Rainy days and nights

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All I can say about Morocco is that the weather this time of year sucks. On the coastal side of the Atlas mountains it is very wet; we have had some amazing thunder storms. The desert side has been hot and sunny during the day, but cold at night. Morocco has been interesting though, Colin has found it better than he thought (based on a previous trip), not as much hassle from touts etc. We have mostly been round cities so far, Rabat, Meknes, Casablanca, Fes and now Marrakesh. We stopped at the Roman ruins of Volubilis, walked around Todra Gorge, had a camel ride in the desert staying overnight in a Berber tent, and seen plenty of souks, kasbahs and mosques. The main square here in Marrakesh is meant to come alive after 5.30pm when Ramadan breaks, so we will make sure we are around for that, snake charmers, storytellers, guys with monkeys...

We have had to dig the truck out a couple of times already, once from mud and once from sand. Its hard work, but fun so far. I'm sure after a while it wont be so fun! No one on our truck has gotten sick yet, but on the other truck - there are two from the same company travelling down more or less together - all except three got the runs last week.

So, some more detailed highlights...

Getting to Morocco: We took the ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta, Spain to Spain, Europe to Africa, and then crossed over into Morocco. Our first night in Africa, the trip felt like it had really begun.

Chefchaouen: The medina (old town) was really nice, we wandered around the narrow streets crammed full of buildings all painted in white or blue, looking at shops and stalls selling everything from clothes to food to metalware. The town had a reasonable museum in the kasbah, and we managed to get a drink in a café despite it being Ramadan.

Rabat: Leaving the camp after Chefchaouen was a mission. It had rained part of the day and all night, turning the free-camp into a mud pit. We had to rely on a passing truck (when one finally stopped) to pull us out as sand mats and rocks weren't helping much. Both Oasis trucks were together at this point, and once one was out, it was easier getting the second one free. It rained most of the time we were in Rabat (camped in Salé), making everything less fun. We wandered round the medina, souks and kasbah, and tried to keep the inside of the tent dry (we succeeded!!)

Casablanca: Ramadan again, so the grand mosque was closed to us non-Muslims. Unfortunately Casablanca, or at least the area we stopped in, was like a lot of the towns we've been to recently, either here or in the Middle East, and so wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped. Its hard when we only have a short period of time to explore.

Meknes and Volubilis: Sunshine!! Meknes was good, we wandered round the souks of the medina, round a neat food market, bigger and more colourful than others recently, full of herbs and spices to take away the meat and fish smells. The Roman ruins of Volubilis were impressive, despite all the Roman ruins we'd seen recently in Syria and Lebanon. And they were a great change from the crowds and hassles in town. Olive presses, baths, temples, colonnaded streets, houses, shops...

Fes: Took a tour of the medina - not all that good. It started as a tour, but turned into a shopping trip as we were taken from one place to another where the guide was sure to get a commission. We'd expected to be taken to some shops, but that we'd at least some sites first. Despite the smell, the tannery was interesting though, and the parts of the medina we did see, the winding streets, hundreds of stalls selling everything you could think of.

The Desert:Did a camel trek into the desert and stayed the night in a Berber camp, semi traditional food, drums, local songs...cold.

Todra Gorge:We didnt have long there, enough for a walk for an hour or two. Spectacular views from the truck and while walking. Four of us (Nick & Rachel, Colin & I) walked out of the gorge before the truck left, and go to see/experience more than if we'd ridden in the truck.

Marrakesh: We had a few days in the Marrakesh area. The first afternoon we only had a couple of hours to look around the old town at the snake charmers, story tellers, guys with monkeys and the souks. The following day we went back and stayed till after sunset. We watched from a fancy terrace bar above the main square, Djemma el Fna, but went back to the market for a cheaper (and probably nicer) dinner. The last time we went in to Marrakesh Kristi, Colin and I went to find the Saadian tombs - 16th century mausoleums for the Sultans and their families. The tombs were pretty impressive, intricately carved huge rooms with several tombs in each, set in a courtyard that had been sealed off for a few hundred years before being rediscovered.

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Photos

Sitting around the camp fire
Kristi, me, Kirsten, Steve

Tannery, Fes
Dye pits and hides

At the pass
Karen, Colin, Steve and Matt, some tougher than others!