Kasbah Asmaa Midelt

... Eastern and African styles and it was so much fun. Exhausting though!

Late that night there was a big thunderstorm. Emma and I stayed up in the dark watching it and discussing man troubles. You know, all the stuff that doesn't make it into the blog!

I wish I had gone up to the roof to watch the storm, it was probably amazing. It was just such a vast landscape.

But our next stop was another vast landscape... the Sahara desert.

I woke really early (still pitch dark outside) and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to get up and have a shower, so I stripped off and turned the shower on, forgetting it would take 20 mins to heat up. I balanced the shower head and crawled back into bed to stay warm. The shower head slipped and water sprayed all over the bathroom and I had to stick my head in the cold water to turn off the tap. So now I was ...

... out the face paint we were swarmed by naked faces in need of painting. The party wouldn't have been complete without a haunted house. When it opened, children were nearly busting down the door to have their turn to test their threshold of fright. They went in one-by-one, some of them having to be pushed through the door; others walked in and walked right back. Some of their facial expressions ...

... to understand them. The mom is like a grandmother to me. She is funny, sweet, and very patient with me. She insists on doing everything for me. I thought that would end after the first couple of days when they got used to me being there. But it didn't. I have to fight a losing battle to do my own laundry. I don't think I'll ever be able to get my clothes as clean as she does. I call ...

I'm now in Midelt, a smallish town in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Technically I'm outside Midelt, lodged with my group in an auberge with rustic charm. (Rustic charm, by the way, means that they don't have heat). This afternoon we took a short hike to the edge of a nearby gorge, then walked back through the tiny village of Berrem. Berrem only has a population of about 200 people, and their main economy comes from the surrounding apple ...

... for Moroccan standards), as we had suffered a cold shower in Fes this morning. Not only did we get a hot shower we also got to taste Berber tea, given to us by the friendly staff. This wasn't a nice experience; in fact it's absolutely disgusting. It's incredibly sweet and tastes nothing like tea. I debated disposing of it in one of the ornaments on the side, but instead forced myself to politely drink it.

... and a magnificent mausoleum, nothing is left of his fabulous palace, the Versailles of the Morocco) We will soon find out that Meknès has little too offer from its past splendor. Tour operators are only too aware of this : coach loads of tourists zip though the cities few sights without staying overnight. As expected from us, we will pay a visit to the king's granary and stables - enormous !- They housed ...

... name is 'Gretta' and she runs like a dream (actually more like a tractor ;)... she sounds a bit like a lawn mower and doesn't go much over 80 Km per hour... I think that is something like 35-40 an hour! A very rapid pace we keep! Uphill we often end up in 1st gear at a whopping 10-15 mph if we are lucky! Gretta and her pace have honestly changed the way I look at life. It sounds cliché yet I am now more than ever a firm believer in 'it is all about the journey, not the destination ...

... left Fes early Thursday morning and spent most of the day travelling to the edge of the Saharan desert... my home for a night. Enroute, we stopped for a short visit at the Kasbah Myriam, a carpet and embroidery workshop run by Franciscan nuns who have as their aim to provide sustainable employment and health care to local Berber women. It was a very long drive today but we were given the opportunity to stop and admire the beautiful views of the kasbahs and palmeries.