Here are some highlights in pictures through our time in the desert.
Still to come Marrakesh and a Balloon flight.
Josh Alexander, Cory, Rohma
Some Gnaua music and dance
Boys being boys!
Pictures! Rabat to The Sahara
All posts by Paul Goldberg
Further Behind
From Fez we drove to Erfoud for an overnight in prepartion for our two nights in camp in the Sahara. I am enjoying spending time with my family more than taking time to keep this blog current. Also once we headed out into the Sahara in Toyota 4x4s we had no data service at all.
The camp in the Sahara exceeded expectations with lovely tent cabins with running water – hot water by afternoon – and electricity provided by solar panels and batteries. There was no heat and no insulation. The temperatures dropped into the high 30’s at night. The comforters on the bed along with heated water bottles made sure we were warm so long as we were under the covers. The dining area was heated by the presence of our bodies. Somehow I managed to leave the sweaters and warm hat I had packed for this part of the trip on the bus with our main luggage and just had my regular cool weather gear along. I survived. We rode camels, we hiked in the sand and we traveled in the 4x4s off of any road shown on any map.
The drivers of our 4 vehicles seemed unwilling to follow any of the other cars and often we were out of sight of the other 3, running parallel tracks, only to meet up in our assigned sequence at the next major intersection. We visited with nomads and semi nomads spread over the area. The semi-nomads are families remaining behind while the herdsmen take their flocks farther afield for better grazing, or those for whom the breaking and setting camp has gotten to be too much.
We rode camels and walked in the dunes. The grandchildren, all teens and 20’s romped in the sand. They soon found that unlike beach sand the Sahara did not stick to their clothes or skin but just slipped off. We visited a Guanra music house where Dan got to try a new stringed instrument and we got to try the local dancing.
We were cold in the evening and in the morning. The beds kept most of us warm at night, but getting out of the bed required freezing in temps below 40 in the room and hot water was scarce until the sun came up to warm the solar heaters and the pipes from the heaters to the plumbing. We warmed when the sun was well up in the sky.
The second morning we joined our 4x4s for the ride to Erfoud where we rejoined the bus for the 5 hour ride to Ouerzazate. This is a modern city built by the French in classic Moroccan style. Our hotel had all the luxuries and a pricey bar. The biggest industry in Ouerzazate is movie making and the movies made there include Cleopatra and Lawrence of Arabia and many more that we have never heard of. It is still an active center of movie making with three active studios. We toured one that has clearly lapsed into museumhood and does not appear to be active.
I have skipped over Day in the Life. More about that later.
Two days there and then off to Marrakesh.
Fes not Fez
I started this post 12 hours ago and will not finish it at this sitting. Travel with family is a wonderful experience. We love to spend time together and to sit and talk. unfortunately this leaves little time for reflection and writing. I started writing on the rooftop terrace of Salam Riad, our current hotel, I had a glass of wine and was sitting in the sun when Dan arrived to chat.
We had had a day touring the Medina of Fes (a fez is a hat) where we saw pottery making, weaving, leather making, the oldest university and much much more. We dined in the Medina and eventually made our way through the very narrow, congested streets back to the bus. We had three hours with no plan which brought me to the terrace. But life and family found ways to consume that time. We have had an active sharing of some stomach bug among the travelers and Carol was chilled , but she did not want to be alone so we gathered in our room to drink wine and schmooze. Josh was on the mend and Piper seemed to be coming down with it so we reorganized the groups heading out to have dinner with local families. I went with Malena and Alexander to the home of the Aries where we met the husband wife and daughter. It was an interesting time with a lovely meal. It was only as we were walking back to the bus that the husband revealed that they had lost a 14 year old son just 6 months prior. Home Hospitality often brings us into the real life of people hosting and gives us a look into life beyond touring. Indeed we are reminded that people are more the same than different regardless of the surrounding environment.
Rabat
As we flew from San Diego to Detroit to Paris we knew we would meet up with the Virginia Goldbergs in Paris. Tired and a bit gritty from uncounted hours of travel we found them at the gate as we prepared to board the last flying leg of the trip to Casablanca. It took us a bit of time to clear border formalities gather our luggage and find our bus to Rabat, but woon we were on our way to the hotel in Rabat where the Los Angeles Goldbergs greeted us in the lobby of Le Diwan an Accor Hotel. 10 months of planning came to fruition at that moment. Among us we had stomach bugs back pain and assorted other travel maladies, but we were together and prepared to travel on with our guide and leader Malek.
After a typical OAT briefing along witih introductions so Malek could get to know us we set out to see some of the sites of Rabat including the Royal Palace. Following lunch at an outdoor cafe we stocked at a liquor store to stock up for 5 days when alcoholic beverages will not be available. Malek also picked up sim cards for those of us planning to use them in our phones. This cost us an hour as we struggled through the incomprehensible instructions, made more so by being only in French and Arabic. Eventually most of the phones were working. I set off on brisk walk with Rohma, Josh and Dan leaving the others to rest and prepare for the evening.
