This is how we were awoken at 6:00 a.m., all was dark. It's the Muslim call to prayer, heard five times per day. We didn't realize we were so close to the loudspeakers in the mosque's minaret. When you think of the intention, a call to prayer is a nice thing to be witnessing. It…

We spent more than we needed to for an airport transfer through Viator. It was comforting, in an unfamiliar foreign country, having the security of someone waiting with your name on a sign while you go through the long lineup for Morrocan immigration. I believe that nearly all world passports are machine readable, but for…

October 22 Waiting for our flight to Casablanca where our feet will first touch a new continent, the airport sign seemed unreal.  By the end of the day we're scheduled to be at Riad Al Jana in Marrakech. I'm told by a fellow passenger that it translates to a house like heaven.  We read that…

Another example of the stretch of the Roman Empire and its impact on infrastructure. After 2000 years, amphitheatres, roads, bridges, aqueducts and other buildings still stand.  Tarragona was the ancient Roman city of Tarraco. Today's city was built right on top of the original settlement. Like the picture of the bank in yesterday's post, there…

Reus is the birthplace of Barcelona's famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, who is best known for the design of La Sagrada Familia church, Parc Guell and a number of large homes and palaces in the area. I was in Barcelona once without C and toured La Sagrada Familia. Unfortunately on a return trip together the lines…

Going through Camino walking withdrawal I convinced C to walk an hour on the town's "cholesterol trail" to the beach and agreed to take the train home. Turns out we walked farther and did the return path as well, for a total of three hours. Needed to burn off the delicious burgers at lunch.  We…

There was a noticeable security presence at the airport in Bordeaux reminding me of post 911 military presence in the US.  Back to Catalonia, but this time extending our reach to Tarragona and further. We've decided to visit Morocco, a place a bit beyond our usual comfort zone.  In the meantime, our timing was right…

After a relaxing morning we took Bruce to noon Sunday dinner at a local restaurant. This is the busiest time in France for eating out. No wonder, you need the rest of the day to wear off the food coma. It was coincidentally Canadian Thanksgiving with the over indulgence of a holiday meal.  It started…

This morning we walked Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde, to visit the market and find a geocache at the the Eglise St. Fortunat. It was reminiscent of Camino paths and felt good. Lots of flowers, fields and vineyards along the way. On the way back we met two friendly Golden Retrievers from England visiting their French country home, the…

It turns out that yesterday we were right on a Camino route that starts in Paris and goes through Bordeaux. Hmmm, I feel the seeds of another Camino dream starting to sprout.  This morning I had the opportunity to introduce Bruce to geocaching. Two very brief previous opportunities to cache in France were fruitless due…