The Imperial Cities of Morocco

What an amazing 10 days we had in Morocco!  We managed to make it to several cities that we hadn't seen before - and discovered that they all have their own charm, excitement and tradition.  The people were helpful, delightful and cheerful.  The sounds of prayer call, the smells of the dye vats and leather and the sights of roman ruins and majestic gates all added to the intrigue of berber life contrasted with imperial rule.  Morocco has it all, coastline, desert, ruins, mountains, oases, and each corner offers up something unique.

As part of Oussaden Tours (NY) Familiarization trip, Corinne and Natascha set out to travel Morocco with 7 other travel agents and our tour director, Lahsen from New York City.  Jamal from Marrakech was our patient and thorough guide, reciting Morocco's history, way of life and beliefs with much clarity.  In 6 days we visited 5 imperial cities to learn about their importance in Morocco's history. 

Casablanca's immense iconic mosque of Mohammed V sits on the edge of the Atlantic, a serene and shady spot for a pilgrimage or a picnic.  We found our way through the Kasbahs (fortified cities) in Rabat, the cool blue reflecting the tranquility of ancient times in this bustling capital of the country.   The Hassan Tower and tomb of Mohammed V were testimony to the importance of Morocco's past rulers in modern day life.   The Gate of Meknes is said to be the loveliest in the country and this happens to be the wine growing region of Morocco - some nice crisp whites and rosés to add to the experience!  Nearby were the Roman Ruins at Volubulis, the tomb of Moulay Idriss, the founder of Islam, and the modern installment of the ski town of Ifrane.  

We both loved the first Imperial city of Fez as it offers a calmer, less touristy option to Marrakech.  We walked from one end to the other through the city divided in two, hence the name FES or 'axe'.  Twisting and winding our way through the unending 9000 alleyways of the souks, where people sold there wares, from cow tongue to turkeys, wedding decorations to jalabayas.  We even tried our hand at carpet weaving!  Children were everywhere... Corinne was delighted to chat and laugh with them in French.

Next we had an unforgettable drive over the Atlas Mountains to end the Bin-Ouidane Reservoir.  This dammed river was our breathtaking view while we stayed at the Widiane Spas and Suites.  This accommodation spans the reservoir and offers pontoon tours to view the stars, all the while getting a massage!

Back out of the mountain range towards Marrakech we stayed for a few nights experiencing the Jmaa al Fnaa or busy... busy square.  Everywhere you look there are snake charmers, monkey handlers, henna tattoo artists and makeshift dentists willing to pull out a tooth for 50 dirhams, about 5 euros!  After an evening dip in the hotel's lovely pool, we said goodbye to our US travelling companions to start a new adventure, a private tour into the Sahara Desert.

Leaving Marrakech we took off over the southern chain of the Atlas mountains to Ouarzazate, a place where several movies have been made.  There are two major film studios, both having taken part in movies such as The Gladiator, the Mummy and Lawrence of Arabia.  One could get lost in the Taourirt Kasbah.  This was the most interesting of the ancient fortifications, belonging to a Paschaa or government official.  We made a new friend, Karib who showed us around the complex chambers, kitchens and hammams or baths. 

Our next adventure required alternative transport as we arrived in Zagora for our dromadery trek.  We were to trek to a bivouac, a group of tents near M'Hamid on the Algerian border.  Our camel driver slept on the sand with the beasts, our dromaderys showing brotherly love as one bit the other in the behind.... twice!

Around the campfire we drank tea and heard the sounds of Berber song from our guides under the moonlight.

Back to Ourarzazate and an early flight to Casablanca had us re-encounter civilization in a hurry....though we were still dreaming about the magic of the desert and Berber way of life...

VM Travel plans to revisit these Imperial cities with all types of curious travellers.  Come join us!  Life is too short not to have this much fun!

