Finally...the Sahara pics

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Well. we left the beautiful town of Azrou. and are now in the big city of Fez. We decided to do the one hour trip in what is known as a Grand Taxi -- French for Big Taxi. It was neither big nor grand. It cost us only a few bucks apiece and was an old Benz sedan. There are two front seats and three in the rear. We arrived to find two women in the back, so Cosmina joined them, and I took the passenger seat ... OK, ready to go. Not quite. They added another woman in the back seat. I looked back at her and thought ... wow, thats going to be a rough ride. Then I looked up at my right to find the only other guy in Morocco who weighs as much as I do ready to join me in the passenger seat. This meant that I had to contort myself so that my right cheek was in the passenger seat and my left cheek was on the middle console with my feet squished to the right in the foot well. Did I mention this was a stick shift car? The stick was against my left flank (to put it politely). and whenever the driver had to shift, so did I or else Id be getting a free pelvic exam (coolie checkers, as my brothers would say). After fifteen minutes, my left leg was completely numb. Luckily we stopped for gas, and the guy sharing passenger seat with me suggested he switch with Cosmina. Thank God, and we finally made it to Fez where we walked to our hotel (Hotel Kairouan).
Now wed finally like to share our overdue pictures with you. Enjoy!

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Photos

Minaret in Marrakech
Seen strolling along Mohammed V Avenue

Orange juice vendors in Marrakech
The best fresh juice ever ... They want YOU to drink their juice!

Souq stall in Marrakech
Very good price my friend; just come in for looking

Spice Stall
Yummy

Snake guy
This gentleman actually paid Cosmina to have his picture taken with her snake

Ait ben Haddou
Beautiful kasbah and a UNESCO World Heritage site

Hotel de la Vallee
Our Dades Gorge hotel which we were grateful to reach after a long day in the van

Dance fever
One of our new Berber friends either finds Aarons bongo playing entertaing or nauseating

Our new friends
Camels waiting our arrival in Erg Chebbi, Merzouga

Giddyup Cosmina
Getting up is easier than I thought

Sahara
Amazing

Lauren of Arabia
I love these animals

Where is the beach?
Pretty clear who the trekkers are

Camel kiss
Not quite as cute as Cosmina

Our Berber guide
He ties the camel legs so he doesnt take off at night

Berber entertainment
Bongos in the stilness of the desert

Us...
On a Sahara night

Tagine
Cooked right on the desert by our guides

Comments

[Jim Niedermaier]

Snake
The pictures are absolutely beautiful.....I can't imagine what it must be like to experience all that in person !! BUT, the snake picture gives me the creeps !!!

[Barbie!!]

HELLLOOOO!
OMG!!! You guys have gutts! Riding camels and crazy cab rides!! WOW!! What stories you will have! Stay safe and know you are missed and expected to visit!! We will read more! Jen "Barbie" Barbon!!

[Kathy]

You guys Rock
Im so jelouse and excited for the two of you at the same time, You guys look like your having a great time...love the pics can't wait until the next entry... Kathy

[Captain]

WOW...Those pics look great. Hope you guys keep having fun! I miss the Nolans!

[Chad and Melissa Abby]

amazing - I have so much fun reading about your guys adventures! Have fun and travel safe. Much love

[Anne Thidemann]

Hair Cut?!
When did Cosmina chop off her hair?! It looks great. Yes, that's what I noticed most despite the lovely dessert pics =).

[aarandcos]

thanks, anne
Thanks for the compliment, Anne. Aaron just adores it -- especially because it is so manageable:-) Hi Anne, Aaron hijacked the keyboard but I had to get it back. Aaron is not quite sure if he actually likes the hair but he's ok with it especially when I didn't pack any conditioner, gel or mousse for this trip. I did the deed back in April and then went even shorter in July. Pretty soon I'll be GI Jane -- that's pretty much Aaron's nightmare.

[vanessa]

Amazing!!!!Best pictures yet. Loved them. Great story...send more please! Can't wait.

[Sean Boyce]

thanks for the information
Thank you so much, we were in marrakech and we found the itinerance plus people. we thought that maybe it was very dodgy, werent entirely sure (they dropped the price drastically) but it seems legit enough, read a few reviews although your experience was the best review. we go on the ,erzouga trip tomorrow at 7, but you have relaxed me, thank you