It's all about names!

Looking over the High Atlas Mountains that we passed through on our way between Marrakesh and Fint Oasis.

  As Wi-fi is hard to come by in some of the remote parts of Morocco that we are visiting, I can only update the blog wherever possible.

  Two days ago we left Marrakesh and headed south to our next destination, Fint Oasis. It was a 188 km trip through beautiful country and mountains. On the side of road, there were many women with cloths covering their faces. These are called niqabs and are worn by some Muslim women in public areas and in front of non-mahram adult males.. Ildiko jokingly said how do they recognise each other if their faces are covered up? I thought over this and suggested that maybe it would go somethin like this. Hi Sissy! The lady with the covered face would reply 'My names not Sissy' Oh, hi Fanny!' 'Not that either' 'Joan?' 'Nop' 'Jean?' Ah ah' Vicky, Sue, Debbie?'
  An hour later. 'Stella, Ella, Bella?' Two hours later. Bill, George, Ken? Ray?' 'Ray who?' And then the lady with the mask says 'I've got to go now. Mom says dinners ready' 'Oh! I'll catch yeah tomorrow then' And you would walk off into the hills wondering who the hell was that?
  If your reading this you may think I'm crazy!

A sheperd at the side of the road

Up in the High Atlas Mountains 

 

View looking from the hotel

A mule and it's rider crossing the river at Fint Oasis.

  We wanted to go for a walk immediately and told Niam that well be back at 18.30 for dinner. We had a stroll along the river where there were lots of Green and Common Sandpiper, White, flava and Grey Wagtail and many stunning Moroccan Wagtail. We returned to the hotel just as it was getting dark and after waiting in the restaurant for an hour, our dinner had not arrived! However I did hear Night Herons flying into feed in the river. I asked Niam how long dinner would be? He understood and put eight fingers up. Eight minutes I guess. OK, that's good. Naim returned from the kitchen to light the fire that was centered in the middle of the room and beckoned us with his arms to come closer. We did with a family of Germans and found ourselves staring at the not so impressive fire that I've ever seen before for the next hour!! It was now 20.30 and Ildilko and I were very hungry, but we couldn't stop laughing at the situation we were all in. Niam returned to the fire and added more twigs to the now disappearing fire. He then picked up a bongo and banged on it a few times and said rather excitedly 'Music, music!' No, food first then music. And that's what happened. The food finally came out at 21.00 and when we were kind of rushed to eat it, the music began. There were five of six of them banging on bongos while another played what looked like large spoons. It was a good for ten minutes, but for the next two hours, it was sounding pretty much the same. However, we both enjoyed the hospitality, me showing them how to play the bongos sometimes, and then we made our way to bed looking forward to waking up early and walking the valley.

Fint Oasis with the authentic Berber villages in the distance

 

Got a surprise when the actor Brian Dennehy (First Blood and Cocoon movies) stepped up to have ago!

More interested in playing music and dancing in their Berber customs than making the bloody dinner!

 

Sunset over the Fint Oasis

 

Lots of Moroccan Wagtail feeding alon the river

  Leaving Fint Oasis, we made the long trek to the magnificent Dades Valley. While driving, I was not feeling too good at all and was beginning to think if I had food poisoning. This was confirmed when we settled into a hotel and the first thing I did was head straight to the toilet!

Dades Valley and Gorge All images taken by Ildiko Solymosi

  The following day I felt a little better and we drove towards the nearby Gorges. Truly an amazing sight as we drove along the road that funnels through the towering gorges.

 

This male Blue Rock Thrush performed very well by the car park

As did this Desert Lark with good numbers of White-crowned Black Weatear, Grag martins above and a single Black Redstart.

