Day 68, 10 September 2012, Les Jardins Majorelle - We decided to venture outside the city walls today, in itself a death defying act as we hug the edges of the alleys and ducked and weaved alongside the donkeys, mopeds and motorbikes. With our map hidden from prying eyes desperate to "help" us find our way, we set off. Intrepid explorers that we were, we also managed to find an ATM - 'twas the dance of the different accounts and on the third attempt we finally ...

Day 67, 9 September 2012. Marrakech - The Big Square - Djemma el Fna. Navigating to and from the Riad by day and by night. Firstly - today's cover image to us epitomises the concept of nose to tail eating which is fashionable in some circles - from the dead beast to the leather shoes in the shop immediately next door - wow. We passed this odd juxtaposition of shops in the laneway between our riad and the main square in the middle of the old city. We used our...

Day 66, 8 September 2012, Istanbul to Morocco. Via Madrid - Very, very productive day on the travelling front. We leaped out of bed at 4 am. OK, slight exaggeration. But definitely perkier than we have been due to the soft bed. We were at the airport within 5 minutes of leaving the hostel due to non-existent traffic and it actually took much longer to get through the onion-like layers of airport security. For once I looked like the terrorist risk - jacket off...

Day 66, 8 September 2012, Marrakech, Morocco. If the Beatles sung about it, you know it must be good. We had a lovely flight to Marrakech in quite possibly the tiniest plane Iberian Airways owns - long, but skinny. The benefit of business class was not having our knees jammed up against the seat in front - but as it was 2+2 across the body of the plane, from the pointy end to the tail, elbow room was at a premium. Never mind! Cava to the rescue and a fabulou...

Day 65, 7 September 2012, Selcuk - bus to Izmir - Flight to Istanbul - AND - The best place we've stayed in weeks - the Han Hostel Airport North, Istanbul. But more of that later! Quiet old day here. Had to pack our backpacks for the domestic flight tonight and an early international flight tomorrow - Istanbul to Marrakech, via Madrid. Backpacks seem to explode whenever we unzip them, and it seems harder each time to fit it all back in. Still only 20 kg each...