Heart, Legs and Lungs.

I’m now about halfway through my time in Morocco. It’s a real melting pot of a place, mixing the full range of religions and Europe and Middle Eastern influences on an African palate. The major cities, Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech and Tangier, all have traditional centers which date back a millennium or so and remain as the throbbing, dusty hearts of traditional daily life. Outside the ancient city walls, modern town planning has created verdant French boulevards which have been great for early morning runs. Food wise, breakfast is very Euro, with the patisserie being the centerpiece. Thankfully the coffee is good as a result. The other main meals are based around traditional Moroccan fare, usually appearing in the conical tangine and mixing sweet and savoury flavours. Tried a camel burger for lunch in Meknes, which went down surprisingly well having been heavily disguised in parsley, coriander and cumin. I’ve also been making the most of the abundance of dried fruits and nuts, including figs, walnuts, almonds, dates and apricots. Just arrived in Chefchaouen, perched on a hill in the Rif mountains. Lots of stunning lavender wash buildings. Sun’s out so an afternoon by the pool could be on the cards…

A quick update from the heart of the Emirates. This is a fascinating place. Very surreal and quite hard to describe. Similar to Singapore in many ways -clean, orderly and business minded, with that silent hand of authority never too far away. Sorry guys - despite the dress code, it’s definitely the weather for busting out the walk shorts I’ve spent the past two days seeing the sights, including the Burj Khalifa and the Souk markets, and darting between pockets of air conditioned bliss to escape the 40 degree heat. Attempted a 30 min run at 7.30am when we arrived but that was a baptism by fire. Since then I’ve been in the gym in the mornings, paving the way for enormous hotel breakfasts. You’ll find me at the egg station. Last night was Operation Desert Storm, a spot of 4WDing, falcon flying, sunset and dinner at a camp site under a huge dune. Amazing landscapes and beautifully warm sand between the toes was a great feeling. Tomorrow we fly west to Casablanca, another 7 hrs in one of Airbus’ finest. Roll on summer.