Morocco

Hey everyone,

It's finally time to hit the road, back to Spain and hassle free walks down the street. But also expensive rooms, travel and food. It is definately time to go though. Morocco has been amazing and we have enjoyed it so thouroughly.

Now, the last few days. After i last wrote we did a tour. we walked up a mountain to a ruined mosque. from the the views of the town were awesome. It was incredibly hot and hard work climbing so i went shirtless to Plummers' obvious disgust. From there we continued up the ridge line until the ground fell away into a bit of a hidden valley. here we found the fields. Marijuana plants everywhere! Lots of funny photos and mucking around. they also show people how to make it up there and all in all it was a pretty cool tour.

There was a fair group of us there and we are all staying at the same hotel so we hung out that night. dinner and sheeshas. I can blow smoke rings, as seen on facebook. (Im quite proud of myself) then a retreat to the terrace for cards and sleep. It has now been about a week that i have slept on the ground on a terrace.

The next morning we rocked the kasbah of Chefchouen. Its small but still better than Fes. then it was time to go out to the waterfall. After about a 40 minute drive and a 40 minute walk up a valley. (every direction you could see the signs of crops hidden in the mountains) then we got to the falls. To start there was a jump of about 5 meters and a swim to the next of about 3m. then about 2m and 2m and 2m before we climbed out up the cliff. It was pretty fun jumping and swimming downstream. Then it was time for the big one. a 12m plunge off a cliff. Awesome only i bruised my arm pretty badly cos i had it out when i hit the water! Then when we had climbed up again, i wanted to take a photo of the jump but instead i stepped on a bee and nearly fell of the stupid cliff! I hate bees. they are my mortal enemies! So needless to say the walk back was painful. and today for that matter.

So when we got back the same ritual occured of dinner and sheesha. this again was followed by cards and bed. Today we got up slow and have chilled the day away pretty much. i bought a sheesha pipe that i will attempt to mail home in one piece from spain. then we went to the public swimming pool. it was hilarious. we walked in, James, I and 3 english chicks. we walked in and there was about 150 local boys aged between 6 and 16. hilarious, i dont think these boys had seen a bikini before and the crowd that surrounded us was so huge. they stared and giggled the whole time we were there. it was a good pool and pretty fun though.

Then it was time for dinner and now the guys are watching movies while i regale you with near-extinct morrocan word nourishment.

Oh yeah and i uploaded some photos the other day so check em out on
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8075577@N02

Miss you all, cant wait to hear from you.
The Hutch.

Hello Hello,

Again, its been a while and i seem to like typing more and more so im sure i am going to start loosing a few of you. but i like typing lots so the rest of you will have to deal with it

Ok, so we are back in Meknes. It was really good with my new lease on life of getting the local price and being more polite. it has been working well and Meknes was great. A very imperial city with lots of castle like walls everywhere! very cool. We slept on the roof on the ground which is great and cheap. the stars are amazing to look up on and fall asleep to. so we woke up and decided to hit some ruins out of town. We walked to the taxi stop and were offered a tour for 300dh to take us there and back. we decided to opt for the 10dh taxi to a town close to the ruins. it was 4.5 kms from this town but before we got there i spotted the turn off and it said 3kms to the ruins. we jumped out there saving ourselves 1.5kms walk.

Strippin off our shirts in the strong country sun every car tooted their horns at us as james and i sunscreened. it continued as we walked with people hanging out of cars and yelling things. all friendly though. some wolf whistles and stuff. I spose it would look funny. two white boys in the middle of nowhere walking in the hottest part of a hot day without shirts on and big smiles on their faces waving at cars. a car pulled over about half way and gave us a lift. he wouldnt take the payment i offered (money, i saw your sick minds going somewhere else) and we were there.

Volubilis. Awesome roman style ruins built in 200AD and some parts of it were earlier. so i probably dont need to mention it could use a bit of work. hehe, it was rubble but awesome. there were aquaducts and all mills with all sorts of other cool houses fountains and ruins. big arches were the grandest pieces and i would have really liked to see a model or image of what i had been like in its time.

Afterwards an Italian guy approached us and we shared a taxi back to Meknes. Chilled away a day and met up with some other Aussies. One from Frankston (James) and one from Ascot Vale (Gill) but the both live in London now. Weve been hanging with them ever since.

