Media Morocco

Quinta Sao Domingos in Guimaraes, central Portugal

2010-04-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lynn and Tom Hart are pleased to announce that Quinta Sao Domingos in Guimaraes, near Viseu Portugal is now open for business.

Swimming pool, BBQ, terrace and gardens with your own luxurious apartment

A restored farm house and adega (wine house) on the edge of a small village in Central Portugal. The village, Guimaraes, is located about 8 miles north east of the town of Viseu about three miles off the road to Satao.

The Viseu skyline

There are two apartments in the Quinta, (farmhouse) one 2 bedroom, and one 1 bedroom.

Quinta Rosa is on the ground floor and has a kitchen, utility room, toilet, large lounge, and double bedroom with ensuite bathroom. Across the small internal courtyard there is a further double bedroom and ensuite shower room suitable for people with disabilities. It should be noted that the rooms are on different levels so internal access with a wheel chair is limited.

Quinta Azul is on the first floor with access up the staircase at the front of the Quinta with 14 steps. There is a large open plan kitchen and living room, double bedroom and ensuite bathroom.

We offer four self catering apartments, 2 x 2 bedroom and 2 x 1 bedroom. There is a 12m x 6m outdoor swimming pool, with an outside kitchen to enjoy barbecues and the local wine. This is a beautiful largely unspoilt area and is ideal for a quiet restful holiday. The apartments have been refurbished over the last two years, and furnished and equipped to a high standard, they are kept meticulously clean.

Adega Tinta is on the first floor up 10 steps to an open plan kitchen and lounge. There are two bedrooms with shower rooms, one double with a view of the lagar (wine making room) and one twin.

Adega Branca is an upside down apartment, reached up six steps,†with the double bedroom and ensuite bathroom underneath the lounge and open plan kitchen

The village is quiet and peaceful with virtually no traffic and looks over a beautiful rolling landscape to the Serra de Estrela Mountains in the east.

Our garden contains orange, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, peach, apple, pear, fig, pomegranate, walnut and chestnut trees, together with a small vineyard and flowers.

For more information please visit our website or contact us.

Quinta Sao Domingos

Guimaraes

Sao Pedro De France

Viseu 3505-350

Portugal

00351 232 924 154

lynnhart49@gmail.com

www.quintasaodomingos.com

Skype tomatmill

Gulf of Hope charity baldly start charity drive

2010-04-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Esther and Omar Mendez are raising funds to bring education, medical supplies, food and clothing to less privileged children in El Salvador.

* By Ramola Talwar Badam,Dubai-based freelancer, Friday

What Gulf for Hope charity
Where La Union, El Salvador
Who Esther and Omar Mendez, a couple based in Abu Dhabi
Why Helping educate less privileged children in El Salvador so that they might improve their circumstances by realising their potential
How Turn the page to find out how the Mendezes are setting up a charity, which was inspired by a trip to El Salvador three years ago...

German-born Esther Mendez still remembers looking into the bright brown eyes of a little girl named Iris whom she met while visiting her husband Omar's hometown, El Salvador three years ago. The six-year-old had been abandoned by her parents and as a result was being raised by a distant relative in the city of La Union.

Although little Iris was attending a school, which had very few facilities, and Mama Martha - the lady who looks after her - was earning a meagre $5 a week on which they had to survive, her eyes were brimming with optimism and hope. She was staying in a small windowless home adjacent to where one of Omar's relatives lived and had picked up a smattering of English words which enabled her to communicate with Esther and Omar.

It was the innocence in Iris' eyes that got Esther thinking about ways to help less privileged children like her. She wanted to do something, which would help children receive a proper education and be taught life skills to help them break free from their circumstances.

"It really started with Iris," says Esther. "We got to know her during our trip to South America in 2007. But even after I returned home, I simply couldn't forget her." When Esther and Omar returned to La Union in January last year, they took two suitcases full of children's clothes with them to distribute to the needy.

They also enrolled Iris in a private school, paying $380 for the year, which would take care of her books and uniforms.

Esther is a safety consultant in the oil and gas industry while Omar is an electrician. Education is the foundation that the couple want to build on. They moved from Houston in the US to live in Abu Dhabi a year ago.

Helping Iris get a proper education got them thinking about around 30 other children living near a railroad track close to Iris' home. "We found out that these kids were being ridiculed in school because they didn't have paper to write on. They used scrap paper picked up from bins to write on," recalls Omar. The couple decided to buy some school supplies - crayons, notebooks, and so on - to distribute to these children on their next visit.

The beginning

Omar had left El Salvador at the age of 16 for the US where most of his family have now settled. He returns once a year to La Union because he knows that there are many families who need help.

But it was only after he visited his home country with his wife that the idea of changing the lives of children by setting up a charity began to take concrete shape. "I didn't realise how many children we could actually help. When I went back with Esther, that's when we thought of making a difference," he says.

Registering a charity in El Salvador costs $2,000. To raise funds this, the couple shaved off their hair in exchange for sponsorship. They have decided to name the organisation Gulf of Hope.

After seeing the difference they were able to make in Iris' life when she started attending a better school, they decided to approach the local authorities so they could set up a more formal system of offering local children better education.

They also paid for the schooling and supplies for five girls who live near Iris' house. These girls go to a government school where they pay between $20 and $50 per child for the whole year.

Once the charity is officially registered with the authorities in El Salvador, the couple plan to pay for the hiring of an extra English teacher at the school. They also intend to fund two computers so that the children can learn more about technology. The couple also plan to have a local doctor pay monthly visits to the school.

Explains Esther: "If the children improve their English language and computer skills, they have a better chance of improving their circumstances. Our vision is to give them the opportunity to get away from $5-a-week jobs.

"I don't expect all of them to become fluent in English and move around the world,'' she says. "We only hope we will be able to facilitate in unlocking their potential."

Esther points out that without proper schooling, the children will end up in poorly paid jobs and would not be able to improve their lives.

Raising funds

But all of this costs money. To date, the couple has been dipping into their personal savings to make these changes. But they have now reached a point where they need help with funds to register the charity and to pay for the doctor and teacher. They are in the process of finding sponsorship to fund the children's education expenses. They have also been in touch with several companies to donate computers as well as an airline that they hope will waive excess baggage charges when they transport the clothing donation boxes to El Salvador.

