Is that a camera in your pocket…
…or are you happy to see me?
Yes, it’s time to skud [shake] again and I’m skudding with my digital camera in my pocket because it’s time for new places and new faces. Those of you tired of reading the inglorious subtitles of my life can rejoice because you can expect some pics. But not soon; I have like a gazillion miles of desert to cross first.
Now any travel wouldn’t be the same without a couple of things going wrong and true to form some things have gone wonky on me.
First off, my guidebook did not arrive by the 5-working-day-ridiculous-express-fee-dhl-mutherfscker-advertised time, despite me constantly contacting the DHL office for updates (or maybe because of it) and being told it would arrive on time.
Secondly, the bus from Marrakesh from to Dakhla (I was going to buy one ticket to take the train to Marrakesh and then onto the bus) is full for tomorrow so I’m going to have to mission in Marrakesh.
Anyway, I did a quick turnabout and I’m hopping on the 3am train 4 hours from now. Should give me enough time to find a bus to Dakhla tomorrow and maybe even find an English bookstore. Because without a guidebook, I’m going to have to rely on word-of-mouth for places to stay. And since word-of-mouth won’t be in English, I’m pretty much screwed.
So next post should be from Mauritania but I can’t say for certain. I’m kak excited though.
Tags: Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Travel, Tag Index
Ghalied
October 17th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Salaam:) Hmm still busy finding out from the Moroccans I meet here which places are recommendable…so far I only know that, I’ll avoid Casablanca. I think I’d try and find a family or community to stay with. About the internship – it’s just got to be some kind of work in the context of education/knowledge transmission, and I hope to find something I can combine with learning arabic (not the moroccan style of arabic though;) but a moroccan lady I met here told me people will speak “proper” arabic to you if that’s how you approach them), maybe at a university or something like that. So basically I’m just happy about any personal impressions, and then I’ll see where I end up, in the right place insha Allah* All the best to you, and enjoy:)Maya
October 17th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
This place isn’t so lekker for learning proper Arabic. You gonna find yourself having to learn Moroccan Arabic and/or French to get by. I hear Yemen is the best place for Arabic but its got almost vokol else though.
Casablanca can be nice if you’re the newer areas but, yeah, in general its relatively polluted.
October 17th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Greetings, Its been a rather slow start to the week for me. Spent sometime hanging out in the BoKaap yesterday waiting for the banks to open so I could get some installation of some sort done but it turned out to be a total waste of my time as they freakin cancelled the job. Its always lekker to be in the Bokaap. Today I was sorta on the fringes of BoKaap (Buitengracht street to be precise) to help with some banking issues at the Garage.
Wonder what it would be like to travel to Mauritania without any english travelguide. Wish you luck for that bra, wonder how good your lipreading skills are? I do however have advice for you, DON”T TAKE MONEY FROM STRANGE MEN!!!
October 17th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
testing
October 17th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
I did actually paint the bathroom over the weekend and nearly died from all the fumes. Just as I said previously, wife nowhere to be found i.t.o helping. I should get my cockroach out what do you say? 4 hours in total it took to “transform” the bathroom into a little painted wonderland. At least my daughter (6) was very keen to help out. I’m just wondering if my throat was so dry from the fumes or if it was from telling my daughter “no, don’t do that” don’t do that don’t that and on and on. I had to put her out of the bathroom a few times Grrrrr how very annoying but at least I can get her to do the painting when she’s older I’ll just sit and watch from the sofa with a remote in one hand and an ice cold coke in the other. Yoh, speaking of coke, i dont even like Coke that much but I tell you I became like a smoker who in the middle of the night will go out to buy ciggies. Thats how bad my thirst was. TIP: NEver paint in Ramadaan!!! Die velvaglo klank nou nog in my badkamer. I must have drunk about 2 litres of water and coke.
I’m outahere, wait for you to get through the desert and into Mauritania. How do you manage this in the fast?? You can break you fast if you wanted to you know.
WAS
October 17th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
Yo dude, Good luck on your new adventure and take lots of pics and be safe and hope you dont get malaria.