So-Where-To or South Western Township or Soweto, South Africa

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Fanu's House in Soweto Slum

To avoid the raining season soon starting in West Africa we decided to head south to South Africa.
Johannesburg was a culture shock coming in from Morocco - it's very suburb oriented and we found it hard to know where to stay. Staying in a hostel in the mid-northern suburbs we found it expensive to get around easily. Our trip to Soweto was definitely interesting, and our local Soweto guide, Mandy, was informative and a lot of fun. Four million people live in the black township south west of the central Johannesburg. This is the most famous township, and many blacks were moved to this location by the Apartheid regime. 
It seemed a very developed suburb with full services and facilities (the hospital was massive and gives birth to 120+ babies a day!) and we noticed a wide range of affluence. Everything from large homes to tin shacks. We noticed there was little security as opposed to other suburbs in Jo'burg - like barb wire and razor wire fencing. It felt safe in Soweto and we visited a local tin shack community. A young teenager, Fanu, guided us around his home and 'village'. He was very proud of his room in the tin shack that he shared with his sister. It had all that you really needed and was spotless.  It was Easter Sunday and we met kids and adults hanging

Super Cute little girl posing in Soweto

out or doing their Sunday chores. There were lines of washing everywhere. We played and danced with the kids as the followed us along the mud paths in-between their homes. The people were friendly and you could tell that they took pride in their small, yet clean and tidy homes. The well where they collect their water was sadly filthy around.
We visited the Hector Peiterson museum learning about the black student uprising against the abrupt introduction of the Afrikaans language in schools in 1976.  Hector Peterson was just one of many teenagers in the peaceful protest that were horrendously massacred by police. In all, over 1000 students died over the next while protesting this.
According to Mandy, Nelson Mandela's house had been modernized out of recognition, since he lived there.  We passed by Bishop Desmond Tutu's house also which was a block away.  Two Nobel Peace Prize winners' homes on the same block - pretty impressive. We felt safe and we visited a local market trying local snacks, and then onto Mandy's friend's new bakery / restaurant. It was an interesting, and eye opening morning!

Kids lined up in Soweto

We felt safe in Soweto, but were unsure what to make of the rest of Johannesburg. We walked around our suburb which seemed entirely black and felt ok. It seems though that the white people keep themselves to themselves and live in their homes secure as a fortress, venturing out only in their cars.  We did tour around the Hillbrow district in Joburg with Mandy - not a place I would want to venture out on my own.

Unsure about how we felt, we moved on to the capital of Pretoria. After searching for 2 hostels that now no longer exist, we came upon 1322 Backpackers.  This place was great, and we really enjoyed our time here getting plenty of info for the rest of our trip.  It was such a treat to feel more comfortable about South Africa, which we knew we would find, but it took time coming.
In Pretoria, we visited the Voortrekker Monument in tribute of the Dutch Afrikaans people who traveled into South Africa's interior to get away from the British ruled towns on the coast. Interesting and with great views over the city of Pretoria. We always like to catch local transport wherever we go so getting around was different and we got stared at quite a lot. We walked around town exploring the centre, again noticing that not many white people were out and about even though it was Easter Monday. The beautiful Government Buildings were more touristed and there was a lot of activity for South Africa's major holiday coming up - Freedom Day. * Mush

Here's Lookin' at You......Kid - Casablanca, Morocco

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Hassan II Mosque

Casablanca is a huge modern city of 3.8 million people on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.  A very cosmopolitan city where you see old traditions, and very new styles, offering a unique insight into modern Morocco.  Being a big city, we had decided to only spend one night there before flying out of Morocco, but we did enjoy our brief time there.  
The main attraction in town is actually very new.  Built in the '90's, the Hassan II Mosque is the world's third largest mosque.  It is very impressive, with the attention to detail exquisite.  Unfortunately, there are some negatives in particular the half billion US dollar price tag, which many argue could have been used much more effectively elsewhere.  Helping feed the poverty stricken, homes for the homeless, - you see where I am going with this.  We even heard that they kicked out the slum dwellers that were living on the site, and gave them no compensation. 
That being another issue altogether, visiting the mosque was a treat.  It is one of the few mosques that non-muslims are allowed to enter with a guided tour, although we missed our opportunity.  The mosque is situated on a rocky outcrop, reclaimed from the sea.  It can hold 25000 worshippers, and another 80000 in the courtyards surrounding it.  We were told that it actually has a retractable roof, and a glass floor over the ocean. We have also heard that a futuristic laser beam points from the tower towards Mecca in the evening.