"Sourcing funds to make the changes is priority," says Esther. "But even if we are not able to raise money, we will continue using our savings to help these kids as far as possible."

They are focusing their energies on community efforts. "We need a teacher from the area who can teach the kids and maybe even the parents too. We want these changes to be sustainable. The changes need to focus on the long-term, so that the initiatives can continue to develop even when we're not there," says Esther.

She then returns to the topic of Iris. "She (Iris) believes she is special. She has Mama Martha, the relative who looks after her. She also now has Mama Esther and another Mama, the mother of the girls who live next door," she adds.

But there is a tinge of sadness in her voice as she explains that Iris' case is not an isolated one. "There are many other kids who have a story similar to hers. I think there are only a handful of kids who still live with both their biological parents."

According to Omar, many young people left the country to search for work in the US due to the political instability that prevailed between 1980 and 1992.

"The reason I - and many others like me - left was because of the war," he says.

The couple calls the families once a month to keep track of the girls' progress in school. On visits to El Salvador, Esther checks their school books to gauge how well the children are being taught.

The couple and the girls share a strong bond even though they are physically separated.

Esther says it is touching to see Iris do so well in her studies. Not only does she lap up all that she is taught in school, she also imparts what she has learnt to her neighbourhood friends who are unable to attend a private school.

"She likes to share her knowledge," says Esther fondly. "She explains things to the other kids in her neighbourhood who are not attending a private school. I think they might know as many English words as she does by now!"

Setting an example

Before they embarked on setting up Gulf of Hope, the couple contributed extensively to international charities. Esther says she hopes their new drive will encourage like-minded people to volunteer.

"If you send money to charities, you don't always know exactly what is happening to your money. Here I know exactly where it's going because I directly influence how it is used."

She would like potential donors to visit La Union and see how their money can change lives.

"Come with us and see for yourself. I'm hoping to bridge this gap between just sending money and being involved hands-on. We have a house there and all are welcome to stay with us. You can speak to the kids and get to know them better and in turn get to know how your efforts are making a difference."

‘My hobby: studying'

Education is the key to their charity succeeding in its mission and for Esther, it defines who she is.

A principal engineer, she started out as a mathematician and now has three Master's degrees - in operations research, oil and gas engineering and in holistic nutrition. "While other people have hobbies, I study," she says. Omar, meanwhile, is busy studying German and Italian.

Esther was born in Cologne, Germany and has a British passport. She has worked in England, Scotland and the US, while Omar is from La Union and has a US passport. The two met in Houston.

So, what will draw others to help children in a country many people know little about? "I'm hoping that people will realise how fortunate they really are," says Esther. "I'm hoping that people will simply be touched by these kids' stories. If we can help even one child in the world in some little way, wonderful changes are possible."

Her eyes light up as she speaks of the children. "We want more for them so they may improve their lives. They need education to break away from the lives their parents lived."

Imparting life skills to children is also part of their long-term plan. While Omar will teach older kids handyman skills, Esther will teach the girls sewing so that they could one day set up their own small businesses.

Small steps that will go a long way:

Gulf for Hope's sponsor list so far includes relatives, colleagues and friends but you too can help. Esther regularly updates their blog with news at http://gulfofhope.blogspot.com. You can contact her at gulfofhope@gmail.com.

"Any contribution helps; it doesn't have to be money," says Esther. "Little things really can make a big difference in their lives. It's not about flashing money around and saying, ‘Look, we can get these kids into college.' It's about taking little steps... and we need to keep on walking."

Consider that...

* $5 provides school supplies for two children for six months.
* $25 provides school fees for a child for a month.
* $40 a doctor and dentist check-up for a child.
* $500 will provide quality, private education for a child for a year.

If you would like to help Esther and Omar visit their blog, donate or contact them

Support Gulf of Hope in their charity drive

2010-02-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Gulf of Hope needs to be registered as a Charity, to make sure we are all official and above-board. This costs money. So far, all our funds have gone to enrol six little girls in a proper school for 2010. For now, the coffers are empty. Our solution: Omar and I decided to do a fundraiser. For a long while, we thought about what we could do, and finally came upon the idea that we will both shave our heads. With this, we are making a bold (and bald) statement - we are serious about the Gulf of Hope. We hope that our lack of locks will start communication with new people: people who will become interested in what we do, and who might decide to contribute.

The event will take place in late March, just before we go to the States. To make it easier with contributions, I signed us up on Chipin. Chipin will collect donations for us, track them, and provide updates as we go.

As you can see, we are hoping to raise $3000. Right now, we are not sure how much it will cost to be officially registered. This does not mean that we have not done our homework: registration is difficult as we live in Abu Dhabi at the moment and to register here is impossible without local support. We cannot register as a Charity in the UK, USA or Germany as we do not live there. But we are hoping to get charitable status in El Salvador. We spoke to our lawyers and they are working on this issue. When we go to La Union in April, we should be able to sign the necessary papers ... whatever we raise will support this venture. If anything is left over, it will go into the funds.

The top twitter aps for all web 2.0

2010-01-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Twitter is the key-word that stood 4th all-round the world in the most searched key-words for year 2009. With over 70 million users, Twitter is presently one of the best Social Bookmarking, Social Networking as well as Social Marketing Website on the Globe.
Presently around 70% of people using Twitter for Business purposes.
The user friendly interface with limit of 140 characters and with vast expansion of its empire, making money and interlinking with other sites made it the best in this Business.
Twitter with the phase "What are you doing?" has played a crucial role in social networking and was now with Alexa rank of 6 and with Google Page rank 8.
Here are the Few Important Twitter Tools and Analytics that you should be knowing before you enter into the "World of Twitter for Social Networking"

* Buzzom.com : Buzzom lets you mange your account with utmost efficiency. You can Follow the most popular people on the twitter and Flush other people who are not following you.
* CheapTweet.com : Scouring Twitter for deals, coupons, bargains, sales, discounts, contests and more from the leading online merchants, that people are tweeting about.
* Repeets.com : Repeets tracks hot retweets from today, this week and this month in Twitter.
* Twitterfeed.com : This service automatically tweets the most recent post that you have published in your blog onto your Twitter profile.
* Twitthis.com : is an easy way for people to send Twitter messages about your blog post or website, or enter a Twitter contest.
* Twitpic.com : This lets you to share images at the same time the tweets also on twitter. Its a kind of Flickr on the Twitter.
* Twitnest.com : Twitnest creates a visualization of your Twitter social graph. See who’s following who. Auto-group, automated grouping of users in social graph.
* Tweetlater.com : It sends an automatic welcome message if any user is following you, you can also use it to send tweets to others in future also.
* iTweet 2 WEB : It has Built-in auto-refresh, search, Twitter trends & hashtags, View user bio, location, URL inline with tweets.
* Tweetburner.com : Helps you in tracking the links you share on Twitter and Friendfeed.

