Blog 3 - Fri 28 Aug 09. Tizi-Abekhnanes, MOROCCO

Sitting writing this blog at 1800m in an olive grove, as the sun sets over the Middle Atlas Mountains.We thought we were in the middle of nowhere, but every now & again a couple of locals go past on their donkeys, waving hello, heading home in time for their evening feasts - it's Ramadan.

The last couple of days we have seen amazing variety of scenery and lifestyles.We set of from the North East coast, driving south through Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Ketma into the Rif Mountains.The mountains were beautiful and dramatic, with enormous valleys dotted with never-ending small communities.As we drove further into the mountains, we were slightly startled by the reception we were receiving….. everyone was waving & shouting enthusiastically - mostly seemingly trying to stop us as we drove past.The reason soon became clear - Hashish! Everyone, from small boys to taxi & truck drivers, appeared to be dealers."Hashish - you like Hashish?" was the constant cry… of course we refrained (after all it isn't worth the risk of being arrested).

We decided to explore off the main route & ended up in a tiny village, where we were immediately stopped, told to park up and join the village elder in his house for tea.The whole village turned out to see the spectacle… we were given wonderful mint tea and then fed cakes, bread, olive oil, nuts and more.This was all particularly embarrassing as, because it's Ramadan, none of them could join us - not even in a cup of tea.Amazing hospitality and we left (driving through fields & fields of Hashish!) having to promise that we would come back some day.

Then on to Fes.A wonderful city, which boasts the largest Islamic Medina in the world - a maze of souks and tiny streets that you could spend days getting lost in and delighting in the smells of spices (along with some slightly less savory smells!).We saw the tanneries and an amazing Berber house (now UNESCO World Heritage Sites) where they have formed a cooperative for making rugs and leather goods.Needless to say, we succumbed and bought a small Berber rug - one that we intend to use on our travels (making us feel more like proper nomads!).We did manage to haggle the rug price down by over 75%, so feel quite satisfied - he wasn't crying, so maybe we could have managed more! Again everyone was incredibly friendly. Some slight hassle with traders trying to get you to buy their goods - but all done in a very friendly relaxed way.

Next we are heading south - through the High Atlas Mountains as far as the edge of the Sahara, before turning north again for Marrakesh and Casablanca.

Everything is going extremely well.Itchy is on great form, the camping is not a hassle in the slightest & remarkably we haven't yet said "I wish we'd packed ****" I'm sure that will come at some point though.