Muslim photographer at Hassan II Mosque

It was constructed by the present king's father, Hassan II in honour of his 60th birthday, and I suppose he was one for detail.  All the intricate mosaic and tile work was immaculate, and the massive doors were detailed and impressive.  It seemed like many locals would hang out and enjoy the surroundings, while others were more touristy, taking photos around the place like the couple pictured here.
A walk through the old medina was busy with the bustle of people selling and eating.  It had a different feel from other medinas, but still a nice vibe.  We ate at rotisserie street, an area of cheap eateries, with tons of rotisserie chicken on offer.
We left our youth hostel in the morning after sleeping in his and her dorms - strange for us.  Michelle had met an Algerian lady named Mina, who kindly gave her a gift of a CD of Moroccan music - how nice was that!!
On to our next leg of the journey.  Since Western Africa is approaching a rainy season, and flights were actually cheaper to head South, we were off to Johannesburg, South Africa with a brief stopover in Cairo, Egypt.  From desert to safaris - exciting!!   *Stub

Under the Shadow of North Africa's Tallest Mountain, Imlil, Atlas Mountains, Morocco

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Town of M'Zzick in the Atlas Mountains

Imlil is a cute little town at the foot of Mt Toukbal (Jebel Toubkal) - Northern Africa's highest mountain at 4167m. The town is situated at approx. 1700m, and is a base for climbing the mountain.  When we'd first arrived in Morocco in early March it was a little too soon to do the two-day climb up Toubkal. Unfortunately, we were so busy, that we didn't think to reconsider doing it as we drew nearer to the end of April when conditions are more favourable.
Getting there was an adventure in itself.  Most people said it wasn't possible or it would take ages, and most tourists get there on a pre-arranged tour, but we wanted to try and do it cheaply by public transport - a local bus and a couple of collective / public Grand Taxis. Of course, it was possible and it cost a fraction of the price of a day tour (though it took about twice the time to get there - about 3 hours - which was fine with us).

Martin below Jebel Toubkal, and town of Armed

It was definitely worth the overnight trip up into the hills as it was super scenic and we ended up staying in a Berber village in the Toubkal's foothills. Many of the locals had set up 'gites' or guesthouses, as the climb has become quite popular.  We walked from village to village exploring the area and it gave us inspiration to come back and climb Toubkal in the future. We talked to a few people who were on their way up the mountain, or some that were doing a long trek throughout the Atlas Mountains.  We were a little surprised at ourselves for not allowing time for this area of Morocco, because we love the mountains, and things were in bloom.  But, just being in the mountains was quite a shock to the system after coming in from the Sahara just 2 days prior.

Martin in the Medersa

Heading back to Marrakesh was super easy and even quicker than our journey the day before, as we
were old hands at it now. Once back in town we made the most of one more free morning before leaving the country by heading to a couple of historic sites that we hadn't visited before: The Musee de Marrakesh was a beautiful 19th century building with some great restored architecture and some interesting exhibitions. It was purchased by Omar Benjelloun and restored beautifully.  The Koubba Ba'adiyn was a crumbling ruin with great character - it was used previously as a bath house and latrine. My favourite, though, was the Ali Ben Youssef Medersa, or theological college, that had recently been restored with some amazing architecture. Early morning there with hardly any tourists and we almost had the place to ourselves and could explore the little study rooms in peace - not found much in Marrakesh.   The details of the decoration of this building was amazing, but we were driven out when the hoards of bus tours started coming through the door!   *Mush

Hollywood in the Desert, Ouarzazate, Morocco

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Michelle on the set for Kundun at Atlas Studios