We will also provide you with the more Twitter Tools and Analytics in our future posts. Stay tuned and subscribe us for more updates.

Thanks to gadget gate for the post

Gulf of Hope a childrens charity in El Salvador launches blog with big traffic increases

2010-01-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

A face full of future hope

Gulf of Hope is a new charity, providing support to the children of La Union, El Salvador. We currently provide schooling for six little girls, and school supplies to about 30 boys and girls, as well as clothes and other needs we identify when we get there.
We are aiming for nonprofit humanitarian organization status which we hope to achieve in 2010. We are focusing on providing the means for education to impoverished children. We are hoping that caring donors the world over give these poor children an opportunity at a better life.
As an organization, we are fairly young. In the future, we are hoping to impact every aspect of a child's life, providing assistance to ‘our children’ in areas such as:
Health: access to a doctor, dentist, vaccines and medicine
Education: uniforms and school supplies, tuition assistance, access to tutoring
Nutrition: malnutrition screenings, feeding programs, supplements and educational programs
Youth: peer education, civic responsibility and scholarships
Community: clean-water initiatives, sanitary latrines and micro-enterprise programs
Family: household items, income-generation programs, educational opportunities and housing and home-repair assistance

She has the chance at a good education thanks to our donors

WHO IS GULF OF HOPE?
Gulf of Hope: education as a tool against poverty, violence, drug and alcohol abuse.
She has the chance at a good education thanks to our donors

DONATIONS
Every little helps!
$5 provides school supplies for two children for a full six months.
$5 provides food for a child for a week.
$25 provides school fees for a child for a month.
$40 a check-up at both the doctor and the dentist for a child.
$500 will provide quality education for a child for a whole year – the basis for a better tomorrow for the child and the family!
Donations are accepted year-round and will be distributed when appropriate. For further information, keep an eye on this blog or just ask!

Visit Gulf of Hope and give them your support

Offgrider, a permaculture, self sufficiency, organic one to follow

2010-01-14T17:34:00.000-08:00

Off grider, An off grid, permaculture, self sufficiency project for 2010.
Non violent non compliance and self sufficiency / support us by following and see a new path open up....

This is extreme survival in the allotment dont miss it follow us today.....
Follow me on twitter

Gulf of Hope childrens charity in El Salvador with new blog

2010-01-04T01:22:00.000-08:00

Gulf of Hope Charity working in El Salvador

Visit the site and support Gulf of Hope

Gulf of Hope a new charity to help the children of La Union in El Salvador has launched their new blog and will be working with us during 2010 to promote the charity, raise interest and funds to help these children with lifes basics.

Make 2010 an action year and join and support Gulf of Hope

We wish Esther and Omar, the driving forces behind Gulf of Hope all the best in 2010.

Gulf of Hope

Mini Hummer Spain order new Blog site

2009-08-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Visit the new blog of Mini Hummer today

Mini Hummer Spain have ordered a new blog site from mediamorocco to help introduce the new GM licensed range of Electric cars.

Based in Marbella Costa del Sol we're proud to exclusively offer you
the GM licensed H1, H2, H3 HUMMER™ the Roadster and Cadillac™Escalade™.

The GM™ Hummer™ Design

Even at a glance you immediately know the Mini HUMMER™ H3™ is a HUMMER™. The signature 7 -slot louvered grille, oval head lamps, large tyres, the near vertical lines of the rear sides of the vehicle are all classic HUMMER™ cues.

The Mini HUMMER™ H3™ is the first proportionally correct and only officially licenced custom estate/golf car styled after the H3™ HUMMER™. The Mini HUMMER™ H3™ is built with all of the quality assurances that an officially licenced GM™ engineered product should have and is built so that it can display the H3™ HUMMER™ emblem proudly.

It includes distinguished features such as 15 inch custom built and proportioned HUMMER™ wheels, rugged all aluminium I-beam chassis and genuine HUMMER™ chrome grill. Standard features include functional headlights, rear lights, indicators, four / six seats and the industries leading batteries - Trojan T-875's.

Built-in Safety Features
The HUMMER™ H3™ is built using reliable safety features that most other Custom Electric Vehicles don't offer. Features include extra large mirrors, head lights, brake lights, turn signal lights, fog lights, a reverse warning buzzer, safety horn and hazard lights.

To ensure a safe an reliable stopping distance the HUMMER™ H3™ Estate/Golf Car is equipped with a standard 4 wheel braking system that features front hydraulic disk brakes and self adjusing rear drum brakes.

Great for sponsorship and events rentals available

The Mini HUmmer is availabe from
Garden Solutions and JHK Special Garden

Mychelle Colleary orders a MediaMorocco music mashup

2009-04-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

A new commission and something a little special and new for MediaMorocco. We received a request from a friend of a friend; a very talented Jazz Singer, Mychelle Colleary.
Media Morocco has never dabbled in the long tail of music content production so some new sites and widgets will need to be found.

Mychelle Colleary Blog - latest gigs, festivals and live performances updated regularly

Picassa Photo Gallery

Mychelle wanted to have the two way communications benefits of a 2.0 site whilst still retaining a more classic approach. Keeping her fans, friends and folks abreast of her latest news is important as she embarks on a free-wheeling European tour. Check out the blog and subscribe today to get all Mychelles news delivered straight to your inbox.

Well after a little smoking at the ears I came up with this little mashup - enjoy the Mychelle Colleary Web 2.0 machine. Featuring:The blog, a YouTube channel, a picassa photo site, online album sales, MySpace and facebook linking web site for Jazz Diva Mychelle Colleary.

The first Music Video a short photo montage using the free version of One True Media video production and 20 ramdon images, it works very well I think....

