![\"01](\"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/01-20131202NigerRiver.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0![\"02](\"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/02-20131202Mali1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs we headed out from Accra to Casablanca, our flight took us over Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Algeria. After we crossed the Niger River near Timbuktu (left) we headed out over the desert, which is pretty empty, as you can see (right).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MORE NOTHING<\/h3>\n
Bob has always enjoyed flying over the Sahara. The weather is usually clear, and the land forms are starkly beautiful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And in case you thinks flying over the desert might be boring, check these dunes out. This is northern Mali. \u00a0 Fun – or what?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we approached Morocco, we could see our intended destination materialize on the in-flight monitors – easier to understand in english.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we approached the High Atlas mountains, we saw syncline and anticline forms from the orogeny of said chain – (for you geologist out there.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After crossing the High Atlas, Marrakech came into view. You can see the Medina (old city) in the upper left portion of the photo (left). The large dark areas are palm, olive and citrus plantations. As we got closer to Casablanca, farmland appeared – still dry, but not as dry as the area around Marrakech.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our transfer from plane to train was not uneventful. The commuter train we took from the airport towards Casablanca made a very short stop that didn’t give Bob the time to get all five bags off the train. This resulted in Camille being on the platform while Bob tried to pry open the now closed doors to get himself off the train. Fortunately, the conductor stepped in and opened the doors before mayhem ensued.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We settled into the train in a compartment with four other travelers who were friendly and helpful, as well as good conversationalists. Our bags blocked the aisle way, but no one minded too much.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The four hour journey from Casablanca to Marrakech took us through dry countryside. Cactus planting projects were to be seen all the way along. Prickly pear is being cultivated for its fruits as well as for its medicinal properties.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Although the landscape is exceedingly dry, there are spots where water brings life – livestock and olive groves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The colors of the soil can be striking, and somehow, villages manage to eke an existence out of the near desert.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we approached Marrakech, the landscape gave way to more villages, and finally the outskirts of Marrakech itself.<\/p>\n We had a gorgeous fight across the Sahara and then jumped on the “Marrakech Express” December 2, 2013 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n INTO THE VOID <\/p>\n \n As we headed out from Accra to Casablanca, our flight took us over Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, and Algeria. After we crossed the Niger River near Timbuktu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sub-story","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5847"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6100,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847\/revisions\/6100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/troutsfarmtoo.com\/latest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nTRIPPY<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nCLEARLY NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nTHERE WILL BE MOUNTAINS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nMARRARECH FLYBY<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nHERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KID<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nMARRAKECH EXPRESS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nTRAVELING THE TRAIN THROUGH CLEAR MOROCCAN SKIES<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nOASIS<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nOTHERWORLDLY<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nBACK TO CIVILIZATION<\/h3>\n
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n____________________________________________________________<\/h3>\n
[Troutsfarm]<\/a> * [December, 2013]<\/a> * [Last Trip to Accra]<\/a> * [From Accra to Marrakech]<\/a> * [Marrakech]<\/a> * [Inside the Medina]<\/a> * [Facelift at Trouts Farm]<\/a> * [2013 Spot Photos]<\/a><\/h4>\n
____________________________________________________________<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"