Yesterday began with a man, a woman, two horses and three dogs. It ended with two women, marinade, sandpaper, mud, oil and a whole lotta water! Now that I have your attention..... Im being a little untruthful. It didnt quite end that way!! Essaouira had a little surprise in store yesterday. Clear blue skies and sunshine!! Perfect for the half day horse trail-ride Id booked. My horse, named Mogador (which incidently is the original Portugese name for Essaouira)...

Aaaaahhhhh. Essaouira, my end-of-holiday beach retreat. But this is no palm trees and cocktails on pristine white sand, ladies and gents..... ....its altogether more yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum, me mateys - only, "where has all the rum gone?" My arrival in Essaouira in the early evening coincided with dark and stormy weather. Not the ideal start to a beach holiday. I alighted the bus and dragged my luggage past the twenty or so touts who crammed the exit doors...

I have struggled with the decision to publish details about what happened in Djemaa el-Fna on 28 April, partly because I dont want to upset people, and partly because this is not the appropriate forum. But I committed to writing this blog - good news and bad - so I have decided to share a very small portion of my experience. I actually started writing this blog a few days before......... The Djemaa el-Fna (pron: Jemma elf na). What can one say about one of the...

Marrakech. The Red City. Population: 1.2 million locals, half a million tourists, and 5 million motor bikes, motorised bicycles and mopeds. Home of the magnificent Cyber Park! I dont know if they have these elsewhere in the world, but it is even better than sliced bread. I am sitting on a park bench, in the shade from the hot Marrakechi sun, listening to birds tweet, with the faint hum of peak hour traffic in the background. I am surrounded by olive trees, dat...

My tour through Morocco runs the risk of being an "on the bus, off the bus" monologue...... ......or at least thats how it feels in reality. Im going to start developing a phobia of mini vans soon. We left the desert before 9am yesterday, and late in the freezing afternoon we reached Todra Gorge. Three hundred metre high cliffs tower over the miniature-looking three storey hotels, perched on the bank of a river running right the way through. With dark clouds...