2014: the year that was

As 2014 drew to a close, I couldn’t help but look back at my year through the lens of my camera to see the memories I’d captured. It was my ‘gap year’, a year of travel and exploration and adventure, a year when I made so many amazing memories and visited some truly incredible places, and a year of renewing old friendships and discovering many wonderful new friends. Here is just a small selection of my magical moments from 2014.

24 March Westhaven and harbour bridge, Auckland, New Zealand

The Waitemata harbour this morning was as flat as a millpond, not a wave, not even a ripple to be seen, unless it was caused by man and his transportation. It was the perfect morning for a long walk around the harbour’s edge … so that’s what I did.

28 May Hauraki Gulf from Mt Victoria, Auckland, New Zealand

It was a magnificent winter’s day today so I took a ferry ride across the harbour to Devonport and walked up one of the two volcanic cones there, Mt Victoria. From the top I took this shot of the other cone, North Head, and looking down towards the islands of the magnificent Hauraki Gulf.

19 June Coronation of King Felipe in Madrid, Spain

By sheer coincidence, I witnessed a moment in Spanish history today as Felipe succeeded his father Juan Carlos as king. I joined the large crowds at the Royal Palace, waiting under the hot Spanish sun for their visit sight of their new leader. It was actually quite moving to be amongst so many patriotic, flag-waving and cheering Spaniards. Viva Felipe!

27 June Camel safari into the Sahara, Morocco

Bob Marley was my camel, and a placid, laid-back beast he was too, luckily, as this was my first-ever camel ride. We rode for an hour into the Western Sahara desert for our overnight camp under the stars. I can’t say I’ll be racing to ride another camel – some of my unmentionable parts are hurting – but it was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.

17 July Little Moreton Hall, In England’s Cheshire

Built in stages between 1504 and 1610, Little Moreton Hall is an amazing moated half-timbered manor house. The Moretons, wealthy landowners, built the house as a symbol of their prosperity – and it certainly is impressive. What I loved most though was how wonky everything was – though now strengthened with an invisible steel support structure, the Long Gallery that runs along the top front range of the building is particularly uneven. The whole place seems to have been lifted straight out of a fairy tale!

8 August Exploring Devon’s Dartmoor

An 8 mile walk today, back to the glorious rolling green hills of Dartmoor, but this time to an ancient part of the moor, Ugborough, where there are Bronze Age hut circles dating from 2000BC, a 2-kilometre-long row of stone boundary markers dating from c.1700 BC, a Neolithic barrow, and several prehistoric stone burial mounds. The Dartmoor ponies and sheep, the magnificent view from the top of Western Beacon, and the good company were an added bonus!

12 August Beachy Head lighthouse, East Susse

I took so many photos today that it’s been exceedingly difficult to pick just one to share – others will follow when I finally get to blogging about this. I’ve settled on this image of the lighthouse (constructed in 1902) below the chalk cliffs at Beachy Head because the small size of the people walking along the hills on this part of the South Downs Way gives a good idea of the grandeur and enormity of the landscape and, hopefully, also an idea of the danger presented by coastal erosion. You wouldn’t want to get too close to those cliff edges!

24 August Hanging out with Masaai warriors in Tanzania

After visiting their school and meeting the village chief yesterday afternoon, today we spent a full day with the Masaai and stayed the night in a boma in the their village. A goat was slaughtered and eaten, the men and women danced for us, we watched the goats coming home from their daily grazing and the cattle going out again the next day. The Masaai are very special people and we were privileged to be welcomed into their homes.

24 September Auckland’s museum in the springtime

As I walked up the grass in front of Auckland Museum today, I found this glorious sight in front of me. These are Cape daisies (Arctotheca calendula) and are considered a weed by most people as they ‘spoil’ the look of a lawn. Personally, I think they’re wonderfully bright and cheerful, and they’re certainly putting on a lovely show at the museum right now.

29 October Super trees in Singapore

By jings, it’s hot here in Singapore – almost too hot for strolling around the magnificent Gardens by the Bay but it had to be done. With the incredible artificial Super Trees and the two conservatories, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, as well as all the lovely outdoor gardens and sculptures, it is a botanical paradise. My favourite was the Cloud Forest, especially the breathtakingly high walkways – not for the vertigo-challenged!

