177. Germans are awesome

Marrakech

Craft while we were in Marrakech

MacKenzie, Jenny and Nikki
impressed by popcorn
or polite enough to be impressed

So late last night that I'm not going to own up to it. Unknown to us the children had arranged to meet the Slawinskis' at eight thirty am so Fyfe woke everyone at seven fifteen = disaster. Grumpy white faced children staggering around.

Nikki and Jennifer joined us for coffee at tenish and we spent a lovely day chatting and grazing. Mid afternoon Jacqueline and I abandoned camp leaving the family at the pool with the Slawinskis' and we headed into central Marrakech to what we call cell phone ally where I got my phone repaired.They were great and they fitted a new screen to J's iPhone 5 for thirty three Euro which seems reasonable.

Home via the supermarket and we did a kiwi roast for both families which the adults ate sitting on our bed which was fun. After dinner the seven children watched a movie and we lolled on our bed chatting.

Another great day though right at the end of the day the main RCD tripped and I can't imagine why. It still trips with everything I can think of unplugged.

Suggestions welcome.....

176. Passed the pass

Marrakesh

Add caption

This road, the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass, pushed through by the French in the 1930's is amazing. Oh to have a real car with which to tackle it.

For the whole drive we were harried by a swarm of 1,000cc Fiat Pandas on a car rally. On the steep climbs we would leave them far behind but downhill they are spectacular performers and raced past us at every opportunity. It looked like a whole lot of fun and a great car for such an adventure.

Much of the route had vendors selling quartz geodes, though our guide book states that many of them are died. When the vendors spot tourists driving toward them (we are not hard to identify) they walk towards you onto the road holding out large Geodes basically in an effort to make you stop. When there is oncoming traffic this certainly focuses the mind.

Big skies, big plains

Pandas have a herd mentality....

... though frequently seen in pairs. 

A man materialised out of nowhere to sell to us here

The cactus are quite something

I told you it was high

Some lounge, changing view

Don't see a road like this every day on the GPS

Got a great welcome from the Slawinskis' family who were waiting outside the campsite gate when we arrived. We had kept in touch since briefly meeting them when we departed this site nearly two weeks ago. Had a wonderful evening sitting outside yarning, with the children coming and going between both sites (opposite ends of the campsite) joined by another camper who happened to be walking her dog. 

We are hoping that Nikki, Jennifer and family will join Jacqueline and the children in Spain while I am back in NZ, later in the month.

175. Fort

AÏT BEN HADDOU, OUARZAZATE, MOROCCO

Aït Benhaddou (Berber languages: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ; Arabic: آيت بن حدّو‎) is an ighrem (fortified village in English) (ksar in Arabic), along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. Most citizens attracted by the tourist trade live in more modern dwellings in a village on the other side of the river, although there are four families still living in the ancient village. Inside the walls of the ksar are half a dozen (Kasbahs) or merchants houses and other individual dwellings, and is a great example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture.

Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987

...... so much to say, I think I'll do today as a photo essay

The keep at the top overlooks our camp

We walked about four hundred metres into town to cross the river.

From any angle it is a stunning place

Many stalls selling beautiful shutters

Someone must have washed out their brush in the river

The Atlas Mountains are impressive in the distance

The path up took us through covered lanes

As we climbed the views became stunning

Looking back to the Giantavan (far side)

Iris hiding from the heat

Cairn building at the keep

Looking toward the next village

Ciarn supplies

Roman fell into conversation with this lovely German couple,
Uli and Margarert. We spent some time talking to them
and the children ended up with Pringles

Iris spotted this critter and took some explaining for the rest of us to  see it also.
He is about two feet long (may not be a he of course)

We were able to look through a very large restored home

All the floors were on beams interlaced with bamboo so
Sprung when you walked which was disconcerting.

Neighbouring houses collapsed

The house was five stories high and must have had fifty rooms

These sheep are within the house that we bought the rugs from

This lovely man got us in the end.
Still reeling!

Roman had been keen to do the stepping Stoned all day.

After we crossed we were delighted to see a woman fall in.
Fyfe refused to photograph her struggling to get up which was
disappointing but does show that he is a better person than me!

Waiting while mum shops

Gotcha (they got us).
They are absolutely lovely, the Berber people.
We have not felt threatened or intimidated once while in Morocco.

Sun setting on the keep, from our camp