Wednesday 15th May 2013
I woke up at about 3:00am to find my eyes stuck together with "gunk". As the day progressed the amount  of muck forming in each eye was getting worse. I assume I have conjunctivitis.
The day was spent on the bus, travelling south through the wooded Middle Atlas Mountains. Our first stop was in the small town of Iframe, which is very European looking. This was helped by the mist and the light rain that was falling. It was here, at the local coffee shop, that a cup of tea with milk, was delivered as a cup of hot milk and a tea bag! I took photos of the large carved lion which was just where the bus stopped.

We continued over the rolling hills dotted with small stone and canvas dwellings inhabited by the local farmers and shepherds. Eventually we came out of the mountains and onto the drier, flatter plains.

Lunch was in a kasbah (traditionally a fortified house) in the village of Midelt. This town was apparently once a French administrative post. Apart from the recently built kasbah and a couple of shops selling minerals and fossils it has very little going for it. The countryside and the surrounding mountains look very stark and dry. But very beautiful, none the less.
At about 3:00pm, we stopped in a large town (possibly Errachidia) and Aziz took me to a chemist shop for some medication. In Morocco chemists dispense antibiotics without a prescription. So for 30 Durhams (A$4:00) I walked out of the shop with Maxidrol drops. My right eye is swollen and is almost closed and I have to hold the camera to my left eye to see anything through the viewfinder.

Thankfully I had attached the GPS to my camera, so that when I get home I can plot the route we followed.
When we reached Arfoud, we dropped our bags off at a local hotel; left the bus behind and armed with only overnight bags we boarded six 4WDs and set off across the gibber plains for a distance of about 20kms to our hotel in Merzouga, which is set on the edge of the Erg Chebbi sand dunes.

We arrived at the hotel and settled in. I took a couple of photos and have to admit that I am almost unrecognisable. I went to bed without having eaten anything.

Thursday 16th May 2013
Feeling seriously unwell. My cold is still with me and so is my conjunctivitis, so I'm not quite sure where we went.
Our day began after breakfast with a tour in the 4WDs. Firstly we visited what appeared to be a small lake of water with some camels camped on the far side, after some research it could have been the Lake Dayet Srij. Behind us the silence was broken every few minutes by the roar of rally cars as they sped one by one at regular intervals across the gibber plane.
We were then driven to an oasis where we walked through, what we would call, market gardens shaded by palm trees.

Les Mines de Méfis (MTis)	MTis, The tanks for washing the ore

We were then driven to (I think) the little town of Khamlia, where we were given tea and entertained by singers and dancers for about half an hour. It was one of those fabricated tourist events that I dislike, but a good photo opportunity.
Then back into the 4WDs and taken to some small remote mining operation. I think (after doing some research) it was the Mines of Méfis.  Although the mines have nearly all closed they still mine very small amounts of Barytes (Barium Sulphate, BaSO₄). Barytes or Barytine (French) is used in the mining industry and also as a filler for paint. Morocco one of the world's large producer of Barytes behind China, India and the USA. In the background on the hill were the remains of the tanks used for washing the ore.
After a short break and a few photos, we headed off again across the gibbers and the sand to another small oasis where we sat beneath the palm trees and were served lunch. Again it was another one of those "tourist experiences" with toilets and everything that the aging tourist could wish for. However it was very pleasant just relaxing in the shade of the palm trees.
After lunch, we were taken back to the kasbah at Merzouga. I spent the afternoon and evening asleep.

Friday 17th May 2013
Early morning call at 4:45am to walk over the sand hills, some took a camel ride, to watch the sunrise. My opinion of sunrises hasn't changed and I think they are highly overated and not really worth getting out of bed for!
Conjunctivitis is considerably better now. The swelling has nearly all gone down and my bloodshot eyes are returning to normal. The cold presents a problem by creating what seems to be considerable pressure inside my ears. I am hoping it doesn't become an ear ache.
At 5:15am some of the group mounted camels for their camel ride while the rest of us walked out into the desert and the sand dunes behind the hotel. The sand is unbelievably fine and manages to find its way into shoes, socks, cameras etc. After about 30 minutes of walking we settled on top of a tall sand dune and waited for the sun to rise. Sunrise was heralded with an increase in the breeze and an increase in the amount of flying sand. I took a few "arty" type  of photos for the record.

After breakfast we boarded the bus and headed back to Arfoud and a factory that made its money out of digging up and polishing fossils. I'm sure polishing and selling a fossilised trilobytes in Australia would be illegal. The rest of the day was spent on the bus driving through the desert and then stopping and looking at oasis' as we found them. "Oasis" here means a small town that has sprung up around or along a fertile well watered valley.

A kid with a Desert Fox	Fossils in Arfoud stonemason's factory	Fossils in Arfoud stonemason's factory
View over Tinghir	View over Tinghir	View over Tinghir
The Todgha Gorge near Tinghir in the eastern High Atlas Mountains	View from our window in Boumalene Dades	Boumalene Dades

We arrived at the Hotel Xaluc Dades in Boumalne at about 5:00pm, had hot showers, dinner and went to bed. We have a large room with a view over the valley and the town. The airconditioner works, there is ample hot water, and the lights are sensibly placed around the room, and not down lights placed in corners where you don't need them!

Saturday 18th May 2013
We were on the bus by 8:30am. We had been woken at 4:45am by the call to prayer at the local mosque. This was then followed by the barking of nearly every dog in the neighbourhood and sundry cocks pronouncing the beginning of day.
Today our destination is Marrakesh. This means crossing over the high Altas Mountains. But on the way we travelled through Ouarzazate and given a tour of kasbahs Tifoultoute and Taorirt.

We then crossed over the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass (an altitude of 2,260 metres). The road was winding and quite hair raising as our 57 seat bus encountered oncoming buses and semi trailers, but the views and colours of the mountainous countryside were spectacular.

By the time we got to the Kenzi Farah Hotel (7:30pm) in Marrakesh four of our group had either been car sick or were coming down with a wog of some kind. Aziz organised a doctor to come to the hotel to see them, and as my conjunctivitis was not entirely better and my ears were now blocked, I joined the queue of patients. Young Doctor Ahimer Houssam (Medecin Chef) was well prepared when he arrived with his bag full of drugs (It was probably his supply of free samples.) He ascertained in very good English what medication I was taking then proceeded to give me Isoline tablets (3 each morning), Augmentin sachets (2 per day) and Aureomycine for my eyes. The all up cost of consultation and drugs  €60, which is pretty good  value.
As the hotel seems to be miles from any restaurants we had room service bring us a couple of steak sandwiches. The rooms here are large, the air conditioner works well, although we don't need it as the temperature is not too high. The meals in the dining room are excellent; the bathroom is spacious and has a seperate toilet. The beds are comfortable but unfortunately I spend much of the night coughing.