8 December A country lane in Pickmere, Cheshire

We had a high of just 4 degrees again today and the odd spot of hail but I needed some photos to finish off my latest blog so braved the cold for a 4-mile walk. It was exhilarating and I do find the country lanes here in Cheshire very lovely … when it isn’t hailing!

13 December Deer at Tatton Park in Cheshire

We had a hard frost overnight so I was out walking again today, this time at Tatton Park Estate at nearby Knutsford. It was really chilly but when you’re well rugged up it’s such a delight to be out in the fresh air. It was perfect for frost photos, and the estate has some beautiful old trees and large expanses of water. They also farm fallow and red deer so walkers share the rolling fields with these beasties and you can get relatively close to them. Magnificent creatures!

Cats of Morocco

One of the reasons I love Morocco is because it’s a country crawling with cats. Moggies can be found everywhere, sleeping in mosques and medinas, lurking in the corners of market squares and soaking up the sun near fishing boats.

One of the reasons for their profusion is that cats are revered in the Islamic religion. According to tradition, Muhammad prohibited the persecution and killing of cats, and Islam teaches that cats should not be sold for money or other goods, and must be treated well.

Here are some of the furry friends I found in Morocco.

Morocco day 14 & more: Marrakech

Marrakech – mere mention of the name conjures up images of the exotic!

We arrived on the public bus from Essaouira around 6pm, taxied to our hotel for refreshing showers, then headed out just after 8pm for the 40-minute walk to Djemaa el Fna, the huge square that forms the very heart of this great city. The square is a busy place during the day but it’s at night that it truly comes alive, pulsating to the beat of musicians and acrobats; full of snakecharmers and men with monkeys urging tourists to pay for photos; with women who will henna your hand with a pretty design for just 20 dirhams; containing orange juice sellers and food stall holders, enticing you to drink and eat their freshly cooked local produce. Scrumptious!

That dinner and another, at the hotel the following night, marked the end of the organised part of our Intrepid travel ‘Best of Morocco’ tour but I had booked an extra 3 nights to explore this exotic city. So, what attractions did I visit in Marrakech?

My sightseeing started with a visit to Le Jardin Majorelle. Frenchman Jacques Majorelle began to landscape this garden in 1924 and opened it to the public in 1947. After his death in 1962, Yves St Laurent and Pierre Berge acquired and restored the property to ensure its continuing existence. It’s a shady haven in the 40 degree heat and, as well as enjoying the magnificent plantings, I found the use of bright colours on pots and walls very picturesque. As well as a small but exquisite Berber Museum, there is a memorial to Yves St Laurent within the grounds, plus, if you fancy a little retail therapy, boutique shops selling his artwork and garments.

 

The following day, we explored two former royal residences, the first of which was the Bahia Palace, whose name means magnificent. And it certainly was! Constructed between 1894 and 1900, it includes a selection of beautifully decorated rooms surrounding courtyards planted with lush gardens. The decoration includes zelliji (mosaic tile work) and finely sculpted and painted plaster and wood, as you can see from these images.

It wasn’t much further on to the Bardi Palace, which, though now mostly a ruin, was still fascinating. The palace was constructed in the 16th century by the Saadian dynasty, by Sultan Ahmed el-Mansour Saadi, to celebrate his victory over the Portuguese army in 1578 in the ‘Battle of the Three Kings’. The tall earthen walls, on top of which storks have built huge nests, enclose a large central pool surrounded by four sunken gardens planted with orange trees.

Later that day, I had some time to myself so walked around the Koutoubia Mosque, close to the main square. I didn’t go inside but could still admire its beautiful Islamic architecture – the curved windows and arches, the ceramic inlay. Built in the reign of Yaqub al-Mansur, who reigned from 1184 to 1199, the mosque has an impressive 77-metre-high minaret. The mosque looks very picturesque when floodlit at night and, as it was Ramadan, it was flooded with Muslims every time the call to prayer rang out over the central city.

The next day my fellow tour members had all departed so I had a day to explore Marrakech on my own. Rather than walk from place to place in the 40 degree heat, I bought a ticket for the Hop-on Hop-off tourist bus. First stop was the Menara, a 12th-century 100-hectare park, or rather a gigantic olive grove. Though redesigned in the 19th century, the Pavilion dates from the time of the Saadians, and contains the beautiful tile work and painted ceilings I had come to love in Moroccan architecture. It fronts on to a large water reservoir, which serves to irrigate the gardens and would provide nice reflections of the Pavilion, if it was better tended – the pond and water were looking rather dirty when I visited though did still create an illusion of coolness in the overwhelming heat.

