On Oasis in the Desert...

After about two hours of riding, we came across an oasis in the desert. It wasn’t particularly beautiful, but it was quite a surprise to find these palm trees and small pond in the middle of nowhere. Khaled showed us his amazing jumping abilities.

Next Adventure: Mountain Biking...

After a simple breakfast, it was time to get on our bikes and ride for today’s adventure was mountain biking through the Draa Valley to Ouarzazate. Jimmy, Tony, Veronica, Ashlynn and Max all loved it. Vivynne, Ariana and I had never been on mountain bikes and it showed. Despite all my experience cycling since moving to Holland, I was very nervous riding over rocky terrain and usually chickened out and walked downhill. In fact, I taught Khaled a new word: wimp.

Poor Khaled spent a lot of time waiting for us. We actually had a sag wagon following behind and I think those poor fellows were desperately hoping that I’d give up and get in the van, but I refused.

Not only did I cycle through a creek, but I made it to the end without falling. Check out the great video that Veronica put together with the clips that Jimmy and Tony shot.

Our quote of the day was: Oh look, another rock!

Cool Shots...

How did he get up there?

Kasbah shadows?

Tangines as decorative items

Sunrise over the Kasbah...

Veronica and Jimmy got up extra early to take photos of the sunrise over the fortified city. She put together this time lapse video of her images.

They were surprised when I appeared so early in the morning. I might not be quite as dedicated as they are, but I don’t like to miss out on all the action.

The lighting was very lovely and it was easy to get some nice shots.

Rocking the Kasbah...

It was shockingly windy at the top of the hill above the fortified city.

Jimmy and Tony took the kids to climb another hill while Vivynne and I ventured back to the hotel. Can you see them just above the walls?

Hotel La Kasbah

Ait-Ben-Haddou...

After a two-hour drive, we arrived in Ait-Ben-Haddou, where we’d be spending the night. Hotel La Kasbah was the largest hotel that we stayed at with 110 rooms. It typically catered to large tour groups, so we were happy to discover that our rooms were in a private corridor. We had excellent views of the ksar (fortified city), an UNESCO World Heritage Site that we explored near sunset.

While the kids had a quick swim in the cold pool, us adults enjoyed a cold bottle of Moroccan wine on the terrace overlooking this spectacular site.  Here’s the video Veronica made about both kasbahs we visited.

Picnic Lunch...

When we reached the parking lot where we had met the mules, we discovered that Hussein had a picnic lunch waiting for us below some trees.

Lunch typically consisted of veggies, tuna, bread, cheese, orange slices with cinnamon, mint tea and pasta, rice or lentils.

I was a bit hesitant to eat the uncooked veggies until Khaled assured us that everything had been rinsed in an iodine solution. Of course, it was in our guides best interest that none of us got sick and I’m happy to report that none of us did. I talked to a fellow on our return flight who said that 40% of the 39 folks on their bus tour got sick.