New video for Vocalist Mychelle Colleary

Garden Solutions adds new product range

2009-03-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

Some Colorgrass urban carpet - Jazz up your urban living room

Garden Solutions have added two new products to their artificial grass range, check out the new product page on their web site.

Colorgrass - inside outside its called urban carpet and its cool

For the Golf nuts that want their own putting green at home then the Royal Grass Golf range is now available for the home and leisure market. If you would rathher put than grow spuds then this is for you.

Bin Fishing is a Rhythmic Balanced Interchange company

2008-12-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

To find out more book a trip

Hamid owner of Hotel Bin el Ouidane makes his TV debut

2008-11-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hamid Oullam the charismatic owner of Hotel Bin el Ouidane launched his 2M TV debut video today and from all at Media Morocco we would like to congratulate him on some great exposure for the region and the small but growing tourism industry that is growing in the region, keep up the good work Hamid

visit Hamids web site

Luxury 2 bedroom apartment for sale in Tangier

2008-10-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Magna 5 star luxury on the Kings beach Tangier

Atlantic Magna is located in the most prestigious and exclusive area of Tangier, close to Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules yet only 10 mins from the airport and 15 from Tangier Centre.
This large 2 bedroom 2 bathroom ground floor apartment sleeps 6 people and is finished with traditional Tadelakt walls and Travatino marble in the bathrooms. The finishing throughout is of exceptionally high qualities.
As a ground floor apartment you can walk out to the landscaped gardens and pools, yet still have magnificent views to the Atlantic.

Bathrooms are finished in wall to ceiling Travatino Marble

The apartment is available for rental short or long term from January 2009. The apartment is also offered for sale immediately.

Technical Specification:

2 bedrooms 2 Bathrooms (1 en suite)

Fitted kitchen, living room, dining area, tea room

Berber lounge - could be converted to 3rd bedroom with access to:

interior and exterior patios.

Build surface 120.60 m2

Terrace and interior patio 45.57 m2

24 hour gated security, underground parking, storage room.

Architects: Gonzales & Jacobson.

41,130 m2 site, 72 apartments of 2/3 bedrooms

Atlantic Magna is perched front line above the beach and only a pleasant stroll to the Caves of Hercules and the magnificent Mirage Hotel with a wonderful al fresco dining terrace and a colonial feel club house bar. The Mirage has 25 suites built into the cliff side and it really is a special place to enjoy a civilised lunch or sundowner or two.

Rental
The Apartment is managed by Jurgen and Farida the owners of La Tangerina Hotel in the Kasba of Tangier. La Tangerina handle all rental bookings and the day to day management of the apartment in the same profesional way they manage their excellent hotel.

The apartment will be furnished to the highest standards and available for rent from the 1st January 2009.

For bookings of less than & week a 2 night minimum applies.

Long Term Rental 2000/month min 6 month contract.

Prices in Euros

Per night/min 2 per week 2 Bed sleep 6: 220 night / 1400 week

Additional bed +20% taxes included

+20% High season (March April /July & August)

Offer: For Sale

This 2 bedroom ground floor apartment of 165 sq metres situated in the residential complex of Atlantic Magna, Tangier is due for completion in October 2008.

Price:

Reserve price range of 295,000 - 335,000+ depending on the progression from uncompleted property with private contract to furnished rental apartment with ongoing rental bookings. (Prior to completion developer guarenteed finance available up to 150k)

Please contact me through the reservations system if you are interested in purchasing the property for a price update and progress report.

Morocco
While most house buyers are initially drawn to Morocco for its cheap property prices and its low cost of living, it does not take them long for them to become enamoured by the country, which has since the Romans, charmed and fascinatedthose that land on its shores. In 1999, the new King Mohammed VI came into power vowing to modernize Morocco, strengthen civil libertiesand democratise the country. Foreigners are warmly welcomed and their are no restrictions on foreign investment.

Investment bullet points:
Tangier superport, Europe's biggest port managed by Maersk opens 2008.

The straits of Gibraltar tunnel from Tangier to Tarifa (Spain)

20 Bn USD Direct foreign investment into Tangier mainly from the Gulf countries.

Spain only 14 km and 35 minutes on the fast ferry.

Unspoilt Atlantic beach coast with glorious 300 days of sunshine

The region still in infancy.

Prices significantly cheaper than Spain.

Favourable tax regime. e.g no tax on rental income for 5 years. No IHT if passed on to a family
70% mortgage available subject to usual requirements

Only three hours flight from major UK airports

Open sky agreement signed therefore low cost airlines fly and cheaper fares

High Quality and Prices still affordable Property hot spot Fabulous Sports facilities, Golf Courses, Yachting, Tennis Clubs, Water skiing, Sailing, Scuba diving and Camel treks etc.

Luxurious life style at low cost For more information leave a comment with your email on this post and I will get back to you:

Media Morocco launch promotional video for Hotel Bin el Ouidane

2008-08-12T02:22:00.000-07:00

Some updates to Hotel Bin el Ouidane site include a new reservation system in english and french, a great little promotional video uploaded to you tube and as a link on the site and a new 360 virtual tour of Hamids very special Berber lounge.

Thanks to Invest in Tangier

Binwidane Suite and Spa invest in Web 2.0 package

2008-08-10T02:36:00.001-07:00

The suites and infinity pool at Binwidane Suites and Spa

Binwidane Suite and Spa - the 5 star resort due to open in March 2009 over looking the lake of Bin el Ouidane and just a couple of hours drive from Marrakesh have invested in Media Moroccos Boutique Hotel Web 2.0 internet marketing package.

The package includes a web site with virtual tour of the immpressive facilities and a selection of the suites available - the virtual tours allows you to inspect the hotel in detail prior to reserving. The facilities are truely inspirational with outdoor infinity pool set in a Thailand inspired poolside area with stunning carved water fountain depicting a herd of Elephants at their watering hole. Pool bar with amazing views out over the lake of Bin el Ouidane and the Ahansal river.
In addition Binwidane has a full Thai massage centre, spa, hamman and beautician.

Stunning infinity pool overlooking the majestic lake Bin el Ouidane

In addition to the main web site we are preparing a blog and guestbook which will feed the latest news back to the web site, in the same way the flickr photo gallery will be reguarly updated as Binwidane suite and spa prepares to open its doors to their first guests in March 2009.