After our lovely, calm trip to the desert, we hopped on a hair-raising minibus ride to Zagora.  This guy pushed the limits of the one lane road, and really played some game of chicken with the oncoming traffic.  Scary enough, that at one stop, we moved back in the bus so as not to see it coming!!!
Zagora, was unfortunately tainted a little, as we had major trouble finding our campsite.  It was a very cool little spot, but because we arrived so late, we couldn't' enjoy it to its' fullest, and we left very early in the morning, heading for Ouarzazate.
The main site in Ouarzazate is the Kasbah, an old mud-brick fort that has been partially restored. For centuries, this was the place where people from the Atlas Mountains, Draa Valley, and Dades Valley converged to do business. Hollywood found Ouarzazate back in the 1950s and has used the kasbah and surrounding scenery as the backdrops for films including "Lawrence of Arabia", “Gladiator", “Jewel of the Nile", “Kundun", to name a few.  There is also a private studio called Atlas Studios, which we took

Martin with kids in Ouarzazate

a guided tour of.  The sets were all made of lightweight material, and even styrofoam.  From the back, all the walls were just propped up with wooden scaffolding, and some haven't stood up to the test of time.  We were on the sets for Gladiator, Asterix (Cleopatra film), and Kundun.  There was a full set of Jerusalem built out in the middle of nowhere behind the studios.  A really strange sight.
The people were quite friendly here in Ouarzazate.  We had some fun moments with the kids living near the studios, and then taking a bus all the way through town we chatted with many locals on our walk back to our hotel via the Kasbah. 
To celebrate our quick day in Ouarzazate, we had our first beer of/in Morocco.  A delicious Stork brand, which we enjoyed on our rooftop terrace, overlooking main street and our great little Patisserie across the street.  *Stub

Sandstorm in M'Hamid, Morocco

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Our guides and trusty camel companions in the desert

Since the trip to the dunes in Merzouga was a little disappointing with all the 4x4 tracks, we decided that we wanted to get out into the desert a little farther, and avoid the "vehicles and tourists".  At the end of the road literally, we arrived in M'Hamid.  One of the webpages described this area as "somewhere of nowhere", and it certainly was.  We decided to book locally and support the people of this little town, and managed to easily get ourselves on a 5 day camel trek out to the Erg El-Zahar dunes (Screaming Dune as it's called when the wind blows) and back.

We picked up supplies which included 10-5 litre jugs of water, and a bunch of oranges for some sweetness and flavour.  We set off early the next morning to take advantage of the cooler temperatures earlier in the day.  Our guides were Mustafa and Zaid, and we were told we needed two guides in case

Another curious camel between Zaid and Omar

one of them dies along the way, the other can get us home.  I guess that hit home a little, as I suppose we are heading out into dangerous mother nature, and anything can happen.  One was a camel man, and the other a cook, but it seemed like Mustafa did most of the work making all the food and leading the camels, and Zaid just laid around, while building and tending the fires whilst making tea!  He would get out this massive block of sugar and chop off a chunk to throw in the tea.  I came to really look forward to my sweet tea at the stops!!  Zaid also made this fantastic bread in the sand on our final night.  The bread we had brought was getting pretty stale by this time, so he made the dough, dug a hole, put in some coals with the dough on top, and covered it with coals and sand.  And voila...... a short while later we were eating delicious fresh bread cooked right in the sand!!!
They did both have a good sense of humour though, and we had some good laughs even with the language barrier.  I do think that Mustafa was a little sweet on Michelle, and who knows.... I might have been able to earn some camels for her!!  Just kidding, I kind of like having her around!!!
We found out early on that, a five day camel trek into the Sahara dunes does not actually mean you ride the camels.  To our somewhat surprise, they are there just to carry all the stuff, so we set out to walk in the desert for 5 days.  And we walked and walked and walked, probably about 20 km each day.  We would walk for 2-3 hours in the morning, then stop for lunch under some of the only shade around for about 5 hours, waiting for the sun to cool down slightly, the  we would set out for another 2-3 hours.  But boy, was the sand hot in the afternoon!!!!  I had my flip-flops on, and in the loose sand, it would cover your bare skin and it would BURN!!!  Sure toughened my feet up after 5 days of it!

