Blogs from Ouarzazate, Souss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco, Africa

We woke up to beautiful clear skies and a view of the snow covered mountains in the High Atlas. Our first stop was Ait Benhaddou, a picturesque village that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, best known for featuring in numerous films including Gladiator, though for that film was there significant enhancement of the site by the use of CGI. By arriving early we managed to avoid the crowds, as we walked through the outer wall and then up narrow passageways between ochre coloured buildings. We were taken round one Berber home, which had a small pen to keep the sheep in, as well as storage space for their hay. The unlit original kitchen with an open fire sat next to a more modern kitchen with at least some mod cons. The village nestles at ... read more

Before leaving the Dades Valley this morning we took a drive to Tissdrine, passing through the beautiful rock formations called the Monkeys Toes. We've been making a bit of fun of Knackers for the past week, but today, the tables are turned. Having told Hamid at the beginning of our trip that I didn't want to be sitting around all day eating and getting fat in Morocco, today we have parked the van at the bottom of the hill and walked to the top so that " the fat woman can get her exercise"! Shane has renamed this part of the mountain "Monkeys Arsehole" because there is a big hole in the middle of the rock. They both think this is very funny. Its like being on a school camp with 9 year old boys. "I ... read more

You know more of a road by having travelled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world- William Hazlitt We had a much better start to the day this morning! There was sufficient hot water for me to shower, and I managed not to flood the bathroom this time. The breakfast was much improved, as was dinner last night. Last night we had a cooked Moroccan salad (rice and assorted veggies), bread, olives, and a quite tasty vegetarian couscous, all washed down with a small bottle of rosé. Plus fresh fruit salad for dessert. I was very stuffed. Breakfast was that same tasty pancakey pastry, with apricot jam, a boiled egg, really nice baguette, yogurt, and good strong coffee. We headed off about 9 am, for a short drive to a rose product ... read more

Today we've booked a full-day tour up over the Atlas Mountains to the town of Ouarzazate and the fortified city of Ait Benhaddou. We're picked up at the crack of dawn, and meet our guide and driver whose name is Abdul, and two young American men who'll be our travelling companions for the day. Issy's prone to car sickness so she asks if she can sit up the front with Abdul. The Americans are in the middle, so I climb into the back seat. The first part of our trip is through flat, fertile looking country criss-crossed with irrigation channels. We cross some wide and almost dry river beds that almost look a bit out of place in the arid landscape. Even here outside Marrakech virtually all the buildings are the same earthy red colour as ... read more

Ouarzazate and AitBenHaddou from 08/06/2013 to 09/06/2013... read more