The road is long

with 550 kms of winding turns...... so we used the Peage & saved ourselves about a day of flat dull landscape. Even so we still had ourselves a full 6 hours of driving & were just about at the end of our tethers when Essaouria hit the horizon.

En route we've seen some really poor, poor areas of the country, as well as the opulent flip side (such as the $0.5 BLN mosque of Casablanca). Halfway down the coast we dropped via the "St Tropez of Morocco" for a relaxing spot of lunch. Errr, either the writer hadn't been to the said destination or I must have blinked when the token Ferrari shot, by but we have started to take our guidebook descriptions with a larger pinch of salt than before. L'Ourila was full of French caravans, mussel selling touts & pink fishing boats. We could have stopped for the night but decided to snap teh pretty boats & press on as the place was dead.


With no radio or music of any description we'd started making up games, singing songs & then fining each other for trivial stuff like swearing & putting annoying 80's tunes in our heads that then wouldn't leave. We've all but had enough of traveling through Morocco now. It's been great fun but are in need of a change of scene, culture & cuisine; There is after all only so lunch Targine & couscous one can eat!!!

We've compiled a list of mementos & images that sum up Morocco for us

1. Pictures of the King in every establishment - some with stubble, some without, some posed for others "action" shots.
2. The Flag - in even more places than the king's face.
3. Cafes full of just men.
4. Men seemingly sat watching the world go by, even in the middle of nowhere.
The pointed hoods of the affectionately termed "Moroccan sleeping bag." (hooded all-in-one overcoat)
5. Disheveled looking Donkeys out numbering men.
6. Being called my friend by nearly everyone I don't know
7. Lines of Medina bazaars selling absolutely the same stuff all at a very special price to you.... my friend
8. Targine & Couscous on every menu.
9. Awakening to the call to prayer every morning.


Anyway, we're now within the high sided harbour walls of Essaouria's medina. We've been sheltering from the weather over the past 2 days, catching up on sleep & reading up on UK news, courtesy of the day late Telegraph that is sold here. We are out of season & many of the hotels & restaurants are closed. Those that remain open are clean & friendly (a novelty factor) & naturally, as this is a fishing town the fish here is superb. There has been an arty influence of a few European Bohemia which gives the the town an individual vibe that feels really good.

We head back to Marrakech tomorrow & fly home briefly on Friday, glad to know be are on flying on Easyjet not BA!! Next stop - Kenya & Kilimanjaro !!!

Casablanca by train

After a day of the worst feeling in a long time, that being homesickness of which Chester was extremely patient, we awoke with a revitalised air of positivity.  Based on it's reputation within books and word of mouth, we decided to treat ourselves to a day trip and take the train from Rabat.

The back straight - Heading for the coast

Wet & cold it maybe here but nowhere near that that we saw back home on chicken noodle news (CNN).

The turning mountain roads changed to dull flat agriculture & the car was sprayed a Moroccan shade of dirty red/brown by the trucks that we passed en route for the capitol - Rabat. The poor subsistence agriculture pictured below turned to full scale production & lost the charm of village communities that work the land.



The city character echoed those of the road conditions. We'd plied ourselves with some delicious peanut & caramel chocolate and began to feel slightly brighter & more upbeat. As we explored the streets some more our impressions of the city sweetened; it's a low hassle, cosmopolitan place full of young locals trying to emulate their Europeans counterparts.



We day trip it by train it to Casablanca next then explore the coastal road to Essaouira with the possibility of some surfing along the way depending on both temperature & nerve.

Chefchaouen & Treking in the cold

We cut cross country to Chefchaouen through rural communities along one seemingly continuous winding section of bends. 4 hours of bends & a disorientated feeling of direction later we arrived in the pretty hillside town painted in indigo & pastel blue.

The weather has turned for the first time since we left but looking at the UK forecast we can hardly complain of poor conditions!! Ems hasn't felt too good so decided to stay put in town & recover some strength whilst I went hiking in the mountains with a guide & a travelling acquaintance, Rob who we quite randomly bumped into the day before in Fes & again here in the hills.

The attached pictures show just how rural life is here. Life is very close to subsistance & whilst the Kefa plant only grows between march & august there's precious little work here outside the season.