Sandstorm in M'Hamid desert

Another bit of a surprise to us, was that we had no tent!!  We are unsure if the trip organizer "forgot" to give our guides a tent because he was actually dealing with a death in the family that day.  Or since we managed to reduce the price to 300 dirhams a day, maybe a tent was just not included in this price.  We never thought to ask, but here we were in the middle of the Sahara with no cover or protection from the wind.  Most of the time this wasn't an issue, but one night we had a big sandstorm, and laying in our sleeping bags, we got covered in sand!  All we could do was drape our sarongs over our faces and hope all our stuff was covered up well!!  Very rough night indeed, but luckily it stopped in the morning, but we didn't get much sleep.  We also had to deal with daytime sandstorms too, and these went on for hours.  Again, we had not protection from the wind and had to huddle behind our sleeping pads.  A bit uncomfortable, but the worst was getting sand in all our food that Mustafa had carefully prepared for us.  I ate a lot of sand in those 5 days!!

Curious camel at camp

Our other trusty companions were the two camels that carried all our gear (minus the tent), food and water.  Both named Lasfar which we found out to be the colour, they were very gentle, and just interesting to have wandering around camp.  Michelle really took to feeding them the food scraps, and they loved all our orange peels especially.  They were quite curious at times, stepping right in to our sitting area, or sniffing around to try to sneak some food.  At each stop, Zaid would attach the camel parking brake (tying their front legs together loosely), and they would wander off.  At first, we were a little concerned when we couldn't even see them near the camp, but Zaid always managed to track them down.  At night, he would put on the serious brake, in which he tied a strap around the knee, and possibly tied to the other leg also.  But they didn't seem to mind, and were there every morning!

All this talk, and yet none about the scenery.  In a word, it was surreal!  At first we were basically walking through scrubby desert, but there were small dunes around us.  With Algeria in the distance to the South, we continued to walk as the dunes got larger and larger, until we reached the Erg El-Zahar,

Martin climbing the Erg El-Zahar dune

which they call the Screaming Dune at 150m high or so. We set up a camp, and Mustafa and Zaid waved us off to explore the big dune before sundown.  As the sand was finally a little cooler, we managed to both climb up to the summit and have fabulous views over all the dunes as far as the eye could see.  Colours were quite amazing, sort of a gold-ish brown.  We met a few other tourists hiking to the top including a couple of French guys from the bus to M'Hamid.  As always, I love my downhill, so after some well earned time at the top, managed to run all the way down the big dune with the French friends taking a video.  Dig in the heels, and keep the momentum going!!  I think I could have stayed up at the top for days.
The remaining scenery was anything from dry river beds to rock desert that stretched for miles.  The rocks in the desert contained many fossils and shells from being under water at one point.  It was interesting looking for the fossils, but it sure dragged on for miles and miles and miles.  It was in the rock desert that we encountered a large cluster (not sure what the correct terminology is) of camels, including quite a few babies that were exceptionally cute, and hustled along beside the adults.  The camel-men, were the only locals we saw on the entire trip, except for this crazy old Berber guy, who appeared in the middle of nowhere and was yelling from the top of a sand dune.  He joined us for lunch, then a nap, then wandered off back into the dunes still smiling away!!!  We have no idea where he was going!!

Our bed for the night in M'Hamid desert

On our third afternoon, trudging our way through a big sandstorm, we arrived at our camp for the
night.  It was a fixed camp owned and we would have a roof over our head for the night.  We were the only guests staying that night, which meant we had time to spend with our guides and the 3 young guys who work at the camp full-time.  Omar, Jamal and Eunice were really nice guys, and it was great to hang out with them in a much more casual setting, rather than them serving us and catering to our needs like most tourists staying there.  Apparently, we were very good luck to them, because shortly after we arrived, the sandstorm was cleared by a rain storm.  Rain in the Sahara..... who would have thought.  It rained quite heavy for a short time too... and was very refreshing after being sandblasted for hours.  In the morning, we awoke to some bright lights, and quickly realized that it was lightning.  I hustled up the dunes to try to get some photos, and wouldn't you know it, the storm stopped just before I got to a good photo sight.  Disappointing, but still in my memory bank along with so many other great experiences on this journey!!!   *Stub

Chilling with Hendrix in Essaouira, Morocco

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Essaouira from the Skala du Port

We were ready for a little chill-out time, and what better place than the beach town of Essaouira (pronounced Essa-wee-ra).  Steph and Jer continued on with us from Marrakesh (I guess they are not sick of us yet!), and we were greeted by madness at the Gare Routiere (bus station) in Essaouira.  Touts almost coming in the doors of the bus, which we hadn't seen the like of in Morocco yet.  We accepted one touts help, and he showed us to a very nice 2 bedroom apartment (with kitchen), which was very inexpensive, and the 4 of us moved in.  This  meant we could make some of our own food, and we also managed a large salad, as veggies have really been lacking in Morocco. 

