Desert Trip 1

It will take 2 days to reach the Sahara desert. Rather than just making a mad, uncomfortable dash for le plage, we will visit a few sights along the way.

To keep the trip economically viable, I am joining an existing party made up of 4 couples. Apart from the last 2 who were more mature, they were all 25ish:

2x Bratwursts (pretended to be a Sommelier and a Pianist when coming through customs - further evidence that Germans do have a sense of humour)
2x Mounties (very, very weird - like 2 teachers pets, constantly sucking up to Fareed and the locals)
2x Dingoes (good bloke, moany woman)
and a couple made up of a Spanish bloke and a Taiwanese woman who lived in Basel

We drove for 4 1/2 hours through the High Atlas mountains to a town called Ait Ben Haddou. We visited a Kasbah [fortified town] which our guide, Faheed, explained has been used as a film set for several films: Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Rome King [?], Babel, Cleopatra. It was an amazing place, but unfortunately I can't get my photos uploaded so you will have to wait to see if you recognise the town from the films.

Fareed explained that the population of the Kasbah have largely moved out and now live in the neighbouring town. This is because the homes have become dilapidated and the Unesco status bestowed on the Kasbah prevents significant improvements or development. However, on inspection I can reveal the real reason for the population's displacement is that most of the dwellings have been converted to shops selling toot to tourists. The toot sold here is authentic Moroccan toot though, rather than the generic international tourist toot that is sold in most places I have visited.

As an aside, a number of cats have taken residence in the Kasbah. They are extremely skinny little bggers - a consequence of living in an unpopulated desert town I imagine. But they were well natured and enjoyed the company of our group. And Fareed explained (whilst licking his lips) that if we choose we could enjoy cat in Morocco. I am sorry cat lovers, but here in Morocco a cat on a skewer is considered a delicacy!

The climate so far on the trip has been very cold. It is actually sunny all day without a cloud in the sky, but in the shade it is uncomortably cold. I am told at night the temperature can plunge below zero Celsius! The Berber people (the major ethnicity of Moroccans) have adapted to the cold by wearing a costume that is a cross between a brown KKK cape and a hooded gown. If you've seen Star Wars IV, you will keep thinking you've just seen Obi Wan Kenobi walk by.

After Ait Ben Haddou we grabbed some food in Ouarzazate which contains the 2 major studios of Morocco, think of it as a dusty Hollywood. I wanted to take some photos but Driver wanted to do some desert mini-bus racing. Now, he drives quickly anyway, but a modern van drove past us (the first to overtake us all day) and Driver wouldn't let it go. We were going jsut under 100km/h on a windy desert road in a mini-bus. The girls in the group would occasionally yelp in panic, particularly as Driver braked heard when entering the corners - presumably to hit the apex at the optimum speed. We discovered later that Driver used to work for the king as a driver. It is clear why he got fired!

We eventually arrived at our hotel. The food consisted of vegetable soup, bread (everything in this country is served with bread), chicken tagine with vegetables followed by clementines/satsumas/oranges. All rounded off with some wine, locals playing us drums and tourists trying to play drum. So far so good.