Morocco was an afterthought. If I already was in Southern Spain, why not jump over the Mediterranean to Africa, to see a country new to me, a country that many of my friends love? I talked to Leif about it, and he immediately jumped on the idea. We both loved Morocco, and it was good practice for our French, since pretty much everyone speaks good French as their second language.

Marrakech was an incredible experience. Near the old minaret is Djema'a al-Fna, the medina's main square. It seems like everything that could ever happen, happens here. The sook (market) is where you can buy everything - saffron, carpets, and you name it. Fez has an even larger market, equally interesting.

About a year ago, I had been thinking about my trips to Asia in VW vans about 30 years ago. I remember an incredible traffic confusion, and reflected that driving there needed so much alertness and keen observation, that I would never be able to handle it today. My keen observation and quick reaction are not what they used to be. Well, guess what? Marrakech was ever as difficult driving as I remember. Cars darted across the road from ever which way left and right and in opposite road direction; bicycles and motorcycles were like a maze of moving parts; and around everything there were pedestrians and animal carts. Somehow we managed to escape unscathed.

From Marrakech we drove South-east across the high Atlas mountains (highest point 4,400 meters) to the desert town of Ouarzazat. We were now in Berber country. Here everybody speaks Berber rather than Arabic as their first language, but still good French. We found the Berbers incredibly friendly and hospitable, and will never forget the good treatment we got here east of the Atlas mountains. We did not eat in restaurants many times here.

Pictures

- Road signs in Morocco
- Signs at country limits
- Leif and friendly Moroccan's on the beach near the capital Rabat in the west
- The beach near Rabat
- Supermarket in Rabat
- Marrakech Koutoubia minaret at night
- Marrakech Koutoubia minaret in daylight
- Marrakech's Djema'a al-Fna, the medina's main square
- Wonderful orange juice in Djema'a al-Fna
- A police-man in the square
- Dental work in the square
- The sook
- The spice market in the sook
- Nice restaurant in the sook
- The food is served in the famous Morocan tajin
- Evening dining in Djema'a al-Fna
- Peacock at the Marrakech campground

- Houses in the desert town of Ouarzazat, Southeast of Marrakech
- Ouarzazat desert
- The turnaround point for this trip. This is where I turned the wheel 180 degrees and headed north again
- The oasis at Ouarzazat
- The Chief's hut in the oasis
- Special bread from the Chief
- A Tuareg camp in the oasis

- Buildings along the road
- An interesting city along the road
- At the entrance to Said's home. He was a hitchhiker we picked up along the road
- Said on the left, a camel driver in the sand dunes area
- Along a pist, a "road" in the desert
- A Tuareg camp in the desert
- Stuck in the sand! I had unwisely declined an offer by Said to drive my van in the pist. But he knew how to get us out. After about an hour of hard work we emerged from this position - and I go my first lesson in how to dig yourself out of a situation like this without any outside help
- The sand dunes
- The Merzuga village in the desert
- Said and Leif in Merzuga
- Said and Rain in Merzuga
- Leif with Berber clothes
- Said, his brother on the right and two friends sipping on tea in a restaurant
- In the Atlas mountains again

- Morocco has storks, too
- Want your VW van repaired?
- Fez - a city with an incredibly big sook
- The ruins at Volubilis west of Fez, the best preserved Roman ruins in Morocco
- Beautiful Mosaic
- We were picked up by a friendly Moroccan
- I bought a Tuareg carpet. Carpets are made by the nomads and brought to markets - and we were shown many, many carpets in many different stores
- Leaving Africa behind