Back to civilization

Well, Lindsey, Cameron, and Sadie came over to the motorhome early Sunday morning... all three of them, for the first time in three or four days! Still not 100%, but by far the best they have been in a while. We think the worst is over!

And good thing, because we had some driving to do, both yesterday and today.

Off to the doctor!

Yesterday was no improvement for the kids. Lindsey felt a little better though, so at least there's that. But we were actually starting to get a little worried about Cameron and decided we had better visit the local doctor.

Ruth and I have been traveling in different countries long enough that we know things are not done the same as in Canada or the U.S. when it comes to medical situations. But this would be a new experience for Lindsey.

Not a great day. And another change in plans!

Both kids were still sick yesterday, and Lindsey isn't much better although not as bad as the kids. So we put off the camel ride into the desert, and just hung around the guesthouse.

Strange day from a weather perspective. It was cloudy in the morning, then the wind really picked up in the afternoon. So much so that we're actually glad we weren't out in the desert on a camel!

New Moroccan friends

Cameron still wasn't 100% yesterday, and when Lindsey woke up she wasn't feeling well either. So we postponed our camel trip into the desert.

The camel trip doesn't leave until around 4:00pm anyhow to avoid most of the afternoon heat. Then they set up tents and make dinner and have a campfire. Then wake up, have breakfast, and return here.

Speeding ticket!

On Wednesday, we drove from Ouarzazate to the edge of the Sahara Desert. We are now only about 25 kms (15 miles) from the Algeria border, although we can't go there because Morocco and Algeria don't get along. The land borders have been closed for years.

There are two main areas that tourists in Morocco go when they want to play in the Sahara Desert. When we were here in 2017, Ruth and I went to Merzouga, but this time we chose to come to M'Hamid.

The Ouarzazate Kasbah

We set off walking from the campground to the central area of Ouarzazate. Not a very scenic walk, through a lot of garbage and old building construction material.

Unfortunately Cameron wasn't feeling well, and half way there we put him and Ruth into a taxi and sent them back to the campground.

Spectacular route R307 crossing through Morocco's High Atlas Mountains

There are several ways to pass through the High Atlas Mountains. The easiest is the well traveled route N9 from Marrakech. But that would have been a major detour for us, so I was looking at the other options. I read a lot of reviews and did a lot of research and decided to try route R307.

Some of the reviews mentioned the need for 4 wheel drive, but others said they had done it with a normal campervan. Most of it depends on what the recent weather has been like. There are a lot of rock slides and sections where the road surface has deteriorated and some parts can be muddy.

We could easily stay here longer!

Another perfect day from a weather perspective. Not a cloud in the sky, and 27C (81F).

We set off on another hike at around 10:00am, this time heading north up the valley. We found a couple of pedestrian bridges that crossed the river, so we went up one side and came back on the other side.

Such a gorgeous area.

It was cool overnight, with a low of about 8C (47F) but with a forecast high of 27C (81F) and lots of blue sky and sunshine. And that's exactly what happened.

We set off at about 10:00am for a walk through the nearby town. Other than that, we didn't really have a destination in mind. There are so many trails in the area we figured we would just pick something and see where it brought us. 

Into the High Atlas Mountains!

Google Maps routing said that it was going to take us two and a half hours to do the 110 km (68 mile) route from Ouzoud Falls to Zaouiat Ahansal. And knowing that Max typically goes slower than the average car, we planned on three hours.

Why does it take so long to go 110 kms (68 miles)?

Today's blog post written by granddaughter Sadie (age 9)

Day 3. Oh, day 3,

We got breakfast, but I couldn't have it because my mom said "No cheese, no milk, no butter". So I had an omelet, then it was good. 

After breakfast, we went to Ouzod Falls again. BUT!!

Fun day at Ouzoud Falls and the monkeys

First full day with Lindsey and the grandkids, and boy we got the trip started with a bang. I think everybody had a fantastic day!

We had read that it's best to get to the falls early to avoid the tour bus crowds that come on day trips from Marrakech. We were aiming for a 9am start, but it was 9:30am before we got going.

They have arrived!

Their flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:20am, but when we woke up we had a note from Lindsey saying that they were late leaving Montreal and when I checked the flight tracker website it said they were going to land around 8:50am.

Anxious to see them, we went and stood at the outside arrivals area to wait, knowing of course that they still had to make it through immigration and customs.

Not much longer!

By road. 

It seems funny that we were at Marrakech airport, and we drove to Casablanca airport. Wouldn't you just fly? But we were only there for the cheap secure parking. And, it was along our route.

Trying to avoid the crazy Marrakech traffic, we got up and drove right away to do the 10 kms (6 miles) or so to the big Carrefour superstore. In hindsight, we would have been better off waiting until after 9am, but then we would have been later finishing than we wanted to be.

Made it to Marrakech

We had such a peaceful night parked in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Total peace and quiet. Such a difference compared to the busy campground we had been in the night before.

We haven't been doing much wild camping because it's difficult to fill European propane tanks here in Morocco. So we've been relying on electricity at campgrounds so that we don't have to worry about our propane supply.