At times I was uneasy as to how welcome tourists were. It could well have been my own zenophobic fears being fightened by the shear iolation

Fes, the Medina & a litle bit of Lady Luck

Lazy Sunday breakfast in the Jardin de nouvelle ville preceded an aborted attempt to call the UK, all the phones were down for some reason so we made our way to a bus stop for the Old town Medina. The sole other person queueing person was a well dressed gent in his 40 's. We checked we had the right bus number & that we were heading in the right direction. 6 buses later his patience ran out & he volunteered we share a taxi.



The taxi ride initiated a fantastic tour of the Medina. Larbi, a wealthy local businessman insisted on showing us the entire Medina at his own time expense. We explored his business (a fabulous carpet shop), the smelly Tanneries that use all sorts of undecidable ingredients to soft, stretch & colour the leather & the cloth weaving machines of his cousin.

With Larbi as our guide not only did we avoid all the hassle of the faux guides & shop keepers but we effortlessly navigated the maze of streets & alleyways that would have oh so easily had us lost. We shared sublime mint tea & ate fresh shesha styled kebab meat in a local "den" before bidding our friend goodbye at the Medina gates.



Reflecting on the day I would without doubt recommend anyone planning on travelling to Fes to invest in a guide to explore the old city. We hit a huge piece of luck & Marrakech was a doddle compared to the biggest labyrinth in the world. Today we thanked the kindness of people like Larbi who help restore the trust, good will & hospitality we should all show each other. If you want a rug or carpet of the finest quality then feel free to call him 00 212 73 24 55 42 @ Dar Saad Medina ...... & so ends the advertisement !


We head north tomorrow for Chefchaouen & its apparent blue & white streets.

Sahara sand & Salad Language

The adventure had begun in Marrakech but really got going in the desert !



Err - there are times to do things & there are time to not. We put ourselves under a little more pressure than we'd bargained for en-route to the desert, by stopping off in Erfoud, 50kms from Hassi Labiad (our destination right next to Erg Chebbi) & miss judging when night fall would hit us.



We'd crossed the rock desert from the Toudra Gorge via a lesser know road & one not mentioned in the Lonely planet guide. The road was metalled & safe, we'd not have taken it but for the Dutch tour guide's recommendation at Le Festival. At one point we were flagged down by a hitcher but Ems had read not to pick them up as they are often faux & end up being dope sellers. I heeded her advice & we kept going.......Anyway, back to the story. As is always the case I spent far too long on the computer writing up the blog; due mainly to the time it takes to upload the pictures. We set finally off from Erfoud at 5.30.

We sped quickly towards our destination following the Lonely Planet map. The metalled road to Hassi Labiad ran out onto dirt track 25kms along our route. The car leapt from tarmac to dirty in a cloud of dust & we slowed our pace to compensate for the poorer road surface. 2 mins later the road gave out entirely & we were forced to navigate left off route & seemingly off piste. I switched the lights on full beam & we progressed via the green & white piste markers. It was now dark & there were a number of different routes to choose from, all were invisible & none on our trusted guide - Ahh !

Out of the dark appeared a lad on an old, shaky & decrepit pink mountain bike. I cobbled together enough french as to where we wanted to go to Mustafa, a local nomad lad, who was cycling home from Merzouga. We were preparing ourselves to turn around when a tourist mini bus, also heading in the opposite direction stopped & vouched that Mustafa could guide us through to our destination through the soft sand that lay between us & the road we needed (& indeed had thought we were on!)

I made a decision & took his offer of 150dhm to guide us through the night & the soft sands to Hassi Labiad. Ems hopped in the back & said absolutely nothing the entire journey. My heart was in my mouth as we sped through the night cutting left then right at a speed that meant we'd not get bogged down & caught up in the desert.



My heart only calmed down once I saw convergent headlights from the right. We returned to the alternative metalled road & passed through the above gates pictured (on our return). I believe Ems's heart calmed down only once we'd checked-in & we were firmly inside our room. I lightened the atmosphere with my above Borat impression & blocked out our window with my travel towel, black sticky tape & an apparantly handsome moustache. The tape worked so well it took the paint off the wall! Ems's is now investigating it's hair removal properties & currently has it stuck to her legs - Dad'll be oh so proud of pop's lasting family legacy.

& so to the main feature..... the reason we'd braved & tempted so much.

Into the desert

Apologies but again we're starving so will finish describing our desert trip another time - suffice to say it was an amazingly personal & fun experience that you'll just HAVE to put on your own to do list ! Just make sure it's off season otherwise you'll end up sharing the supposed peace with 50 odd noisy Spanish in summer time or 1000 other fun seekers over the New Year _ not my bag my friend !