shewasavisitor

I was so lucky to capture this ominous display through Abdelhamid’s windshield enroute to downtown Casablanca via the airport. I’d just come from an 18.5 hour commute. Arriving at my destination and being able to collect my things and walk around was akin to birth. This was the first photo of my vacation.

The morning view from my drop-off:

The best (& last) of Casablanca before we blew that pop-stand for Rabat:

Read Full Post »

More of the same, Casablanca

Read Full Post »

We all met in Casablanca. On our first official morning, J and I decided to visit the Hassan II mosque which is one of the biggest in the world and a highlight of Casa’s otherwise dingy offerings. We were encouraged to take a taxi but as the mosque’s location seemed relatively close (and were raring to test our African legs), we walked.

We took considerably more photos of Casablanca than we did of the mosque, which we didn’t expect. Also, I’d had only a night time assessment of the city before that morning and in describing it I was comparing it to Havana and Paris. J made so much fun of me that day – and for the next few days of our trip – as I couldn’t have been closer to wrong.

Serendipity for curious shutterbugs though, that outing.

Read Full Post »

The novel Dune is about a whole bunch of people fighting over some spice.
I started reading it after the CBC went on strike in 2004; guess I figured I needed a challenge and something to massively test my patience. By the Summer before moving to Oakville for computer animation I was still reading it and I ended up abandoning it for school very early that Fall.

For me, Dune was a struggle. I hated every page, every paragraph, every word. The book was long and boring. There was one point where I wanted to throw it out of a window. The first few chapters were so biblical and revealed what I felt like too much detail on Paul and his family’s history.

The rest of the world loved Dune, though. I’m going to borrow it from the library today. Second attempt.

In the photo, I’m standing on a dune looking over our base camp. Ahmed let me borrow his reflective vest; when the sun goes down it’s cold in the desert.
In the far distance is Algeria. There’s a lot of history between Morocco and Algeria regarding that sandy border.

Read Full Post »

There were SO MANY stray cats and I ended up taking over 80 photos of them!
Chances of another cat photo making this blog are HIGH so bet on it $$$

Read Full Post »

I finished Venus on the Half-Shell while camping in the Sahara. The story follows Simon who is impatiently traveling the cosmos in search of the meaning of life. Along the way, Simon encounters several planetary races with different appearances and customs. The book was a perfect foil to my own travels as everywhere we stopped held its own quirks and differences.

M1 is the first of an indeterminate number of daily posts concerning Morocco. Enjoy.

Read Full Post »

The space shuttle rolling down Crenshaw Blvd, South Central:

Apparently it got stuck on a tree for hours and the police wouldn’t let anyone closer.

Read Full Post »

Read Full Post »