  We were both looking forward to tomorrow as we were going to do one of the things that was going to be one of the highlights of our visit in Morocco. Camel riding in the Sahara Desert! It was crap! No, it wasn't crap, it was just not what we thought it would be and were kind of let down after all the positive things we had been told about it.
   At 15.00 we were in the village of Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara and discovered that it was one of the shittiest places that we have ever visited! While driving around, scooters were following us all over the shop and telling us to follow them. If we didn't do what they said, then they would knock on my window demanding us to tell them where we were going! I wouldn't tell them and that made them very upset and frustrated. When at last one of the scooters had left us, you would turn the corner to discover that's there's another waiting and would quickly latch onto you like a leach! I was getting very angry and wanted to tell them to all piss off! Ildiko, quite sensible, told me not to. There behaviour didn't come across as welcoming, but like they were pushing you out of the village, despite them saying all the time 'Welcome to Merzouga' I felt like saying, stick Merzouga up your ass! I hated it!

Approaching the shit town, Merzouga, where everyone tries to push you away by constantly harassing you

 

  We quickly moved into the next village and to our surprise came across what looked like a castle on the edge of the desert. It turned out to be a very impressive hotel. We were told we could stay, but this soon changed. If we were ready for 16.00, then we could set off on a camel and stay overnight in the desert! Wow! we couldn't miss this opportunity and found ourselves joining a group of nearly 30 other people from all over the shop!
  After ten minutes of being on Jimi Hendrix, the name of my camel, I was finding myself sliding to one side and almost falling off! Ildiko, who was on Binger-Banger behind me, that don't sound right, couldn't stop laughing. This was no laughing matter, as each time I slid to one side, I felt my balls twisting and was very uncomfortable. When I was sitting up right very briefly, I noticed that everyone else were enjoying the ride and not one was sliding to one side. Why me? An hour and half of pain, we finally arrived to where we will be sleeping for the night. I steadily and causally got off Hendrix and slowly walked off like John Wayne!

Our hotel on the edge of the Sahara Desert

 

Just coming back from getting the morning papers from the shop down road!

  Joining the others and in a short time, dinner was served. Like the other hotels we had stayed in, it was tagine. I was still recovering and all I could eat was the rice. What came next was a fire. Great! However, this was a big fire. I still can't figure out where they got the wood from in a desert? It looked like one of our tent poles! This was followed by music from Bongos and large spoons. Can't get better than this, can it? It was a repeat performance as what we both experienced at a few nights ago. This was a bit different, as there were a lot more people and we were in the middle of the desert!

Berbers dancing and playing music around the fire

  Then one of the Berbers shouted 'Who wants to climb a dune?' Everyone was keen and shouted back 'Yes we do!' I thought, do we? Before I knew it, Ildiko and I were wrapped up with the others climbing this steep dune. Hell man, it nearly killed us! We had not got half way up and we were dieing! We weren't the only ones. As you looked around, you could see shadows lying on the sand and hear people gasping for breath! Whose stupid idea was this?
  We decided to call it a day and return to the tent, if we could find the bloody thing! Never mind the tent, we couldn't find the camp! Then I spotted a light in the distance and we headed towards it. After stumbling in the dark, tripping over guide ropes, banging into post and god knows what else, we finally found our tent and jumped into bed. Jesus! We were cold! With four blankets over us, we tried to get some sleep. This was made impossible by the poles that hold the bed together that were digging into our backs. We were beginning to think that we had made the wrong decision in coming out here, but it wasn't, as you lay there reaching out for the stars that look so near. On occasions a shooting star would pass by and later on a vocal owl was on our tent pole! We finally went to sleep with the thought of riding Hendrix in a few hours again.
  I noticed that the Berbers walk everywhere. No, there not stupid and when I returned to the hotel, I could hardly walk, along with every other guy that came along. Never again!

 

 

This is what you expect to see while driving on the roads of Morooco

Desert road with the Atlas Mountains in the distance

As well as a few Desert Sparrows knocking around, there were also Hoopoe Larks

Bloody scooters everywhere!

