Tigmi el Janoub Ouarzazate

... with ensuite hot shower and surprise breakfast this morning!) Last night I also had a mini picnic on the roof top - though did consist of tin of tuna, stale french bread and diet coke, so not quite as flash as it at first might sound! Today I went to Taourirt Kasbah and walked round all day with a Suisse man I met having breakfast. It has therefore been another day where have spent the whole day in French conversation! Today, though, I felt like I had gone to level 2, as French was this ...

... tranquil place to rest after the hustle and bustle of the Souk. Marrakech souk is really very touristy, but a place not to be missed. We arranged with Mahjoub the Riad owner to return in 4 Arabian nights time, if you ever want to stay in Marrakech his is the place, excellent value for money, great breakfast, fantastic house, pleasing staff. www.riadjbellakhdar.com

We decided to rent a car for 4 days ...

Just quick entry to set the map pin. Suffice I lucked out and nabbed a guide in Merzouga who just happened to be headed to Marrakech to pick up 3 Spanish clients to guide them on a 10 day tour of Morocco.

Thus, instead of struggling w/ mind-boggling taxi negotiations to navigate to Quarzazate (about 8 hrs. from Merzouga), I ...

Ait Ben Haddou is one of the oldest Kasbahs in Morocco. Onthe way to the hotel we saw goats on the side of a maountain. And from the roof of the hotel I took pictures of the kasbah and the neighbors garden. We met 2 German girls the next morning and gave them a ride to Casablanca. They were lots of fun.

... awesome. some of us ended up sleeping outside under blankets and in sleeping bags. it was wonderful! i got to see my first shooting stars! the next morning, some folks climbed to the top of the dune to see the sunrise. \i only made it tot he base of the dune because i wanted to make it to the outhouse before everyone else did. it was already pretty full the night before. from the dessert, we drove antoher 4 hours to todra gorge. what a wonderful and ...

... this morning. Kasbahs are actually fortified buildings with four walls that rich caravan traders built for their families. At one Kasbah, they said that the women never left the Kasbah except for when they were born, when they got married, and when they died. My mom would hate that! Tomorrow we head over the Atlas mountains to Marrakech - on the road again! We will cross the highest mountain pass in all of Morocco and in all of North Africa before getting back to a big city.

... helped people who had a disability learn a new craft - very interesting and I bought a little decorative mini tagine pot. We drove past the Atlas movie studios - Morocco's version of Universal studios and saw some of the movie sets, the Mummy, Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator were all filmed partly here. Finally we arrived in Ait Benhaddou around 6pm - most of the others went for the walk up to see the kasbah on the ...

If northern Morocco has a definite Mediterranean or Near Eastern feel to it, once south of the High Atlas range you are unmistakably in Africa with clear dry air, blue skies, desert winds, intense colors, and a population with darker skin tones. The region directly south of the High Atlas Range is nicknamed The Valley of the Casbahs and is chick full of the ancient fortified cities called casbahs. Since the primary material used to construct casbahs is mud brick, they tend ...

... the middle of nowhere. Which wasn't so bad, we all exchanged a few more stories, threw a few more snowballs and bonded a little. But when all was well, we were off again... for a whole 10 minutes. This time, the alternator needed replacing, which needed a mechanic to be called from Marrakech. So we were stuck for 3 hours by a small river, playing card games, slowly getting sunburnt and overrun by ...

... 6:30pm, so I found a room at a simple and a bit shabby hotel there and decided I'd go and see the old citadel the next day. Just took it easy and had a traditional Moroccan dinner at the hotel's restaurant - some sort of yellow curry couscous with chicken and vegetables - and what a STACK of food! And was in deed yummie!! I had officially become a fan of Moroccan cuisine. The room with hot water shower, dinner and breakfast the morning after cost me 150 dirhams ($19 USD).