On the road to Imichil we found our next overnight site – a layby adjacent to Fatima’s Farm.  This was not a formal campsite rather a spot of land next door to a farm owned by a lady called Fatima and so a second night of wild camping.

On pulling into the layby we were immediately surrounded by the children from the 4/5 houses that make up the farm; everywhere you go in Morocco, whether it’s roadside or on a campsite,the children ask for pens, paper, sweets and even clothes. They are persistent but not nasty when you keep saying no and they usually wave you away with a big smile on their faces. Life on the farm is basic, subsistence farming; they grow grow crops and raise sheep, goats and cows. What is not needed is taken to market and sold to buy what they can’t provide themselves. Electricity is in the form of single bulbs in some rooms and that comes from solar panels. But despite the hardship, Fatima and her extended family were very welcoming and hospitable – we were all invited in for tea and homemade bread, butter and olive oil on arrival.

We had very generously been given bags of childrens’ clothes by a good friend (and dance teacher – thanks Chantal!) and left a few of them here where they were very much appreciated.

After dinner around the campfire and music played by the children we went back into the house to find Fatima making butter – hours of swinging a large container of milk. This woman is in her 60s and in the short time we were there she had gathered feed from the mountainside for the cattle, joined us for tea and made butter for the following day. They didn’t eat dinner until after we left (around 10pm) and she was up again at 5am to bake bread for us to take away with us.

Yes through these trips she is obviously better off than many farmers here but still it’s a life none of us would opt for – our major problems were working out how to cope without electricity or topping up water for three days. Puts a lot of things into perspective……

Tues 14th – our 2nd wedding anniversary and what a way to spend it!  Today we are continuing our journey through the Middle Atlas but heading south towards the High Atlas. It’s a long driving day today of 245km which doesn’t sound a lot but on these roads it’s a full day.

After an earlyish start it’s off to Zeida for another pancake and nus nus breakfast and then on to another long and winding road with the accompanying stunning scenery.  Luckily for me Bob is happy to drive so I can hang out of the window taking photos which can never do justice to the location but will provide us with a lifetime of memories.

We knew the roads were going to cause a few problems today as even the map has them marked as “difficult or dangerous” but as we reached the town of Aghbala we noticed that the other vans in front of us had stopped on a bend on the main road through the centre of town.  Hammed, who had recently rejoined us, came running towards us and pointed us in a different direction as it seems the road ahead really had run out!

Try to imagine the scene; one main road through town, no road and then five motorhomes and van towing a trailer trying to do u-turns.  Although we didn’t have to turn around, the alternative route we had been given involved a short steep slope which is not so good when you have a large overhang at the back and a tow bar. Still 30 mins or so after
bringing the entire town to a standstill we all make it out in one piece and regroup further along the road.

Tonight’s stay is on the roadside around 25-30km north of Imichil adjacent to a farm owned by a lady called Fatima and that merits its own entry.

Mon 13th and a relatively short drive today heading into the Middle Atlas and the Cedar Forest.We left Fes heading towards Azrou with a short stop at Immouzer for a breakfast of pancakes and coffee (nus nus for me – something like a latte but half milk and half coffee) and a little shoppping in the markeyto top up the fresh supplies. Just before Azrou we turned off into the cedar forest for tonight’s camp and our first night of wild camping, ie no campsite and no amenities.

Despite having been before we were not disappointed with the site in the middle of the majestic trees and we were soon joined by the barbary apes who live in them. Sadly no campfire this time due to the dryness of the surroundings but that didn’t stop us all sitting out after dinner cooked by Mohammed and enjoying a glass or two…well under the rain started that is!

Will update ASAP but laptop has gone pop.

SAt 11th and we leave the lake for our first major city – Fes, the former capital of Morocco.  But first we had
to get through the market at Ourtzarh where it seems everyone had come to sell their wares and at one point it
looked like someone was trying to load cows into the back of a transit!  Having negotiated our way through the

mayhem of the market, it was back across the rickety bridge and then onto the main road to Fes.  The dramatic mountain scenery has temporarily been replaced by green rolling hills and fields of crops; farming here plays a major part in the economy but there seems to be little machinery and many families go to and from the fields on their donkey (and usually with the man riding and the woman walking a few paces behind).

We get to Fes without incident but then panic a little when the sat nav seems to be taking us right through the centre of the city.  Luckily we stick to a main road running along the outside medina walls and find our way to the campsite fairly easily. After lunch provided by Steve and Muhammed, it’s a quiet afternoon around the van and with
a decent power supply we can use the coffee maker and the air conditioning although not at the same time – it’s not that good!  Campsite facilities are basic but clean and useable.