Natascha

Cousins Cooking and Wine in the South of France

Who would have imagined so much fun!  This September seven family friends met in Paris then took the fast train to a little oasis called the Mas St. Antoine just south of Avignon. Theme? Cooking and Wine!!! The 300 year old country home gave us a base for our cooking sessions and a cool respite from the agreeably hot weather in the south of France.  Pierre, a long time friend of Corinne's was our chef de resistance as he guided us through the Mediterranean and Provencale recipes! Our first "training session" on fish was held in his lovely apartment kitchen in downtown Marseilles - very a propos dishes for this port city.  We sauntered through the markets and culinary emporiums before heading off to learn how to make the famous french macaron!  2 1/2 hours to make those little darlings - now we know why they sell for over a euro each in the patisserie!
The next cooking session was held right in our kitchen at the Mas! Everyone was put to task, whether it was smashing the potatoes, braising the magret de canard to medium rare or adding grandmariner to the cake once or twice for good measure.  The patio table decked with candles  and lights allowed our enjoyment of our creations to go long into the night.
The final night we cooked everything upside down as it was Tintin night!  Everything from an olive and tomato amuse bouche to apple tarte was baked and then flipped.  Somehow we fed the mulitudes with these pies as other guests joined us around the dinner table. 
Our theme of cooking and wine had us visit a Salin de Midi near Aigues-Mortes. Here we took a visit of this salt farm that stretched out into the Mediterranean Sea and of course filled our bags with the famous Fleur de Sel.  Wine too was the theme the day we visited Chateauneuf-du-Pape to tour and taste the Pere Ansleme from the crooked, dusty bottle and also enjoy a picnic lunch in the vineyards at Domaine de la Marotte. So nice of them to accommodate us during their busy harvest time.

The key to the grand success of this tour was Pierre our chef- laid back and charming with a great sense of humour who shared his profound knowledge of French Cooking learned over his 15 years in Provence. Merci beaucoup.  Also Keryn and Kerrin our hosts at the Mas just made everything so enjoyable and easy for us!  Lovely swimming pool and garden, a welcome provencale reception, gourmet pizza night and a full French breakfast of croissants, hams and cheeses the morning of our departure. 

As we took the train back up to Paris we marvelled at how we all got along and had so much fun together.  We do a cousins trip every year, but this was the BEST ONE YET!

Paris boys come to Fernie!

I first met Alexandre in 2002 on a Transatlantic flight to Paris. Alex is an artist www.alexathane.com

and he has been pretty much confined to his small Paris apartment  for the  last 9 years.  My constant invitations for him  to see the wild west of Canada finally lured him and his friend Stephane to visit us in Fernie this summer. The weather could not have been more perfect and if any of you have spent time in Canada this year, warm days were few and far between.
The "Paris boys" only had 5 days in the Rockies but they were action packed.  Of course we had to drive them through Banff National Park and after many hours on " Bear Watch" we came up with a few sheep and deer - oh well something to look forward to on their next visit.  On our descent through the Columbia Valley to Fernie we stopped at one of our favourite spots Lussier Hot springs, a series of hot to warm to cold pools aside a briskly flowing stream high up in the mountains on the road to Top of the World Provincial Park.  Now this was quite an introduction to the wild west!
With our base on the ski hill in Fernie Alpine Resort we put Alex's hiking boots to the test - and his new boarder style swim suit!  I think speedos are still the rage in Paris! Off we were hiking in the Old Growth Forest with 800 year old cedars that survived the forest fires in the early 1900s. Destination, Island Lake Lodge for a picnic and some fishing. Fishing fanatic Stephane had brought his bayonnet "canne a peche" all the way from France so he had to test it out. Unfortunately the lake around the island has not been stocked with trout since 2002 so it was an excercise in futility particularly when we were sharing most of the air space with a multitude of fish flies. No harm done, just alot of time spent shooing them away. Did you know that they do not move as fast as mosquitoes?

We spent some time on the water the next day as we were invited by our friends Isabelle and Jim to sail on the Koocanusa reservoir. No wind meant a little motor sail boat ride while their son Paul explained the rigging, then back to human powered manoeuvring of the lake kayaks. Since it was such a beautiful day we decided to give them the thrill of their life at Silver Springs near Elko.  A 15 min. hike up through a throng of mosquitoes found us at a crystal clear lake just waiting for us to break its image with a plunge  from a 10 foot , then a 30 foot precipice. You can see the hesitation on Stephane's face as he advanced towards the edge with his feet and yet his upper was saying "NON!"  A late night fresh BC salmon on the BBQ finish the day. Stephan helped me whisk up the most delicous hollandaise sauce to top it off.

