I Roccha 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.

... passes &amp; ledges; I also lose count of the times we criss-cross the stream on the way up.<br>Ahmed continues to star with casseroles &amp; soup (&amp; pancakes/omelettes in the morning) but on Day 3 a goat finds its way to the pot &amp; we are 'honoured' with barbequed offal in stomach/intestine lining. Day 4 inevitably brings goat casserole.<br>So we finally make the villages at Zawyat Oulmzi where there is a hostel we share with a Belgian school group.

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.

... just took a shower and I am having my clothes washed which is definetely good. Only problem is the only thing I have to wear until tomorrow morning when they are done is my bathing suit and my glow in the dark Barnum and Baily circus T shirt. I am sure I wont stand out. Finally onto the setback of my trip right now. Turns out theres a bit of a strike going on. And by that I mean the entire countrys ...

... tourists will arrive over the next few weeks to Morocco as the temperatures become bearable.Its crazy hot, your lips crack up and skin flakes up in the dry heat. There are no laundromats here that we have seen because all the women wash the clothing on their rooftops and dry it there too. It dries in twenty minutes. The women stay at home in Morocco as is the culture and do not go to work. We have been doing our laundry on the rooftops too but it would have been handy to ...

... Giant, bouldered faces casting down ancient shadows and beckoning every serious rock climber from Spain to use the Semana Santa holiday scaling their features. 20km walk in the morning saw us in the village of Tamtattouchte, passing barren cliffs to the end of the gorge to be shown round this peaceful settlement that has only had the luxury of electricity and telephone lines since 2006. So far, splendifico! Tomorrow head for Goulmima....ensha'llaah!

... countless meals of tagine, the warm sweet soft cake was like heaven. Mel greedily gobbled up 5 pieces, even sneaking one last piece right before leaving. The others in the group were thoughtful enough to bring back an extra piece for Paul. The only thing Mel brought back was a face full of crumbs and a sore tummy from too much cake! The next morning we left the gîte early and hiked back down to our waiting van for the long trip out to the sea.

... because the group of children pull my door, with angry faces. It does eventually close and I start driving as fast as I can away, seeing in my rear window that the children start throwing stones towards my car, with hatred in their eyes. That was scary! Luckily none of the rocks hit the car, otherwise I would have had a large bill on my hands once back in Marrakech!<br><br>Because of my late departure that day, I only just managed to get to Aït Benhaddou that night ...

... Morocco, after the past few days where we felt like we were on our own, suddenly there were bus loads of tourists around us. We had lunch in the gorge watching some climbers navigate their way high on the cliff face. We then jumped back in the car for trip to Ouarzazate. However after the road of a thousand Kasbahs, we came to road block. Rashid jumped out to check what the hold up was, and we discovered that the King was changing towns, and ...