Categories
Categories
Click on images in posts to go to the gallery
Istanbul Weather
Aegean Weather
Author Archives: johnamck68
Day 15 – Dakhla | Nouadibou, Mauritania

September 16th, 2011 Early start and manage to have breakfast – bread and the Laughing Red Cow spreadable cheese (La Vache qui rit – yes I think it’s hilarious too!!). Hit the road around 10am and head back out to … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 14 – Tarfaya | Dakhla, Morocco

September 15th, 2011 This is today’s cunning plan! More from the road later. (I’m in Tarfaya, feels like the end of the earth – but there’s high speed WiFi! Yeay) Manage early start and a sort of breakfast – which … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 13 – Agadir | Tarfaya

September 14th, 2011 Covering the 636km from Agadir to Laayoune was the mission today. It was extremely slow going getting out of Agadir and got lost more than once in the southern burbs, and stuck behind the odd donkey as … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 13 – Mechanical Problems

Hmmm, looks like the shock might have blown, time for some road trip mechanicing and a stop at the local Kawasaki dealership in Agadir before heading south ….. seems like getting the old girl to Dakar and bureaucracy are the … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 12 – Agadir, Morocco

Amsterdam|Dakar – Day 12 – Agadir September 13th, 2011 Woke up this morning … and something was missing ….. ahh yes, the ear shattering “Allah-u-Akbar” from the mosque next door in Rabat was missing! The muezzins had clearly found the … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 11 – Rabat | Agadir, Morocco

September 12th, 2011 Got to the front door of the Mauritania embassy at 8.30am. Met a Dutch guy and a South African who are driving from Holland to Ghana. They’re selling their car there and will apparently fly back, we … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 10 – Rabat, Morocco

September 11th, 2011 Went back to the medina to get my boot re-repaired, for free, and got some more fiche printed out. These are just pieces of paper with all your passport details, and not forgetting your mother’s and father’s … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 9 – Rabat, Morocco

September 10th, 2011 Slow morning and long breakfast – the after effects of the usual bottle of champagne with Amine. Have internet access again so time to update the blog. My boot needs repaired again … I think some nails … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 8 – Fes | Rabat, Morocco

September 9th, 2011 Nice Moroccan breakfast, french bread, jam, laughing red cow cheese (La vache qui rit) and the usual strong milky coffee. Decide leaving early is a good idea as getting out of the Medina, let alone getting out … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 7 – Fes, Morocco

September 8th, 2011 The local vino also seems to be a potent source of a sore head the following morning. But up and take a look around the medina, and get utterly lost. But there are lots of great cafes … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 6 – Rabat | Fes, Morocco

September 7th, 2011 Early alarm and we’re at the gates of the Mauritanian embassy bang on 8.30am. There a small group of people queuing at a gate in the wall. We manage to purloin a couple of application forms and … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 5 – Rabat, Morocco

September 6th, 2011 Strong coffee out on the terasse and a pastry for breakfast in yet more bright sunshine. Nice to see the sun again for more than several hours straight. The plan is to head out to the Mauritanian … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 4 – Marbella, Spain | Rabat, Morocco

September 5th, 2011 Up and have a proper breakfast for a change, followed by a few quick emails and telephone calls to tie up loose ends, and also write up Day 3 for the blog. Then heading to the Ferry … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 3 – Cerezo de Abajo | Marbella, Spain

September 4th, 2011 Realised that I will be close to Tarifa tonight, probably stay in Marbella or something, so at the end of 2.5 days on the road I’ll have covered 42% of the distance to Dakar, albeit the easiest … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 2 – Tours|Cerezo de Abajo, Spain

September 3rd, 2011 A bright but slightly overcast day on the Loire. Pack up the bike and set off south towards Bordeaux some 330km to the south. By late morning I am crossing the Gironde having just crossed through the … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Day 1 – Oude Wetering, NL | Tours, France