Binwidane Suites and Spa offer 30 individual suites of 1 and 2 bedrooms

The first photo shoot is due for compeltion this week and the blog and Flickr photo gallery are already up and new content will be going up daily.

A man, his dog and the long tail

2008-07-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Joe at Lake Bin el Ouidane

Wednesday 23rd July 2008.
Hotel Morocco House, Marrakesh.
The temperature is in the low 40s and I am still aclimatizing, sweating out all the booze and junk food Ive accumulated over the last 3 months and weaning myself onto my Moroccan diet of water, fruit and herbs.

I dont feel that ive clicked into the pace here yet, im sure it will come but I am still feeling vulnerable, yesterday for example I lost 140 dhms buying a lump of cooked Henna. I always think its a good thing to start with a bad experience as it jolts me out of my Western world mind with a bang and I appreciate my own stupidity and ignorance within my new world. Proud to say I got straight back in the saddle whilst wandering around the maze like and totally amazing central plaza of Marrakesh, Jamna Fna - one of very few UNESCO "Living" World Heritage Sites.

I dont feel like extending myself too much at the moment Ive made a few phone calls and had a meeting but until I feel comfortable in my skin I think I should just hold back a little, who was it that said: "you only got 1 chance to make a first impression" - never more so in the Morrocan world.
Changing my hotel on Thursday as this one is taking me way over budget. The next one is owned by a friend of Joseph - from Bin-construction, its only 180 dhms a night as opposed to the 400 dhms im paying for this nice AC cooled place. I was hoping that I might get a web job from either of the two or atleast a chance to pitch, but both the owners are away for the summer to escape the heat - whimps.

I have a meeting tonight with Patrick Lamarie the owner of Riad Ouzoud, Mike and I did his web site for him, - it was our first web 2.0 job. I hope that Patrick can introduce me to a few Riad owners in Marrakesh, and I'm sure Ill go and stay at his place for a few days to do some web alterations, its on the way to the lake anyway. On the license subject; I spoke to the head honcho in Casablanca yesterday and he said it would be another month before possibly the public auction was released. There is nothing I can do but wait.

Mike arrives in Tangier on Thursday he has a room to do 360 photos of at the Tangerina hotel. he is going to take a trip out to my apartment and take some 360's of the place as its nearing completion. I really don't know what to do with it as I'm worried that I wont get a mortgage or if I even want a mortgage with whats going on in the banking world at present. I think I am going to put a web site up with a view to selling or renting it long term and see if I get any response. I don't think the property market in Tangier is so affected at least not on the Atlantic coast side. Location Location Location is the mantra I sung when looking for the place, now is the time to see if I chose well. By the way if anyone is interested:

THIS MESSAGE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY FRASERADS

Atlantic Magna is located in the most prestigious and exclusive area of Tangier, close to Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules yet only 10 mins from the airport and 15 from Tangier Center Ville. This 2 bedroom 2 bathroom sleep 6/8 luxuriously appointed ground floor apartment has views to the Atlantic and access directly to the tropical gardens and multi level pools. Atlantic Magna is perched above the beach with spectacular views to the Atlantic and the often deserted white sands and rolling breakers.

Marble floors and tadelakt walls

Tech Spec:
2 bedrooms
2 Bathrooms (1 en suite)
kitchen, living room, dining area, tea room (Berber lounge), interior patio, exterior patio
Build surface 120.60 m2
Terrace and interior patio 45.57 m2
24 hour gated security, underground parking, storage room.
Architects: Gonzales & Jacobson.
41,130 m2 site, 72 apartments of 2/3 bedrooms

Rental:
High season: (summer months) 1000/wk euros
Mid season (spring/Autumn) 750/wk
Low season (winter) 500/wk

Long Term Rental 1750/month

Purchase:
335,000 euros ( developer finance available up to 150,000)
I hopefully will have a web site up soon and you can check my blog for more details on it. www.mediamorocco.blogspot.com

Its good to have a little time to reflect on what a great 3 months Ive had, Ive done a European tour and visited so many family and friends, thanks in the most part to the largesse of said family and friends. It started with Kenneth who's spare room I commandeered and who's web site we built, www.jhkspecialgarden.com, some much needed cash and work came my way from Paul of Garden Solutions, we gave his company our web 2.0 treatment and so far the response and increased business from the sites has been good, www.gardensolutionscostadelsol.com.

Then it was off to Scotland to see Carol and Rikki, Edhan and Eilidh. It was a great spring for me having witnessed a beautiful Atlas mountain spring time when the barren hills seem to come alive in a riot of colour, to the different joys of a Scottish spring. I think we had sun, rain, hail and snow during the 10 days I spent around Lochwinnoch, a rare chance to experience the beauty of spring on two different continents in contrast. Duncan Katie Finn and Woody flew up to join us and we celebrated Woody's second and my 40th on a fine and sunny day of barbecue and fishing and family.

I returned to Duncan's house in Poole, Dorset where spring was more advanced and spent lazy days getting to know Finn and Woody and enjoying the rhythm of Dunc's and Katies world. Duncan and I did our customary and enjoyable fishing trip which of course ended up as a fishing competition, thankfully between me and Dunc and the rest of the boat load of Noddies. We pasted them catching more fish between us than the rest of the 9 anglers combined.

Joe makes it to Paris

I returned to Malaga with few plans and seemingly even fewer options, Damien and Lillie, more of them later, gave me a much needed roof over my head and some space to let me plan my next stage. Joe had been in Morocco since October and on his own since April. I was paying a local guy to look after him at the hotel, www.hotelbinelouidane.com - another media morocco site, but getting him back to Spain had to be priority. First however make some money. Mike arrived back from his sejourn in Egypt he had been staying with a friend of ours from Marbella who moved down to the red sea resort of Hurgada to sell real estate. Mike took two PADI exams while there and is now Rescue diver, Id love to do that again.

Anyway after doing the photos at La Tangerina hotel he jumped on the ferry and got a sofa at Mike Skillmans place while working on Kenneth's and Paul's web sites.I was in Kenneths spare room again and when not working with Mike I got a few days labouring with JHK Special Garden, it was great fun and I learnt alot. Still with little idea of how to get to Morocco and pick up Joe one of those "Secret" moments happened and Mr Steve Orten came back into my life, with a plan and an invitation to travel up to Antibes and onto Paris for a little reunion. With a deadline in sight I sold my Dell XPS 2010 to Andre, more of him later too, and he Western Unioned me his deposit and I jumped on a bus Marrakesh.

