Sunday 19th May 2013
The day began with a good breakfast in the hotel at 8:00am and we were on the bus by 9:00am for a tour of Marrakesh. We didn't travel far before being introduced to our local guide who showed us over the Saadian Tombs with their brilliantly decorated with detailed carvings, coloured tiles and Arabic scripts. We then moved down the narrow streets to the Bahai Palace which functions as a royal palace and then onto the Da Si Said museum of Moroccan Art with its various ornate kinds of wood work. Then into the Koutoubia Mosque which is considered a masterpiece in Islamic architecture. Finally we were taken to a herb shop and given a brilliant display in salesmanship as the young fellow demonstrated and then sold all the various natural creams and herbs his company produced.

El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Ceiling, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh
Fireplace, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Fireplace, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Street in Marrakesh
Ornate Ceiling, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Khamsa Door Knocker (The Hand of Fatima)
El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Ceramic Tiles, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Street in Marrakesh
An Ancient Mouse Trap in the Museum	Ceramic Wall Tiles, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh	Ceramic Wall Tiles, El Bahia Palace, Marrakesh
Carpets hanging on the wall, Marrakesh	Saadian Tombs, Marrakesh	Herb Shop, Marrakesh
Burqua, Marrakesh	Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakesh	Street in Marrakesh
Koutoubia Minaret, Marrakesh	Koutoubia Minaret, Marrakesh	Entrance to the souks, Marrakesh

 About 1:00pm we headed back to the hotel for lunch and enjoyed the beautiful desserts. At 2:20pm we took the bus back to the centre of town and the market. We wandered the narrow alleys (souks) and bought some ornate wooden boxes for Cloudia.
We all met up again at 5:00pm and headed back to the hotel. However, just  before we boarded the bus a hawker tried selling me a cotton shirt. I declined, but he had a big smile and only two or three teeth. I gave him one Euro so that I could photograph his face. But he was coy and would not give me his usual big toothless grin.

At 7:30pm we once again boarded the bus and headed off to a restaurant (Palais Chahramane) for dinner and an evening of "cultural" music and dancing. Dinner consisted of a chicken turine followed by fruit and mint tea.

My conjunctivitis has gone, but the congestion in my ears, particularly my right ear, still remains, as does my cough.

Monday 20th May 2013
Today was described in the itinerary as a "free" day. We had a lazy breakfast at the hotel and then climbed onto the bus at 10:00am. The first stop was the Chemist which was right alongside the silverworks. From there we were driven to the Jardin Majorelle. Jacques Majorelle was a French painter who came to Marrakesh in 1919 to continue his painting but also bought land in 1924 and set up the gardens. Today it is sponsored by Yves Saint Laurent in Paris to ensure its continuing existence. It is small and mostly covered with bamboo plants and  seems to be over rated in importance.

From the garden we went to a craft centre and then back to the hotel for lunch at about 1:15pm.
At 6:00pm we took the bus back to the city square and went shopping in the souks. We bought an ornate Backgammon/chess board for 1,000 Dirham (about A$125.00)

Tuesday 21th May 2013
We left Marrakesh early and headed towards Casablanca. We passed mile after mile of crops and fertile looking agricultural land.

Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca	Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca	Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca
Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca	Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca	Taken from the bus - Marrakesh to Casablanca

In Casablanca, we had a tour over the Hassan II Mosque, which is huge. It is either the second or third largest mosque in the world. The imposing minaret is 200m high. It was raining when we arrived but the dark clouds had cleared away by the time our tour of the interior of the mosque was finished. There was a 6 year construction period between 1987 and 1993. It required the work of 2,500 workers and 10,000 craftsmen to complete within this time. The mosque holds at one time 20,000 men and 5,000 women with a further 80,000 people outside in the square. It has been made using Moroccan marble and granite with the exception of two small columns made of Italian Carara marble.

Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca	Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca	Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca	Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca	Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

We then headed for Rabat. We passed the Royal palace and explored the Mohammad V Mausoleum. Mohammad V led Morocco to independence in 1956. As we waited to enter the Mausoleum we overlooked the Hassan tower. Begun in the late 12th century, the Hassan tower was designed to be the minaret of what became the world's second largest mosque (second to the one in Samarra, Iraq). The Almohad ruler, Yaqub al-Mansur, designed the minaret to become 80 metres tall, with a unique design for each of its facades. When he died in 1199, somehow the whole building process came to a dramatic halt. The minaret was then 50 metres high, the same size as it has today. The mosque came into use, having its columns completed, and with cedar roof. The gigantic earthquake of 1755, which also destroyed central Lisbon, destroyed the structure to the condition that it now is in.
We had a quick tour of the Kasbah des Oudaias is a fortified city on a hill overlooking the Oued Bou Regreg river and the Atlantic ocean. It dates back to the 12th century. Most of the Kasbah des Oudaias consists of beautiful white and blue houses and narrow alleys. Later, we then took photos around the port area of the small highly coloured fishing boats before returning to the hotel for dinner at 8:00pm.

The Hassan Tower, Rabat	Mohammad V Mausoleum, Rabat	Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat
Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat	Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat	Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat
Remains of the old wall, Rabat	Fishing boat on Oued Bou Regreg River , Rabat	Fishing boat on Oued Bou Regreg River , Rabat

Wednesday 22nd. May 2013
We were on the bus by 7:30am and heading north to Tangier and the ferry back to Spain. We arrived in Tangier at about 11:00am, stopped off at a hotel to use their facilities and had some lunch at a local coffee shop. At noon we headed off to the ferry port, only to find the ferry was now leaving at 2:00pm instead of 1:00pm. We met up with our Spanish guide, Lucy, and said farewell to Aziz.
We went through passport control, customs etc without incident.
We arrived back in Tarife (Spain) at about 4:15pm local time and climbed onto the bus. As we climbed up into the hills behind Tarife we were amazed at the proliferation of wind turbines. In the distance we passed the rock of Gibralta and took photos of it as the bus raced along the road, not slowing down once. Once again we traveled through the countryside, this time towards Seville. Lucy, our guide, took great pride in telling us about the wonders of the bull fight and how it wasn't really cruel to kill them in the bull ring as we passed paddock after paddock of black bulls.

Wind farms in the hills above Tarife, Southern Spain	Algeciras with the Rock of Gibralta in background	The town of Algeciras, Southern Spain
South of Seville	South of Seville	South of Seville

We eventually arrived in Seville at about 7:30pm and Lucy insisted that we stop and have a quick look at the Plaza de Espana or "Spanish Square" which was Spain's pavilion for the 1929 world's fair (Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.) It was pretty spectacular, although most of us were too tired to care.

Plaza de Espana, Seville	Plaza de Espana, Seville	Plaza de Espana, Seville
Don Quixote tiled mural, Plaza de Espana, Seville	Don Quixote tiled mural, Plaza de Espana, Seville	Plaza de Espana, Seville

We arrived at the Hotel Catalonia Trajano at about 8:30pm and Lucy once again insisted that we do an orientation walk of the area with her. When she stopped at a sherry bar and seemed to be settling in, we left and found and small cake and sandwich shop had some dinner at 9:45pm and went to bed at about 10:45pm feeling totally exhausted from the day of traveling.