Palais Du Desert And Spa Erfoud

... 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 ...

... required to get the job I want on my return. There was Kawasaki from Japan, Mina and Celine from France (Mina with Moroccan Berber heritage) and two Dutch and two American guys travelling as a quartet having met as students. Curously, we also had the boss' plumpish 14y.o. son along for the ride too as possibly some form of multi day daycare. Along the entire southern border of Morocco runs the High Atlas mountains, and we climbed quickly into these. The ...

... instead of getting upset, we all began hysterically laughing. Here we were in the middle of the Sahara desert, in a strange city where we did not speak the language, with no hotel signs in site. But all we could manage to do was laugh. Everything turned out to be ok. After a short drive through the dirt and sand, we finally saw a tiny broken sign leaning unassumingly against a plain mud structure. We had found our Kasbah! From the ...

... 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 ...

... A pizza size flat pastry with a meat stew inside. Very tasty. After lunch we all piled into a 4x4 and drove for 40 minutes to Merzouga, the town right on the edge of the dunes. We stopped at a remote hotel where we were given a room to relax in for the rest of the afternoon. At 16:45 we were taken to our camels, and then megan our first expedition onto the dunes for sunset. It was amazing! Sadly the sunset was a non-event as it was very windy and hazy, so we ...

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 ...

... on my own which was rather exciting! Our friend helped us barter with the shop owner so that we didn't pay "tourist" prices. As we pressed on we started to see the large dunes in the distance, a very exciting moment for us. They are very tall and wide and since the landscape before them is so flat and barren you can see them for miles! After a few pictures we continued our journey. As we approach the dunes, or the area referred to as the Erg Chebbi ...

... between 2WD and 4WD is often confusing..... The hotel is an old style Kasbah, but only 4 years old. It is a veritable oasis in the desert. Amazing Moroccan salon-style rooms are beautifully decorated with a local touch. Even though it is mudbrick, it is 4 star mudbrick if that makes sense. I am spending more than I would as a 'traveller' because I am hanging round with those on 'holiday', but it is a fair compromise and still exceptionally good value because it includes food ...

... a mirage. After agreeing with our driver/hotelier, Zaouie, that we were, indeed, interested in a desert trek he summoned Omar, a tall rough-looking guy in a djellaba and headgear who fit the Berber desert guide look to a tee. After some poor haggling on our part (the kind where we eventually accept their first offer) the details were arranged and we settled in to spend the day relaxing until 5 pm when it would be cool enough to head out. When we did go it ...

... about 35 dollars each, we got our camels, a guide, meals, and a tent at the oasis. We headed out at around 5pm, and rode for about two hours. I must admit that the actual riding of the camels isn't particularly fun. In fact, it is pretty painful, especially when the camels are going downhill. Camels just weren't designed to carry humans. And they make really crazy noises when they are angry. I had been warned that the ones behind you might try to ...