The XPS after I sold it to Andre - up to his elbows in computer grease

I stopped over for an afternoon at La Tangerina and ended up going with Jurgen to buy a new computer system, got them a nice HP desktop and an external hard drive and set everything up, I think its working out for them. Then it was onto my favourite night train the 9pm sleeper to Marrakesh. I spent an interesting evening sharing a 4 berth with an Irish property developer and a Scottish ornithologist on his holidays after a 3 month sabbatical at Donnana. The Irish fellow had bread cheese dates figs and an excellent line in stories and the evening past well till it was time to crash. I was surprised to be woken around 3am as the train doesn't get into Marrakesh till 8am, apparently the line was closed and had been all week as they were laying new track, obviously just forgot to tell me that when I paid for the Marrakesh ticket.
Last stop Casablanca. I bloody hate Casablanca, from Gare to Gare and onto the 6am bone rattler bus to Beni Mellal. Moroccan public transport is noisy and smelly but its cheap, efficient and brings you up close to the real folk. Only 45 dhms for a 4 hour journey makes it all seem worthwhile.

Hamid picked me up in his new Land cruiser he got it for 100,000 Dhms thats about 9k euros so he must be doing ok from all the web exposure Ive given him and it was off to the lake. I had been on the road for 28 hours at this point and was feeling pretty spaced, mind you being with Hamid for more than 30 mins would space anyone out.

I was feeling pretty nervous about Joe, Hamid had told me that the cyst on his neck was even bigger and Joe wasn't eating well, my worst fears were confirmed when he literally staggered out and collapsed at my feet, his back legs seemingly too weak to support him. My heart was in my crocs and I felt such a rush of mixed emotions that it took me a moment to see that Joe was experiencing a similar moment and he too was coming round. Things went froom doom to a hesitant joyfulness, Joe seemed to get stronger by the moment but I got Hamid to call the local Vet who promised to come by later in the afternoon. The vet wasn't sure but he didn't think it was life threatening but to get Joe to his vets in Spain asap, I decided to head back to Tangier as quickly as possible and after just a night at Hamids I jumped a taxi to Beni Mellal and started the homeward journey.

Bringing Joe from Spain down to Morocco seemed like a blessed trip, I had taken Bus, Ferry and more buses, paying a ticket for Joe each time and no one said a thing, returning was another matter. I tried 4 different buses but none would accept a dog unless in a cage and in the baggage section. I didn't have a cage and still felt optimistic that I was just having some bad breaks, I felt appalled at the thought of stuffing Joe in the luggage hold. My reaction to this would be ground to naught over the coming weeks. I had about 300 euros and none of my plastic would accept more abuse so the transportation problem was critical. Every move counted and if I was to get back I would need some luck and alot of streetwise. I decided to take a cab from Beni Mellal to Casablanca and had negotiated a fair of 700 dhms - 60 euros thinking I could jump on the night train back to Tangier. Of course the train wouldn't accept a dog unless he was in a cage and less than 6 kg.

I remember at that moment time seemed to slow down a little and a pleasant old man in a grey suit with cane and a trilby type hat approached as I caused a fuss with customer service. I was asking to see the station manager as I wanted to plead my case, the old gentleman eased into the conversation and with a few words here and there managed to direct the lady to search for the station manager whilst drawing a taxi driver into the conversation and negotiating a price for a taxi.
When these things happen I am starting to learn to relax and open up, the natural impulse, at least for me is to push it away as Ive generally got a plan to follow and follow it I will, but slowly Im learning. The moment felt right, the taxi driver went outside to negotiate with a driver and the old man suggested I follow the driver outside to continue the negotiation. It was one of those moments when you must decide - do I leave my bags with this well dressed and amicable older gentleman in the lobby of Casablanca train station whilst I disappear out of site with some man that claims he can, or someone can, taxi me to Tangier. I walked towards the driver a few paces, then stopped and turned, the old gentleman was looking at me and I at him.

The fair negotiated to 1600 dhms and the ubiquitous Merc 230 looking in better nick than most and probably capable of a 350 km journey, I skipped back to the Gare lobby. My Gentleman was still there and as before looked calm and dignified, we chatted for a moment and exchanged some information before he placed his hand on my arm and suggested that I talk to the two American girls sitting on the bench behind. He whispered in beautifully accented English that he had overheard them talking about Tangier and advised me that they could get an immediate refund on the ticket if they cashed it in. I made to approach the girls but he stopped me saying he had to dash, we shook hands again and I thanked him for his help. He smiled and gracefully moved away before I could embarrass myself with some gesture of monetary compensation.

The 2 girls were fresh and beautiful and straight out of Princeton University, one with a job to start in 3 weeks as an investment banker for a wall street firm and the other full of radical environmental and social justice ideas with a dream to teach and educate in Asia, her parents being 1st generation US originally from Korea. The Taxi ride went quickly and Joe fell in love and was pampered all the way. We said goodbye on Tangier boulevard and they gave me their train fare money which really helped with the taxi fare.

La Tangerina Hotel is my home from home and Joe slotted in straight away, I was planning to leave the next morning but it just felt so good to be there, safe and nearly back in Spain that 1 night turned to 2. I met some great Ozzie and Kiwi girls who were just starting a trip and had a fun night on La Tangerina rooftop terrace watching the sun go down on Europe from Africa.

Friday morning saw us board the ferry to Tarifa with only minimal hassle from the boat steward for not having a cage for Joe, I was praying we could get buses on the Spanish side as I was down to about 50 euros and didn't really want to think about the coastal journey to Marbella. We blagged the free bus that runs from Tarifa to Algeciras but I could feel my force of will running out and things didnt look good from Algeciras onwards. After a very frustrating time at the bus station and 2 refusals I decided that buses were just not going to happen. In Marbella I jump on and off city buses with Joe all the time, but the coach type buses are having none of it, all animals over 6kg in a cage in the luggage compartment.

