Al Waha Ouarzazate

... 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 <br><br>We decided to rent a car for 4 days ...

... whizzed south across the interiorior of Morocco - in a nice new Toyota 4x4. We sped though Todra Gorge, the Dades, Valley of the Roses et al, and landed for the night at a lovely little riad overlooking the city. Had a beer (along w/ my Muslim guide!) on the rooftop terrace, dinner, and then set off for Marrakech the next morning.

... are based around some (vaguely) nearby mountain streams and areas for the animals so that the length of treks do vary. We are of course in the 'middle of nowhere' so you have to relax in camp with the bed rolls &amp; some rocks to lounge around on.<br>One day the stream is full enough for the cold water hair wash and clean up, otherwise it's mainly wet wipes &amp; the bush for the toilet stop. Impromtu English/Berber lessons continue as do the stone ...

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.

... brown mud rushing over the road. There were cars parked on either side but it was impassable. We got out to survey the scene and take pictures. We started asking people how long they thought it would take to clear the road. The responses were varried but always with an in'sh'Allah (God willing) at the end. "Four hours, in'sh'Allah!" they said. "Maybe six, in'sh'Allah, or tomorrow in'sha'Allah!" This of course came as ...

... up filming on yesterday and it is The Price Of Persia. Alot of the locals work on the films doing construction or security of props for a few extra dirhams. We had our breakfast in the sun then set out to explore the Kasbah taking in sights from different angles. On the way down to the kasbah we were harrassed to go into stores with calls of you are first customer of the day, Bon Journo! and Belgium! France! England! Spain! Australia!, Just come in ...

It has become quite clear that our guide does not like his job (or women). He barely speaks English, knows little to no history of the region and tries to turn off the A/C in the car constantly. Today, when he found that the breeze from the open windows was too much, he decided to close them...which would have been ...

Yesterday we drove back through the Todra Gorge and towards Ouarzazate. We had planned to stay the night here, but we didn't see anything of interest, so just looked around the market and then continued onto Ait Benhaddou. As we drove along we passed women carrying bails of straw on their backs and crumbling Kasbahs blending into the stony desert landscape. The old Kasbah in Ait Benhaddou is well maintained for Moroccan standards. It is a large walled ...

... us our dinner, Harira, the best Chicken Tagine we had while in Morocco(although he told us it was all vegetable, hehe) and of course some Mint Tea. The guides all sang, drummed, and 2(one boy was a little bit crazy and was dancing like a maniac)danced. Even the older men did. They passed the drum around the circle and the other groups their, as well as us, enjoyed their show for a good 45 minutes. Our french partners went back to our tent early ...

Issam was going to work that morning and had promised to wake me up before he left, because I needed to be at the car rental place early, to take advantage of the day - but he didn't. And I didn't have my cellphone, since it got lost in Casablanca, and therefore no personal alarm clock. So I didn't wake up until at 12:30. I did wake up earlier at one point, but Issam was still sleeping, and as he had to be at work at 6am, the time must have been less than that, so I ...