I spent more than two hours writing a blog post to accompany these photos from our recent visit to Morocco, and when I hit “save” WordPress kindly gave me a blank form and has no record of my work. So instead of more hastily cobbled together words, here’s a follow-up photo essay of our magnificent stay at Riad el Fenn in Marrakech.
Have you ever seen more vivid colors and intricate design work than the Moroccans use in every last thing they do?
Amazing shots! I especially like the first one.
Sorry to hear WP is giving you problems! Other than losing posts, what else is frustrating you?
If you’re using a PC, you might also consider using Windows Live Writer for offline drafts – before I moved to Mac I loved using it.
Primarily that, which is no small issue. Up until the autosave function stopped working for me entirely—and WP began giving me a blank white screen several times I’d write a post and hit “save”—I was completely happy with the platform. But I’ve lost so many posts lately, and Internet time is precious (and expensive!) at sea that that alone is enough to prompt me to switch to something more reliable. I’ve read several other travel writers who have been experiencing the same of late.
And I’m on a Mac—any tips for offline drafts? I’ve tried just doing it in Word, but the photos come out all wonky when I do that and it takes double the time.
Have you tried MarsEdit? Some people like using that (for Mac):
http://www.red-sweater.com/marsedit/
The pictures are stunning and it looks like Trixie and Violet are having a good time!
I do think they are. Though I left them in my backpack the whole time we were in Ghana and totally forgot to take their picture! Will have to Photoshop them into a scenic photo or two…shhhh, don’t tell =)
Gorgeous shots. These are a testament to having a bad ass camera and knowing how to use it!
I know, right? Last time I was there, I went with a crappy Nikon Coolpix. Although this time, I didn’t really take my camera out and about in the souks, it was still fun to photograph everything at our riad!
Your photos always speak volumes without words. 🙂
I love all the fun and interesting lighting. They really know how to make an awesome lighting fixture!
We tried to buy some, but the guy in the souks wanted $30 each for them! Scott was all, “ummm, I could get them for half of that in the US!” So we bought salt-and-pepper dishes and soaps instead =)
Ugh, how infuriating. We just had our server go rogue on us… which resulted in all our photos being deleted from the blog! It took us forever to fix, but what can you do?
Gorgeous pics, btw. =)
That is my WORST NIGHTMARE. I host all of my photos on Flickr, and I’m thinking–what if Flickr someday becomes obsolete? How do you guys do it?
Love the photos X 100!!! What I would give to return to Morocco with my current camera. These are GORGEOUS!
That’s how I felt. And I also wanted to go back with my husband, which is really something you should try, as well 😉 Only, this time maybe hang onto your passport!
I always write my blog posts in Word first, BEFORE I transfer the information to Wordpress.
Anyway, pics I love Arabian architecture. Love the intricate design of the walls. Must have taken ages to accomplish.
I usually do that, too except Photo Fridays because I tend to upload all the photos and then figure out what I’m going to write. I tried to do the photos in a web Word doc, and it never will work for me! Lesson learned.
I absolutely love the `mood lighting` photograph. These are great images.
How much time do you get to spend in most of the ports you will visit?
Let me know what platform you choose. I want to switch from wordpress when I get my new domain also. Tired of constantly having to update and worrying about posts and drafts not saving while I am out at sea.
Not a lot at all.
Morocco: 4 days
Ghana: 4 days
South Africa: 6 days
Mauritius: 1 day
India: 6 days
Malaysia: 3 days
Vietnam: 6 days (Cambodia for three of those)
Hong Kong/Shanghai: 6 days
Japan: 5 days
Hawaii: 1 day
Costa Rica: 2 days
Cuba: 3 days
The sailing-to-days-on-land proportion is far tipped toward most time spent sailing.
I want to check in right now!
And sucks about the post – so far WordPress has been kind to me, but I’m sure my time for technical difficulties will come.
Beautiful shots. Wordpress and I have been having these arguments as well. I can’t imagine loosing work. I would be so frustrated! Thank goodness you shoot some great photography so I didn’t miss the story too much, I got lost in the photos. Awesome.
And I’ve started uploading my photos to Wordpress via hosting them on Flickr, and they just disappear once I publish but show up fine on my dash! So frustrating. Glad I’m not the only one who’s frustrated with them.
I’m loving these pictures of Morocco! I never spent any time there, but I did visit the south of Spain, which as you know, takes a lot of influence from Northern Africa. So, I’m feeling like I’ve been here, even though I most certainly have not. (Yet!)
Anyway, I hope you’re having a blast! California misses you!
Yes, very similar! I think I love it there because it’s a bit of a confluence of Spanish culture and Arabic lifestyles.
Also, I miss you! And your blog! And your blog about LG! I can’t load many blogs from the ship, so I’m going to have to clean out thousands of posts from my Reader when we get on land in South Africa this weekend.
That shot ‘a glimpse’ into the medina is so beautiful! Like a window into my Moroccan memories. 🙂
Beautiful photos. Glad you’re having a great time. Some interesting facts about the Koutoubia Mosque: http://www.kriskoeller.com/blog/2009/01/05-a-tale-of-two-mosques-morocco–missouri.htm
A Cheesecake Factory mosque….only in America.
C’est fantastique
I understand. I had the same problems with Blogger. I learned early on to always draft on my computer then copy and paste when I am ready to post.
My blogging life is WAY better with Wordpress than Blogger. I’m only familiar with those two. Are there better ones? Which platform are you thinking of changing to?
Oh and to add…I draft in Pages then copy and paste. Seems to work fine for me.
Off subject…..I am in the market for buying a new camera to help with the quality of my online pics. Do you have a recommendation of a great travel camera for an amateur that can get the job done? One friend suggested to me the Canon G12 14.7 Mega Pixel.
What are your thoughts?
Here’s the thing: Because I host all my images on Flickr, I can’t import my photos into a doc draft and they copy and paste them to Wordpress. I have been writing much of my text in Word lately, but it’s the images that are such a pain in the a$$ (and I use A LOT of images, you may have noticed!). Wordpress is a major improvement over Blogspot–I was on Blogger for the first year I blogged–and it works for most people. But we want to launch a 3.0 site after the new year, and there are a lot of customized features I want to implement that aren’t possible using WP, so we might have to switch over to Drupal or something equally as complicated…or might just get lazy and stay with Wordpress, ha =)
As far as a camera, I highly recommend the Canon G series for an amateur cam! I have the G11 (the model before the G12) for my pocket camera when I don’t feel like dragging either of our DSLRs around while traveling, and it takes GREAT pictures–some just as good (if not better) than our fancy cameras. The only limitation is not being able to switch lenses (though it actually has a wide-angle feature), but if that isn’t important to you than I say definitely go for it!
Thank you sooo much for the insight on the camera. I think the G12 will be the one I go with.
As far as the platforms, you are much further ahead of me in the blogging landscape….so I’m sure if you are unable to create the necessary conveniences you need in Wordpress, there must be a problem! I wish I could help you more 🙁
Good luck!!
Chrissy
Stunning photography as usual!
You truly captured the essence of this magical city ..
I miss it so much ..
http://mselenalevontraveling.com/2012/04/17/marrakech-je-taime/
love & light
el
Beautiful! I loooooooove Moroccan design