Althoug dinner wasn’t until later Malek had us on the bus at 5:30 to tour the Blue and While Quarter. Some readers may know that those are the colors of Israel. Indeed this was a former Jewish quarter and teh walls are BLue to shoulder height and white above. We then went to the Casbah, in this case a military structure built to defend the mouth of the river. We arrived with perfect timing to witness a glorious sunset over the Atlantic. Thank you Malek for getting us there.
Preparation for another BIG Trip
Our sons and their families are launched, off to Paris for three nights. Then on to Morocco where we will join up for 2 weeks with OAT Tour Leader Malek, by bus, plane, camel back and 4X4 plus a balloon trip too. The OAT way is to sample all modes of travel that are available. I am not including the entire itinerary here, it will unfold as we travel.
Carol and I leave from San Diego Tuesday and fly to Detroit, then on to Paris, where we will meet up with Dan and his entourage for the flight to Casablanca. After a 90 minute bus ride to Rabat we will all gather there to begin the trip.
Eventually they will fly back to the US and Carol and I will continue on to Tel Aviv for 3 days of R&R by the beach before we join our friends Joyce and Victor for a tour in Ethiopia with a different tour company. That is two weeks and then we return to Jojoba Hills SKP Resort on Jan 24.
We are very excited. the planning for this trip started a year ago as we realized we needed to do something to celebrate our 55 years of marriage (last June 21). Trying to do something in the US has not worked out well, we decided to get the families together with a menu of possible trips. After much back and forth they chose this trip to Morocco with OAT.
I will try to post whenever I have the time and connectivity.
Thoughts on a Dark and Stormy Night
It hardly seems like SoCal with the temperatures in the low 50’s and rain squalls passing through. But it is early December and this is what we are experiencing in Jojoba Hills. By Monday we will be back into the 70’s and clear and sunny.
I only wish our country could pass from the dark and stormy period we are in to clear and sunny as easily. I find myself reading New York Times far more selectively than in the past. I listen to NPR with only half an ear, waiting for stories that do not relate directly to politicians, even a nasty story about Bishop resigning is a relief from the drumbeat of politics – not that it isn’t political but it is different. On social media I immediately skip over any threads and people who insist on pushing whatever side of current politics they favor.
I am not indifferent, quite the opposite. I value balanced information. I really like facts. I welcome a healthy discussion of ideas with people who are open to considering alternative points of view. I can change my mind if presented with facts and ideas that suggest I consider alternatives. Too few people I talk with are willing to listen to open their minds. I fear I too must look like one of them because so much of what is presented to support the alternative is fact free, and even contrary to fact . Or it starts with statements about the past and about people that are built around conspiracy theories. I disengage in these circumstances.
Here in our park politics and religion are forbidden topics in our common spaces. It is helpful. When people who cannot seem to express a thought without bringing in current politics speak up, I remind them of our agreed upon restraints. This enables me to engage and work with people with whom I disagree.
Next morning, view of Palomar with our Jeep in foreground
Loving Life in Jojoba Hills
Its amazing how a retired guy sitting in a motorhome going no place can find so little time to sit and write a blog post. In addition to more committee work to help keep the park a place I want to be there are endless activities. And if none of those are on the agenda for the day there is Bridge most days from 1 PM until 3:30 or so. The other things that are keeping me busy are preparing for our travels to Morocco, Israel and Ethiopia This December and January.
Carol and I just realized we don’t have any more travel booked after this travel so it is time to plan the return to Panama to complete that trip and to continue on to Columbia as originally planned.
Add to that our desire to return to Alaska this coming summer and I will have my hand full with planning. Ordinarily the Alaska trip would be a matter of getting the books and maps out and some minimal prep of the coach and Jeep and done. But we think we want to take the Marine Highway which requires making reservations which requires actual planning. This has not been our strong point in all our years of RV travel. We are more the “wing it” type as anyone who has read these blogs for a while must recognize.
I have laid out the beginning of the trip using a new, or at least new to me, online package called RV Trip Wizard. My first use of this web site was for traveling from Rochester to Jojoba Hills. This was an easy test since we have driven this several times and could probably do it without a map. It did simplify determining where we would stop each night. This became especially important when our plans were disrupted by the mechanical failure on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Sitting in the coach with the site running I was able to easily reconfigure the trip and plan the visits we still wanted to make.
For Alaska I have put in the big jump from Temecula CA to Prince Rupert Sound, at least a month for us right there, to get us to the initial ferry ride. The Alaska Marine Highway is actually a ferry system in case you didn’t know. Then I started laying out the routes we thought we wanted to take. Oops, can’t book any of that online with a coach over 30 feet long. More oops, they don’e have the schedule online beyond April, yet. That gets us as far as Haines from which we will travel ??? actually haven’t a clue. We know we want to get to Seldovia and Anchorage is an interesting place and so is Fairbanks and Denali NP is between them. But my route planning stops at the last ferry ride to Haines.