Boohoo, our last day together in the mountains. Being the weekend we were able to take the Timber High speed quad chair to the top of the ski hill, then we navigated our rocky climb to the very top of Elephant head - those boots were made for hiking and thats just what they'll do!  At an alititude of almost 7000 feet Stephane found a cute little araignee or spider which he gleefully showed to Alexandre and myself but when I informed him that it was actually a tick ready to bleed him dry he commenced to throw it off the cliff. Goodbye little one!
After a  little ride him my 1973 porsche and a visit to the Lizard Creek hot tub the Paris boys in Fernie visit came to an end. No bears or moose this time, but we have to leave something for their next visit.  With all the travelling that we do as a family through our business VM travel adventures showing the Paris Boys around British Columbia reminded us of the great country we inhabit! Always great to escape to foreign lands, but Canada always welcomes us back with open arms. We are VERY proud to be Canadian!

Home Office in Fernie, B.C.

                                                                  

Hi Travelling friends,


We, Corinne and Natascha are both are very pleased to announce that we're happily working away in the office in Fernie this summer!  Besides planning your tours we have taken advantage of the recent lovely weather to get out into the Rocky Mountains!


Saturday of the long weekend was spent hiking up in the mountains in the Elk Valley, specifically up the wet and wild path of the Coal Creek Drainage.  12 of us outdoor enthusiasts left Fernie Alpine Resort to join our fearless leaders Sachia and Linda  - the unofficial back country guides - on a hike to "The Ammonite".


An ammonite is an extinct type of cephalopod, related to cuttlefish and octopus.  The spiral and ridged shape of the ancient sea creature was named after the horns of the Egyptian God Ammon, who legend states, had horns.


Our Coal Creek Ammonite is one of several smaller fossils found in the Fernie area.   The size?    This specimen measures about 1.5 metres across and was 35 centimeters thick, the body spiraling out from the center of the shell.  The imprinted fossil in the rock is complimented by the lower half of the body which remains embedded, as the shell had once filled with sand. This big guy used to swim around in the Jurassic Sea some time ago, between 200 and 145 million years back, then with the formation of the mountains, was lifted up high, waiting to be discovered for as many years!


It was wonderful to hike with old and new friends, although this year's rainfall made the trek much more treacherous!  Hikers, make sure you all have good footwear, and don't be afraid to get a bit muddy!

                                                                               


Happy trails... come out and join us next time!  Life is too short not to have this much fun!


Natascha

Live the Tango in Buenos Aires

1. 

Yes, it does take TWO TO TANGO as we discovered on a recent couples 10 day tango tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Four experienced dance couples from Saskatoon met their match with this precise, intimate, dramatic dance! Baleos, ganchas, flicks and figure eights were the challenge over the 10 days of instruction with Argentine tangueras and tangueros. Repeat, repeat, repeat and finally that euphoric moment of " I think I've got it!" The Argentine Tango is probably one of the most difficult dances to lead with precision and grace. The female partner? All she has to do is be on her toes and patient, waiting for the subtlest indication from her male counterpart as to where to flick and turn. Sound easy?
This fun group from Saskatoon rose to the challenge and by the end of the tour were naturally taking up the tango position in the streets of La Boca and San Telmo! Besides particpating in late night tangos in some of the most famous milonga halls in the world such as El Beso and Salon Canning, this group discovered the European flavour of Buenos Aires through its culture and food! La Boca, San Telmo market, Recoleta, all interesting barrios to visit!

Leaving the tango they flew to spectacular Iguazu Falls and to colourful Salta for a wine tour. With Natascha at the wheel they navigated the bumpy, gravel roads to the highest vineyard in the world, Bodega Colome! A one night stay was not nearly enough at this exquisite resort but somehow they fit in a visit to the James Tyrrell light gallery and a horseback ride through the "colorado" river bed, not to mention the gourmet meals, lovely wines and 5 star accommodation. Really worth the ride!
One thing is for certain, Argentina is worth several visits if not only to master the tango, but to discover its beautiful and diverse landscape! European culture - great buy for Canadians and a great escape to summer in our cold months. Bienvenidos!

Sketchbook Tour of Greece

Dear Traveling Friends,

We are pleased to announce that we have had a busy spring! This year our fellow travelers had us visiting Argentina, Italy, France and Greece! The Sketchbook Artist Tour of Greece was a highlight, as our weather was perfect in each exquisite destination!

Our two week tour of Athens and the Cyclades Islands started in the Capital city of Greece, surrounded by ruins and antiquities in the Plaka district. Cecelia Jurgens got her group of sketchbook artists together for yet another amazing art experience in her traveling classroom! It was so nice to re-acquaint with our group of artists, photographers and adventure seekers at the Athens airport, and what a wonderful time we had!

