Ibis Moussafir Ouarzazate

... thought that a 4 x 4 would suit are needs, as we were off to the High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara! However on closer examination at the rental car office a wreck of a Clio type car would be just what we wanted, they told us not to go off road or in the desert. We hoped not to return the car on the back of a truck, Chrisy said that it would be better if we didn't tell them about the Fiji hire car story ...

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 ...

So here we are in the Dades Valley, attached to a Nomadic Berber (extended) family with their 230+ goats &amp; sheep, 3 Mules, 10 Camels, 4 Dogs, 3 Donkeys, &amp; 2 Chickens. Family runs from Grandma down to the 2 year old &amp; from here for 7 days it's trek, camp &amp; cook with them.<br>We have our guide (Lassan) &amp; cook (Ahmed) so we can communicate &amp; eat if not easily wash etc.<br>On the way up we drove through Ouarzazate (think film sets ...

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.

... system is ground to a halt. That means no taxis, no buses, etc. As you can imagine that is going to cause a bit of a problem with me getting around and out of here. But as the Morrocans say, Imshallah, there is nothing you can do but hope for the best. Hopefully I will be moving on from here soon, but if not there are worse places in this world to be stuck. I hope everyone had a nice Easter, pleast stay in touch.

... a plug for the sink and some clothes pegs because all your undies go flying around the roof space that is often peoples living space. This morning Borat got up and made us some killer staunch coffee served in a cute Moroccan tea set then hooked us up with his mate who drove one of the grand taxi collectivos and had agreed to take us to Rissani for 12 dirham each, there are no buses out of here. He wanted to leave immediately but we said we would be having our cigarettes and ...

Excursion to Ouarzazate with Lunch booked through expedia.co.uk for about £30 a head. "South of the Atlas mountain range lies the city of Ouarzazate, better known as the 'door to the desert'. Cross the mountains to reach one of the biggest movie sets of the world, where films including Gladiator, Cleopatra, Alexander and Babel were shot." "To get to Ouarzazate, you will cross the High ...

... 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).<br>

... were not allowed on the same road as him. the road had been blocked already for about 4 hours. While all the locals do speak very highly of their king, who does seem to be doing a lot of good with Modernising the country, I did find the experience typically African. However Rashid was unfazed, and just picked up a newspaper - coincidently with the king on the front page - and began doing Soduko. Luckily our wait was only 45 minutes, and we ...

After a bit of commuting from Fes, I ended up at the Cascades d'Ouzoud. I hadn't planned an overnight stop, but I got there too late in the afternoon to find transport out. That, as it turned out, led to one of my best nights in Morocco. The falls are of course spectacular, but the highlight was afterwards, when tasty food came out along with a band of stoned Moroccans, who got us to join in their drumming circle before retiring to sleep ...