Essaouira ramparts, Skala and port from our hotel

Tackling the local markets for all the items is, as always, quite fun.  We also managed to find a small, friendly liquor store and tried some of the local wines - the first alcohol I've had in over a month.  That's got to be the longest I've gone without any booze for 20 odd years!!
The town did have a great vibe to it, even walking down the main strip with our backpacks on.  Funky restaurants and cool chill out lounges, obviously spurred on by the increasing number of tourists to the town, but the people were exceptionally friendly and hospitable, while also being very relaxed.  Although, our apartment owner was a bit of a grumpy old guy, both on arrival and departure.  It sure would have been nice to visit this town before the influx of tourists, as I've heard it was excellent, but also a bit hippy.  Apparently, Jimi Hendrix spent some time here back in the 70's and the locals still say that the old ruins on the beach inspired his song "Castles Made of Sand".

Locals on the Ramparts for sunset

Essaouira is not all about tourism.  It still has a large, commercial port, and the closer you get, the more fishy the smells.  Not to mention the masses of hovering seagulls waiting for a free meal from the fish cleaners.  Just outside the gates of the port are a bunch of little food stands, with some colourful and delicious looking varieties of seafood available for BBQ-ing.  They seem to weigh it all up (including trays), then adapt a price for you with extra for bread, salad, drinks, etc.  It was kind of a weird experience, and I'm not sure the four of us came out of it with that great a feeling.  The guy just wasn't listening to what we wanted, and kept throwing on different fish and giving us a price.  We weren't trying to bargain, just get the seafood we wanted based on what we could afford.  I don't think he was entirely happy settling at our price, and neither were we.  Just hoping our food didn't get too much "Spit" on it!!  Too bad, as we were hoping for a good experience, and good food.  We ended up with a huge rock crab, baby calamari, a delicious red snapper, and a small tuna + salad and bread for $25 US.  Can't be too upset about that I suppose.

Jeremy and Steph in Triskala

It was with great sadness, we said goodbye to Steph and Jeremy after 2 nights.  The final night out with them was at a really cool little lounge called Triskala, set up like a cave with comfy cushions in different areas, listening to some live music.  In the morning, we were on our own again, so we moved out of the apartment, but found a super cheap place up against the sea wall ramparts, complete with old Portuguese cannons, and plenty of locals sitting on them while watching the sunset.  We had waterfront views for only $12 a night, and some great sunsets.
There were also some interesting fortifications near the port, so we climbed up the Skala du Port, and enjoyed the views over the port and towards the city.  This is where all the postcard photos are taken, as you get seagulls soaring and floating all around, in front of the main view of the city against the city walls.

Sunset from our Hotel Terrace

The rest of the time was spent on the beach when possible.  The winds here can be quite strong often, so good for kiteboarding, but makes you feel like you are getting sand-blasted when trying to relax on the beach.  Maybe this was foreshadowing for what was to come.  We could see ourselves coming back here and maybe spending a month or two, relaxing and working on my kiteboarding skills.   *Stub

Marvels and Mysteries of Marrakesh, Morocco

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Steph, Jeremy and Michelle at Night Food Stalls - Djemaa el-Fna

Once the hub of camel caravans and traders from the south, over the centuries the oasis of Marrakesh developed into a big bustling city with a hint of the exotic. Now a Unesco Heritage Site, the main square, called Djemaa El- Fna or La Place, is the pulse of Marrakesh and is quite literally an overload to the senses - the sounds, the sights, the smells. Everything from smokey food stalls to fresh orange juice carts, from dancing monkeys to snake charmers; from dentists selling their skills by displaying their latest tooth extractions (eeew!) to herbalists selling miracle cures from the Sahara.