We wasted no time getting acquainted with Greek culture and food! We toured the Plaka district on foot, then were greeted at one of the best restaurants in the heart of the ruins for a welcome meal. Those Greek salads with the authentic feta cheese became an irresistible part of every meal!

The next few days were spent studying the ancient sculptures and temples, all within walking distance from our centrally located hotel. The Temple of Zeus, the Botanical Gardens and the Stoa of Ancient Agora were preferred places for painting, some sketchers concentrating on columns and statues, others being inspired by Mediterranean flowers and foliage! The view from the top of Lycabettus hill was worthwhile after quite a workout and the changing of the guards is always a special experience as one views the unique attire and deliberate manner of the uniformed soldiers. We were fortunate to have Sofia, our very informed guide of the Acropolis and New Acropolis Museum sites. She was so thorough in her explanations of the Parthenon, the temples and the other ruins that we all finished the day having become experts in the history of Ancient Greece!

Next thing we knew, we were boarding a flight to the island of Mykonos. Our lodging on top of the hill gave us some spectacular sunset views from the pools and patios! We enjoyed every minute of the time we had sketching the windmills, shopping in Little Venice and following the island's mascot, a pink pelican with a peculiar personality! As enhancement to the sketching experience we did an excursion by boat to the island of Delos, the ancient free port of Greece next to Mykonos. Others got around to see the island on scooter and some got lost in the winding streets on foot! Remembering this island experience will surely bring some to recall the tantalizing breakfast laid out by the Semeli Hotel - everything from sweet to savoury - salads to cereals!

After a week of sketching, Cecelia gave an encouraging critique of the sketcher's work. We were all proud to see the new artists expressing themselves so freely and the experienced artists fascinate us with their splashes of colour!

Our next adventure had us boarding the hydrofoil rapid ferry past islands and outcroppings too small to be inhabited, venturing deeper into the Aegean Sea. Our next port of call was the island of Thira, or Santorini. We were awed at the steep winding roads to bring us up to the hotel in Firostefani from the port! Our view from the Villas of the Caldera and the Volcanic Nea and Palau Kameni Islands was spectacular, the sunsets even more memorable. We had a sketching session on the black Kamari Beach followed by a nice lunch. We stopped to see the impressive Red Beach, taking the rocky path to see where the crystal waters met the rocky red soil. This particular day ended with a visit to Ia, which was made special as our terraced restaurant was home to the best sunset view on the island. We dined and drank in the magical fading light, perched on the cliff, surrounded by beautiful flowers, culture, antiquity and the tranquil Aegean sea.

We shopped, sketched, ate, drank and were merry during this whole trip to Greece, it was an unforgettable time with special traveling friends, and thanks to Cecelia, we will be able to do it again in the future to other specially chosen destinations.

"Efharisto" for reading our blog!  We love hearing your comments, and if you would like to receive regular blog updates by email, please enter your email address in the box at the top of the page!

See you again soon!! Life is too short not to have this much fun!

Natascha

¡¡Earthquake!!

Earthquake!!!!

I first heard a siren scraming though the business district of Santiago - ¨Sanhattan¨ as some call it, with the echo of impending disaster. This woke me up, barely taking note of the late hour, then the trembling started. Living in Chile makes one accustomed to the earth moving under your feet from time to time. We have had some bad tremors but nothing that continued as long as this one did. Curious that this tremor was actually a quake, and a long awaited one at that. Here is the story of how it happened for us at the office of VM Elite Viajes, 8º floor home office in downtown Santiago on February 27th, 2010.

As dawn broke the evidence of disaster started piling up. The pedestrian walkways over the highways were twisted and mangled, the buckled highways had thrown cars into chasms and several church steeples suffered the brunt of the trembling, fell down completely or tipped to the side, the skewed cross indicating the damage. Despite this damage, the twisted highways, along with a couple of tilted buildings was the worst of it here in the Capital. Initially we thought that all of Chile had been narowly missed, as there were few reported deaths, and no sign of a tsunami.

