On our own again

Lindsey and the kids took a taxi from their guesthouse in central Morocco to meet us at Max where we were parked near the shopping mall. There was one more thing they needed to do before leaving Marrakech... ride a camel!

Our desert camel excursion had been cancelled because they were all ill. But in touristy Marrakech, there are guys with camels set up on a few different street corners. 

A fun day in Marrakech!

I think we're warming up to Marrakech.

When we were here in 2017, Marrakech didn't leave a good taste in our mouths. In fact, it was probably the worst part of our visit at the time. So this time, we almost didn't come here.

But, there are definitely some interesting aspects of Marrakech that should be experienced, so we decided that Lindsey and the kids should see it. 

Good news! And, into the big city of Marrakech...

I sent a request for information to the Spanish embassy in Ottawa, Canada last Friday afternoon, and they got back to me on Monday. How efficient is that? And they sent all the information I needed (in both Spanish and English) to positively answer my question regarding using an old Bilateral Visa Waiver Agreement between Canada and Spain that is still in force.

So, we are headed back to Spain as soon as we say goodbye to Lindsey and the kids Friday morning. We'll take our time getting to the ferry. We're in no rush, but will certainly be crossing back within a week.

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.