Twelve Days Later

Apologies for the silence on our end. After making the big decisions of my previous post we felt breathed a sigh of relief, de-stressed and then went on a bit of an adventure.

With two potentially expensive destinations off the list we could say yes to the Sahara proposal by our two new Aussie friends, Karen and Annie. After five nights in Marrakesh, we departed early, heading east, via rental car. Tom drove almost straight for 12 hours, 650km, through the Atlas Mountains to the edge of the Sahara at Erg Chigaga. We arrived a night to a nice meal provided by our hosts at Kasbah Yasmina. Having no idea what the scenery around us would look like, we awoke the following morning surrounded by massive sand dunes and bordering lake created by rainwater during the rains in October - it was awesome.

Tom and I spent the morning running up and down the dunes, exercising our legs after so many cramped hours in the car. Just prior to sun down our camels arrived for our hour long trek through the dunes to the Berber tents, set up by our hotel. Although a touristy way of experiencing Berber life in the desert it was a great time; dinner, some music, a bottle of Moroccan wine (we brought along) and stargazing.

Up for sunrise and back to the hotel to clean up.

The final three days with the car took us through the Dades and Tundra Gorges , as well as to Ouzazarte, home of Atlas Movie Studios. The snow began in the Gorges and stayed with us until we got out of the Altas. Aussie were thrilled, this Canadian, not so much.

In Ouzarzarte we toured the movie lot were such films as, Kundun, Kingdom of Heaven, Alexander, Jewel of the Nile and Cleopatra were filmed. The industry has brought over 9000 jobs to the country.

We also had got to watch the news for the first time in almost two weeks. Picked up BBC just in time to witness the beginning of the attacks in Mumbai.

Back to Marrakesh for the night and early to Agadir, home of The English Pub, among many other tourist friendly establishments. The place frankly made us both angry. I have to say it was pretty hideous, an expanded version of the mall parking lot carnival. With EasyJet flying to the nearby airport, and many international hotels (including Club Med) offering packages, you can only imagine how un-Maroccan it could be. Two nights and we got the heck out.

Here we are, only 18 km from Agadir, in Taghazout, but it feels like a million miles away. We've found a great apartment on the beach for the equivalent of 25euro a night, and I get to cook again. We've rented surfing equipment and despite the cold, have been out enjoying the waves.

A bit sore now after two days in the water, but loving it.

We've also sworn off the baguettes and the Moroccan round loafs for our stay, too many carbs already!