Farewell to Marrakech and bonjour to Casablanca. A fairly painless but early get away from our little riad thanks to the splendid organisation of Abdul and of course Majid by remote control in sending baggage cart men to collect our luggage.

No one actually swam in the riad’s foyer pool but it looked inviting and very Moroccan.

Our first stop in Casablanca was the Hassan II Mosque, the world’s third largest with the world’s largest minaret.

It’s the only mosque in Morocco open to non-Muslims and is a must-see. An architectural masterpiece built in record time late last century with donations from everyday Moroccans (or so our over-priced guide told us).

Fetching head scarves on our ladies. Not compulsory for non-Muslims but respectful (that’s us). Stephen even said a little prayer.

The next pic is of the downstairs ablution room (pre-prayer ritual) that can accommodate 1000 worshippers (or should that be pre-worshippers) at a time.

Thence to the Sofitel Hotel – our first western-style hotel in Morocco and a change from the riads. In some not so nice ways unfortunately. It was our first dust-up with check-in staff, who were incredibly rude. First they denied having any record of our booking until I showed some email correspondence. A manager of sorts finally appeared and said they had found a booking but no payment. After I went into meltdown mode, I was finally able to log on to my bank account in Portugal and show not only that I had paid on August 8 but that the Sofitel had acknowledged receipt of said dirhams on August 10.

The dramas at the counter continued as they demanded everyone’s passport details even though I had sent them all that information well in advance (as I had to all other hotels and riads, without a problem). Oh, says check-in woman, I don’t care if you did or didn’t, I would still demand your passports. Nice. Lesson learned: avoid international hotel chains in Morocco!

For our finalé, we dined together at Rick’s Café, created by our late dear friend Kathy Kriger as homage to the iconic movie Casablanca.

That’s our friend Issam on the piano and here again with Pam, Ev and I as we bid farewell to the 2022 Portugal-Morocco Artists Tour.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the virtual journey with us. I’ve had fun writing the blog and even more fun travelling the 24 days with our truly terrific group. We made it. A few upset tummies but, hamdullah, no encounters with the dreaded C. And in spite of some misplaced suitcases, nothing and no-one went permanently astray.

Goodbye until next time (maybe) — Paul.

A no bus day! But lots of walking. After lining up for breakfast on the upper terrace…

…and from the front:

Our three guides met us at 9.30 am (a late start for a change) to guide us through the alleyways of Marrakech’s medina for both sightseeing and some retail therapy, dodging a donkey or two and a motorbike or 300.

Fancy a light?

Our destination was the Place des Épices where we lunched and for a couple of hours the artists painted and the others wandered…

…before Hassan, our charming young guide, escorted us back through the laneways (impossible to navigate alone) to our riad.

This evening, we walked about 50 km (actually about 2 but it felt like more because of the heat and the crowds), accompanied by our friend Imane, who had recommended a most wonderful Moroccan restaurant, Dar Zellij, for dinner.

Drinks on the terrace first and then a special feast, which ended with a marvellous dessert of filo pastry with pomegranate pods.

Sorry about the fuzzy pic but I must have been too excited.

So ends the Marrakech sojourn. Casablanca tomorrow and the last day of the tour.

A very full day with three different painting sessions for the artists and plenty of sightseeing for the others. We were taken first to El Bahia where the non-painters spent an hour (with about one million of our closest friends) among the treasures of this old palace with all its mosaics and zellige (tiles).

The light from the coloured windows created an interesting affect.

Meanwhile, our artists were bussed by Majid to the Majorelle Gardens, previously the home of Yves St Laurent and Pierre Bergé. The private gardens are now open to the public and not surprisingly that’s where the majority of our group chose to capture some of the beauty of this oasis in the middle of Marrakech’s bustle.

After a visit to the Berber Museum – here are some of us lined up waiting to enter ….

[Note the cobalt blue which is a distinctive feature of the gardens and Yves St Laurent’s signature colour.]

… we lunched in Café Majorelle and had time for a critique of the morning’s painting session.

Next stop was Dar Si Saïd Museum where we had permission to paint in the gardens and explore more beautiful rooms.

Then finally, on to Jmaa el Fna – the iconic bustling hectic crazy town square of Marrakech full of people, stalls, snake charmers and food tents, where we spent a few hours both exploring La Place and painting from the terrace of Aqua Restaurant, where we also had dinner.

