Sep 24, 2019 - Casablanca

Tuesday September24 Busy day yesterday in Marrakesh visiting the highlights of this large city. This morning we had time for last minute shopping in the market before heading towards Casablanca. We arrived in time to visit the Hassan Il mosque, a magnificent religious and cultural site built next to the sea. We had our final dinner tonight with the group and said goodbye to our driver and guide. We will be picked up tomorrow at 9.30 am to start our long journey home

Sep 22, 2019 - Marrakesh

Sunday September 22 More free time this morning to explore the old town of Essaouira and to walk on the beach. After lunch a 3 hour bus ride to Marrakech where we will spend two nights. Marrakech is the largest town we have visited and is teeming with people. Again our Riad is in the old part of town where cars and buses don't have access - we had a 15 minute walk dragging our luggage through the narrow cobbled lanes to our accommodation. The Riad is small but nice with all rooms looking down onto a central courtyard. Late afternoon we...

Sep 21, 2019 - We follow the coastline

Friday September 20 A long drive through the mountains again until we reached the Atlantic Coast at Agadir. We visited a women's cooperative producing Argan oils. Along the way we had seen many goats up the Argan trees eating the fruit. We enjoyed lovely seascapes until arriving at Essaouira for a two night stay. Our hotel or Riad is deep into the medina and our bus had to drop us off outside the city walls. This is a bustling seaside resort town with lots of tourists. Saturday September 21 A more relaxing day today as we spent the whole...

Sep 19, 2019 - Still on the move

Thursday September 19 Today we travelled high into the Atlas Mountains once again and then descended into the Hidden Valley - a stunning place to visit and off the normal tourist track. It wasn't on the itinerary but our guide and driver were quite happy to take us there. We then backtracked over the the narrow and winding mountain road to another place not on the itinerary but very interesting. An artist from Belgium, in 1985, decided to paint many of the the rocks and boulders in this little valley and its now a famous art work.

Sep 18, 2019 - Taroudant

Wednesday September 18 We spent time this morning visiting one of the most famous Kasbahs in Morocco, the Ait Ben Haddou. It is over 400 years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We travelled through the Anti-Atlas mountains and spent time at a Berber Carpet facility where a few of our group were impressed enough to make purchases.

Sep 17, 2019 - Traveling South

Tuesday September 17 The highlight for today was a visit to a local Berber family to get a taste of local daily life. We were invited into the home and enjoyed a meal prepared just for us - a very nice experience. We also travelled through the Valley of Roses and then later in the day found ourselves in Ouarzazate, the "Hollywood" of Morocco. Some big movies have been made in this part of the world.

Sep 16, 2019 - We leave the Sahara

Monday September 16 We woke early in our desert camp and watched the sunrise. After breakfast in the main tent we travelled out of the Sahara in 4 wheel drives and found our bus on the edge of the desert. We resumed traveling a little further South and through the city of Tinghir which was recently inundated with flood waters. We walked through the famous Todgha Gorge. Tonight we are in a beautiful Kasbah in Boumaine Dades. The facilities are fantastic with pool, spa and most importantly to us, a bar. The girls enjoyed their first G & T...

Sep 15, 2019 - In the desert

Sunday September 15 A more relaxing day today as we prepared for our journey (via camel) into the Sahara Desert for the night. We had to travel lightly by packing just a few things into a small bag and leaving suitcases on the bus - we should be reunited with cases tomorrow sometime. The weather is now really hot. Up to yesterday we were enjoying temperatures in the mid to high 20's. Today, now that we have hit the Sahara, it's in the mid 40's - a real taste of Morocco. Luckily we are only in this region for a few days before we head back...

Sep 14, 2019 - On our way to The Sahara

Saturday September 14 Today we set off early for the long drive to Merzouga. Traveling through the Atlas Mountains, the views were magnificent. Our accommodation sits right on the edge of the sand dunes and we are now in the Sahara Region. A few in the group used the pool before another traditional dinner in the external courtyard of the hotel.

Sep 13, 2019 - Fez

Friday September 13 Still in Fez we spent the entire day in the Medina (walled, old city). No cars are allowed in as the streets and alleyways are so narrow. Great atmosphere in this frenetic and noisy city. We all had to walk close together in this complicated city - if someone got separated they would be lost forever. We were taken to the obligatory jewelry manufacturer, pottery maker, embroidery factory and a tannery. Survived all of those except the leather manufacturer where a new leather coat became part of our family. At lunch time...

Sep 12, 2019 - Rabat

Thursday September 12 A very busy day. We started with a tour of the highlights of Rabat before making our way North to the old city of Fez. First to the Royal Palace in Rabat but the King was in Fez today, so we missed him. Then a tour of the Medina (walled old town), many colorful houses and characters to chat to. The old city faces the Atlantic Ocean overlooking a river and is quite beautiful. The old imperial city of Meknes was next where the wall around this medina stretched for 40 Klm. Lunch was in the holy city of Moulay with a walk...

Sep 11, 2019 - Arrived safely

Wednesday September 11 We finally arrived in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, after our long journey from Melbourne (via Singapore and Amsterdam). The journey, including transit time of couple of hours in each of Singapore and Amsterdam took 30 hours. Pretty exhausting. The flight landed in Casablanca and we then had a 90 minute drive to Rabat. The road from Casablanca was a fast modern freeway. Rabat is a wonderful modern city of about 2 million people with wide streets and what looks like a great tram system. We had time to relax this...