ROAD TRIP!!!!!

Mustapha from our hostel told us of a tour that would take us to the mountains and the desert. 'A most wonderful experience, the sky in the sharan night is most wonderful' We were sold, and so joined the road trip tour that was to be defined by the music we endured in the hours of bus riding. From Marrakech we went to (insert Brian Adams here) Ait Ben Haddou. This old settlement has been used as a set of famous movies, the most famous being Gladiator (insert Mariah Carey here). Recent snow on the surrounding mountains was flowing down the river bed and so the enterprising locals were (over) charging for donkey rides across the muddy waters. (insert Hotel California here).

Later that day we made it to the beautiful Dades Gorge (insert Celine Dion here), where we spent the night. In the Morning (insert Richard Marks here) we explored the Todra Gorge. From here it was onto the Sahara (insert We Are The World, yes We Are The World here) Where we were to spend a night in the Erg Chabbi. But not before a 1.5 hour camel ride across the sand. With my ridiculous head scarf in place we began a lovely to look at, but butt and thigh tearing, trip. Tash couldn't get comfortable and I had the smallest and most nervous camel that jumped around alot. But that night the locals played drums and sang, we celebrated a 30th birthday in our party, and we ate well and had a great night.

Unfortunately one of our fellow countrywomen has let us down. Youcef, our tour guide, was absolutely great. Funny, full of information and very helpful. But a story he told us made Tash and I cringe. An Australian girl on a tour before us called our tour leader UNICEF, and didn't realise it, then went on to say that she needed to go to the Hamas. What she meant was the Hammam, which is a traditional Moroccan bath house, not Palestine.