September 2nd, 2011 Some sensible people would say that if you want to travel the 5900km odd from Amsterdam to Dakar in Senegal in West Africa – take a plane. Simple, hop on the train to Schiphol and in a … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
T-minus one week

Well it’s one week before leaving on the southbound leg of the great bike journey from Amsterdam to Dakar and back. Packing list is mostly under control and various bases of operations are in place along the way in Morocco, … Continue reading
Share
Posted in 2011 | Amsterdam-Dakar
Leave a comment
Solo 178 Sail Boat

This is a small page for my little Solo. She’s called the “Grey C” and was built in 1964, all wood construction. And she’s been teaching me how to properly sail 🙂 However I unfortunately had to sell her in … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Sailing
Leave a comment
Berings Koolputtersbier

Recently tried Berrings koolputtersbier, made in a small brewpub in the north east of Belgium only for the Cafe ‘t Vijgeblad in Beringen. It’s named after the people that worked in the mines in this part of Belgium up until … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Beer & Brewing
Leave a comment
Best Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

Ok, so the last batch of ribs I did was ok, however I wasn’t completely happy with the sauce, there was something missing and it wasn’t the whisky! At any rate after comparing a couple of different recipes I came … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Recipes
Leave a comment
Кагор (Kagor) Wine – Cool Story

On recent travels in Eastern Europe a quick visit to Tesco reveals a completely new world of wine from the likes of Georgia, Moldova and all sorts of other places in the extreme east of Europe that are not exactly … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Wine
Leave a comment
Moroccan-French Wedding

June 19th, 2011 Having immensely enjoyed the Harley road trip with Glenn last October in Morocco, an invitation to a French wedding in Marrakech from Antoine & Emma, new friends that I met in Casablanca last year, was an opportunity … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Photography, Travel
Leave a comment
Queen’s Day, Delft

April 30th, 2011 Headed down to Delft to spend Queen’s day with a few friends. We toured the crowds in the streets in the centre of the town and then we had a lovely BBQ back at Peter & Franci’s. … Continue reading
ShareQueen’s Day (Koninginnedag) BBQ Ribs

Christening of Peter’s new bbq in Delft took place on Queen’s Day, which is the national holiday here in Holland. I decided to make the some ribs for the occasion. I just tried a recipe from the internet that wasn’t … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Recipes
Leave a comment
2009 – Regent – Spätlese – Rhineland, Germany

Ok – something different. This is a light summer wine, low alcohol at only 9.5%, very fruity and also low acidity, so again something I’d not normally try without the expectation of impending heartburn. It’s made from the regent grape. … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Wine
Leave a comment
Egri 2006 Leanyka – Szarvas Karoly – Eger, Hungary

Well, here’s something a little different on the wine front. I got this in the wine town of Eger in central Hungary back in 2008. Yes, there’s a story to this one too – I like there being a story … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Wine
Leave a comment
Rack of Lamb Persillade

I made this the other Friday after picking up a couple of small racks of lamb at a Carrefour in Belgium. Sure, it’s an expensive cut of meat, but it’s well worth it and it’s also pretty easy to prepare … Continue reading
ShareJohnny’s Experimental Steak Marinade

Barbeque season is upon us, well, at least here for the last week or two. Anyway, I found this recipe in a bbq book, and decided to try it with a couple of changes last weekend. Absolutely delicious and even … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Recipes
Leave a comment
2005 – August Cellars – Gewürztraminer (Oregon)

Sunday April 24th, 2011 It’s been sunny warm summer-like weather for over a week now. I decided that this wine needed to be uncorked to see how it’s turned out. I picked it up in 2006 during a couple of … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Wine
Leave a comment
8 Days in Normandy

March 21st – 29th, 2011 We departed on March 20th to the town of Rouen, Normandy for five days of French and some “faire de tourism”. Beautiful town and I had fun revisiting the idea of learning French. It was … Continue reading
Share
Posted in Travel
Leave a comment