We had fallen asleep watching the end of a movie when I heard the siren coming towards our building. With the screaming siren came the shaking that lasted for two minutes. Attempting to run the length of the swaying hallway with the closet doors swinging and banging we reached the entrance to the main hall staircase, only to find we were want of clothing. We just stood there listening to everything crash around us as the first tremor ended and we ran to put on warm clothes and boots, grabbed flashlights and all of our keys, a blanket and we were out the door to the 8º floor dark stairwell, and out into the darkest night. Near our apartment chimneys were collapsed, the bell tower fell off the cathedral and everyone was out in the street huddled around a radio. The nightclubs had been in full swing, two guys crashed on a scooter right in front of us, but fled (drunk) as the police approached.

After a couple of hours we went back upstairs and tried to sleep. The 6.9 aftershock that came a few hours later was the worst... you get used to the lighter tremors after a while (we have had more than 50) but the repeated, non-stop shaking with the lights on just after 6am had us thinking that we were about to do it all over again. The lights came on at just after 6:00am and the phones were working at 9:30. There was no sleep for us as the phone calls started coming in even though we were told to keep the lines clear for emergency purposes. We were glued to the local news - CNN has its own network in Chile, so the news you folks were getting in North America was mostly accurate - I just wish they had reported more of Australasia as I was concerned for friends in Aus and NZ. In the end it turns out that the tsunami wave didn´t cross the Pacific at all, it turned back on the southern tip of Chile, wiping out beach towns for several hundered kilometres.

Everything is okay in our apartment, which is our home office. The dividing walls are cracked with plaster missing, some wine glasses were broken and everything fell off the walls. Luckily no wine bottles were broken in our mini cellar of a wine collection! We have had quite the time cleaning up but we feel very lucky that, despite the fright, we have come out perfectly unscathed. We were lucky to have had power and light just a few hours after the event. Other ¨barrios¨ were not so lucky and had to wait weeks before their power was restored.

Most of the towns in the south were, and still are, in terrible condition. Terrible condition means that most of the houses were without a roof for the main supporting walls having fallen down. Some tsunami affected towns were washed away, leaving cars, boats and the remains of people´s lives high up in the hills, as much as 1 to 2 kms inland. What makes all of this worse, is that the affected folks of the poor neighbourhoods were looting the supermarkets for plasma screens and dishwashers...surely you need one of those after your house has just fallen down. By all means, they took with them supplies they needed amongst the rest of whatever they could grab. The looting didn´t stop in the stores after a few days of mayhem. Without the army having been called in to reduce the number of crowds who were looting supermarkets and shops, and then burning a department store, once empty the chaos was turned to target private houses. I remember hearing that people were guarding their property behind the gate with sticks or any weapon they could get, from the mob that came to rob them. They felt helpless after having survived first the quake, then a tsunami...the last thing they needed was to have their own countrymen attack and injure them. I must remind you that these events happened only for a few days, and in the specific zone of Concepcion. This is where the folks were desperate and some groups had indeed been allowed by the Carabineros (police) to take supplies that were badly needed.

Many people were stuck outside of Santiago at the coast. Many holiday makers take off to the towns at the beach, however most had no power or water for two days. What made matters worse is that they couldn´t go home as the emergency workers re-opened the twisted, collapsed highways. My close friends and canadian compariots live in the Mountains at the base of the Andes. They were shaken up but without power, water or internet for at least one week. Arturo Merino Benitez, the country’s international, newly reconstructed Airport had the ceiling fall in and on to fleeing passengers. They say it was to open 72 hours after the earthquake, but having flown recently two months after the fact, there are still tents and makeshift waiting areas set up for travelers.

Everyone dealt with the difficulties differently. Travelers had to either bus over the Andes to or from Mendoza, Argentina, or stay in hotels that were already busy due to the Festival de Viña del Mar Beach concert that was already in full swing at the time of the quake. Our office is straight across from the Intercontinental Hotel. We could see the same faces in the windows for days, families and teams alike, longing to go home.

For our part we felt very lucky. The quake was said to have been long overdue due to geothermal buildup on the plate´s fault line near Concepcion. They researchers say that this event will quiet the rumbling for some time, up to 200 years from now. So many of my Canadian friends and family want to know if this is scary enough to make me move home. In response I will reply that no, I don´t want to leave here yet. I feel that this experience was, in a way, heartening as it brought together a country of tough hearty folks. Although scary, I was well looked after by my lovely man and business partner Tomás. As we move on from this frightening time, Chile is still collecting clothing, raising money and building homes. I am sad for the families of the 1500 persons whom lost their lives, but encouraged to find a newly reconstructed and improved Chile in the outcome of this disaster.