Another night on the terrace before hammering across on the train to Fes. Fes is huge and pretty damn amazing. the medina (marketplace) is the biggest in the world with 900 streets and 13 big gates (or something likfe that). it was nuts. we wandered all around it before climbing a big hill to a mausoleum on top. here we looked down on the town and took photos. We also found the Kasbah which was supposed to be big and awesome. it was a fair bit short of that. i tried to rock it but only succeeded slightly. I will try to rock the next one harder!

So after a big day we hit some bars for some brewskis! a wicked hotel with a pool admitted us in our dirty wifebeaters and thongs and we downed a few cold ones before headin toward Riad Fes. Apprently the classiest place for a drink in town. GOD it was all that and more. water features, themed rooms, complimentry olives (and pickles and nuts) that never ran out and great apple tobacco in sheesha pipes. easily the nicest place i have ever been for a drink and we had a great time.

Stumbling home i passed out on the roof again. we have been sleeping on the roof for over a week now. The next morning we hit the tanneries to see how they make all the leather. Its a dangerous job as they work with lots of lime and other things that burn the eyes and skin. i got some great photos but the place stank like mad! hard on a quesy stomach! Ive actually mixed it up and all that took two days with us hitting Riad Fes again in that time. so 2 nights on the fes rooftop terrace.

Then it was time to bust off to Chefchouen. the Marijuana capital of the world. apparently all the best weed and hash you find in Amsterdam comes from here and they also supply all of morocco and southern europe! its all still illegal but the beauty of africa is that it is africa and everyone can be bribed. The city is amazing though. so chilled out and entirely painted blue. heaps of cool stuff and lots of hippies. a great place to relax i think. Soon we are planning to do a tour of the weed fields and learn how to make our own hash. haha, vital world skills. it should be fun though and like the cocaine museum in bolivia, very interesting. So anyway we rolled into town last night and everyone we have seen has tried to sell us hash. it really is beautiful here and the rooftop we slept on last night the best yet. actual matresses (although thin) certainly do take the edge off the hard concrete. Although i must admit my back has been feeling pretty damn good this last week.

Especially since this morning i was waiting for a shower and it was taking to long. Me and Frankston James decided to hit the Hammam (public baths) for a shower and a massage. for 6 euro we were scrubbed and rubbed from top to bottom by a little man with a moustache. he was awesome! i am white again. turns out i didnt even have a tanm i was just dirty. a shave (dont worry, just my neck, that beard aint going anywhere) and an orange juice to finish and i was a new man. really awesome! he even washed my hair and beard.

So that is where you find me. clean and relaxed in a blue town waiting for the hash tour to start and killing time.

As per usual i would love to hear from you all and what you are up to. and i miss you all so much.

Lots of Love
Hutch

Hey everyone!

Sorry its been so long. Lack of communication while i am in Africa is probably a bit worrying for you mum, but i promise everythings been awesome! Ok now so much has happened since i wrote last so this is going to be really big. REALLY big. Go to the toilet, get something to eat, maybe a glass of wine and put some music on. I currently have old Greggs song about love games in my head from the mighty boosh if you really want to set the scene.

Ok, so when I last wrote i was in Marrakech. After writing that post i kinda went into a bit of a recluse and didnt have much contact with Australia for a while. I was in a pretty bad mood, Marrakech can do it to anyone, and when james and i tried to look around at the palaces, my heart really wasnt in it. We decided to hit the Hammam (public baths) before leaving but some guy we asked for directions took us there and they tried to charge us heaps. we could see the prices and the guy actually kicked us out because we wouldnt pay 5 times the normal price. I was in such a shitty mood. My face actually kept the constant hassling to a minimum as we walked back to find a taxi to the bus station. We get there and they make us run to jump on the bus leaving for Casablanca at 1pm.

The bus is still sitting in the station at 230pm as people argue over seats and fight with drivers and all sorts of crap. the bus tries to drive off as an old lady is getting on and everyone starts fighting again. insane! and its about 55 degrees with no wind or aircon. agony. frustrating horrible agony. and i was already in the worst mood i have been in since i left! i was really ready to snap. had i spoke the language and there a point to it i would have yelled my arse off. Basicallym a horrible bus trip. half way we stop at a servo. people jump off but the bus is moving again in like 3 minutes. everyone starts yelling at the driver and fighting again cos someone was left behind. he wont go back. just bullshit. anyway so we finally get off and were in Casablanca. Heres looking at poo kid!

