Salam Erfoud

... ran out and we went back to the hotel, Layla eventually followed - carpet less. Entered the bar intending to have a drink but it was full of men and the air was thick with smoke. Disappointed we went to our rooms. Was about to get ready for bed when there was a knock at the door - Kim and Cara with a couple of bottles of wine. Result! We settled in the comfy seating area in my room and Kim and I started on the first bottle of wine, a brand we had been drinking regularly, and ...

... or that we were stepping into another planet or universe. Its exactly as you see it in the movies. Ahead, a building started to appear out of nowhere. This was to be where we left the van and traded it for camels. We piled out of the van after we parked, went through our packs, pulling out only necessities for our 1 night of camping, and the rest was left behind. Those who didn't buy scarves had this one last opportunity to purchase one at twice the ...

... been told directly by God. There was no chance any of this was illustrative or allegorical. This was truth. It was odd: how could he have no doubt at all? M'het was well travelled, and his announcing to us his two favorite places he had visited was a highlight. As a Muslim, visiting Saudi Arabia and Mecca was naturally a profound experience and had clearly been a lifetime highlight for him. The other favorite place? "I like Florida in the United States, for ...

... This poor young cat, less than a year old, had its paw on backwards. Yes backwards! The padded part of the paw was facing its face and its foot had ballooned out to double its original size. We quickly attempted to pick it up. I'm not sure if we were going to fix it or just confirm the horrible sight we had just witnessed. However, the cat had other plans and quickly ran away. We tried to lure the kitten back with food. But to our ...

... port of exit in Tangier 50 years ago. What the French also passed on is how to build a decent bit of road. Parts of the ride today bare similarities to the Route Napoleon and that magic bit of black ribbon through the Gorges du Verdon. Not surprising, as it was probably the same Froggy engineers that built the roads in the colonies, or if not, their Moroccan counterparts... all of course trained in French schools of engineering. For this, I grant Les Bleus ...

... into the dunes. Their was a wedding ceremony taking place in the village where the women sang constantly the entire day and would spontaneously break out in crazy sounds (like what Kurdish people make). I was feeling quite ill and we were in the middle of desert in summer (yes we are crazy), but I still managed to doze off. Around 5pm we tied a few things on our saddles and hopped up on to our camel caravan. We spent the 1st night under the stars while our Berber guide cooked us some ...

In order to fill our days while the plane gets the permit extended to fly in Morocco, my coworker, her partner and I head towards the dunes of the Sahara with a stop in Erfoud. Erfoud is where many of the fossils in all the gift shops around town come from. I have been looking forward to this day for a long time, actually seeing the Sahara Dessert! This is a day I will not forget. We (meaning my coworker and her partner) left Er Rachidia with a friend that ...

... are only 30kms from the Algerian border. The backyard of the Kasbah is Dunes 100 metres high. The others want to do a camel ride into the dunes for sunset. After my groin separating Indian camel experience (quote unquote 'like a chicken wishbone') I decide to save some dosh, and Osteitis Pubis surgery and walk. The camels are slow so I end up walking with the group, being the official photographer. Walking on dunes is a good workout, and I am soon wishing I hadn't gone the third ...

... taxi later we arrived in Todra Gorge. This steeply-walled canyon climbed slowly upward into the Atlas mountains with dozens of palmeraies and kasbahs lining the small river in the centre. We did a couple pretty cool hikes in the valley and stopped in at the Todra Bar in Tinerghir, the town at the base of the gorge. This was the first bar we'd seen in Morocco and according to Steve, a British guy staying there, Laynni could very well have been the first ...

... wimpy. We rode back to Merzouga for showers and breakfast. A shower never felt so good. Then it was back in the Landrover, and now we are in Erfoud. We leave in two hours for the Dades Gorge. That will be fun but what we really want is a massage. We've heard good things about the massages at the hammams (public bath houses, which are where a lot of Moroccan women do their socializing.) Hopefully there will be a hammam in the town we're going to next.