Camels parked in La Palmerie, for tourists to sit on and have their photos taken

As well as touring around the central city attractions, one of the tourist buses does a circuit of La Palmerie, a huge area of date palms covering about 12,000 hectares, not far outside the city. Legend has it that, after eating dates brought back from the Sahara, the soldiers of the 11th century Almohad Sultan Youssef ben-Tachfine spat out the stones around their encampment, the stones germinated and thus began La Palmerie. Nowadays, the area contains the expensive houses of diplomats and princesses, all set within patrolled and secure gated communities. Not my idea of a pleasant place to live.

Did I mention the bazaars and the shopping?

That night was my last in Morocco – the next day I was off to Manchester, to begin 5 weeks visiting friends in various parts of England. Morocco had been on my list of places to visit for many many years so my expectations when I arrived had been high. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed – the Intrepid Travel tour was excellent, we had visited some amazing places and enjoyed some wonderful activities and experiences, and the people of Morocco were friendly and welcoming. I would love to return for a much longer time, to work and live in this magnificent country. 

Morocco days 12 & 13: Essaouira

The day started with a cold splash – no hot water in the gite at Aroumd, followed by breakfast at 7.30, then the half-hour hike zigzagging across the river and down a mule track to Imlil, where we retrieved our luggage and climbed back into our trusty van for another day on the road. We retraced our route through the winding gorge to the main road, then continued on mostly long, smooth roads from there to the coast.

After stopping briefly for drinks and a toilet break in an area where pink-flowering oleander bushes were growing wild along the riverbanks, we headed on to the outskirts of Marrakech, to a large supermarket to buy supplies for a picnic lunch. Olives, gherkins, camembert, bread, potato chips, tomatoes and nectarines – more than enough for 3 people – cost about US$8.50. The fresh food was particularly cheap and so tasty – it didn’t have the flavour bred out of it, as so much food in the West seems to these days.

Our lunchtime picnic stop was about 30 minutes outside Marrakech, at a roadside restaurant that allowed us to use a long table on the grass under their shady trees. The setting seemed almost Mediterranean, the ubiquitous cat appeared about a minute after we sat down, and chickens grazed in the grass for any crumbs we let fall.

Onwards once again, with another stop about 20 minutes before we reached the coast, to visit a women’s co-operative where they produce oil from the seeds of the argan tree, labouring hard to remove the nut from its hard shell and crush it by hand in stone grinders to make the various cooking, hair and beauty products they then offer for sale. It was very labour intensive but the women work shifts, just a few hours at a time, and rotate the various tasks so each takes a turn at the more strenuous and onerous. The light wasn’t good for photos, sadly, as the women had amazing faces – maybe that’s the argan oil at work!

Next stop, Essaouira! 

I fell in love with this place – being near the sea with refreshing sea breezes to lower the temperatures but still with plenty of sunshine; the hustle and bustle of the port in the mornings when the fishing boats come in with their catches; the freshest possible seafood, bought in one section of the fish market, cleaned in the next section, cooked and eaten at a tiny restaurant in the corner – SO delicious!

There is a long sandy beach stretching off south of the old city and, along the seaward side of the old city, a Portuguese-constructed bastion, with impressive towers and canon dating back to 1700s. The medina had been planned around a basic grid of several, relatively wide main streets but still includes a maze of narrow, winding alleyways, with beautiful carved wooden doors or blue-painted window shutters around every corner. The shops were full of tempting produce, from fresh fruit and pyramids of spice to colourful clothing and gorgeous paintings. The people were friendly, welcoming, always smiling and they all love cats. Indeed, the whole town seems dedicated to feeding and caring for the thousands of local cats – I saw a young guy patiently feeding tiny sardines to a sad-looking stray at the port, and we saw a box of abandoned kittens with a carton of milk and a syringe next to it so people could feed them.

On our first afternoon, our tour leader took us on an orientation walk, then we sipped cocktails while watching the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean before enjoying a delicious, if expensive dinner at a local restaurant, while being entertained by local musicians singing hauntingly beautiful tunes in Arabic.