Djemaa el-Fna at night

At dusk this magical place transforms as row upon row of open air food stalls are assembled and cook up a storm filling the air with smoke and mouthwatering aromas. Locals and tourists feast on barbecued kebabs and seafood and tajines, snail soup, harira (chickpea soup) and even goats heads if you want. Walking through the stalls feels a bit like running the gauntlet as the chefs and touts try to entice (more like bully) you into their stall. We did choose a place and it was a fun experience to sit there and soak up the whole atmosphere. At sunset, the beat seemed to change and the hypnotic piercing oboe-like sounds of the flutes of the snake charmers were replaced by the beat of drummers and musicians. The square filled with crowds of locals as they clustered around storytellers, fortune tellers and magicians.

La Place is in the heart of the medina or old town, and we found a cute hotel with character not far from the square (for $13 with wifi). After our desert trip we spent a couple of days exploring the medina's souqs - a warren of narrow lanes choc-filled with shop after shop of touristy souvenir schtuff.

Steph, Jeremy and Michelle at the Koutoubia Mosque

The ancient sites of Marrakesh were interesting: The Bahia Palace built in 1580s is basically a huge open square surrounded by red mud/straw walls with the usual stork colony in huge topsy-turvy nests teetering on the highest ramparts. Other features were the sunken orange groves, underground dungeons for storage - food and prisoners alike - and also a 12th century minbar or mini-bar as we called it: basically a beautiful restored wooden pulpit from the Koutoubia (main mosque) - the oldest wooden relic remaining. My other favourite site in Marrakesh was the Baadia Palace which, rather, than a series of crumbling ruins, was built recently in the 19th century for a prince/king with his four wives and 24 concubines! It had nice cool and shady courtyards and elaborate halls and rooms that were linked from one to another.

Rediscovered and restored by the French in 1917, the elegant mausoleum of the 16th century Saadian Tombs is the burial place of the Saadian princes, descendants of the prophet Mohammed.  These tombs were blocked off and hidden from raiding armies, and only discovered from the air, and then an entrance tunnel was constructed.  There are also 166 other tombs in the complex.

Martin at the Really Big Slipper Shop

The 70m tall Koutoubia Minaret built in 12th century is the oldest and best preserved of three famous minarets by Almohad Sultan Yakoub el-Mansour - the other two sister minarets are, in Morocco's capital city Rabat and, perhaps the other more impressive, Giralda in Sevilla, Spain. Beside the Koutoubia are the remains of a previous mosque that had to be torn down as it wasn't in alignment with Mecca!

The everyday life that continues as we wander around the sites - people selling their wares, sewing, making things, bargaining and persuading, and even begging etc add to the tangible excitement of Marrakesh. * Mush

Kasbahs and Camels, Sahara, Morocco

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We made another one night stop in Marrakesh, but this time it was to meet our friends Steph and Jeremy.  We originally met these guys in Kelowna, and we very excited to see familiar faces on our travels, especially somewhere different like Morocco.  We met them at the train station with a "Mr and Mrs DeWaard" sign, since they were married only a few months ago and are on an extended honeymoon. 

Ribbon road up to Tizi 'n Tichka

As a group, we had signed up for a 4 day/3 night trip from Marrakesh to the Sahara desert, and we left at 7AM the next morning.  Joining us at first were Debbie from England, and a trio of young Japanese around 20 years old who were very nice.  As we gained altitude from Marrakesh, into the Atlas mountains, we made different stops for interesting views over Berber mud walled towns.  At each location, locals were out in force trying to sell us quartz or crystallized rocks, herbs or over-priced almonds, even shoving them in front of my camera while I was taking a photo.  Of course, after each offer was declined, there was the obligatory request of "un dirham" - begging for money (1 dirham local currency).

The road became exceptionally curvy, and we started climbing quite quickly up to the Tizi 'n Tichka pass at 2260m.  A great view of the ribbon road from above, with waterfalls and lush green valleys below.

