adventure...

[emraphoto]

a little bit of market research!
considering opening a small hotel and photographic tour company in north africa. it would be based out of a stable country with expeditions into libya, morroco, egypt etc. cost of tour would include lodgings and meals at home base and whilst afoot. use of a digital darkroom (home base) and basic sat/nav connection whilst touring.
would you folks be interested in such a tour (hypothetically of course)? what kind of included materials, events etc. do you think would be neccessary? what sort of price point would you consider for a 15 day tour, 7 day tour, 3 day tour?
it could be set up to include significant others who would of course take advantage of the hospitality of the hotel whilst you endure the desert.
going to look at property's for sale in march so any input you have would be greatly, greatly appreciated!
john
ps holy (insert swear word here) we got snowed on!

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I've looked into going to Spanish similar, but cannot recall the names. Maybe one in Talavera, and one in Seville.

A good friend of mine goes on walking holidays in Spain. I think the places he stays do photography, painting, and wildlife holidays also. The tour people seem to have to offer a cocktail of holidays to increase occupancy.

In north Africa I'd take my own camera and film, and hope for local C41 processing and scan to CD, maybe some quick and dirty prints at the shop if your operation didn't have a computer and printer.

Morocco sounds good: I could fly easily into Casablanca in about one hour or drive there in one day. Algeria no. Tunisia maybe, but fly not drive because of Algeria. Libya not sure about. Egypt too far and too many tourists.

In Morocco I'd like cities and modern architecture (especially the Hassan 2 mosque day and night) and also Roman cities, markets, villages, and desert areas. And Rick's Cafe Americain of course.

Food wise I love north African food and would gladly eat couscous and lamb stew every day. With mint tea often and plentiful.

Enjoy your upcoming trip, and I hope things work out well for you.

 

[emraphoto]

i would of course encourage folds to bring their own gear however i would be fully equipped myself to develop any neg's, a great scanning ability and of course a few mac workstations. soousse and tunis are fairly developed big cities with photo resources so anything else could be aquired.
from my conversations with folks more familiar with the area's than i, the only real wild card is algeria. still some sporadic unrest.
the possibility of excursions down south into ethiopia and the lot would be certainly considered. for now i was going to concentrate on morrocco, libya, tunisia and much of the coastal area's.
thanx for the input jon!
maybe i'll see your name on the roster in the near future?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I have friends in Algeria and they come and go safely, but they tell me that I'd get all sorts of nonsense from the border guards.

 

[emraphoto]

algeria was really my only "concern". i have heard issue's of kidnapping and the usual hubbub... it's good to have a balanced opinion on the matter though!
i'm hoping to be in contact with a few inndividuals in algeria over the next week or so an di'm hoping it's good news from them!
hey jon, what sort of pricing for a ferry crossing from spain? with an auto? just a ballpark would be great!