Our second day started with a walking tour around the old city with a friendly local guide. I always find it difficult to remember afterwards all the fascinating things these guides tell us but here are a few: Orson Welles shot the movie Othello here in the 1950s so there are hotels/restaurants/places named after him and the movie. The Jewish quarter of the medina can be identified by the Stars of David carved above the doorways. The buildings are no more than 4 or 5 storeys high as they’re not allowed to build taller than the tower on the mosque. The Portuguese had a trading and military settlement here in the 15th century but the Phoenicians were here as early as the 3rd century BC and the Romans came in the 1st century BC to harvest murex, a mollusc from whose shell they produced the purple dye used to colour the clothing of their imperial families.

We ended our tour at the artisan’s workshop for the local woodworkers – some beautiful marquetry and inlay work and intriguing puzzle boxes – and the silversmiths, where we were dazzled by the almost overwhelming array of silver jewellery. Time to shop!

Before and after!

For lunch, our leader Issam took a bunch of us to the local fish market to enjoy some of the wide range of local seafood. Finger-licking good! And then we each headed off to explore the city further, alone or in small groups. My cousin Julie and I lost ourselves in the alleyways of the medina, she got a traditional Berber design hennaed onto her hand, we shopped a little, we enjoyed ice creams at a café alongside the main square. Later, we joined a few others for more sunset cocktails and another delicious dinner.

The next day our bus to Marrakech wasn’t till 2.30pm so a few of us went down early to the port and spent a couple of hours there, taking photos of the fishing boats coming in. The place was buzzing – fishermen were unloading their catches and tending to their boats and nets, then sitting around chewing the fat with their comrades, and the air was alive with seagulls, looking for an easy feed. It was a vibrant scene, full of sounds and smells and the vitality of daily life. I didn’t want to leave that place. I didn’t want to leave Essaouira – it was definitely my favourite of all the places we visited in Morocco.

Morocco day 11: Aroumd

We made an early start this morning as this was another long travel day – and, for the first time, I snoozed a little in the bus, though luckily I did manage to stay awake for the most spectacular parts of the drive. In fact, this particular road is rated one of the world’s top 10, according to our tour leader, and it certainly is impressive.

We drove across the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi ‘n Tichka pass, at 2260 metres the highest mountain pass in North Africa. Surprisingly – or perhaps not! – the top of the pass was covered in souvenir shops, whose staff raced out to try to entice us in as soon as our van stopped. Shops also clung precariously to every available inch of space alongside the road as it wound its way back down the other side of the mountains.

Our drive continued into the Toubkal region to the small town of Imlil, where we unloaded and locked away our larger pieces of luggage, then set off with just our overnight things on a hike to the village of Aroumd (also called Armed or Aremd). Though I am reasonably fit, it was a tough hike for me, up 250 metres in 45 minutes in the midday heat after a tiring drive and little sleep the previous night. Some of the team had hired mules but I think riding them along the narrow path would have freaked me out and my bones were still recovering from our camel rides.

After the strenuous exercise, we all tucked in to a large delicious lunch after arriving at our gite, the large family home where we would spend the night. The setting was sublime – al fresco dining at its best, on a terrace set high above the river, with spectacular views of Morocco’s highest mountains all around. Toubkal, at 4167 metres the tallest mountain in North Africa, was within walking distance, while Jebel Aguelzim (3428 metres) was even closer. Not surprisingly, the village is used as a base for the even-more-intrepid travellers who hike and climb in this area.

The afternoon was free – some of the group chose to go on a 4-hour hike around the valley and surrounding hills, I chose to catch up on writing my journal and then to snooze. I must have slept quite deeply as I also missed the 6pm 1-hour village walk and didn’t awaken until 7pm, when I heard the chatter of the various walkers on the terrace below my window. I had been feeling a little sniffy, with a scratchy throat and a bit of cough, but the rest refreshed and revived me.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of tagines and vegetables, bread and fruit, and chatted away till late evening, when I sloped off to bed once more. I left the window open, to enjoy the cool mountain breeze – it felt good to snuggle under a thick blanket after the heat of previous days – and I delighted in the sparkling display of stars until my eyes would no longer stay open. 

Aroumd, from the other side of the valley