Rabat, Angle de Rue Pakistan et Avenue d'Egypte (Morocco 10040)

TextYesterday had been a long day. John spent many hours at the wheel, which here can be very stressful as the quality of the Moroccans driving is appalling, and dangerous. Although we liked staying at Camping L'Ocesn Blue, we were mindful that if we drove all the way to Meknes from here it would mean another long drive for John, so we decided to just move an hour down the road to Rabat, a city we liked when we visited just over two weeks ago. Starting our journey from here tomorrow made more sense. As in all cities the traffic was manic, honestly you'd need to witness it for yourself to believe it. As we approached the parking area by the walls of the Medina, Marge was surrounded by taxis driven by impatient drivers, sounding their horns and dodging  in and out around us. In the mayhem it seemed John drove Marge a little over a double white line. We have lost count of the number of police checkpoints we've passed through here without incident. Today was our unlucky day, a policeman was stood close by. His command of the English language was nil! Our command of his French was little better. We understood that John would be fined 400MD, about £32.00, which he contested stating the taxi drivers caused the manoeuvre. The policeman just kept repeating himself, and we kept shrugging our shoulders. In the end, he realized we'd got the jist of what he was saying, and reduced the fine to 150MD, warning us to be careful of staying in our lane. He was happy, pocketing our money, we were a little disgruntled about the fine, but decided it was part of our journey. Honestly, if you could see the condition of a majority of the cars on the road here, you'd be shocked. They are literally held together with tape and tie wraps.

This evening, after a couple of lazy hours resting in Marge we walked the cities streets. We love how a Medina comes to life in the evenings. Unlike Marrekech, Rabat is more laid back, and has a pretty waterfront.

We weren't pestered to buy from stall holders or eat in any particular restaurant. Since last night's blog, John is on the look out for a Berber hat for Angela. Just one problem, her head is child size. But we will keep looking. Angela knows the style she wants, John however thinks the more ridiculous the better! Our restaurant of choice this evening was selected by Angela. who read on the Internet the food was both good and cheap. As always local people were eating in it, always a good sign. So one Moroccan soup, and two chicken and vegetable couscous dishes, with drinks set us back around £12.00. It so cheap to eat out here, we're wondering why we're bothering to cook. Tomorrow, Marge we travel inland to Meknss. Tonight, a treat for her.

Another overland vehicle is parked here with us, albeit a lot larger! We are all on a journey, however we are travelling. Tomorrow we will. 'hit the iron's', as they say here, or 'Carp Diem', seize the day as we say in England.

Camping l'Océan Bleu, Mohammedia (Morocco 20800)

Marrekech wasn't the city we expected it to be. On the Internet some people thought the constant pestering in the square was annoying and intimidating. We didn't find the stall holders in the Souk pushy, or the guys touting for business at the food stalls on the square too annoying. However the food guys were funny. John told some of them last night we'd already eaten, they said to Angela, he needed more food as he was too skinny! Sales patter at its best. Despite their persistence they accepted defeat with good humour, and sayings such as, 'happy wife, happy life', and their favourite, 'lovely jubbly'. At the end of the day they were all trying to earn a living, as was the old guy in the secure parking area we were staying in. Every morning he cleared all the rubbish dropped in the car park, and was happy to take away our bin bag for us. By the entrance to the parking was a toilet. John suggest Angela give it a wide berth, but he used it regularly. He was shocked to discover that the man tidying the car park lived in the toilet block spendingmuch of his time flat out on the floor! So this morning when we left we gave him some money. Life is very, very hard for some people here. Just after nine, it was already too hot. Today was going to be a scorcher. After wasting time looking for a supermarket we set off. The drive today would be long, and as it turned out very boring. The toll road makes for a faster journey, but the relentless droaning of Marges tyres on the tarmac, and the unchanging view of freshly harvested corn fields made the journey monotonous.

We stopped twice, the second time the men selling local wares were on us before we'd even parked Marge. They were persistent, even after we politely refused to buy from them. One was selling straw hats, as worn by the Berber community here. Secretly, Angela would love one of these, but couldn't see herself getting away wearing it outside of Morocco. Late afternoon we arrived back on the Atlantic coast and at Camping L'Ocean Blue.

We couldn't believe we'd stayed here two weeks ago, it seemed so much longer. First job for Angela was to catch up on her washing. It is not so warm here, and she is hoping everything will be dry by the morning. Interestingly, of the four vehicles in our area, three have black bras hanging on their washing lines. Let's hope it's not some sort of campsite code!

21 Rue Beni Marine, Marrakesh (Morocco 40000) day 2

Saturday is a working day here. At six, a cacophony of noise from the early morning traffic, men loading barrows to deliver to the stalls in the Souk, and disgruntled delivery drivers. But this is Marrakech, we'd expect no less. Because of the heat we were out early morning walking pavements of broken tiles, dodging cats, dodging people, dodging scooters. Yes, they do ride down the pavement here. We love this city, but the traffic is a nightmare. Crossing a road, is an even worse nightmare. But we've visited Vietnam, and decided to cross as we did there. It sort of worked! Eventually finding the Saadian Tombs, where entry was supposed to be free, now eight pounds each, presumably to pay for the restoration project under way there.

We saw. Stucco carvings, tile work, Italian marble columns and interesting architecture all at this small site. Value for money? No. Next stop the Shrob ou shouf fountain at the far end of the Souk made from cedar wood. Another disappointment. It was also undergoing work, and looked like it wouldn't reopen even though it has UNESCO listing.

For us Marrekech is all about the atmosphere. The noise is off the scale, the smells intoxicating. Spices, food, slow burning joss sticks, fragrant with herbs and oils that irritated our nostrils.

Whilst in the Souk we checked out restaurants for tonight's meal, one of which was recommended by the guardian news paper, Angela had read about on Trip advisor. We decided to return later and give it a go. The heat now was quite debilitating, so we returned to Marge for lunch and settled down for the afternoon, reading and dozing before experiencing Saturday night in Marrekech, which made Friday night seem tame. It was crazy busy. We fought our way through the crowds in the Souk, found the restaurant, sat outside on the roof terrace and ate couscous, vegetables and chicken tajine, away from the craziness of Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main square and beating heart of the Medina.

We've love our time here in Marrakech, but with temperatures expected to rise into the forties, tomorrow we are driving back over to the Atlantic coast. As for Marrekech, known as the red city, we are already discussing returning during the winter months for a week.

The airport is just an eighteen minute taxi ride from the centre. Perfect. Thank you for having us Marrekech, where at every turn something surprises us.

Today storks in a nest on the roof of a mosque, not phased by the energy of this city. Here, if you disturb a storks nest you could be imprisoned for three months. The birds are considered holy. Tomorrow the roads should be quiet here. Hopefully Marge's exit from the city will run a little smoothly than her arrival.