Malham to Marrakesh

After the party in Marrakesh over the weekend, it all got a bit more serious over the past couple of days as I travelled over the High Atlas Mountains at a height of up to 2,300m. I have found the experience by far the most challenging to date, both physically and emotionally and by the time I got to the Berber town of Tarroudant yesterday I was, and I apologise  for the technical medical term, completely buggered! September 8 2023 The Morocco earthquake of 2023 was a  severe earthquake  that struck near the town of Oukaïmedene in western Morocco  on September 8, 2023. More than 2,900 people were killed and 5,500 people injured in the shallow magnitude-6.8 tremor and its aftershocks  The earthquake heavily damaged parts of the ancient section of Marrakesh  and devastated many remote settlements in the Atlas Mountains . It was felt as far away as Morocco’s largest City, Casablanca and as far away as Portugal and Libya. Whilst the damage has la...

  There are only a few things that would make me break away from a ‘post raid’ party with a hundred or so French University students but the need to taunt English Rugby supporters is one of them…… Queen Victoria was the monarch when Scotland last managed four wins in a row against England in the Six (or 4 as it was at the time) Nations  competition in 1896. Morocco it appears has some fairly stringent internet search rules when it comes to trying to download photos of hairy arsed porridge-gobblers bearing their nethers, so thanks to ‘ the boy ’ for sending this on……as I stated in my very first blog a month or so ago, ‘ There is nothing sadder in life than a missed opportunity’😜 The trail over the High Atlas to Taroudant beckons tomorrow, can’t wait 😎

What a great name for a film …..or indeed could this be the template for next year’s adventure (with Viv if she manages to sneak early retirement as well 🤫). The reason I mention this beautiful drink is that after my trip to Casablanca yesterday, I took advice from the secret society that are the motorhome owners and went to a campsite they recommended just outside Marrakesh in preparation for tomorrow’s party.  Normally I wouldn’t trust a German driving a huge white Winnebago any more than I would my ‘John Thomas’ with a ginger haired maniac carrying a claymore however this time I did…… What a result, the campsite is great and did serve a great cocktail….my first bought alcohol in Morocco 😉.  This will provide me a great base to explore Marrakesh’ souks this afternoon and tomorrow before the re-run of Crecy in the evening 🤫 Back to Casablanca though, it was very much as expected as it has become the economic powerhouse of Morocco.  Whilst the medina has been preserved...

One of the first ‘truths’ we were told at Sandhurst was a quote from one of the military greats of yore……must admit can’t remember who, could have been Wellington, Guderian  or Xerxes, it matters not.  The quote was ‘no plan survives the first contact with the enemy’  .  I would change this slightly by changing enemy to the French ……there may be an element of tortology in this for the English language purists but hey ho, let’s live a little 😀 I have been following a collection of odd looking French desert raid cars since I arrived in Spain.  What was odd was as follows: 1.  All were Renault 4’s 2.  All were being driven by teams of young types  3.  Whenever I saw them either in Spain or Morocco  they were partying as if it were doomsday tomorrow (maybe this last bit isn’t that odd.) It transpires that they are on an annual rally ‘the 4L’ from Paris to Marrakesh for charity and all participants need to both drive these ridiculous vehicle...

  Viv, my long suffering primus pilus, has often challenged me by telling me that I spend too much time planning the ‘what if’, or the next holiday or (most commonly), the next meal and that this is often at the expense of appreciating the NOW ……….bugger me, I thing I finally get that she is right.  Those that know me well will understand that frankly, I would rather ‘pass a bowling ball’ that admit that, but credit where credit due this time.  The dog who I set next to today having my lunch agrees! So I got to Morocco yesterday night having saluted His Majesty’s last possession in the Med🫡 as we passed and arrived to the anticipated chaos in Tangier port where I narrowly avoided both the full emptying of all of the contents of the defender and the rubber glove treatment!  Others were not so lucky…. So after a poor nights sleep in the port, I headed off this morning towards the Fis mountains and the town of Chefchaouen……the ‘blue town’, stopping for breakfast of egg...

  I have definitely proved after hauling my ample backside around Seville for a couple of days (breaking all previous step records), that Loakes are the way forward …….. this should not be a surprise to most but I felt duty bound to research this my walking this fantastic City. Let’s not beat around the bush, Seville is one of the most beautiful Cities I have ever been to (including Leeds!) but rather than focus on the Alcazar and the Cathedral I loved exploring the less known parts of the city. Duty photos are included for the purists though… The street art was brilliant as were the local markets…… charcuterie to die for and great selections of fish and veg for those so inclined🥴.  If you get the chance the Mercado de Tirana and the Mercado Artisan. . The food was equally magnificent, everyone in a tapas bar I passed at lunchtime today seemed to be eating a particular dish so after explaining in ‘Yorkshire Esperanto’ ie pointing and nodding, I got what I later found out to b...

Having escaped from the good ship BlackPig in Santander this morning (after a thoroughly unpleasant night where I spent much of the time talking to the porcelain descendants of William Crapper Esq), off I went heading South towards Salamanca. It was a pleasant but uneventful 3.5 hour drive down, and having dumped the Defender, I headed into town for the famous Hornazo Pie (as mentioned in an earlier blog).  This wee beastie, a pastry case covering eggs, spicy paprika chorizo and pork loin), is, I find, fantastic especially when washed down with a couple of glasses of the local vino calapso 🍷 I will work on Seth,  the pet Viking Chef of  the Townend Farm Shop (imagine Ragnar Lothbrook after a 2 week bender in Skegness), to see if we can get it on the menu👍 Spent the rest of the day on Charcuterie research….. slow cooked cured pork jowls were good, and the deep fried pork skin filled with ham and potato salad was so good I would willingly Crawl Bare-breasted over Broken G...