Small Bears Need a Tandem

Our Ait-Ben-Haddou accommodation was rather grander than the home we visited for tea, even though it was full of charm and history. We stayed in a kasbah just the other side of the wadi. Our room had 3 beds which was great, as it meant there was a bed exclusively for bears, and we also had a private courtyard just off our room ...


... the only trouble was that there was no light so we couldn't make much use of it after dark.

We thought the person who had left a bear sized version of Ait-Ben-Haddou in reception was very thoughtful ...


... so we arranged a private tour and sat to attention under the Moroccan flag.

The next day was completely different. We had a morning of mountain biking ahead of us. A truckful of bikes was laid out for us to pick one which best suited. We rushed over to have first pick, but weren't quite as fast as our female minder who got there first, but then was so indecisive we did actually pick first ...


Apart from the first 100 yards our ride was all off road. There were a few ups and downs to test us, but the biggest problem was all the rocks on the track that we bumped over. After the first hour we had extremely sore bottoms and jarred paws.


This picture will give you an idea of the terrain we were cycling across, although as you will see it was one of the early, rock free, sections.

About 20 minutes ride from the end, we had a welcome break after Khaled, our leader, spotted an orange lizard darting into a hole. Together with the driver of the support vehicle who had numerous tools with him, they started to dig into the hard ground to unearth the lizard. Apparently, if they captured the lizard, it could be exchanged for a lot of money.

We kept our paws crossed that the lizard would not be dug out, and fortunately he wasn't. The 2 Moroccans eventually gave up their pursuit and we set off again for a rather unusual final destination.

You'll have to keep reading to find out where we went.

Lots of love, George and Yorkie xxx

In the Steps of the Stars

Thanks Suffolk branch for their news from the West. The references to the Norfolk Branch and Yorkshire pud will be understood by anyone reading our sister blog 'Bears on trig points' which we hope you are all following. We also hope you are thinking about possible contributions from your neck of the woods.

But for now, back to the land of mint tea and tagines. After the ruins, it was time for another of our cook's spectacular picnic lunches and this time, some yummy lentils accompanied the salad. After lunch, it was off to yet another historic site, but this one was definitely not in ruins.

Our destination was the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait-Ben-Haddou. This is a 'fortified city', or ksar, which grew up as a stopping point for the caravan trains travelling between the Sahara and Marrakech.


If it looks familiar, many films have been shot at Ait-Ben-Haddou including Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator.

The buildings are largely made of mud, and they do tend to sustain damage when it rains, so lots of restoration work is required. Given the tendency to erode, it's very impressive that some of the buildings may date back to the seventeenth century.

After the view from the wadi outside the town, it was time for a climb through the narrow streets to take in the view from the top.


Only a handful of families still live in these buildings. We were lucky enough to take tea (mint of course) with one of them, and even luckier when we found out that the 'cave' inside the house where we were drinking our tea turned out to have been Russell Crowe's prison in the film Gladiator.

We rather like our next picture as it shows us in the cave with our new Moroccan friend Khaled and Russell Crowe's sword, which was a bit heavy for us to manage on our own.


Our lady hostess was kind enough to let us look round her house which was typical of these old mud houses.

Believe it or not, the animals, which we went to say hello to, were kept upstairs, not down ...


... and there were lots of fascinating rooms, mostly quite small and very traditional. We were particularly impressed by the old kitchen with oven, although we didn't fancy waiting for a meal, as it might have been quite a long time coming.


It's quite a few years since we saw the film Gladiator so we were very pleased to note it in the T.V. schedules the other day. We recorded it and look forward to watching it soon and seeing how much we recognise.

Lots of love, George and Yorkie xxx

Suffolk Branch go west!

Whilst Norfolk Branch were either sipping mint tea in Morocco or enjoying Yorkshire pud on their latest trip, Suffolk Branch decided that whilst on holiday in beautiful Pembrokeshire they would light a fire on the beach both to keep warm and dry off their fur - it being a typical bracing day at the seaside - and to cook some fresh seafood for lunch. Here we have Polly doing some rock climbing to observe from a higher vantage point what was available.

She spotted some shrimps and took to the water to catch some, but they hid in the sea weed and tickled her toes and even the expert fisherman Puffin was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile Isaiah, Dale and Tiny had a bit more luck mussel gathering but Suffolk Branch had burnt a lot of calories walking the coast path and surfing the waves and were still hungry so in the end their Minder's sandwiches ended up being toasted on the barbeque as well! Lush!

