We are exciting to see the well known square of Marrakesh that we have so often seen on television. We refer to the Djmaa el-Fna square. The first thing that strikes us is its size. It´s triple size than Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona. Besides, it isn´t square so the feeling of space is greater. Many people, horse carriages, dodge scooters, slithery snake charmes and henna tattooists converts this main square in an open air theatre.

For shopping lovers, the souk is a fun place to get lost several times and showing the art of haggling.

When the night falls, the famous square becomes an incredible live-action. Suddenly, many fast food restaurants are mounted to combinate with the orange juice offered by mobile carts. We have tried both and we love them. Good, nice and cheap ...

We were really surpised about the shows that local people organize in the middle of the square. We have seen a street theatre in which a Moroccan guy hits another with a baseball bat to get the laughts of the public. In other part, you can find children boxing. Golf and fishing games are also other typical activities in this square. You can’t miss it. After visiting Morocco you could make two opinions: Love or hate the country but what it is obvious is that Djmaa el-Fna is a live-action square where is impossible to get bored.

If you would like to enjoy an incredible overview of the place, we strongly recommend to go to the top of one of the restaurant roofs to relax while you are enjoying the atmosphere.

Close to Marrakesh there are two places you can visit. The first one is Orzoud Falls. This one day tour is for those people who want to enjoy the nature and go across the Atlas.

We have decided an alternative option. We go to Essaouira, the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Essaouira is a charming fishing village where the weather is great and there is a fortificated wall where the medina is located. There you can find thousands of nooks and pleasant terraces. It is the place we would choose to live in Morocco.

Essaouira has also a picturesque harbour where you can eat fresh fish.

The only disadvantage of this village is its beach. The sand dissapears during the day because of the tide. Besides, it´s very windy so if you take the sun on the sand, you will literally eat it. This windy beach is a paradise for those people who want to practice windsurf or kitesurf. You can also ride a camel or a horse along the shore. At least, it's funny to see.

After driving for more than 9 hours, we finally arrive to the doors of Sahara desert in Merzouga. The main attraction in this area is exploring the spectacular dune views, a great place to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets. Those people who want to make excursions into the dunes by camel or sleeping in a Berber tent in the middle of the sand dunes, it´s also possible here.

As we have mentioned before, we have some problems. The second one is the famous “Ramadan”. It means, that most of the places for having lunch aren´t open. We have the solution: pick-nic.

Next stops on the way are Todra and Dadés Gorges. We think that these places aren´t as impressive as everybody says. Therefore, you drive so many kilometers just to see a small part of the gorges. If you have enough time for trekkings (around 3 hours), the opinion will change.

Another problem, the police. There are lots of speed controls in Morocco and the police ask for a 400 DH fine (around 40 Euros) if you get the limits. However, the cars in the opposite way advice you with the car light so you have time to reduce the speed. We haven´t any fine in the third day route and we visit some villages. First stop, Kelaa N’gouna, famous for roses and daggers. You can´t miss the bottles of local rose water, cream, perfume, shampoo, etc for sale in every local establishment. Second place, thevlabyrinthine oasis of Skoura. Here, you can explore the palmeraie and the family owned kasbah Amerdil. Third place, Ouarzazate, strategically located village where you will find nightlife and well-stocked supermarkets to pick up alcoholic drinks. Apart for that, there is a wide street plenty of shops to buy tipical products from Marrocco. The villages metioned above aren´t exceptional but our last stop in Ait BenHaddou is word to visit. This red mud-brick kasbah will be probably recognise from such films as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator or Jewel of the Nile among others. We strongly recomend to stop at this place.

At the beginning of the four day route, we find a new problem, the roads. The Atlas is really beautiful but if you want to explore it though pistes, the way turns quite difficult. It takes us two hours to drive 50 km from Ait BenHaddou to Telouet. Telouet seems arrested in time half a century ago. The once-glorious Glaoui kasbah is located here. We are privilege because in few years, this architectural masterpiece could be in ruins. After the visit, we still drive for these pistes with incredible views. Once you arrive to the main road, you only have to follow it to reach Marrakech. We will detail Marrakech in the following post.

At the time we arrived there, a young guy who saw us looking for acommodation in Bab Bou Jeloud, guided us to Riad "Chichí". This is the name that the friendly owner pronunces because there aren't any signs indicating the place. Then, we have stayed in a clandestine Riad.

The main attraction in the Medina is walked among thousand and thousand of narrow streets plenty of shops which are separated into different districts: shoe sellers, leather producers, jewellery, tecnology, etc. The streets awake all your senses. The view offers you the possibility to capture a host of strong colors and different objects. Your ears suffer from people crying, the bustle of vehicles, flying chickens or owners who lead their donkeys. The most developed sense in this city is the smell due to the diversity and intensity of odors; meat under the sun, spices, mint, the strong smell of leather, etc, are some of the smells that blend into the environment. The sense of touch is feeling when you are walking. People walk around aimlessly, in a hurry, dodging cars and small touches are part of everyday life. The taste depends on each one. We have been almost to enjoy a delicious sandwich with pieces of heart and pancreas. What comes to be a typical Moroccan Bikini!