Back to today. The coach and jeep are freshly washed and waxed by Red White & Blue Detailing, I would rather write a check than spend hours pretending I can do as good a job as 2 guys who do it all day long. I have a planning meeting for a project related to Finance Committee and then a meeting to requalify as a tour guide before we go to a Last Friday Dinner being held on the 2nd last Friday of the month because next week is Thanksgiving and we wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity for another reason to get together and eat and dance.
I have spent altogether too much time listening to hearings, listening to and watching analysis of those hearings, not talking about it with others since we do not necessarily agree and we are a close community. I even read the New York Times mostly “below the fold” to see what else is going on in the country and the world. I doubt our national misery will end any time soon. We are too badly fractured and no one wants to even consider what the other side has to say.
Home from Limbo
A lot of road has passed beneath the tires since my last post from Livingston TX. 1,573.1 miles to be precise. We made stops in McKinney Falls SP to visit a former rabbi who has a post in Austin. Then a stop at Walmart in Fort Stockton TX, if this isn’t the middle of nowhere, you can see it from here. A couple of nights in Las Cruces NM where we had dinner with our friends Leora and Stu and attended , almost by chance a day of the Dead celebration and folklore performance in Mesilla Square. See Carol’s blog at http://cgstudio.net for more details on that. Then Benson AZ, Saguaro SKP Coop for one night before heading to Catalina SP for 3 nights and dinner with Elly and Kelly from our trip to Thailand and Vietnam.
From Catalina SP, outside Tucson, we opted to take the southern route on I 8 to El Centro and then into the desert to stop for the night at Peg Leg Smith Monument. I have written about this place a few times in the past. You could google it. Since it was Friday night of Veterans Day we expected the place to be packed. it wasn’t. Actually there was enough space to swing the coach around with the Jeep attached and find a level spot with no one near us and easy egress. The price is always right there – $0.0. From there it was less than 60 miles to Jojoba Hills SKP Resort and by noon we were set up on our site and had arranged for a gang to come over at 4 for Happy Hour. Parties are always good!
We are still doing the small stuff to make this space home. I have started connecting with my volunteer activities. Looking forward to bridge, JCATs, and general trouble making as we go forward for the next 6 weeks, until we leave for Morocco.
Vamping in Limbo
Make that Livingston. After hassles and unlevel too tight campsites we decided to head for a known place with friendly people – SKPs (that’s Escapees for those who don;t get it). We paid for a week just to do very little and catch up from our whirlwind start and breakdown. Still some residuals to deal with but no show stoppers so we are sitting.
Carol started looking into things to do in Houston, a mere 70 minutes away in light traffic and came across a performance of Handel’s Saul. Saul? It’s an oratorio intended to be presented in concert format. To understand why check out British Blasphemy Law from 1605. In 2015 it was first presented as an operatic performance. This performance was being done by Houston Grand Opera with Christopher Purves as Saul and Samuel (interesting since they are singing to each other when on stage). David is Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen in a contralto role. His vocal range is between alto and soprano! The piece covers the biblical time period from David’s defeat of Goliath to the death of Saul, some 30 ish years with no real dividers. It runs about 3 hours. When it was over we wanted more. Opera in Handel’s day did not use a chorus, oratorios do. This was staged with a large chorus and a 7 member dance corp as well as the principals.
We started with a lovely lunch at BirraPoretti’s. I found a parking place at the curb for FREE, it was Sunday, next to the restaurant and across the street from the opera house. We arrived in time for the preperformance talk and stayed to hear Purves give a post performance talk with Q&A. The drive back to GeeWhiz was uneventful and swift. It was quite a wonderful day.
Next stop Austin, Wednesday and Thursday, then Las Cruces with a stop at Monahans Sandhills State Park on route. Here we go again making plans and reservations.
Back On The Road
Sunday morning Ricky showed up with his VERY BIG tow truck and towed us about 80 miles back the way we had come to Magnolia Diesel in Columbus MS. We had a pleasant day in Columbus, see Carol’s post at http://cgstudio.net/for our day in Columbus.
Monday morning Josh brought out his antique diagnostic computer (with current software) and took a look at the codes that had been set. The only active code was failure of the throttle to communicate with the engine! It was decided that a new Throttle Position Sensor was what was needed. However it only comes with the complete throttle assembly, which is no longer available from Freightliner. They had shipped their entire stock of parts to some vintage parts company in Wisconsin. Gregg worked the phone and computer to get one delivered to Tupelo (?) so Tuesday morning Carol and I took the Jeep about 60 miles to Tupelo to pick up the part.
Thirty minutes after we returned with the part it was installed and appeared to be working. However all sorts of other warnings appeared on the dash. One by one they went away, leaving only an ABS warning light. Josh suggested reinstalling the drive shaft and taking it out for a spin to see how it drove. As soon as we started moving the ABS light went out. We returned to the repair yard, paid our bill and drove almost 4 hours to Vicksburg MS where we are settled in a casino campground.
Tomorrow, Livingston TX!