Karam Palace Hotel Ouarzazate

... br>We drove out of Marakech on the road to the High Atlas in the direction of Ouarzazate (pronounced "who said zat") We stopped on route for mint tea, and at lunch time had delicious Moroccan Tajine and Brocheta , we bought an ammonite at one of the en-route little shops, also available were the lovely crystals in rocks and onyx eggs that the place is famous for, but Sharkita has enough junk onboard to ...

... 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.

... Jewel of the Nile) and Ali Benhaddou with its famous Kasbah. We also drove through the rose growing area which was quite a surprise.<br>Ahmed shopped for some initial provisions - so that will be the meat from the hanging sheep carcasses then, plus fruit and vegetables. The snow looms on the mountain tops and a local shop is delighted that we want 36 bottles of water between the 4 of us.<br>A jolly first evening as we manage some sort of interaction ...

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.

... city was actually one of my best. I had to get a taxi to the bus station (as you can tell I was thrilled at that idea). I hailed a cab and asked the driver how much. He just asked me to get in, turned on the meter and only charged me a fraction of what I expected. I was so surprised I paid him double to thank him. I left on the bus today and arrived in Ouarzazate. It's towards the south which meant we had to cross the amazing Atlas mountains ...

... first, we seem to be getting better at keeping control of situations here. Luckily some Polish travellers, some Berbers and turban wearing men shared the ride making up the six passengers we needed to get the good deal. In Rissani the driver tried it on for us to give him money for our bags but we had already negotiated an all inclusive deal and told him to get lost. We went to the grand taxi stand where an attendant was writing taxi trip information on a chalkboard and ...

... on a winding road through the Tichka Pass at an altitude of 2,260 metres (7,415 feet). Expect views that are nothing short of breathtaking. See Ouarzazate, named after a Berber term meaning 'without noise' and relax over lunch. Visit the fortress Kasbah of Taourit before you make your way back to Marrakech, stopping at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ksar Aït Benhaddou on the way. "

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 ...

... on our way again by 4pm. We arrived in Ouarzazate just after 5pm, where Rashid found a great hotel for us, and once again bargained for a great price. We were beginning to get worried that he was going to ask us to pay him extra for all the costs he was saving us. He then took us to a nice restaurant for dinner looking out over a famous Kasbah. By the time we got to bed that night, we were exhausted and fell straight to sleep. Lucky for us we were

... under a perfect sky full of shooting stars. The next day I rushed off to meet Pascal, a Swiss traveller I met in Fes, who'd waited the night for me in a nearby town. We headed off to the mountains with the vague notion of climbing something in the M'Goun Massif area of the High Atlas Mountains. In the end, we hired a guide, mule and muleteer to drive the mule, and headed off. We got our mountain, a big 4068m one called Irhil M'Goun ...