So i look at the lonely planet and there is a map of casa. i find the bus statin and start walking. i ask a million taxis who all give us bullshit distances and prices. furiously we decide to walk. we just kept asking which way the medina is. (the cheap hostels are always in the medinas) we walked for about 1.5 hours with all our gear and I must admit, i was still f@#king furious when we got there. A relax and some food soon calmed me down a bit. but it was quite the ordeal so i thought i had better mention it. its relevant later.

So we spend a couple of days in Casa, we visit the beach and the 3rd biggest Mosque in the world (The biggest in Africa). its quite a good city. and the shoping is great there too. I now own articles from the following designers.
Ralph Lauren
Armani
Tommy Hilfiger
Von Dutch
Burberry
All genuine articles that must have just been on a mad special or something.

Also in Casa I randomly met a moroccan who spoke awesome english waiting to use the bathroom in the hotel. His name was Tarik and we had a small chat about ourselves. Then the next night we run into him in the street and we start talking. he is a 3d modeller for ubisoft and other game designers. really interesting and really good at what he does. He invites us to go and stay with him in his small town near Rabat. See the real Morocco!

Best decision we have made. Up until now we have been hassled and ripped off. really used for our money and given nothing less then triple price for taxis. He really did show us the true morocco. The morocco that had not been tainted and perverted by tourism. where the people we genuine and the most welcoming i have met. We were instantly part of the family. hugged and kissed on both arival and depatures. given amazing food. just really welcome. ill take you through it.

So we get up in the morning in Casa and go to the Hammam for a shower (or douche in french). then we meet up with Tarik and his friend Yousef. Then we grab a train to Rabat. From there we grab a quick sandwich and jump in a crazy cow. Thats what they call the big taxis here. Theyre old mercs like dainos one, and they put 6 passengers in them. driver and 2 in the front, 4 in the back. Theyre called crazy cows cos theyre big stupid things and they drive them like rally cars. And they pack you in so hard. In one of the ones we caught today james and i were so squashed we had to syncronise our breathing with one going in and one out. otherwise it was too tight if we both went in at the same time. nuts!

So we grab a crazy cow to Tiflet. Tarik's town. We go to his house which is beautiful. (hes kinda well of for a moroccan) his family is amazing. one brother and two sisters, all younger and as soon as we walk in we are given an amazing spread of tea and homemade cakes. We sit and talk before showers then off to a cafe. we meet some of his friends and move on to another cafe. theyre all about the same age as me and james. and so similar to what we are like in Oz. We sat around and made jokes about how gay the other guys were and they told us some crazy stories. Its very different here, 'buying' women is fairly normal practice. and the cafe we were at was just the place to do it. We didnt and neither did they (that night, they had before and im sure would again), but they pointed out who was a 'lady of the night' and who wasnt and how much they were worth.

Tarik was the most liberal and new age muslim i have ever met, but he still came out with some pearlers when talking about women. I was asking him what i should wear in his house, whether a singlet was ok. He said, 'You are a man, you can wear/do whatever you want!' then he threw back his head and laughed whole-bodily. Very different. And it was true, u ask him what was in the food or how it was made and he had no idea. it was womens business etc. just a different culture. dont get me wrong i love this guy, we had big chats about terrorism, muslim religion and all sorts of things and he has the right idea about just about everything. just behind on the whole equal rights movement, old morocco.

So that night we went back to one of his friends place and chatted and played xbox. just like home. sigh. then we grabbed some food on the way home. masses of bbqed meat and olives eaten with bread. awesome. then it was time for bed. In the morn we were given a huge breakfast and left to meet hs friends again. we chilled out at various cafes. it seems that is all they do here. before going home for an amazing moroccan feast of lamb with apricots and dates. then back out to the cafes until dinner. dinner was an amazing moroccan soup. then we bought some beers and the moroccans bought the biggest block of hash i have ever seen. I dont smoke hash so i bought beers and wine but i shared it with them. They cant drink or smoke at all and especially this close to ramadan so i dunno what was going on but they got wasted. I drank a few beers and wine and mainly just watched them smoke. between 6 of them the smoked an over 10g block of hash. it was nuts! we played pro evolution (video gam) all night. its all they play actually and everyone is amazing at it. i have years of practise and couldnt score a goal. seriously incredible guys even when baked out of theyre brains.

