I know I fell sick the last few days of my trip so I really didn't get a chance to ellaborate on my 3 day trip to the Sahara. I was confronted by Donovan at Bootsnall.com to fill out an adventure interview that will be posted to the website. I figured, I can just repost that on here that way I can share those final few days with you guys. Click below to keep reading!!!

Marrakesh at Dusk

Tonight is my last night in Morocco. I'm feeling a lot better than I was last night and I did some shopping in the souqs today. I tried to find stuff for people but it is just too difficult. I got a tea set which is really cool. I have been drinking so much mint tea or "Moroccan Whiskey" that I figured why not make it when I get home.

Ok, these images may be pretty big but it is the best I could do. If you are looking at this in an email just go to the blog itself.

Me in the High Atlas mountains.

This is no fun. I have been sick for the past 3 days so I haven't really gotten into updating. I still have to talk about my night in the desert but I might wait till I get home or if I feel better tomorrow. To get out of the sun, since there isn't really any A/C around here I went to the cinema to watch Star Wars again. I saw it the night before I left so watching it dubbed in French this time wasn't too bad. The theater had a pretty good amount of people and earned a round of applause from the Morrocans that were watching it. Hearing Yoda speak French is amusing.

Going to get something to eat soon and then go back to my hotel to rest. I didn't want the trip to end like this but there isn't much I can do.

I hooked up with Sahara Expeditions to do a 3 day trip to the Sahara. Morroco's landscape is such that you are in mountains one minute, plains the next, and then desert which stretches for what seems forever.

We embarked at 7:30am on Friday morning. I was in a mini-bus with 7 other people. 1 Japanese girl Yoko and 3 couples. The couples were a mix. 3 Londoners, 1 Australian and a girl from California. We headed for the High Atlas.

I'm back from the desert trek. Barely. I saw a lot in the last 3 days and traveled through some of the most amazing landscape on this planet. From the High Atlas to the Sahara. I stayed the night in a gorge and got to see amazing mountain valleys. I am way too tired and sick right now to write much.

Last night we slept under the stars in the Sahara and a few of us decided not to use tents and were exposed to a minor dust storm. I wrapped up in blankets as the sand struck past my face. I considered going in for proction but what kind of story what that be? Like I said, when I have more time and i'm feeling better i'll catch up. Right now i'm sick with a sore throat and no air conditioning. I didn't have a room available when I got back so I have to use a hostel. So far there are 4 other people in the dorm with me.

I tried to get a really nice hotel tonight but it was booked. For Madrid i'm going to find atleast a 4 star that way I can relax the final night.

Oh yea, I bought a Berber rug. More on that too later.

Goodnight

Ce va?

I'm all packed and ready to head east through the mountains and to the Sahara. Going to see a lot in the next 3 days and will have my camera ready. I am already at about 250 pictures.

(click on the link below there is more)

This is going to be short. I had a rough night. Found out that Morrocan's don't drink quite as much as Americans. Myself, Liz, Abdullah, Zachariah and this French girl went out to a disco/club last night. The French girl only spoke French and Abdul didn't speak English, but some how we all went out and had a good time. Each of them had 1 Morrocan beer and me and Liz had a few Jack and Coke's. The music started up and everyone was dancing. It was a mixture of reggae, salsa, and techno. The techno was a mixture of European dance and Arabic dance music.

I asked Zachariah how to request a dance in French so I tried it out. Not sure of the spelling but it sounds something like this. "Tu voulez dancere avec moi?" I think maybe the girl thought I said coucher instead so maybe that is why I got turned down! Suprisingly, I didn't feel out of place in the club but people definitely kept long glances at us.

So far I have done just about everything I have wanted here. I definitely got to experience Morrocan hospitality in the home and as well as some night life.

Now all I have left is the mountains and deserts to see and I can come back and relax the last 2 days and just eat good food.

Today marks the half way point of the trip. I just read on the news that there was a car bomb in Madrid this morning. I am defiintely NOT in Spain right now incase anyone was conscerned. I'll be back in Madrid next Wednesday.

We met up with the Zachariah (not Zachary) and Abdullah (not Abdul) and had tea at a cafe. Zachariah had to do something with his sister so he was going to meet up with us later. Abdullah who doesn't speak any English was going to walk with us to the Royal Palace. After taking some pictures we headed towards his house. I'm glad I wore my hat because it was a loooong walk. I am starting to get really dark and I haven't even reached the Sahara yet. Liz can converse with Abdul a little bit because both of them speak spanish. Well, apparently Abdul doesn't make any sense when he talks so she says it is almost like they aren't talking at all. He keeps trying to talk to me in Spanish and I politely agree with what he says.

The long walk lead us to his house. I am really happy we got to see suburban Marrakesh away from the tourism. We were in a normal neighborhood with corner stores and schools. We went through a pretty run down area and then on to another section a bit nicer where Abdullah lives. He took us inside and we were greated by his several sisters. Honestly don't know how many there were. After the customary kissing on the cheek and bonjour, we sat down in the living room and listened to some Spanish and Berber music. There was no A/C so it was very hot and there were lots of flies. His laid on the couch trying to catch a lunchtime nap before heading back to school. Abdullah said that his sisters were cookng us dinner.

After a few minutes they began bringing dishes out with bread on a round table. The bread was placed on the table itself and there were no plates. Then 2 small salad plates with tomato and other vegetables. In the center was a pot with chicken and other stuff that I wasn't able to figure out. Abdullah joked with his sisters about how I was looking to marry a Morrocan girl. He said something about 2 camels or atleast that is what I thought he said so I said no "tois" and held up 3 fingers. Well I guess he meant 200 so I brought it down to 3 and insulted them. Well, not really. It was all in good fun.

In Morocco when eating there is usually no utensils and everyone eats out of the same pot with their right hand. I kept my left hand on my lap but was very tempting to use it since I am left handed. The food was delicious and when dinner was complete we headed off to meet Zachariah at his house.

Just a few short blocks away we were there. His house was much bigger and had A/C. Zachariah is a spice seller apparently so I guess he makes some money. He lives with just his sister. Zachariah is extremely nice and speaks English very well. He made us a cup of mint tea and we all chatted for a bit. He loves reggae music and wanted me and Liz to help him figure out some English words on the lyrics of some of the songs he has. We had to explain to him that Jamaican english is very different and a lot of it is slang words that even english speakers are not aware of. I told him to use the urban dictionary to figure it out.

Zach was busy showing Liz how to write stuff in Arabic so me and Abdul went outside. I can't believe I ended up alone with this guy who doesn't even speak English and for some reason I feel like we are talking. He wanted to try to hook me up with Morrocan girls but I told him they were all to young because a school just got out. It was actually very uncomfortable for a bit because he was introducing me to all these people that didnt' speak English and neither did he so I pretty much had to just say "a huh" or "i don't know" over and over.

I showed my displeasure and motioned to go back up to Zach's house so we did. Zach gave me a Arabic/English music CD that he was playing that I really enjoyed.

Today was a very interesting day. I'm glad to be back at the hotel and in the medina but it was very nice to get away from this part and experience family life and just normal everyday activities.

I decided to wait until Thursday to do the mountain and Sahara trip. I will most likely be going solo as I would like to get some time on my own with no offense to Liz because I have had a blast hanging out with her the last few days. I just really need some alone time on this trip now.

It will be very nice to get out of the big city and i'm looking forward to the small villages and sights we will see along the way.