Kasbah Oasis de Fezna Erfoud

... GZ and then... I tried my level best with barely mended sprained knee, to crawl up that blessed vertical dune, but alas finally gave up after just 30 feet stumbling painfully in the sand. Oh well, hey - I don't log smilies anyway, yes?) ;)

ANYWAY, after a day of sublime rest and local meds (cumin in water cures just about everything in Morocoo), I was able to do that, and then at 4:30 pm I finally began my long-awaited Sahara odyssey ...

... it up there was better! After we got our lungs back in order we moon walked down back to camp - when you took a step the sand would push you another metre forward - we made it down in less than a minute rather than the 20 it took to get up. We chilled at camp and explored the kitchen and toilets then sat down and waited for one of the best tagines all trip - a chicken and olive one. We all just had a fork eat ...

... in one of the shops, then it was back on the coach to drive on to Immouzer and the largest forest in Morocco. Here we were entertained by a large group of Macaque monkeys who were quite dismissive of their appreciative audience. Then, into Berber sheep-raising country to Timadite, and over the Col du Zad. Later we cross the Tizi N'Tairhemt 'Camel Pass' a tunnel cut through the mountain by French Legionnaires, and continued via the Gorge du Ziz to ErRachidia, across a broad ...

... for a while to see who had come to visit. It looked like an extremely challenging life. Interestingly, the mule is still a common form of transportation for these people. We also visited an agricultural oasis where we learned how all the neighbouring families would tend a small patch of land (3m x 5m) to grow food to eat and trade. Each day they needed their crops irrigated, they would pay 20Dh ($3) to divert the little river (using a large pile of rocks ...

... and screaming at him. They get out and start to dig the car out. Meanwhile, the Moroccan guy continues to try and hold my hand and pull me away from the other guys. After a huge upset and many harsh words, we got the car out and returned to the Kasbah. Jeremy was so upset by the Moroccan's actions, the possible danger that he put us in, and then the obrupt way he stopped talking to us, that he stayed up all night talking to the ...

... learning today. The word Fes actually comes from an ancient dialect of the Touareg, and translates roughly as "The land of persistent carpet merchants". To counter this, we have come up with an ingenious modus operandi to head all would be deal makers off at the pass. Like any pre emptive defense strategy, the key element is to not let your would be captor / assailant get a toe hold in your territory. Usually the attacker will adopt the "Where you from ...

... spoke perfect English. Before getting in the car, we just ran through with him exactly how much we were to pay, and what exactly it covered. He was very polite about it all. We got in the car, with plenty space for the 4 of us and set off. As all I was expecting was a driver who we would tell where to take us, I was pleasantly surprised as he began pointing out all the different sights as we drove out of the city, and then started outlining all the ...

... The guides were quite aggressive looking and very suspicious. They did not want us there. The English guys had heard us and came out for a chat. The guides kept telling them to come back inside the tent for dinner even though no food was visible. Basically they didn't want us discussing the fact that we had walked out. These guys had done the exact same tour as us and even stayed in the same places despite the fact that we were told if we paid less we'd go to a more touristy part of ...

... 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 ...

... a-ceramic-hole-in-the-groun d" variety. Luckily it was just for one night. In the morning, we took a taxi to Erfoud, stopping to see the Ziz valley on the way. It is a lush palm forest snaking through the middle of the desert. Very picturesque. From Erfoud, we took a Landrover to Merzouga, where we stored our backpacks and bought big scarves to use as turbans to protect us from the desert sun. Then we negotiated a good price for a camel trek ...