So we sleep randomly all over the house (not tariks but his uncles) and we wake up late. we were supposed to be home 10am to go to a farm that his whole family goes to once a month. i have to wake tarik up cos theyre all so scattered and hungover and im feeling good as i only had a few beers and some wine and james and i are the only ones who didnt smoke ourselves into oblivion. So we are late but its ok cos were men and we jump in a crazy cow and go off to the farm. The farm is awesome with the family around. we just eat, get teased in arabic and sleep there. Tagine for lunch and amazing crepes and panacake stuff for afternoon tea. so relaxing and chilled out. its amazing what they can grow in sand too. with just bore water.

Then its back to Tariks for dinner. Seriously theyre killing me with kindness. the food is incredible. an awesome tagine, way different to the one at lunch. this was mainly egg and meat. then james and i use the internet and catch up with guys at the cafe before going to bed.

Finally to today. Wake up slowly and have a big breaky as per usual. For lunch the whole family is home and we have cous cous cos its friday. The father of the family gives us hats that he has made and tells us he will make us free suits if we come back. They say to bring our families next time and he actually says, 'you eat with us the cous cous so now you are family too' It was soo good. They will not accept money or any sort of payment, so i gave the youngest a koala keyring and gave tarik my australian flag towel. James gave him his australian tshirt. They really changed my whole perception. i have been unable to rip off since as i have a real idea. i know proper manners and i understand the people much better.

The world has really turned its back on africa. Tarik cannot even catch a quick 1 hour ferry to spain. he cannot buy things on ebay cos his credit cards arent accepted. The mayor of his town bribes people to elect him and then spends 99% of the money on himself. apparently to buy a horse farm in america. and they can do nothing because anyone else they elect will do the same. when i was appaled by this he just said. its africa. He can not even really get into australia. not even as a tourist without having an amazing amount of money in his account, a person to vouch for him and paying a huge fee. Its disgusting.

So after this we parted ways, kissing and hugging the whole family, my second moroccan family, before getting a crazy cow to another small town. a quick change to another crazy and on to Meknes. This is where we find ourselves now and where i will leave you. (dont worry mum, you're still my real family! and they would love to meet you if youre ever out this way you should drop by).

Sorry that was such a big post, and not nearly as humerous as the last. the last few days have been awesome, heart warming and powerful. Hanging out with someone elses friends and family both felt good but also bad cos i miss mine so much. It really turned me around on africa, up until now it has been a bit of an effort but now i really do feel i understand a bit better and i hace noticed a giant difference in how i am being treated.

Ok, i miss you all. and id love to hear from you all about what you've been up to. even you Igor.

Lots of love
Tim

Hey everyone!

Since we last talked i have had access to exactly 0 usb ports and will strive to upload some new photos now as i have access to 2.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8075577@N02

Ok, now down to business. Thank you Sam, my only true friend for commenting. Although it was disjointed and a little confusing, good to hear from you mate. The rest of you are dead to me. Obviously except you mum and linden, you both email me seperately, and i love you both (In VERY different ways)! Nick, Daino, Swaney, Greg Etc. Dead.

Ok, since insane Marrakech which by the way i saw the highest heat i have even seen, about 40 mins west of Marrakech. I saw a big LED thermometer sign saying it was 55 degrees and as i was sitting on a bus that had no windows and broken aircon i reckon i was in even hotter heat.

Ok, so since Marrakech we grabbed a bus down to the coast directly west in the sweltering heat to a place called Essaouira. We drove through heaps of desert like plains and down to the beautiful town on the ocean. There were millions of little twisters everywhere. At the bus station we met 4 spanish guys and a spanish couple who we got along really well with. I have many a place to stay in Basque country now which is cool. So we basically just chilled in a pleasant climated beach town for 2 days and hung out with ze spanish. James and i had a great room on top of a big building so we had an awesome breeze and view.

Then we busted a move back to Marrakech where we said goobye to the spanish guys and because we couldnt stand the heat, we headed to Ouarzazate near the sahara to escape..... i know, idiots.