There’s a great pool area and even a bar
selling alcohol (very unusual) but sadly the pool is empty…..we would all have appreciated it in this heat.

Sun 12th and we’re off for a tour of Fes.  The campsite is in the Ville Nouvelle which was designed and built by the French before Morocco gained independence.  We travel through the more decorative Jewish city which contains the Kings Palace and then to the Medina (the largest in the Arab world) where the shopping begins…..

First to the potteries where we see ceramics being made in the traditional way with a lump of clay being thrown on a wheel and crafted into plates, bowls and tagines and then painted by hand.  Mosaics are made here too with the plain coloured tiles being broken and cut by large hand held hammers before creating intricate patterns.  A couple of small purchases here and then it’s back into the labyrinth of the medina and the carpet shop which is based in an old
several storied house.

We did actually intend to buy a rug on this trip and after a talk on the history of how carpets are made and a glass of mint tea to help with the negotiations, we succeeded.

As usual with the guides here they direct you to shops where they receive the best commission and after a “Berber” pharmacy and a leather shop by the tanneries, people were starting to flag a little so it was back to the campsite.

We left the Sahara and travelled along one of the main routes to the south of the Atlas mountains, our destination being Camping Le Soleil, somewhere between Tinerhir and the Todra Gorge. The campsite was by far the best we had stayed in so far – they even had a washing machine(!), and the girls made the most of a swimming pool on site. We were given the option of an extra day here or moving on to a more basic site in Ourzazate and because a couple of us were suffering with dodgy stomachs we decided to stay. The extra day gave us a chance to relax – you can’t describe this trip as a real holiday, and recharge the batteries before Marrakech.

The old and the new – we find ourselves sharing the road with donkeys, horse and carts and all forms of transport. But wherever we have gone we have been given a smile and a wave.
The campsite. A beautiful place to stay surrounded by soaring red sandstone walls. The extra bonuses being an electricity supply that didn’t fail and our own water supply!

The girls enjoying some downtime. They have been so good on the trip going wherever we’ve dragged them and the extra day

here gave them some time to do what they enjoy.

Further up the camp were some rabbits so if they weren’t swimming then they could

be found feeding them. Chloe also had another astronomy lesson that night – we’re waiting for the request for a telescope!

Before moving on we went to Todra Gorge. We could go on about the geology of the area but won’t (we’ll put up a separate website when we get back for those interested as the whole trip has been a geologist’s dream) – all we will say is that it is stunning. The gorge narrows to around 20m with walls of 300m. With our other hobby being geocaching, we moved further along the Gorge and after Bob had scrambled halfway up the side of the gorge, we claimed out “first to find” with a cache that had recently been placed there. There are some great places to stay in the area.

After the lushness of Meski we headed off to the Erg Chebbi dunes in the Sahara for a three night stay at the Auberge Cafe du Sud, originally a French Foreign Legion Fort. Part of this stay included a 90 minute camel ride into the dunes for an overnight stay at a Berber camp where we would be able to see a spectacular sunset and then get up early to watch the sunrise. Well that was the plan…. The guidebook says there is on average one day of rain in this area and guess what day it happened? So although we got to see a bit of a sunset we were all quite excited by the following thunderstorm and lightning show! However we then realised that the tents were nothing more than large blankets and the rain was getting in. Luckily it was only a short sharp shower and our overnight bags hadn’t got too wet. After a surprisingly comfortable night we were up at 5.15am to get back on the camels for our not so comfortable ride back to the Auberge as the sun rose. We all agreed that although it had been a good day and night out, none of us were in a rush to get back on a camel again anytime soon!

The girls having a ride across the desert in Ray’s Unimog.

One day snowballs and a couple of days later, the desert. We think we managed to take away a large portion of the desert judging by the amount of sand in the van and our clothes!

Another campfire on the day we arrive. Throughout most of the trip we have been at altitude and the nights have been quite cold. For our night in the tent we all slept in our clothes

We shared camels with the girls – Amy and Bob on the way home. Looks like the camel behind is after something in Bob’s rucksack!

Our luxurious accommodation in the desert. Yes the scarf may look silly but with the wind and the sand it was needed!

A camel train. All ideas of the desert being deserted were soon put to bed – it was more like Kings Cross at rush hour. On Saturday night all the locals come out as well and sit on the dunes to watch the sunset.

There is nothing elegant in getting off a camel!

Another camel train passing the van.

