Kasbah Oasis de Fezna Erfoud

... eventually arriving at camel camp after about 2 hrs. Jo and I immediately set off up the big dune behind camp to watch the sun set. It was bloody tough work - every step you took you sunk into he sand and made a half step backwards - we made it to the top and walked along the edge of the dune - sitting down when we felt like our lungs were bleeding! Sunset wasn't too bad but the sense of achievement for ...

... frost in the hollows and the air was chilled. An hour later we arrived at Ifrane, the Alpine village, 1655 metres above sea level. Moroccans ski in the surrounding mountains. The houses were built by the French in their style and it felt like being in Switzerland or France. Very bizarre. Good for winter sports but not much else. We had an hour to wander around in the chilly sunshine. Wasn't much to look at, a couple of trendy shops and cafes, I bought some jewellery and a CD which was ...

... and nearly had hallucinations from exhaustion. It's sand as far as the eye can see, and would seem to be an expanse that any self respecting explorer would say "I think we should go around this". We asked our guide how life functioned before the tourtist dollar made life a little cushier, that is, how his anscestors lived. Despite strong language skills, it was a question of which we could not convey the meaning to him. History was his life and his father's ...

... the mountain. Exhaustion set in and we all agreed that we had gone far enough. So we sat down, put our boots on, strapped into our respective gear, and off we went down the dune. My board was not very waxed and had a weird rubber strip at the nose, which made it difficult to pick up speed. However the ride down was pretty fun, but not fun enough to climb back up the mountain. After a sand skiing adventure, we all needed another nap ...

... bonkers. Surprise surprise we get hopelessly lost, but thats all part of the fun. For the odd dinar, some of the local kids will take you back to where you thought you were meant to be going. Pay as you go GPS, in retro style. Dinner at the Bab Bou Jeloud gate. Delicious couscous and tagine again... after 2 weeks dare to say we will probably be cursing the stuff, but its great now and coupled with a goods night sleep even better. May 10th REST DAY FES A day ...

... And you sit straight on the hump covered only by a blanket - bit bony. I think I bruised my hands holding on so tight. Justin had a great time and thought that riding under the stars was much better then doing it at sunset. Arrived in Berber camp for the night, nestled in between two massive sand dunes, slept in open tent on the same camel blankets we rode in on - but smelly - and a bit hard to sleep, couldn't help but think the guidebook warns the ...

After another tasty breakfast of bread, egg and jam, we packed up our bags and checked out of our hotel. As we were traveling with Megan's parents, I had booked a car and driver for the next leg of our trip to the Sahara desert. After our unpleasant experience the previous day, I was suddenly apprehensive about what I booked, and hoped that everything we had agreed to would stand. Our driver, Rashid, arrived spot on time, in a clean new Hyundai 8 seater ...

... but their teacher is pleased with our donations of books and pencils. Supporting local initiatives is part of the responsible tourism ethos. From school room we finally hit sand dunes. Beyond the Berber camp of an isolated tent, clay house and herd of goats roaming far into the distance, there is nothing but endless dunes. The wind lifts nad by the time we get to our camp there's a full-force sandstorm. Within minutes the camels and cameleers outside our building ...

... tent as well as getting supper ready with the help of some old guy in Blue Blockers whose name I couldn't pronounce. Apparently he doesn't really speak Arabic, Berber or French, but more of his own dialect. It also turns out that he actually lives at the oasis in a tiny patchwork hut. It's a touching story about a man and his burro..... After a while Hassan brought some bread and tajine (similar to stew) along with yet more tea slash sugar (called "Berber ...

... craziest bus ride of my life. (The craziest being the bus full of angry Romanian prostitutes who were being deported from Turkey via bus when Yarrow and I were there a couple years ago.) We arrived in Er-Rachidia pretty late, and took the first hotel we looked at, just to be inside somewhere safe and away from the hustlers. The hotel was a disaster- Lisay's bed didn't have a bottom sheet, the sink didn't drain, and the toilet was of the "squat ...