A scooter with a heavy load ahead of us in one of the busy main streets of Marrakesh

  And that´s not scoters everywhere,  I meant, scooters everywhere! Morocco!! I´ve discovered that Marrakesh is where the folks here drive like Wacky Races! I´ve also noticed that there are not many people overweight. That´s because you spend all your time keeping in trim by jumping, ducking, swaying, running for your life, getting out of the bloody way, as they come at you from all directions! They don´t slow down either. Coming straight for you and catch your arm and drag yeah off at 100 miles an hour, ten miles down road! All the streets are swarming with people eating, chanting and shopping. Wherever there is any space, it´s taken up by someone selling something. Anything that you want, then it´s here in Marrakesh. Everything, except scooters!! Where do they sell them? I did not see one person selling a scooter and you would think with all these scooters that there are, then someone must be making a few bucks by selling helmets? I saw two! That's right, two helmets out of over 1000 scooters! Kids as young as ten, whizz past you at great speed with their brother riding on top of the handle and their little sister, six or seven, holding on at the rear! The horses and donkeys pulling carts don't even blink when vehicles drive close by like the devil! Everyone here thinks that they are either Barry Sheen or Nigel Mansell!  
  There are no rules here! It´s crazy, as a taxi or a scooter sweeps in front of you from nowhere and your foot hits the brake and you find yourself with your face pushed up, squashed against the window screen! That happened a few times. The on coming traffic are always on your side of the road, overtaking scooters that are in the middle of the road! I joined in with the wacky races. I had to and found myself weaving in and out, but those bloody scooters got the better of me. They also overtake from the inside. While you´ve slowed down, because of a scooter that´s in the middle of the road, they sneak up beside from the inside and scare the living daylights out of yeah! It´s a death trap! But I loved driving here and I thought how drivers in the UK would survive if everyone drove like this?  In fact, what I´ve seen of Marrakesh has already made my mind up to return again and you couldn't ask more from the hotel where we are staying at!

One of the many streets at night

3 scooters on view through a very busy narrow market and they don't go slow! Note the little girl in between the two adults having a backy!

  In the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa, is looked over by the tower, Koutoubia Mosque. Here in the evening the market place comes alive with folks and scooters, some with no lights on. If your deaf, then you´ve got no chance! If your deaf and blind, well your a dead man or woman! There´s sellers all over the shop selling candles, slippers, and I don´t mean 10 pairs, I mean hundreds of pairs! sweets, fruit, lots of things handmade, watches, a lot more stuff and of cause, carpets! Also, there´s dancers, performers and in one of the corners, a TV screen the size of a garage that could fit ten million scooters in! Hundreds of Moroccans seemed to be transfixed to this film that was on with English subtitles!

The Koutoubia Mosque lit up

 

 

In the main market square, Jemaa el-Fnaa

 

  In the market square, one of the performers was playing a strange looking guitar and he was crap! Anyway, he drew the crowds in and I decided to take a pic of his guitar. I had just pressed the shutter, when this big feller came charging across in my direction from where the performer was and shaking a tin, demanding money off me! He stared at me and was shouting in Moroccan. Then he suddenly changed into English. I had not spoken one word to him and just with a look at me, he knew where I came from? Now, if I was erratically riding a scooter with no lights on with my brother, sister, my dog, my next door neighbours dog and Tommy the goldfish, and had the union jack stuck all over my face, he still wouldn´t think I was from the UK. He most probably ask for a backy? I would give him a backy, but he might squash the goldfish. Anyway, he demanded money for taking a photo of the man with the strange guitar. I said, on your scooter! No I didn´t, he was serious. I had to think quick, because I had a feeling his tin was going to have the shape of my head in it! After 10 minutes I came out with ´I was taking a photo of that funny looking guy with the strange cloths´And pointed to a man that fitted that description next to the performer. He looked to where I was pointing and his face got ugly and he snarled back ´That´s my boyfriend!´ I moved off a lot quicker than my thinking.

 

House Bunting are all over the shop

 

 

An hour of looking in fields nearby to Marrakesh saw some good birds for me including lots of Southern Grey Shrike.

 

 

 

Male Sardinian Warbler

 

A record shot of a Brambling flew off from a flock of 150 African Chaffinch. BWP shows Brambling regularly wintering down to North Morocco. A Spanish birder that Graham met in Finland saw over a million in southern Spain last winter.