At Unesco Site of Ait Benhaddou

The first major stop of the day was on the far side of the Atlas Mountains, the Unesco Heritage listed town of Ait Benhaddou.  This stunningly preserved Kasbah is quite a vision coming from the dry desert scrub.   The mud brick brown walls of the Kasbah towers against the blue sky, with the lush green trees along the river, provided some great photo ops.  This town has been used as a location or backdrop for some major motion pictures, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, The Living Daylights, and The Mummy to name a few.

Crossing the river, the girls had many children "helping" them over the sandbag stepping stones.  I think the kids were more trying to distract them, hope they fall in, then help them out of the water for a "tip".  Once in the Kasbah, the streets were full of character, and the views from the top of the hill were amazing.  You could see the snow capped Atlas mountains in the distance, behind the green oasis.  I was in Benhaddou 10 years ago, in the heat of the summer, and it was almost unbearable.  This trip was much more pleasant.

Our long first day continued through very interesting scenery, and eventually we made it to the town of Zagora.  It was from here we were to climb aboard our dromedaries, for a stroll to the desert.  Camels are an interesting beast to ride, but the most exciting part is standing up.  Camels have both a knee and elbow in each leg, so the back legs straighten first, leaning you very far forward, and then you level out with the fronts.  They are also quite wide, so a longer ride leaves you struggling to walk after until your legs eventually stretch closer together.  All great fun though, and the crew had a good laugh along the ride.  The Japanese kids really looked the part, as they had bought the head scarfs for sale in Zagora, and were wrapped up like Berber.  We did arrive in the "desert" in the dark, and were led to our berber tent over small, surprising dunes.  The tent accommodation was a thin mattress and blankets, but still comfy.  We were served a group tajine dinner, and enjoyed some Berber drumming and singing around a fire until we retired to the tents.

I woke up early enough to catch the sunrise.  We were not in the big sand dune desert, but I was surprised to see some small dunes, with scrubby wasteland around and some hills in the distance.  All made for some nice morning photos, and the camels were for good models, although their moans broke the morning serenity.  I did have a laugh at the camel parking brake - they tie a leather strap around one of the knees of the camel so it cannot run away.  One did get agitated, and started hopping on three legs, and not running away very smoothly.

We said goodbye to our Japanese friends and 5 of us continued on towards Merzouga (the big dunes) through the Small Atlas mountains and Tazzarine.  I enjoyed the dry, desert scenery most of the journey and this day was no exception.  Very few towns in this dry terrain, but amazing green oasis' provide water and life for some little towns.  We were taken to a hotel in the middle of nowhere for a lunch stop.   As there is very little on this road, we thought we were stuck at this expensive restaurant that we really didn't want to afford.  I guess they think that all foreigners have lots of money, and the price for lunch was probably in the $13-$15 range.  Too excessive for Morocco, and for all of our budgets, and as a group we asked to move on to the next town where we would try to find some food there. 
As luck would have it, the town of Alnif was not far.  Our driver let us out to roam, and we found this little place that served us a wonderful lunch, with huge plates of salad, tajine, frites, and oranges all for the low price of $5 each.  We were stuffed and content, but still managed to walk around town and chat with the local guru on his huge collection of Trilobytes that are quite prevalent in the area.  They painstakingly drill our the rock surrounding the fossil, to expose the ancient creature.
I was surprised to see a road leaving Rissani, heading towards the red dunes in the distance, some 30 km away.  10 years ago, there were just tracks in the dirt, and you figured out your own directions there.  We did, however, have to travel the final 14 km across the dirt, all the while with the dunes looming ahead, growing higher as we approached. 

Camel Train in Erg Chebbi dunes, Merzouga

A disappointment to me as we arrived was seeing the immense amounts of vehicles, and visitors to the dunes.  I recall that we didn't see many other tourists at all back in 2001.  Now there were hundreds and hundreds - where would they all go???  Although, this was not my biggest disappointment.  To my horror, there were tons of 4x4 and ATV tracks throughout the beautiful dunes   What a major lack of sustainable tourism.  I guess we are all to blame being the tourists, but I think people need to visit the dunes by making the least impact possible.  I'm not sure how long these tire tracks will take to blow over, by they were a hideous site.  The locals also need to make strides to reduce all the vehicular traffic in the dunes if they wish to sustain their income from tourism to the dunes.  Everybody has to make a better effort.  Luckily, we didn't see any vehicles on the dunes during our camel trek, so maybe they are already making efforts to reduce that aspect of the tours.