Minarets and Mint Tea

Our goat tagine was simply delicious and, after it, our leader Khaled, gave us a potted introduction to his country which covered geography, history, religion and politics. It was all fascinating stuff and there was so much to say that it was about 10.30 p.m. before we reached a suitable place to break.

The next morning we retraced our steps, this time on paw rather than hoof. Everything looked different the other way round and also from a much lower vantage point.

Before we rejoined our bus, we stopped for refreshment and, guess what?, another glass of mint tea.


I think our cook thought we might fade away after an hour's walk with no food, so he prepared a lovely plate of dates, figs, nuts and, our favourite of all, some nutty/toffee balls - we never did get to find out their official name.

When I turned back from the plate, I discovered Yorkie had disappeared. I soon found him, or rather heard him. He had found a replica minaret in the restaurant and was practising at being a muezzin, calling the faithful to prayer.


Unfortunately though he was out with his timing, as it wasn't one of the hours of prayer, so I shut him up and called him down in case anyone thought we were being disrespectful. Fortunately no-one seemed to have noticed - there are some advantages to being small!

We travelled a sort distance in our bus before stopping to explore the ruins of an old palace which had belonged one of the Lords of the Atlas. This man, an Arab, had collaborated with the French and oppressed the Moroccans. He therefore had no local friends, so when he died his palace was left to fall into ruins.


It was all quite sad, especially as mud buildings don't last long. We had fun though clambering over the ruins, finding traces, such as this painting, of its former grandeur, and meeting the current inhabitants: donkeys and storks.


When it got a bit hot we took refuge under a very shady fruit tree. It was easy to doze off and we were very lucky that the bus didn't go without us - thank you minders!

Lots of love, George and Yorkie xxx

Switching to Four Legged Drive

Well rested and fortified after our siesta style picnic, we were ready for the first active activity of our trip. This was a real treat for us as it was mule riding, which we don't get to do as often as we'd like.


So here we are aboard our charming steed, who with such a light load as Yorkie and myself on board, was champing at the heels of the mule in front (mounted by a rather heavier minder). It was a bit unfortunate therefore, that we got stuck at the back of the convoy, but we soon settled down into plodding, rather than racing mode, and it was all extremely pleasant.

We rode for a good hour and enjoyed looking at the amazing Atlas mountain scenery all around us. We had red earth hills above and, down in the valley below, fertile flood plains beside a river.

All too soon we reached the gite where we were going to be staying, and it was time to dismount and say goodbye to our new 4 legged friend.


Our mule friend went back to his home, as he was a genuine working animal rather than a ride for tourists. No doubt he had a few more hours work to do on the farm before his day was over. For us though, it was time to relax at the gite. While our cook got to work preparing a goat meat and vegetable tagine, we took, yet more, of the Moroccan drinks staple - mint tea - out on the balcony.


As you can perhaps deduce from our next picture, it wasn't long before the skies turned dark and there was a heavy downpour. It was quite mesmerising watching the rain and watching the locals hurrying for cover - there were no fancy Goretex waterproofs in sight!

Our mouths started to water as aromas of tagine began to waft up the stairs. It was a good job there wasn't too long to wait.

Lots of love, George and Yorkie

A Double Dose of Yummy!

Our special surprise was cute, small (but bigger than us!) and furry. For almost the first time in our travelling career we had a fellow bear traveller, who wasn't a member of Bears Unlimited.

We first became aware of our new friend as we reached our lunch-time picnic spot and settled down in a shady spot with a glass of mint tea. We spotted some squirming in a rucksack and, a few moments later, out popped a bear. We were especially excited to find it was a female bear, as we do tend to be a bit short on female company.


Bear hugs and introductions followed, and we discovered our new companion was Helen Spencer bear. Seconds later we were all chatting happily as if we'd known each other for years. We discovered that compared to us old bears Helen was a spring chicken and she'd only joined her minders a year ago for their wedding.

It was a good job there was plenty of mint tea on tap, as talking nineteen to the dozen made us initially, very thirsty ...


... and before long, very hungry. It was a good job we had such an excellent cook who worked hard to prepare delicious picnics for us while we lounged in the sun.

One of his staples, which was to become a firm favourite, was the beautiful and delicious plates of salad that came to us looking almost too good to eat.


Needless to say we did eat them, and they were as good as they looked.

Back soon.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie and Helen xxx