• Cayte Campbell
  • Cayte Campbell

Egypt & Morocco

A 34-day adventure by Cayte Read more
  • M’goun valley walk

    May 13, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today we went for a 4 hour hike through the M’goun valley. The valley itself has water all year round but as you can see the surrounding countryside is a tad dry! This is the area that grows the Damascus Rose and is famous for its rose products. They just smell amazing but sadly wrong season. Came across evidence of last years earthquake and one part of a cliff with a little 🚩 showing danger. Went back and had lunch in the cave in the motel. Then an afternoon with henna by a lovely local lady. Lovely peaceful place.Read more

  • Ait Benhaddou

    May 14, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Headed off on the road to Ait Bengadou - the road of 1000 Kasbahs, most 12th to 17th century. Stopped at a number of them. Very interesting history. Also stopped at a Rose product place which smelt amazing - so delighted to be able to smell the 🌹 (🤣). Our accommodation has a ‘piscine’ (pool) and we all enjoyed the cool break before heading out again. The Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou is famous for Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia and more. We walked to the top and were nearly blown off the peak. So windy. This area seems to be very female focused. We went to a women’s café where the employees are only local ladies and a carpet weaving place, which also trains and supports local women.Read more

  • Marrakech

    May 15, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    It may be a bit late but Happy 60th to me 😊🎂.

    Back over the high Atlas Mountains to the thriving metropolis of Marrakech. This is what I expected of Morocco & Marrakech. Absolutely brilliant. Our Riad is cute and compact and most importantly not to hard to find. Went for a short walk through the markets and then around the palace finishing with fresh juice at one of the hundreds of stalls. And Milka everywhere 😋Read more

  • Marrakeck Day 2

    May 16, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    A day to explore. We left our accommodation for the Jardin Majorelle with enough time to dawdle. And so many sounds and sights in the markets in the Medina. And we made it to the gardens without getting too lost - a big winner. The enclosed gardens were peaceful and quiet despite the large entry crowds. Then a carriage ride back and Lyn & I tried a Hammann (a sort of sauna, hot salt scrub) followed by a massage. Came out very hot but feeling cleansed. Then that night was our last night group dinner. Very lucky again - such a great group of peopleRead more

  • Marrakeck Day 3

    May 17, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Brekky on the rooftop terrace followed by a cooking class - a tagine of course 😊. We met our cook and she took us shopping explaining what to look for with fresh foods. Then back to her Riad to put it all together. She was a great teacher and I have learnt a lot. And then we had the product of our labour for lunch - and it was great. Chicken & lemon tagine with two hot salads - tomato & roasted capsicum and an eggplant and tomato. Yum!! Then we had to move accommodation. We were booked in on the other side of town and it was a challenge to find - the street is not on google maps (???). Had a bit of a relax before exploring this side of the Medina and then meeting what was left of our group for dinner. Got very lost on the way home - probably wandered the streets for over an hour with varying degrees of help for others but finally worked it out for ourselves and got back and collapsed into bed.Read more

  • On the road again

    May 18, 2024 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Had a few hours to fill before our flight so we wandered the Medina for bit and made a few last minute purchases and then went to the main square of Marrakech (Jemaa el-fnaa Square) and enjoyed the people watching from a rooftop terrace. Then the long haul to Dubai via Lisbon.Read more

  • Dubai

    May 19, 2024 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌬 34 °C

    Sleep - what is that? Overnight flight and lost three hours, so a fairly dysfunctional day. A swim at the pool and wander around the shopping centre over the road was about all we were up to. Enormous shopping centre - and not close to the size or speciality of the Dubai mall!! Going around the grocery shop was actually lots of fun. It was sort of like a combination between Woolworths, Big W, Office Works, and a bit more as well, all in the one shop. Some of the eggs were actually white? Early night.Read more

  • Dubai Day 2

    May 20, 2024 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Checked out the local metro. It really easy to manage and the driverless trains are clean, on time and well organized. Went and had a look at the Dubai mall. How many different expensive brands do you want? We spent in ordinate amount of money on some really nice ice cream and went for a wander. Found the biggest bookshop in the world and really struggled to get out of there. Then back to the motel to get ready for our Arabian Safari. It was excellent. First we went dune bashing in Landcruisers with rollbars. Every 18-year-old males idea of the perfect perfect job I think. Then sat in bean bags and watched the sunset. I got to hold a falcon (Ziggy) and talk to an owl 😃. Then off to sandboard down the dunes. Was not as exciting as I anticipated. We passed on the camel ride as once a trip is enough. Then we went and had an amazing meal in a desert camp with a show of a whirling dervish, a fire thrower, and a belly dancer. Great nightRead more

  • Dubai Day 3

    May 21, 2024 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Decided to do the hop on hop off bus and have a look around the place. There are two buses (red and blue lines) and they meet at the Dubai Mall so we did one in the morning, had lunch at the Mall and then did the other in the afternoon. All manner of interesting buildings - and they are very proud of where they have come from the last 50 years. And did admire the cars that we passed - Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche and moreRead more

  • Trip end
    May 22, 2024