Martin and Jeremy playing in the sandbox

Our camel ride was enjoyable, and surprisingly, we did walk to an area of dunes untouched by any vehicles.  The camps did look a lot more permanent these days, but you still managed to feel a long way from anywhere.  I think we were a little behind schedule because of the lunch issues, so we arrived at dusk.  Our crew of 5 quickly hustled up the closest dune to catch last light in the desert.  I was pretty impressed with everyone, as it is quite tough going climbing up the sand.  2 steps forward, 1 step back….   The views were truly spectacular, and we took some fun photos, while soaking up our coordinates.  It is one of those "pinch me -where am I?"  type of places.  Of course, for me, one of the thrills of climbing all the way up, is the downhill.  I coaxed Jeremy into the run down, and we had a blast digging our heels in, and hopping all the way down.
Dinner that night was a really tasty tajine, and we sat outside on carpets to eat under the stars.  The berber guides also brought out their drums and clangers, and we attempted to join them playing and dancing around.  The 5 of us decided to sleep out under the stars instead of in the tents, so we prepped our beds outside before Jeremy and I climbed up the dune again to take some night photos of the stars.  A few shooting stars were spotted, and we all loved our time outside.  Unfortunately 5AM came all too soon for us.
Why we had to get up and leave at 5AM, I have no idea.  I would have liked to head up our dunes to watch sunrise, but we saddled up onto our camels and trekked out to a "sunrise" location which I felt was not as good as where we were.  I think they just wanted to get us going, and some of the group had to get all the way back to Marrakesh.  We did have a sunrise view looking towards Algeria, but were back so early out of the dunes.  Jeremy and I thought we needed more time, so walked back in to explore and play a little.  Climbing up, and running and jumping down the dunes until we were hailed back by our driver.

Martin with Kareem Abdul Jabbar

On the "dirt" road again, we were on our way to the Todra Gorge.  I think the most impressive part was the drive towards the gorge, where there were colourful buildings and ruins in the red dirt, with again, the green palm tree oasis'.  The sheer walled gorge itself would be quite impressive, but there were so many tourists and buses there, I was ready to leave as soon as our time was up.
Now in our vehicle was  berber guide, who was set to take us on a tour of the berber area of Tinehir.  We really just walked around the lush fields of the oasis, looking at various crops, and were then taken to a carpet making co-operative.  When we walked in the room, it looked all too familiar.  I think I was in the same co-op 10 years, when the salesman introduced himself as Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  A group of us had a good laugh, but he didn't seem to know that he had the same name as one of the best Basketball players ever to play the game.  Well, I thought, "what the heck", and asked if Kareem worked there, and sure enough, out walked Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  Small world I guess, but we had a good laugh, and enjoyed the usual tea procedure.  Second time was not the charm for Kareem, because once again, I didn't buy any carpet and neither did anyone else in the group.  But, They did invite Michelle to stay for a month or so, to weave a carpet for me as a wedding present!!  Not a bad idea I thought, but she insisted on coming back with us!!
Our final location, and hotel for the night was in the beautiful Dades Gorge.  The rocks here form some phallic symbols, and also a brain-like shape in the hills.  The locals actually call them Atlas' brain.  Our hotel was in a great location, overlooking the weird rocks, and we had a nice relaxing time playing games with the hotel owner Hussien.

Village and oasis on the way to Dades Gorge

The final day was mainly driving, although we did stop briefly in Ouarzazate, which is a relatively large town next to a big lake in the desert.  This town is home to a well preserved kasbah, with nesting storks, and an enjoyable old town.  We walked around, chatting with the locals, while cheering on the local checkers (draughts) champion.  On the way out of town, we could see a couple of film studios, as this is a major location for movie making since it is soooooo out of the way.  You could see some interesting sets built in behind, like roman temples.
We returned over the Atlas mountains, stopping for a good lunch with a view of the snowy peaks, and then it was over.  Back in Marrakesh for the third time on the trip - it feels like it's becoming a home.   *Stub