We rolled in to town about 2am and passed out in the cheapest hotel we could find. cockroaches but really nice guys running it. In the morning we organised our camel trip into the sahara and jumped in a taxi to get there. I really dont want to go into the details seperately cos it will make me mad. We ended up paying double as much as we should and after they made us pay the total halfway, they tried to coax us out of the taxi to get a coffee. No freaken way! You got the money you jerks, but at least we got to M'hamid.

It was a giant mood swing the second we rolled out of the taxi. Greeted by some really really nice hotel staff (amplified by the fact that we were the only guests) and given some omeletes, i started to calm down. the hotel was also very cheap and the hotel staff and some nomads stayed up talking to us for hours and hours. They even walked us out of town and we sat in the moonlit sahara while they sang songs in arabic.

The morning consisted of breakfast followed by green water expelled from my butt at high speed. I cant explain the colour or the fact that i am constantly sick! I perservered and soon we were atop our excellently named camels, chewbacca and chickenbutt. Their really names Mohammad and Loot. I kinda just kept calling them wingus and dingus. Anyway, Chewbacca really did sound like his namesake and would not shutup when being loaded up.

So with our guide Mohammad we rode Loot and Mohammad out of the town M'hamid (pronounced Mohammad) into the Sahara. After a bit we found an oasis (no water) and settled down to sleep off the midday heat. I was unable to eat lunch and am now very proficient at digging holes in sand and filling them with green water. We slept for hours in the ridiculous heat until finally it cooled slightly. We set off again into the dunes (which i might add, get VERY hot) and im proud to say i held off the green feeling until we stopped to camp for the night.

Sadly when i dismounted i erupted green water from the mouth and just barely, barely held the green in down below. Sorry for being so graphic, it was a big deal to me at the time. You try being in the desert where you need to drink 7.5 litres of water per day when you are a dragon breathing green fire from both ends. Now thats dehydration. Anyway so i emptied then settled down on the big dunes for dinner. an awesome tagine.... that i couldnt eat.

After a while we moved up onto the top of the dune to sleep. Mohammad (the nomad, not camel, town or prophet) sang and drummed a water tank for us. The desert at night is the most silent place i have ever been. there is nothing. when the wind stops, nothing at all. and the sky! if i had not had a full moon the stars would have been breathtaking. to be honest it was anyway.

A perfect place for reflection and thought. so calm and serene. you feel so insignificant. I dunno maybe it was just me and the dehydration but i got some good thinking done out there. Sadly I forgot the meaning of life shortly after realising it.... something to do with xbox. nope cant remember.

Later i was rudely awaken by a sandstorm! we were totally buried in sand and i soon learned to enjoy having every orrafice full to the brim with sand. Jez, I really am graphic today. Luckily i had the pash/turban/sandmask Linden gave me nearby and just went back to sleep.

In the morning we got up and packed after breakfast. Back on the camels, and i must say at this point my butt was pretty damn sore from everything its been through. I dont think even swaney's butt could take that much humping from a camel without getting sore. So we rode until we got to a well surrounded by nomads, camels and donkeys. Lots of cameltoe and ass if you get my drift.

We hung out with the nomads and they were very impressed with james' ipod and my leatherman. shocked at the value though. then after a sleep through the midday heat it was time to be heading back to M'hamid.

I left some things out so i hope i can cover some stuff with my observations,

Camels have humerous shaped feet.
They poo and fart extraordinary amounts.
Everything is named Mohammad.
A turban/pash is essential. and really easy to tie once you get the hang.
The desert, in africa, in summer is hot.
Sand, when left in the above conditions, also hot.
Green compliments orange sand well.
Dehydration is the coolest.
Water from underground has potential to be very smelly.
Nomads like singing.
To really enjoy the desert you must like sand
and wind
and combinations of the two.

Overall though, a really awesome experience. I did it hard but it was totally rewarding.

Cant wait to hear from you all soon. Hope everything in Oz is going well. Hope you got home safe Greg and your trip was awesome!

Lots of Love
Hutch

Ok so check out the flickr page for more photos from sintra and beyond.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8075577@N02/

Also you know when i said my phone wasnt working... i lied. It seems to have reception now. yes i can picture you all jumping to your mobiles to message me. dont worry, i just wanted to clear up my blatant lie.

talk soon.

Hutch