Our last day! Many headed to the souk with our fabulous guide Richad to finish off some bargain/haggling shopping. It was a day of leisure with some spending time at the pool or the hamman(spa). Our farewell dinner was located in a restaurant that had a pool and palm trees located in a huge courtyard. It was an ideal end to a wonderful trip. Many thanks to Debbie at WTN.

A visit to the Majorelle gardens was a lovely surprise. Two and a half acres of plants that took over 40 years to accumulate by Jacques Majorelle. There is a Berber museum on site housing a wonderful collection of their jewellery and art. We spent hours walking through the souk checking out the leather workers, iron mangers and spice merchants.

Headed to the valley of Persian roses and Rosewater. A co op generates this for local women. A drive through the High Atlas and Anti Atlas Mountains ending up in Ouarazate which has become a cultural centre. We visited a kasbah that is now a UNESCORTED world heritage site

Up early to watch the sunrise over the dunes and headed out for more adventures. A visit to a stone mill that creates items using stone filled with fossils. Passed by ancient water systems and a visit to the Valley of the Gorges.

Headed to the Switzerland of Morocco today with ski lifts and a private university. Through the biggest cedar forest of Morocco filled with monkeys then on to the colourful Atlas Mountains with Nomad Berbers. Apple orchards abound and plantations of fig trees everywhere. We headed by 4 x 4 to the dromedary transport into the desert. Our camp for the night was Berber tents. Watching the sunset from the sand dunes of the Sahara was amazing.

A fun day spent in our hotel cooking school. Making lunch started in the souk at 9:30 buying fresh everything and ended up at 2:30 with our finished lunch. Worth all the time spent.

What a day! Departed for the Medina in Fez and discovered an amazing array of shops hidden away in this maze of walkways. A visit to a pottery business showed us the ancient craftsmanship they still employ. A visit to a local weaver and copper maker was most facinating. They evening ended on a high note as we were welcomed into a local Riad owned by an amazing cook and hostess. Two local young professional women, one a university professor the other the president of the African forum on Renewable energy, brought our evening to a spectacular end with enlightened discussion, enjoyable food and live entertainment. We all laughed a lot and enjoyed so much of the Moroccan hospitality.

Thurs oct 18

What a wonderful surprise!!! Morocco is enchanting. A visit to the 3rd largest mosque in the world was well worth the visit. It overlooks the choppy Atlantic and is able to hold 25,000 people at a time with an ornately carved roof that opens to the world. A visit to the capital Rabat and the ancient Roman ruins in Volubilis made for an incredible day. So much to see and absorb.

Photos to follow.

Spent today wandering St. John’s. Visited signal hill which acted as a lookout during the 2nd world war.  A short tour took us to Quidi Vidi harbour with it charming fishing buildings and its artisans on display.  In times gone by this harbour was where the French came in the back door to conquer St. John’s.  One of our stops was to the Terry Fox statue at mile marker 0 where he started his journey.  We walked through one of many areas housing the jelly bean houses and marvelled at the variety of colours.  The afternoon was free to wander and some headed to The Rooms, which houses an art gallery and restaurant and some headed to Water St which is the main shopping district.  Our farewell dinner at the hotel was a treat and we had to say our goodbyes.  Everyone enjoyed the trip and hopefully we will see them soon again on another adventure with WTN.

Departed Trinity for St. John’s via the trans Canada highway.  First visit to Bull Bay to board the vessel to Witless Bay Eco area to view the wildlife.  Lucky for us we were privy to a huge pod of Humpback Whales who were so curious as to stay by our boat and give us an amazing view.  We then headed out to Gull island to view the tern, puffin and gannets..  It has tens of thousands occupying the island and they come back every year. Our journey continued to Cape Spear which is the most Easterly point in Canada.  Wild water, strong wind and cold temperatures greeted us.  Another fabulous day.