free, and then you can escape back to Guadassuar for cheap eats.

A hearty breakfast


A hearty breakfast
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

For breakfast, the males head off to L'Alter, a local eatery for beer, tapas, sandwiches, followed by coffee with scotch. This happens at 10am and then they head to work. Wow.

The feeding frenzy over


The feeding frenzy over
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Too big for the table


Too big for the table
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

No room for serving dishes here, diners scoop mouthfuls of rice and meat from the pan.

Chicken, rabbit, and pork meatball paella


Chicken, rabbit, and pork meatball paella
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Add beans, dried red pepper, saffron, and water


Add beans, dried red pepper, saffron, and water
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Drinking without touching the lips


Drinking without touching the lips
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Emily's father, Richard, shows off his drinking skills with this bottle of lemonade and beer.

Add rabbit and chicken meat


Add rabbit and chicken meat
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Frying up peppers


Frying up peppers
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Emily's grandfather cooked up some of his festival-winning paella over a woodfire at his campo.

Evening reception


Evening reception
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The Spanish are great eaters, and the anniversary celebration was just another excuse for a great meal. They eat quite late in Spain, and our meal did not start until past 9pm and ended after midnight. The restaurant was still packed when we left. As usual, the dishes can be seen at my flickr site if you click on this photo and then explore the rest of the photos.

Confetti


Confetti
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Re-taking of vows


Re-taking of vows
Originally uploaded by bastchild.