Oct 2006

• Bg day of driving today - 9hrs
• Stopped at a Movie set - Moroccos equiv to Universal studios. They had a big castle that they used for the movie Kingdom of Heaven - got to explore it - pretty cool.
• Then it hit me - sore stomach, Nausua, shivering etc. The kebab from yesterday must have been dodgy - me a two other blokes sufferred on the truck for the drive into Marakech.
• Arrived in Marakesh -feeling like sh*t.
• Had a fever and headache all night .

• Met two locals who will take you rock climbing for 15 Euros.
• They have some well used shoes for you to use with holes in them etc, dont explain any safety rules, no waiver forms to sign etc - just harness up and start climbing.
• I went up first - at that point you start thinking whether you trust the equipment and the bloke (only wears one shoe)who holds your life in his hands should you fall is up the task.
• We did three climbs - the highest was approx 50m - the hardest had a small overhang and took me two attempts to get over - when you're 25m up and you cant hold any more its a bit a of a mind job just letting go!
• After the rock climb we went into the town and picked up some kebabs - point of note dont eat the local meat - after this point my trip turned into a ´Moroccon Mudslide´! I am still sufferring at the time of writing 7 days after the event.

*Drove from the desert to the Todra gorge.

• The Todra Gorge is Moroccos equivelant to the US' Grand Canyon.
• Slept on the roof of the hotel under the stars.

*Drove into the fringe of the desert - met our camels and camel guides.

• One of the camels went a bit crazy and bucked one of the girls off of it.
• Treked into the desert on camel. Raced up to the top of a sand dune to watch the sunset (check out the photos).
• Campsite was awesome, had a traditional meal, had a bit of sing song with the camel guides and then camped under the stars.
• Woke up at 5:30 to see the sunrise over the desert.

*Fantastic scenery - one of my better road trip experiences.

• Arrived in Meski - an oasis with a a natural spring.
• Explored the ruins of an abandoned nearby town. Apparently they packed up and left after the town would get cut off whenever it there was a flood.
• Knocked some dates out of the palm tress and ate a few. One of the locals saw me, came over and tried to sell me some dates - I thought whats the point of selling them when a can get them for free!