Back to our riad in the medina for a fond farewell to Majid, our wonderful guide and driver who is leaving us tonight (we will have a friend of his drive us to Casablanca on Saturday).

After another beautiful sunrise over the mountains around Kasbah Ellouze, it was time to bid farewell to Michel and the lovely Colette and their team. Can’t recommend their place highly enough.

Majid wisely chose to take us on a long and winding road to rejoin the main highway to Marrakech and we were all in thrall of the scenery along the Ounila Valley.

Lots of photo op stops and a chance to buy some more souvenirs – how many stone camels do you need?

Close to Télouet, we detoured to visit the old salt mines that used to provide the Pasha Glaoui (remember him from his palace in Fès on our first day in Morocco?) with much of his wealth. In days gone by (like hundreds of years) a kilo of salt was literally worth its weight in gold.

While doing a taste test on the salt, our resident chef Ben lost his phone but didn’t realise it until about half an hour later down the highway. A quick u-turn and a walk back down the salt bed and yep, there it was, his Google phone. Amazing!

Back on the highway and past the 2600 metre high peak of the Atlas Mountains to a rest stop to view the ladies producing argan oil. Our group was intrigued by the beneficial claims of argan. At least their hands are now very healthy.

We finally arrived in Marrakech about 4.45 pm – it’s not a long way but the road is congested and road works holdups delayed us even further. Amazingly, I remembered the way from the bus drop off point through part of the medina to Riad Ambre et Épice, our home for the next three nights.

Obligatory mint tea first, served by Abdul, who remembered Pam and I from four years ago, and then a group dinner (lemon chicken tagine followed by poached pear for dessert – yum!). And then to bed …. zzzzzz

A full day in Tamedaght (or, reading right to left in Darija, t-m-d-a-gh-t). After yesterday’s haze, we awoke to glorious sunshine and blue sky. The early morning sun on the surrounding hills was seductive.

After breakfast on the terrace, the painters, under Ev’s guidance, went to work, while the others went for a 6 km hike.

A view of Kasbah Ellouze from the other side.

More painting in the afternoon in the shady laneway (temperature was hovering around 30).

And swimming.

In the late afternoon, we had a real treat. A short walk from the Kasbah is the home and studio of an up and coming Moroccan artist, Aïssa Joud (www.aissajoud.com), who grew up just a few kilometres away and now is about to have his first international exhibition in Brussels in November.

He is also a musician and his father is a sculptor plus he has friends who do incredible things with wood. As a result, his house is absolutely amazing and I apologise for not having effectively captured it on my trusty iPhone.

Out on the deck, with breath-taking views to the mountains, he has created a space for dance parties for his band Folk Spirit.

Here is Aïssa and some of our gobsmacked art tour group.

And some of his work in his upstairs gallery:

More of his amazing work, and his personal story, are on his website.

And so, sadly, we must end our time with Colette and Michel at Kasbah Ellouze. Well, not quite. We do have a delicious breakfast on the terrace to come before departure tomorrow morning.

Bonne nuit.

We are now in one of my favourite places in Morocco: Kasbah Ellouze in the tiny village of Tamedaght, past Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou.

Maybe it’s the peace and quiet. Maybe it’s the mountain views and the date palms in the valley. Maybe it’s because there is no traffic. But mainly it’s because of Colette and Michel who own and run this wonderful guest house with their dedicated and attentive staff (El Amine, take note!) and serve the most delicious food this side of … well, France, I guess!

We left Boumalne relatively early and visited a rose water distillery first.

Then on to Ouarzazate for some money exchange and a welcome coffee before stopping to overlook Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to movie studios, where Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and more recently Game of Thrones were filmed. Some purchases from the roadside stalls before travelling a few more kilometres down the highway to Kasbah Ellouze for lunch.

Then on to painting.

The non-painters explored and/or swam in the pool.

A totally delicious dinner in the jazz room ended a very pleasant day without too much bus travel. The weather warmed up from a chilly start in Dadès to a very warm afternoon at the Kasbah, but all day was hazy and misty, which sadly spoiled some of the scenery. Hopefully clearer autumn weather ahead tomorrow.

A full day of painting around our riad today for the artist cohort while most of the non-painters opted for a drive into the Dadès Gorges and up into the High Atlas Mountains.

Ev started the day with a master class. Some painted on the terrace …

… while some snoozed in a hammock …

… while the explorers walked along the river in the Dadès Gorge.

