Xaluca Erfoud

Zaid had promised me a traditional family dinner prepared by his sister. It was that and so much more. His family home is within walking distance to the marketplace. We arrived early evening so that I had time to meet his family. I had brought gifts for the children and was delighted to sit on the floor and play hot potato with the balls I had brought. His sisters made me feel more than welcome with big ...

... Mike hopped off his camel and let Abdul ride it and walked about half the way. The camp was a great setup - about 4 individual tents with thick blankets over timber frames on the walls and roof, all connected with an open area in the centre. We chose tents - the 3 single guys in one, ladies in another and Mike & I in another. Each tent looked like it could sleep about 6 people, but it was nice to have such a small group and have the place to ourselves ...

... Dancing to live drum jamming with the crew, and singing an impromptu rendition of "Buffalo Soldier" with our gracious hosts. Sleeping under the stars, many of them shooting (make a wish!) watching the moon set, and the sun rise. Grumpy camels, braying donkeys. Not to mention the many, many laughs, and lack of dull moments.

... the sunset over the dunes. It was sooo beautiful! the sands become this deep red color and change with the depleating sunlight. It wasn't as hot as I'd imagine, though the sun was low in the sky by this point. the sand was hot still, but the temperature was tolerable, and masked by all of us being in awe of the experience we were having. The dunes were massive, and you just cant help but wonder where the heck all of this sand came from, and whats ...

... Mali and Mauritania. We went to the end of the world, and found people fighting over it. Very odd, because there seems to be lots to spare. * * * Our desert safari to Merzouga was definitely a huge highlight of this trip. There were so many interesting stops packed into the three day adventure as well as such good company we travelled with, that it was impossible not to have had the time of our lives. We were eleven travellers from all over the globe ...

... is unbearable. With no other option to deal with the upsetting scene earlier, we have turned it into a joke. While we were again sitting in the garden of our Kasbah, eating dinner and drinking wine, a few more stray cats come wondering up to our table. However, this time, Jeremy turns around and sternly tells the cats, "Come back and see me when your paw is on backwards!" Without being able to contain our laughter, we all ...

... down to Morocco for a few days of sniffing about, prepping for the Paris Dakar next year. Lovely guys, but we can't help thinking about the expression "Only mad dogs and Englishmen in the heat of the noonday sun". Its 32 degrees. Probably told the wives they're just popping out down to the shops for a loaf of bread, and might be able to scramble back in time before either of them notice. The riding is good and we are chewing up the kilometres. The route ...

... d be ok and they weren't poisonous, but come on he was English and probably didn't even know what a Scorpion looked like before he was bitten, poor guy. It's not like the English get a lot of experience with scarey insects before they travel. Anyway a guide from another camp came over and luckily he spoke French so he conversed with another guy in our group. He wanted to cut the foot and suck out the poison. We told him that was a ******** remedy and he grabbed Luke's foot and put the ...

... we headed to our friend's cousin's shop who he came to visit. The shop was very nice, lots of fossils and lovely carpets. My coworker and I were dressed up by our friends, she as a traditional Berber woman and me as a traditional Arab. It was lots of fun, we had tea and couscous, the couscous was amazing! After that we looked at the rugs and the other stuff in his store. After relaxing we headed out of town to the dessert. The drive again was great ...

... beautiful. Perhaps you had to be there but we end up doing vocal impersonations of her voice, or what we think her voice should be. The desert is sending us mad perhaps. Olivia stares at us transfixed. Here we are in the Sahara, on top of an enormous Dune watching the sunset. The guides encourage us to run down the dunes back to the camels once it is over. I am carrying more cameras than the paparrazi, so I can't run. Mike sprints. Doing the maths from Year 11 Physics, I ...