It was hot, I was way overloaded with my computer, my bag, Joe and his rucksack and a plastic bucket of dog food, a very well appointed hobo would probably describe my appearance, but I had a plan. If I could get to the motorway access road I could hitch, I didnt look like a hitch hiker but rather someone who's car had broken down, I mean it could happen to you, and if it did wouldn't you want someone to pick you up too?

I was bloody lost in Algeciras, hot and sweaty and probably looking a little desperate when I saw a little Grey haired lady unloading her car of grocery bags. I approached her and she immediately started petting Joe, she told me that she was an animal lover and that since her husbands death a few years back her dog was her light. She told me to hang on and brought water for us both from her house, I helped her finish unloading her car then she drove us to the motorway.

Refreshed and within striking distance of Kenneth's house I arranged our stall on the scorched verge of the slip road to the main A7, direction Malaga. Since 360 Mike introduced me to "the secret" some months back Ive studied it some more and watched a few videos of Ester Hicks and I am trying to exercise the techniques whenever I remember. I sat on Joes food bucket with the Dell computer bag and Nikon camera case to the fore and practiced.

What do I want? I red sports car with a leggy brunette in dire need of a web site going to Marbella?
ok lets keep it simple stupid.

A chauffeur driven air conditioned car going to Marbella.

right, now imagine already having that, how does it feel with the AC blowing across your face? as you watch the familiar countryside speed by, as you round that corner, the special corner with the windmills and the incredible view across the straights of Gibraltar, the cloud capped peaks of the Rif Atlas mountains, back where you just came from.
My visualization was broken by the crunch of tyre on gravel. A large black saloon car pulled up.

He was a chauffeur for a large construction company working just out of Algeciras, the company was building a huge natural gas something or other that was being constructed just outside of Algeciras bay but would be towed, by barge, to its final destination off the coast of Northern Italy. It was a huge job and he had been company chauffeur for 2 years, basically running company execs to and from Algeciras and Malaga airport. He was finished for the day and even though he wasn't going as far as Marbella and Kenneth's house it would be no problem to drop me at his door. I arrived just in time to join the Holland football party that was going on for the Euro Cup.

Steve and Laure arrived with Jackque driving, at 4am the following morning, having driven from the Algarve in Portugal. We spent a couple of hours catching up and draining the dregs of the football party booze before heading up to Damien's and Lilie's to drop of Joe. Damien had kindly offered to look after Joe for the week and it wasn't long before Steve, Laure and I were checked in and ready for take off. The plane sat on the runway for an hour meaning we missed our connecting flight from Luton to Nice and Geezer stood at Nice airport with a chronic hangover expecting us to arrive on the original flight. We had 3 days in Antibes before flying up to Paris with Chris from The Glamorgan and Geezer. That made 5 of us but after 2 days of Geezering it up in Antibes, an arse kicking on the Golf course and about 10 hours sleep it was a bedraggled bunch that took on Paris.

We stayed between Ghitas and Nikki's apartment and just round the corner at Andre's place in Vincennes; an area just out of Paris that I have really grown to like. It has great communication to Paris on metro and RER but the bosque and park floral make me feel like im far out in the country. We partied hard but with half full batteries and lots of money worries we didn't make the most of it. Paris is a magnificent city and just what I needed after the black hole of culture ive been living in for the last 9 months. I spent a great day wandering the Marais with Catalina and to be around architecture and fine art made me feel like a dry sponge sucking up water.

Plans started to form with lots of friends offering me their support which was just what I needed as I still had no firm plans as to what my next move would be. I jumped at Andre's offer to look after Joe, Andre's dog, Ollie is a two year old male Pekinese/terrier cross and I could see that Joe would be happy there. Joe holds a special place in Andre's heart too as we all house shared at Avenida Palmeras, for 3 years, it wasn't as good as home but as I don't have one currently, Joe has the next best thing. I headed back to Malaga feeling positive with a goal to work to - get Joe to Paris.

Damien again extended his hospitality and with Lillie away visiting family in Bella Russia we had a great week and a chance to talk and catch up like we havnt done in years. With no news from Morocco and no work on the horizon I needed to drag my feet and a safe place to crash for a while before heading to Paris. So I rang big Paul in Madrid, bought a second hand dog cage from a very nice lady that drove from Marbella to Benalmadena to drop it off, said my goodbyes to Damien and Lillie and stuffed Joe in the luggage compartment of the bus - we were off.

Madrid is another beautiful city and I walked miles through the Retiro with Joe and through my old barrio and favorite haunts. Paul retired recently and is living the classic batchelor life, his home - his old office converted, with lots of boys toys. A great pool table in the main room and we bought a new laptop and media drive onto which I copied my digital library, to give him a good start.
I took Joe round to the vet in Marbella and he had an anti inflammatory injection which had reduced the size of the cyst slightly, Monica advised another jab in Madrid and to take a biopsy. The result came back that he has an inverted saliva gland which will probably have to be opened up at some time but its reduced in size considerably and its not an urgent problem.
After 9 fun filled and slightly mad days with Paul it was time to give him back his couch. Friends showed further largess and booked Joe and I on a Madrid - Paris flight we said our goodbyes to Paul, who kindly ignored the credit crunch and extended the international debt mountain by a wee bit and we headed for Joe's new home for a while.

Ghita saved my aching back by offering me the use of her room as she was away visiting family in Denmark; What luxury a room, a bed, soft clean sheets. Joe and I settled in well and flat sharing with Nikki was great fun. Joe and Ollie didn't hit it off on the first visit to Andre's place. Two matcho A's and Joe probably not on the best of his form after so much travelling and change. Andre showed true canine training ability and in just a few days he had Joe and Ollie firmly under his command. I did my best to keep totally silent and not touch or acknowledge Joe in any way when Andre was training, that was a hard but valuable experience.

With Bastille day and a long weekend coming up Tabitha invited us down to her and Richards country pile. A beautiful little cottage in the quintessential French village of Fraze. Liz, Joe and I hopped on the Paris to Chartres train. (no cages for dogs, no charges and bloody great trains) and in no time we were corking a fine red and enjoying rillets, pate, cheese and crusty local bread in the garden. Richard is turning himself into a gourmet chef and the food we enjoyed and the memorable whiskey marketing session stand alongside Hooka Liz and fun filled scrabble.

