a sibilant intake of breath – Page 738 – climate change activist and science communicator; photographer; mapmaker — advocate for a stable global climate, reduced nuclear weapon risks, and safe human-AI interaction

Essaouira

My first day in Marrakesh was not so great, mostly because I did not like the feel of the city. Shifting to Essaouira today was thus an excellent move. The place is packed on account of the Gnawa and World Music Festival. Thankfully, I have joined a kind of caravan of backpackers. Seven us us defied the touts and the crowds and found a decent apartment for rent at the centre of town. Since then, we have been exploring and enjoying the music.

Aside from me, our caravan includes an English couple, three women from Norway – one of whom looks startlingly similar to Edwina – and a Frenchman. The combination generates odd language dynamics, based on differing overlaps. Essaouira itself is very attractive. In particular, the canons and fortification give a sense of the power this place once projected. The festival atmosphere here now also has me feeling much more at ease. I may well stick around for the weekend.

I expect that things will still be hopping with activity here very late into the night. I just hope I can find our obscure nameless alley and numberless apartment.

Safely in Morocco

The keyboards here are the strangest I have ever seen. Expect few updates.

One suggestion to travelers to Marakesh: never ask for or accept directions from young men, no matter how lost you are. In my experience, they just lead you to their big friend who thinks one night’s hotel costs are an appropriqte ‘gift’ for their help. They then leave you at least as lost as when you started out. If you refuse such offers very adamently, the young men will just follow you up blind alleys for half an hour or so, laughing when you reach a dead end, and eventually leaving out of boredom.

Not bringing my GPS receiver was a big mistake. That said, I am doing well and have much exploring to do.

Nascent itinerary

During my week in Morocco, I am aiming to visit Fez and Essaouira. I have been strongly advised to avoid Casablanca and Tangier. Visiting the Atlas mountains or the desert would be good, but I am limited insofar as I cannot drive. Also, it is likely to be exceptionally hot in the desert. In Marrakesh itself, temperatures look set to remain between 20˚C and 30˚C all day long.

I depart in eight hours.

Green glass

Apparently, the United Kingdom is the world’s largest importer of green glass. This is for the simple reason that the UK is the world’s largest importer of wine, bringing in over one billion litres a year and producing almost none. As such, the green glass piles up. There is so much of it that it can only be recycled in inefficient ways, such as grinding it up to use in road surfaces. Doing this uses more energy and resources than making the roads out of other materials and putting the green glass into landfills.

The easiest answer is to make wine bottles out of clear glass that can be recycled into a wider variety of things. Since that doesn’t seem to suit people’s tastes, wineries have come up with an alternative system. They import the wine in 24,000 litre containers (which saves on shipping costs as well) and then use it to fill up the bottles responsible Britons have been leaving at their curbsides for years. If you are curious what a tank of that size resembles, have a look at this page.

Something to consider, next time you are enjoying a bottle of your favourite vintage.

Life improves with feta

Tonight, thanks to the cookbook Hilary sent me ages ago, I learned that a very nice pasta sauce can be conjured from onion, garlic, olive oil, basil, green beans, and nice tomatoes. Of course, what makes the whole dish work is the addition of little chunks of feta cheese on top at the end.

In Ottawa, I am planning to undertake several forms of self improvement. Better cooking is certainly on the list, as is rehabilitating my French. I am pondering whether taking some environmental science courses at Carleton or the University of Toronto would also be both possible and desirable. I would love to know more about climatic science, as well as the sciences more generally. Those who feel similarly may find this explanation of the difficulties involved in galactic colonization to be an interesting read.

EasyJet, the new speakeasy?

For some reason, booking a trip a few days before it is going to happen makes it feel a lot more decadent. With regards to all this inexpensive air travel, you have to wonder how people in thirty years or so will look back on this period. It’s possible that it will be seen as a time of gilded luxury, with similar historical ‘lessons’ to those of the 1920s. It is also possible that it will be seen as just another step on the path to wherever humanity finds itself in 2037.

The psychology of my recent trips to places at the edges of Europe (Estonia, Turkey, Morocco) also bears consideration, though at a time when I don’t have to dash off to a meeting.

Marrakesh

The decision about where to take my last trip has been made. I will be going to Morocco after all (albeit not hitchhiking, as once considered). I will be leaving early in the morning on Wednesday the 20th and returning on the morning of the 27th. That will have me back in Oxford in time for Antonia’s party and my possible viva exam, and with a few days available in which to say goodbye to friends here.

Given that this is my last opportunity to travel on this side of the Atlantic for at least a year, it seemed sensible to go with the bolder option. Going to Amsterdam, Prague, or Berlin wouldn’t have involved thirty degree temperatures and a reasonable chance of getting ill, but they would also have been much less of an adventure.

Suggestions for things to see and do would be appreciated. Likewise, if anyone in Oxford has a travel book I might borrow.

Paris photos IV

These are the shots taken on film, hence their late emergence. As has often been the case in the past, getting back the photos from my expensive film camera has been a reminder of just how good a deal my cheap point and shoot digital camera was.

Getting interesting angles sometimes involves hanging out windows, alarming the guards, and looking a right fool.

Parisian coffeehouse

Boat in the Canal St. Martin

A kind of shabby encampment beside the canal.

One last trip…

Between this Wednesday and the 28th of June, I don’t have any specific obligations in Oxford. Even with the higher cost of late booking, this means that there is the possibility for one more trip to Europe before I spend a year in Ottawa. As such, I am considering my options.

One strong possibility is Berlin. Other than a visit as a young child, I have never been to Germany. I expect that Berlin has a lot of interesting culture and architecture, as well.

Prague is a good possibility, since I have family there and already know that I like the city. Likewise, returning to Dublin has a lot of appeal, though it seems a bit foolish to go back to a place that I visited so recently.

Other European places on my list include Greece and Amsterdam, though flights to both are extremely expensive right now. Despite my enthusiasm for visiting Morocco, I am put off by the high price of flights to Marrakesh and the likelihood that it will be extremely hot there. Unfortunately, neither Ryanair or EasyJet seems to fly to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. Otherwise, they might be interesting possibilities.

Any comments? Is there a European city that is especially interesting at the moment, or at this time of year? Since it doesn’t seem like anyone will be free to come along with me this time, I am looking for somewhere that has appeal for a single traveller who speaks English and increasingly faulty French. San Sebastián has already been enthusiastically endorsed.

A bit busy to write

I have been busy spending time with people in the UK who I will especially miss. I should also decide what, if anything, is to become of this site once I go to Ottawa. Obviously, there are some new confidentiality concerns.

In any case, my congratulations go out to Sarah and Peter Webster over the upcoming birth of their first child. I am sure they will be wonderful parents.