Around Fez there are several sites that can be visited on a day trip. We can confirm that it has been chaotic to arrive there: we have taken trains, petit and grand taxis, buses. We will detail it in the practice route which will be published soon. The first place we've visited is Voulubilis, a ruined Roman city which is the best preserved archaeological site in Morocco and was declared Unesco World Heritage. In fact, we are surprised how well the mosaics and the Arc of Triumph are preserved in situ. On the way to Voulubilis is almost an obligatory stop at Moulay Idriss, a picturesque whitewashed town.

Finally, we´ve visited the imperial city of Meknes. In fact, its proximity to Fez rather overshadows Meknes, which receives fewer visitors than it really should. Both cities have a huge medina with a lively life. However, it contains something different to Fez; We refer to the heart of the medina, Place el-Hemin, a large square where you can take a break while you observe the environment: live music, vendors or football matches are some of the activities you can enjoy.

The most difficult picture to take when you are travelling is the portrait. If you want to take pictures to a landscape or building, you can stop, get relax, take the picture and if you don’t like it, you can take another one. This procedure is quite improbably when you portray a person because the person will move, will get tired if the picture takes you long time or he/she just won’t want..

The photographer emphasized last comment. When you take a picture you have two options: Steal it (steal in photo jargon is making the picture without the photographed permit), or take it with consent. If we take the picture with the person consent, the success of the picture is almost guaranteed. How can we get it? The best way is to break the barrier in which a person feels strange and uncomfortable to be portrayed by a stranger. To get it, you can start a conversation with this person and always ask if you can portray him. We can say that it’s not easy as we observed in the practice session.

About the frame, there were no specific rules to determine which portrait is better, horizontal or vertical. The photographer said that horizontal one is more difficult because you have more spaces to frame. About this space there is a basic rule; If the person is looking at the right side, it is better to align him on the left side and try to find a nice background.

Another basic rule is the patience. If we are in a situation where we known what is going to happen, the picture will be just taken in the right moment, we only have to wait with the camera ready. For example: If we are in a church where the candles are located. We know that if we wait there, a person will come to leave a candle. In that case, we just have to prepare the picture and wait for the person to complete it.

Last but not least, he said that the best hours to take portraits are during the first hours in the morning and the hours during the afternoon, when the sun doesn’t create shadows on the person face.

Do you like these tricks? If you think these sessions are interesting you can join them for free. They are organized by phototravelexperiences, a company dedicated to organize photography trips around the World.

Can someone explain any other tricks about portraits?

The Costa Brava is a northern coastal area of Catalonia. It starts in Blanes which is situated 50 km from Barcelona city and continues to the France border. It is an area full of spotless beaches with crystalline water in the middle of high cliffs. This unusual and wild landscape was the reason of its name.

We propose some places that we think you should visit and enjoy. These places are a good option to spend a weekend or for those lucky people who has more days.

Peratallada is a medieval village where you can spend half a day walking through its medieval streets and visiting its castle and San Esteban church. For these reasons this village looks like the set of a movie. It has no beach but there are several options very close and we highlight the following two:

Begur which is located just 15km from Peratallada, is another charming village where you can visit the ruins of the medieval castle on the top of the hill. Furthermore, near Begur there are crystalline water beaches surrounded by pine trees such as Sa Tuna, Sa Riera, Fornell, Aiguabrava y Aiguafreda.

Pals which is located just 8km from Peratallada it has also an interesting old town and castle. Pals beach, located quite far from the village, is long and very wide. It starts in Racó beach to Fonollera beach.

Another interesting route is to start in Figueres which is well-known by the Dalí Theater Museum, the most surrealistic object in the world. It is very interesting and after visiting it you can visit L’Scala village located between Torroella de Montgrí and Sant Pere Pescador (which has a long fine sand beach and in the old part of the village, it still remains the old fort and houses built between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries). L'Escala main tourist attraction is located just 2 km, in the Empuries Greco-Roman ruins which are the most important ruins in the country.

Those people who love the underwater world, should go to l’Estartit village. It has become one of the most touristic place because in front of its coast the Illes Medes are located. This island formed by a group of seven islands (Meda Gran, Meda Petita, el Medellot o la Bota, el Carall Bernat, las Ferrenelles, los Tascons Grossos and los Tascons Petits) and is a Protected Marine Reserve. You can enjoy over water by a glass floor boat or diving.

Cadaques is another great place located near Cabo de Creus between Roses and Port de la Seva. Its beach has no fine sand but its contour, pleasure craft and clear water, make it a very special place. Besides, it is well known by the Dali’s house in Port Lligat cala. The house is a pure expression of the artist. You can notice this looking the egg of the roof and the stuffed bear at the entrance.

We can’t forget beaches sush as Sant Feliu de Guíxols – S’Agaró - Platja d’Aro. All of them are perfect to spend a rewarding beach day like Santa Cristina Cala. This last beach is surrounded by pine trees although in summer it uses to be crowded.

Another great village is Tossa de Mar which it has been described as a blue paradise. The ancient fortress of the XII century, its narrow medieval streets and its three towers make this village an outdoor museum. Besides, Tossa has a great beach and if you go to the north you arrive to beautiful calas such as Cala Bona or Cala Giberola.

Soon we will promise more information about Tossa and its surrounds but now it has been all. Welcome summer !!!, we missed you.

Interesting links:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Brava
http://www.costabrava.org/es