Hanane Club (Halfboard) Ouarzazate

... we were just about the only people there and the place was almost deserted. I think in the Bible there was something about building houses out of stone, they don't seem to have heard about that round here. There's ruined mud houses all over the place, still if you a builder you've got a job for life! <br><br>By 9.00 am we were breakfasted and en-route to the big dunes of Erg Chebbi and the Sahara !! <br><br><br>

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

... the family and get the tents up whilst Ahmed produces that Lamb Casserole with soup.<br>The goats live pretty much by daylight so it's an early night before the 5.30 dawn chorus.<br>The next 6 days then follow the pattern of early starts and trekking up to 6 hours and a lazy afternoon waiting for the goats to catch up. We climb to 3200 metres &amp; experience the temperature swings at that height as well as some residual winter snow.<br>Overnight ...

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.

... on we went on a "little hike". That ended up being a mix of canyoning, spelunking, and bad ass hiking through a canyon. We spent the night in a Berber hotel in a quiet little corner of the country. The next day we went to Todra Gorge, similar to the other but a little bigger. But the highlight, without a doubt, was going to Merzouga. That is where the Sahara begins. We rode camels out for two hours into ...

... discussions. Common reasons may include: the price of the item elsewhere or the item not being exactly what you are after. If there is little movement in the price after some time, the best advice is to begin leaving, this often has the result of kick-starting the bidding anew, and if not, it is likely that the merchant is actually unwilling to go further below a given price. Next time the advice we are armed with is that you go in with a price in mind, offer 1/4 of what ...

... oasis 10km east of M'Hamid, which is literally the end of the road before sand takes you into Algeria, headed north then a little west before lunch and a nap under a tree. Further west and we reached the camp nestled amongst the dunes and bordering surreal in the light of the setting sun. Tagine for two by the fire followed by puzzle drawing in the sand with the Berbers. Discussions of people and places before retiring to our nomad tent ...

... with the sun. We had our meals in a big common room and the food was good and nourishing-mostly tagine of course. After dinner, Hamid and his buddies at the gîte entertained us with Moroccan singing, dancing and drumming-they could carry a pretty good beat. We stayed for two nights at the gîte and on our first day we went for a long hike into the mountains. The High Atlas Mountains, like the cliffs around the Todra Gorge, were rocky and barren ...

... The drive was very scenic, the red desert, the adobe villages in the hills all around, the snake-like roads sneaking up the mountain slopes, the massive colorful rocks rising out of the hills - amazing. I stopped in some places to take photos. One time I was just facinated by one of the hilltop adobe villages, this one on the other side of the road, so I drove to the side, parked the car, took my camera and got out of the car. There was no traffic, too, so I had the ...

Only a few hours after falling asleep, we awoke again at 5am in the pitch black. We were led to our Camels, and sleepily climbed back on. The wind from the night before had gone, and it was a very peaceful ride over the silhouetted dunes back to the same spot as the night before. I climbed back up the same dune from the night before, but this time took it a lot slower, and with out the wind was a lot easier. This time Megan's dad joined me, and ...