We drove to the 2500 metre peak for a misty but spectacular view.

Later in the day back at the Perle du Dadès riad, there was a massage for some in the hammam, a swim in the huge (and very deep) pool for others, more painting, or snoozing. And for me a chance to relax in Pam’s and my own little villa in the gardens where I am tapping out this blog in the twilight.

A short travel day tomorrow as we begin our Road to Marrakech journey.

Saturday, October 1: Another bus day but not nearly as long as the 550 km journey on Thursday. First, we were able to admire another sunset over the dunes which were bathed in the most beautiful light.

And then it was farewell to desert camp life and into the 4WDs to take us back to Majid and the bus.

We drove to Ksar El Khorbat in Tinejdad — a mud brick, largely underground village that is still inhabited and dates back hundreds of years. They have a fascinating museum there that showcases Berber life with very good explanations printed in multiple languages.

Then a group lunch — goat tagine for Pam and me …

… before continuing to the Todra Gorge, where awe-inspiring rock cliffs drop down to the river.

After at least 1,000 photos had been taken, Majid drove us the last 55 km of today’s journey to the Perle du Dadès riad outside the city of Boumalne on the outskirts of the Dadès Gorges. A bit more rain after we arrived but a few drinks on the terrace and a magnificent feast in the dining room lifted everyone’s spirits.

Hopefully the date stamps on these most recent blogs don’t confuse, but I was unable to post from the desert (no Internet) and last night I could only manage one catch-up. I should be on track again now and will post today’s blog (Sunday, October 2) later tonight Moroccan time.

Last day of September — where has the year gone!

Whoever wrote the lyrics to that song It Never Rains Down in Africa obviously had never actually been to this part of the continent. We awoke to a very pretty sunrise over the dunes (erg) of Chebbi but it soon turned very windy and later very wet.

And as the wind whipped the shifting Sahara sands, our hardy troop of artists found refuge near the swimming pool (yes, this camp boasts a full sized pool — inside a tent of course).

In the afternoon, the group assembled outside the restaurant tent and the artists tried their talents on more life drawing, this time using Ben as the model.

Fortunately the storm had abated just before 6 pm so 12 hearty souls could enjoy a ride across the dunes on a camel of their choice. There was one camel to spare, so I went along too, with my Berber head gear. Most of us bought these 12 metre long scarves which proved a godsend to keep sand out of our ears and mouth and raindrops from falling on our turbans.

Another big dinner, washed down with some terrific Val d’Argan red, to end a rather different day, thanks to the rain gods, to that which we’d envisaged — sand surfing, walking through the dunes, and relaxing on the sun beds.

Before I finish, I just want to go back to Fès and our road trip from Thursday to show a couple of photos:

The locals call them white flowers. Satellite dishes are prolific on the roof tops of the medina.

The highway and some of the incredible mountain scenery on our long drive to Merzouga.

And finally, a couple of photos from the desert camp — one of my new friends and a night time view of the Moroccan lanterns that dot the rim of the campsite.

It’s now October 1 and we are at the beautiful and quirky Perle du Dadès riad near the city of Boumalne, about 130 km from Ouarzazate. And we have internet — of sorts (like not in our rooms), so I’m sitting on the terrace with a glass of red and attempting to re-cap the last three days since we left Fès.

I’ll start with Thursday, September 29 — a very long travel day. After loading the bus with all our bags – including the humongous ones – we were off down the highway via Azrou, on the edge of Morocco’s ski fields with Swiss style hotels and guest houses, to Merzouga and the desert.

(This pic was actually taken today when leaving the desert, but you get the idea of how brilliant Majid is at loading the bus.)

Departure from Fès was at 7.30 am and we finally arrived at our camp in the Sahara almost 12 hours later. We had a couple of stops to view the scenery and have a late lunch.

Despite the hour, we were not too exhausted to admire the truly beautiful views of the dunes and appreciate the peace and quiet of this isolated campsite just 40 km from the Algerian border.

Now when I say campsite, we were not exactly slumming it. Hot and cold running water, showers, a flushing loo, a king size bed, carpets on the floor and air conditioning!

After an enormous supper and some welcome wines (smuggled in alter a shopping trip to a Fès supermarket on Wednesday morning), the lads put on a drum show around the fire and had Ben and Thilly join the band.

A chance to admire the stars in a perfectly clear sky before a well earned rest.

I will send Day 16 tomorrow.