Sahara Desert Tours: Consider Morocco

by Jamie Rhein on

Recently, a group of English as a Second Language adult students I teach picked a trip in the Sahara desert as the one they would most like to take. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps, they thought it was better than the other three choices-posts on those later.

The group read this article from the magazine Budget Travel, also on-line. According to the article, Morocco is a good place to join up with a Sahara tour. Here’s a link to company that does them. I’m including this one because it offers some interesting information on the Sahara and desert travel in Morocco. Also, here’s a well done slide show in video style with music by romodro that sets the mood and brings you to Morocco from wherever you are.

The Marathon des Sables, The Toughest Footrace on Earth

by Willy Volk on

I think somebody forgot to tell these guys that a marathon is only 26.2 miles. Because, um, they’re planning on running 150+ miles. And I *guess* somebody should also tell them that most marathons aren’t supposed to be quite this brutal. Because, um, they’re planning on running through the deserts of Southern Morocco. For a week. In 120° temps.

The Marathon des Sables (the Sand Marathon) is a footrace that features crazies who race by day and sleep in communal tents by night. Carrying everything they need to eat and drink, the racers also have to protect themselves from blisters, rashes, dust storms, snakes (SNAKES?!) — you name it. Despite all that, the official website boasts, “There’ll be a daily dose of sand and dunes, and breathtaking panoramic views once you’re up the jebels” — “up the jebels” no doubt being slang for hallucinating bitterly.

The 2007 Sand Marathon, which begins March 23, will involve 40 medical staff; 100,000 liters of bottled water; 150 Berber and Saharan tents; 100 all-terrain vehicles; 18 buses; 4 camels; 2½ miles of Elastoplast; 15,000 compresses; 5300 painkillers — and 50 exhausted teams.

To learn more about this grueling event check out this (PDF) feature from Outside.

[Via Whatsonwhen]

Oscar Settings: Best Films for Scenery

by Neil Woodburn on

Motion pictures often take us to places we cannot go ourselves. Unfortunately, the Academy Awards does not have a category honoring “Best Location.” We can, however, speculate as to which films might win such an award if one were to exist.

Gretchen Kelly, writing for the New York Post, has put together her own list of nominations with a bit of background where each was filmed and also information on how to visit.

The Queen: Filmed mostly in Scotland and also Brocket Hall just outside of London. Guests cannot stay in Brocket Hall but can eat at its classy restaurant.

Pan’s Labyrinth: Filmed at Aguas Vertientes in Spain’s La Garganta region near the city of Segovia. Some pretty wild scenery here!

Little Miss Sunshine: I liked this movie but I felt there was nothing too spectacular about the road trip scenery through the Southwest.

Marie Antoinette: Filmed in Versailles. Enough said.

Babel: My personal favorite for scenery but not for Best Picture. One of four interweaving stories takes place in Morocco’s rugged Draa Valley located in the Taguenzalt region.

Travel the World with Oscar

by Willy Volk on

In years past, local tourist boards saw generous spikes in traffic after popular movies featured the locations they tout. For example, both Alberta and Wyoming enjoyed gobs of slack-jawed, cash-carrying visitors last year after Brokeback Mountain won all those accolades. If you want to travel to the locations in which this year’s Best Picture-nominated films were set, here’s where you’d have to go.

The nominees for best picture are:

  • Babel — To visit the locations in this whirling dervish of a film, you’d better make sure your passport is current. After all, you’ll be heading to Morocco, Japan, and Mexico.
  • The Departed — Set in Boston, lucky movie-set-hunters may also get to see where Good Will Hunting was filmed.
  • Letters From Iwo Jima — Next month, Military Historical Tours will visit Iwo Jima on the 62nd anniversary of the historic Battle.
  • Little Miss Sunshine — Road trip!!! Follow the dysfunctional Hoover family’s path along Route 66. Just be certain to have a more dependable vehicle.
  • The Queen — Filmed in Scotland, the movie mainly uses stand-ins for the locations on film, but persistent travelers can book cottages at Balmoral Castle.

Personally, I’d like to visit Uganda, but The Last King of Scotland didn’t get a nod for Best Picture. Nevertheless, the 79th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday. You can book your travel any time you like.

Photo of the Day (1/24/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on


When I look at this picture I do not think about an establishment that will allow me to connect with close family and friends during my travels abroad. I do not think about updating my Myspace page with cool shots from the bazaar taken the day before for all my pals to sit green with envy over. Instead I wonder why the little naked baby has a laptop drawn over it in a nice pink colored paint or why the dogs and cats in the poster above wear shades. The baby makes me think of episodes of NBC’s To Catch a Predator and I imagine the animals are concealing blind rolling eyes. Perhaps I need my head checked, but what does it mean and isn’t funny how a picture, a painting and a poster can translate different things in different languages? Surely I am not the only one who thinks so???

Anyhow, major kudos to cfarivar for uploading this shot of the Faraj Internet Cafe located in Rabat, Morocco into the Gadling Flickr pool. It gave me something to think about today.