Hutchwood

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

Hey everyone, sorry its been so long again, its always lots at a time then none for ages.

First of all, The computers here have arabic keyboards so i have to put it in english and touch type so get off my back about spelling daino or i will have sam take over spitting in your mouth while you are asleep. actually sam, start doing that anyway, although im sure youre way ahead of me.

Secondly, im going to be hard to contact. not only are the computers here not great but i have no phone coverage (stupid telstra) so no point mesaging me, only emails now. ill check them when i can. not that many of you messaged anyway. I dont really need my phone anymore now anyway...

I do have a good excuse for no blogs though. I have been drinking my arse off! Dont worry mum, here in morocco there is barely any alcohol for religious reasons so ill give my liver a rest now ok.

Ok, So when we last spoke we were in Lisbon. Since then we smashed over to Sintra which was absolutely amazing. there are a couple of photos on the flickr and i will upload like a madman next time im on. it was awesome. the Palacio de pena is easily the coolest freaken castle i have ever seen. like a ridiculous fairytale one. and the gardens around the palace were awesome. thats where the photo of the missing cross took place. Before that we walked around the quinta de regalia was soo good aswell. there we all these grottos and underground caves. pitch black and you just explore. (haha i used to tease the hell out of Erin cos she carried a torch everywhere, the one i have started to carry everywhere was sooo useful!).

Ok so then there was a lot of drinking to be done in lisbon as we met a pretty cool english guy who was very well off to say the least and refused to let us buy our own drinks. it was pretty rough but i guess you have to do what u have to do.

So that was kinda lisbon. then we headed off down to the southwestern most point of portugal, i thought europe until i looked at a map. it kinda is... anyway, we watched the sun set on the water and lots of other romantic things that two hetrosexual 22 year olds want to be sharing with each other. It really would be an amazing place to chill out as a couple if you are looking for some travel advice all you romantics out there. We did a little hitchhiking and im pleased to say that we have a 100% succes rate with geting picked up! twice the thumb went out and twice cars fought to pick us up. i must say i am a little smug now.

Then onto Lagos..... My god. there are easily more austalians in Lagos than in Australia, and theyre trashing the place. That town is nuts. i ate, slept on the beach and drank till 5am, repeat for a couple of days. Sounds expensive because of the euro but it wasnt all that bad cos we found an all you could drink beer place for 5 euro. after smashing that you would only spend a little on a 4am hotdog and pass out happy. sorry mum that was all exaggerated for dramatic effect.

Then a hungover bus to Seville, then another bus to Tarifa. i put algericas on my map becasue tarifa wouldnt work. then in the morning we busted a ferry over to africa into tangier, morocco. from the pier we got hussled into takeing a guide around the town. i know i know, but he was really useful. taught us a heap of shit about morocco and gave us advice. we ate cous cous and other wicked local food and cruised various markets. We did some bargaining with a nomad from the sahara and we threw in some clothes that we were about to throw out. James bought a turban and a huge woven rug. We looked at the medina and the casbah and just wandered around.

Then we caught an overnight train to marracech, which was horrible and everyone on the train was telling us to hold on to our bags and look after our wallets so we slept unconfortably cramped with out bags in shit chairs. but now we are here and the adventures can begin.

Ill be able to add more maybe at some point but right now this apparently 40 degree heat and no sleep and hangovers are all catching up to me and im gunna have to hit the hay.

I think about all of you all the time and miss you a lot. I must say i am very homesick and if it were possible to visit home for a little bit i definately would in a second.

But the camels wont ride themselves into the sahara so im gunna get back on the horse (camel).

Anyway, miss you heaps, talk again soon, check the photos in a few days or i might just post again.

Tim.

Hey everyone!

I lasted like 5 days without bloggin. not bad for me of late!
Ok so ill bring you up to speed. From Granada we busted a move into portugals capital, lisbon (or as they call it Lisboa). We met some funny guys from amsterdam on the bus and when it stopped for a break, we chilled in the park and when in seville, do as the dutch do.

So that passed the time a little quicker on that very crowded very boring bus ride. We got into lisbon at 5am so we just found a cheap little pension and hi the hay. Our room was on the fifth floor with no elevator so it was pretty paainful. and it was a horrible little slant roofed room with no windows. i will upload photos on flickr.

anyway so that night we visited oasis backpackers to meet some other backpackers. we met a massively rich brit called Lee and proceeded to get hammered, and i mean properly hammered. i dont remember much, and i have no idea how i got home, but i woke up feeling like death and didnt leave the pension till 8pm. the nightlife was pretty cool though. i vaugely remember a shitload of people just partying in the streets. and every five minutes someone tries to sell you some drugs.

ok so then yesterday we moved into oasis backpackers and chilled out most of the day! Then we spent the evening boozing with Lee, Eve (from St. Kilda) and Andrew (from the corner of pigdon and lygon. how cool is that!) before again hitting the town. strangely the monday nightlife isnt as big as the saturday night but we still had a pretty fun time before crawling into bed in the wee hours.

Today after many a glass of water, we went to visit the castle right above lisbon. it was awesome! i wish i had a castle! it really was sweet and u can imagine a siege and stuf really well from the top of those walls. I also wish i had a cannon.

Ok, check out the photos and ill post again soon. going to see more castles again tomorrow so more photos and stories to come.

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

And on that juicy dangler ill leave you cos you've had all the word nourishment you need. Now now, dont be greedy for the verse. Sorry i watch a lot of mighty boosh these days!

Take care, Talk soon,
Tim.

Hey I went to the Alhambra above Granada today and I had some time to kill so i thought id upload the photos i took.

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

That is all. Off to Lisbon tomorrow so u should be safe for a day without me postng again.
Hutch