 

 

Caspian Gull at Telford

Sub-adult Caspian Gull at Candles Landfill, Telford. This bird was some 10 miles away on the otherside of the tip!

 I'm back in Shropshire visiting my family and today a twenty minute look at Candles Landfill near Horsehay, Telford, payed off. As soon as stepped out of the car, I heard a Waxwing and watched it land in a tree above me. On the tip I found some 2500 gulls and with them I managed to spot a 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull followed by a sub-adult Caspian Gull. Both birds were very distant resting on the far side. There were also 4 Great Black-backed Gull. I wanted to stay longer, but I had to move on. Tom Lowe had an adult Caspian Gull at this site six days ago with 11 Yellow-legged Gull. I might give it a try again tomorrow.

Sub-adult Caspian Gull

The front end of a 2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull The gulls were a long ways off

Good numbers of Rooks, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows also feeding on the tip

This Waxwing paused very briefly in the tops of trees next to the tip

I like this band a hell of a lot! Annie Erin Clark (born September 28, 1982), better known by her stage name St. Vincent, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She began her music career as a member of The Polyphonic Spree and was also part of Sufjan Stevens' touring band before forming her own band in 2006. Her stage name is a reference to Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center where the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas died in 1953. 

39 Common Scoter in The Roads

The largest number of Common Scoter that I've ever observed on Scilly and yesterday Joe had a total of 44! To see better pics have a look at Joe Penders blog http://wwwsapphirepelagics.blogspot.co.uk/

 

In early hours of this morning, I was kept awake by a noisy Long-eared Owl outside my bedroom window! This morning I tagged along with Joe to St Martins in the rib. As well as the scoters, the only other birds of note were 3 Great Northern Diver, although Will had 12 yesterday with now 4 Spoonbill.

Also yesterday, there were 3 WAXWING feeding in Colin Ridsdales garden, near the hospital with a single at Sallyport. On the same day, I had 2 Firecrest with good numbers of Goldcrest and 2 Siberian Chiffchaff Porth Hellick. The male Scaup and 6 White-fronted Geese were still on the pool. On the 28th, Higgo made a visit to Tresco and found a dodgy RUDDY SHELDUCK on the Abbey Pool. He also got the 3 Ring-necked Duck, 6 Whooper Swan on the Great Pool. A Waxwing flew overhead and a Yellow-browed Warbler at Rosefields crossroads. Also a Yellow-browed Warbler at the lifeboat slip on St Mary's, is thought to be the same bird that was there at the end of October, while a one day bird was seen at Higher Moors, 28th. Another WAXWING flew over St Agnes, 27th.

On a sad note, the 7 GRAYLAG GEESE that arrived in the gale force NW in October, have been on St Agnes for the last month. You would guess they would be very safe on this island. However, one of the residents thought it would be good idea to go out and shoot two of them! Don't get me started!!

 

Here are the 7 Greylag Geese in October. Just arrived making first land fall at Porth Hellick.

 

Part of the 39 Common Scoter off Samson. Except for 2 1st winter males, the rest of the flock were females.

Very large number of Shag in The Roads

1 of the 2 Firecrest at Porth Hellick

The Male Scaup and 6 White-fronted Geese at Porth Hellick

This is for Martin Goodey. Van the man at his best and i've listened to over and over again! This song is among the most popular songs doctors listen to while operating, according to a survey made by BBC. If I ever get operated on, I hope they've got this song on full blast! "Into the Mystic" has been a popularly performed cover song over the years and has been recorded by many well-known musicians. Some of the artists performing it are: Paul Carrack,^[14] Joe Cocker,^[14] Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (The Swell Season) on the Once (Collector's Edition of Original Soundtrack),^[15] The Dead,^[14] Jackson Hawke,^[16] Colin James,^[14] Ben E. King,^[14] Michael McDonald,^[17] The Allman Brothers Band,^[18] Zac Brown Band,^[19] Marc Cohn,^[20] and The Wallflowers.^[14] The Mike McClure Band covers the song on their 2005 album, Camelot Falling.^[14] Johnny Rivers covered the song on his album Slim Slo Slider