With a call from Hamid over the weekend saying that something might happen with the fishing license I decided it was time to bite the bullet and head back to Morocco.

and so the journey continues, like a Moroccan bus's headlights that only illuminate a few feet of road in front yet can cross the country in a night, by only seeing a few feet in front, knowing their destination and having faith. I would like to express my gratitude to all my family and friends for allowing me to share in your lives and to continue my journey.
Until the next installment - enshalla.

Garden Solutions launch Spanish version of web site

2008-07-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

A recent installation of Royal Grass

Garden solutions Costa Del Sol are the exclusive distributor for Royal Grass, the market leading artificial turf, and our 4th client to take up our Web 2.0 package, have released the Spanish version of their web site this week.

With the hot arid climate in Spain and the Mediterranean region Royal Grass makes the perfect solution for all those that want a beautiful garden but not the high cost of watering and maintaining it.

Since the new English version of the web site has been live Paul Rimmerzwaan, boss of the company has been impressed with the number of pure internet inquiries he has received and the improved placement of his company through Google and other search engine results. Paul told me today that they were close to closing the first deal that has come as a result of an internet inquiry from the new web sites.
Click on the links in the portfolio to see Garden solutions web site, blog and photo album.

Testing out the web 2.0 RSS service from RSS Hugger

2008-07-06T04:07:00.000-07:00

I have been working hard and learning lots this week about RSS and how it can increase traffic and reach. I have registered all my blogs with feedburner and feedblitz in some cases, Ive opened a few newsletters and added adsense to my feedstream.
I discovered this great looking RSS startup site and this is how they describe themselves:

RssHugger is a weblog directory that basically combines Technorati, rss directories, and search engine optimization into one. If you own a blog, you can get your own page on rssHugger for 10 years by giving an honest review of the site on your blog. If you want to join rssHugger but do not want to review our site, you can pay a one time review fee of $20. This fee, allows the site's authors to keep out a lot of the spam/useless blogs.

The site has a top 100 list that resets every month and that should encourage consistent new users to join and the user generated content, thats me and 1000 s of other like me, witting honest accounts of the service is a really great idea and exactly what a web 2.0 startup should be promoting.

This site deserves to work and I will keep you all up to date with the traffic increases from rss hugger in the future.

Flock voted No 6 in PC Worlds top 100 products for 2008

2008-07-05T13:05:00.001-07:00

We recently became aware that Flock was selected as one of PC World's top 100 products of 2008. This is flattering for us, and another great validation that our vision is resonating with the world. We were not only in the company of many wonderful other products and services, but we were listed as #6 on the list of 100 services.
Rather than doing some kind of chicken dance to show our jubilation for this acknowledgement, I'll simply point you to the list so that you can check out the many wonderful companies which also received this recognition. Of course, we pay close attention to the other browsers, and we are extremely humbled to be listed as the top browser by PC World.

The pace of progress here at Flock has been steady. In November of 2007, Flock launched our first commercial release with the 1.0 version of our browser. Today, we find ourselves almost half way into 2008, and we're launching our third full commercial release with the 1.2 version of our browser.

We've got some great things planned for the remainder of 2008, and look forward to continued innovation in pursuit of delighting Flock fans worldwide.

Flock - a seriously good web browser based of Firefox 3.0 platform

2008-07-05T12:18:00.001-07:00

Using Flock can seriously improve your Web 2.0 all the various web services lick Flickr, Facebook, Gmail and many many more are automatically integrated into the browser.
I highly reccomend this Firefox based browser.

Getting Social with the Flock 1.2 Browser

Uploading Photos with the Flock 1.2 Browser

Finding and Sharing Media with the Flock 1.2 Browser

Flock and Digg

Reading Feeds with the Flock 1.2 Browser

Proudly presenting our first 4 web sites and web 2.0 packages

2008-07-04T07:43:00.001-07:00

Garden solutions Costa del Sol have already reported a big increase in incoming customer enquiries and confirmed jobs from the new site and 2.0 package. The google maps mashup as find a local dealer works so well and it is something that I will be mashing with again. Since completing this one I have really worked hard on the feed integration across all four of the sites and Im looking forward to seeing an influx in traffic.

JHK Special Garden are very pleased with their new site and 2.0 package. I created the User Generated Content motor that we had used successfully with Riad Ouzoud and La Tangerina in an online guestbook function, but converted it to Ask JHK a gardening question. So far no one has posted a questions but in theory the questions will be posted automatically on the blog with the reply and answer from JHK as a post comment. Integrated googlemaps to highlight the companies portfolio and linked it through to a flickr folder. Created a few zazzle products.

Our first web 2.0 job and in inself a milestone and an excellent example to show where we came from. The user generated content motor was first put to use here as the online guestbook.

Our favourite little hotel and the first time we have integrated music into the site using a last fm widget tagged to Jazz, and is so indicative of the Tangerina atmosphere, that was a Mike touch- chapeau. Again the USG content motor took the shape of the guestbook publishing to the blog and feeding back to the web page in a spring widget rss feed reader. Created a few Zazzle products.

Optimizing with adsense a good tutorial video

2008-07-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

New promotional video application tested

2008-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 ... The Machine Is Us/ing Us - Video

2008-06-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 ... The Machine Is Us/ing Us - video powered by Metacafe

Dr Michael Wesch Kansas State University

Experimenting with traffic and merchandising

2008-06-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

I have been looking into traffic figures over the last few days from some of my older blogs and sites, to try and get a feel for what's good and driving traffic and what's simply cluttering up my side bars.

Buy something!! and help support the wanderings of a couple of 2.0 Urchins all commissions generated from the Zazzle commission (10%) will be spent on travel - keeping media Morocco on the road and you very much in fashion.

Even though as an affiliate partner I've seen no revenue since I set my account up over 8 months ago I felt Zazzle was worth pushing further. The google organic traffic loves it and I have to say they are impressive when it comes to search.

Im also thinking that its a great way to get the guestbooks or User Generated Content motors turning. Its hard enough getting these web 2.0 jobs in the first place never mind persuading them to reprint business cards and stuff with the new sites, so apart from a possible affiliate income I think its a win situation for the client as well, in many cases its not a money problem for these small and growing companies that we seem to be representing, its not enough time. If web 2.0 can solve that problem too, then it really is looking like a 2.0 future.