Chloe watching the sun through a telescope. One of the guys on the trip is a keen astronomer and had bought some of his equipment along as the desert is a great place to look at the stars ….assuming that there are no clouds around of course!

June and Hymie!

The campsite at Meski was on the site of a naturally occuring spring – the pool was OK to swim in providing you didn’t mind sharing it with fishes and frogs. However the girls decided it was too cold to swim in so we gave it a miss and just dipped our toes instead.

We paid a visit to the local school. The school is very close to Ray’s heart and we all bought donations of clothes and basic equipment such as pencils and paper with us. It was quite an experience for the girls whose biggest hardship at school is having to share a laptop.

The girls had bought some of their own school pencils with them and after the teacher had introduced them and the class had sung the spelling of their names to them in Arabic, they gave one to each of the children in the class.

Us! The campsite here is in an oasis – it is a lush and very green spot.

The girls are the only children on this trip and are being spolit rotten. They had a trip on Ray’s quad bike around the village

Each day’s travel has shown us new sights. Travelling from the cedar forest of the Middle Atlas mountains we passed through the eastern edge of the snow covered High Atlas range before moving down to the edge of the Sahara. The scenery is breathtaking and constantly changing. Of course the girls have missed much of this as they have been too busy singing (that’s using the term very loosely!) along to their iPods but even their slightly off key singing beats a continual chant of “are we nearly there yet?”!

A brief stop on the way for yet another cup of mint tea! A couple of days into the trip we worked out the reason for the tea being so good – it might have something to do with average of 4 teaspoons of sugar in each CUP!

One of the bigger vans on the road as we are approaching the desert. We climbed to a height of around 2100m before descending to about 1000m travelling along some windy mountain roads. Thankfully with the drivers’ strike, the roads were fairly quiet the journey was fairly easy.

One of the numerous kasbahs we passed. Much of this part of the journey was alongside the Ziz river which has carved massive gorges in the rock.

After two nights in Meknes we headed for the Cedar Forest in the Middle Atlas just after the town of Azrou for another night of wild camping. The forest is home to Barbary apes some of which have no fear of humans – especially those with food!

The girls make a new friend….

Thecampsite. Very beautiful although at almost 2000m it was a little cold and we even had to put the heating on for a while!

Collecting wood again and preparing the fire.

Snowball fight! A little into the trees there were patches of snow left from the winter.

Meknes is just great… we wandered around the Souks and markets on the first day getting a few spices and such like. The market was very busy – the description of it being like Ikea on a Bank Holiday was pretty spot on! The girls were not too keen on the meat area – the standing joke was that the meat was so fresh any good vet could have revived its owner. But it was all part of the experience.

Stalls in the market piled high with olives.

The outer wall of the royal palace in Meknes which is one of the original Imperial cities.

The girls enjoying their banana juice in the main square – a great place for sitting and just watching the world go by!

The second day we had a horse and cart ride around the town which included going through the market street – stalls were literally being moved out of the way to let us through. Going back to Ikea – it was like pushing the biggest possible trolley in the opposite direction to everyone else!

The girls with Ahmed, our slightly made driver!

Managed to buy a breathable mat for along side the Motorhome (much cheaper than the UK…).

For the second day we had a problem getting a taxi back to the site (we were carrying the mat and a taxi would have been really good!)… later found that there is a strike among ‘professional’ drivers.. including petrol tanker drivers … so we may be here for a while… No, Ray is using his contacts to locate fuel so no worries there so far. Food is another matter as shops run low but we are OK for a few days and won’t have to resort to raiding the cupboards for a bit!

We left Chefchaouen and made towards a wild campsite near the Roman ruins at Volubilis. The roads started to get a little rougher and at some points all there was was a vehicle’s width of tarmac in the middle and gravel either side.

We stopped at a cafe for lunch where you see the meat cut up by one Moroccan and then it is cooked by another before being taken into the cafe to eat. Really nice lamb chops and Kefta.

The campsite for last night (Friday) was a wild site in a wooded area. A problem for a couple of our vehicles but nothing unsurmountable.

The girls helped with collecting logs for the camp fire.

Once the fire was alight everyone soon gathered around with a drink or two…..and hot spuds….

No too an early start (8.45) as we drove off to the Roman ruins….
We had an English speaking guide take us around the various houses and streets, impressive.

Having left Volubilis we had about an hours drive to the campsite at Meknes which, again, is basic but this is Morocco and not the Caravan Club. It can be seen though, that at one point this was a really nice site. The site is in the town only a short walk to the souks and square.