305 Ouarzazate

5th September 2018 Miles today 129. Total Miles  1390

A fairly rapid start for us from our dry hotel (no we are not alcoholics but we are working on it - only joking) and after getting Wallace out of the dungeon we set off toward Ouarzazate. This means driving over the High Atlas mountains of Morocco.

The road started out just like all the rest. It could be America.

Then subtle changes occurred. Like lanes coned off for road works -not.

As we climbed into the mountains these stalls started to appear everywhere. We had to stop and see what they were and found that they were Geodes.  These are cavities left on volcanic eruptions and over time liquid percolates through them and crystals form inside. I am a sucker for crystals so I bought 18 Quids worth.

The mountain views were the best we had seen of Morocco.

...and the most amusing. This guy is stood on a ledge hanging on to the outside of the rail.

It was not long after this that we encountered our first rains.  It was no more than a really heavy shower, but the temperature dropped and there was thunder.

For king and country.

Our first view of an abandoned Kasbah.

As  we entered Ouarzazate we saw the film studios famous for many films including, The Mummy, game of thrones and many more.

This is a huge preserved Kasbah right in the town of Ouarzazate.

... and the associated sellers of stuff no one really wants.

We popped into a cafe and booked a hotel which just happened to be 100m or so down the road. It was perfect. By far the best one in Morocco so far.

And the barman took a picture of us sat by the pool about to eat our tagines. 

The hotel room itself was really clean and tidy, if a little bit dated.. We had showers and if you have seen the film Overboard with Goldie Hawn, she has a shower and a cockroach lands in her hair, that didn't happen but it felt like it could.  I spent a lot of time looking up.  Rocking toilets are a bit of a novelty too.  This really was a nice little break.  Best so far.  We are both struggling  a bit with Morocco.  Never mind, Ray's favourite tomorrow, desert, desert and more desert, yeah.