Turning Forty

…As we ease ourselves into Paris, we are somehow infused with the romantic atmosphere.  It’s really true, that sexy reputation Paris has.  There is an atmosphere of repressed passion, especially after dark, when couples stroll together in leather jackets, embracing tightly and kissing long and deep… Flash back: July 2013. My wife and I are…

A Dire Warning – M’Hamid, Morocco

  In the desert, any bar is a good bar, but you don’t get to choose your drinking companions…   I step into the shade of the “La Boussole” bar and collapse gratefully onto a couch beside the dining table.  Outside, in M’hamid, the temperature is living up to the Sahara’s reputation. (Above: watering holes…

Big Footprints – Volubilis, Morocco

…The highlight of the tour is the brothel, and the famous phallus stone.  It’s not too clear what the stone’s purpose was, but it is leeringly suggested by the guide to be a sort of bench mounted dildo… It’s a typically hot and sunny, Moroccan autumn day.  From the foot of the hill I can see…

Sand in the Lens – Merzouga, Morocco

Hitchhiking the road from Merzouga, Morocco, through the Atlas Mountains is enough to make your eyeballs bleed.   Serious eye candy. (Above: Merzouga, Morocco.) (Merzouga.) (The Atlas Mountains.) (Todra Gorge.) (The Ziz Valley.) >> More photos of Morocco. >> Like Raw Safari on FaceBook. View Larger Map

Into the Desert – M’Hamid, Morocco

…Mohamed climbs out and walks around the car.  He squints at the sand around the door sills and kicks at the tires.    Bill and I look at each other, and feel grateful we brought plenty of water.   “Now we push”, says Mohammed… It’s 06:45.  The sun’s coming up.  I untangle myself from my sleeping…

A Small World – Tamnougalt, Morocco

…Several films have been shot in Tamnougalt, Alami tells us, including “Babel”. “I loved that film”, I say.    “Cate Blanchett is Australian, you know?  I met her at a barbeque once.” “It is a quite small world”, Alami says, “my cousin was an actor in that “Babel”… As we bump down the rocky track…

Sick and Tired – Marrakech, Morocco

…”What’d you say?   You got a problem?” I ask, like a badly written character in a Roger Corman film.  We stand there for a few seconds eyeballing each other…  I know I’m not really going to get into a fight with an amphetamine pumped Moroccan waiter.  I can picture them plopping my entrails into…

Tough Talk – Fez, Morocco

…”You care for nothing but yourself, young man” he tells me, his voice rising in anger. I laugh, stunned. “You are wasting my time!” he shouts, “you are the only one alone.   Everyone else is in a tour group.   Only you are so selfish!..” We ask Ouma if she would like to go…