Not much longer!

By road. 

It seems funny that we were at Marrakech airport, and we drove to Casablanca airport. Wouldn't you just fly? But we were only there for the cheap secure parking. And, it was along our route.

Trying to avoid the crazy Marrakech traffic, we got up and drove right away to do the 10 kms (6 miles) or so to the big Carrefour superstore. In hindsight, we would have been better off waiting until after 9am, but then we would have been later finishing than we wanted to be.

Made it to Marrakech

We had such a peaceful night parked in the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Total peace and quiet. Such a difference compared to the busy campground we had been in the night before.

We haven't been doing much wild camping because it's difficult to fill European propane tanks here in Morocco. So we've been relying on electricity at campgrounds so that we don't have to worry about our propane supply.

Crazy mountain road!

The road through the Tizi n' Test mountain pass was built by French engineers between 1928 and 1932. It was the first modern access from Marrakech to Taroudant, although now there is a highway through the plains from Marrakech to Agadir that most people take. So the mountain pass road isn't well maintained.

Rockslides and avalanches are common. No way I would attempt this road during bad weather, or even on a rainy day. 

Now that's a chicken lunch!

Friday morning we walked into the small city of Taroudant (pop 80,000). The center of town is located about 4 kms (2.5 miles) from the campground, so it was a decent walk.

First on the agenda was to find an ATM. Our Canadian bank has an agreement with BCMI bank here in Morocco for no ATM fees, and there is a BCMI location here, so that's where we headed.

That was an interesting drive!

Max likes driving mountain roads just as much as our North American motorhome Sherman did. So when I saw a route heading to our next destination that was more direct than the main road, I did some more research. And yes, it was a twisty, curvy mountain road, with reviews that warned of narrow sections with no guard rails.

But, it was also paved and in overall good condition. And a couple of other motorhomers said that they had done it without issue, but that it was "interesting".

It's been a great week, but it's time to move on

We really like this part of Morocco. Tons of hiking opportunities, and it helps that the weather has been absolutely perfect for that activity.

So we took advantage of our last day here and did a hike up into the mountains behind where we are staying.

What did it cost for our long weekend in Canary Islands?

After a record breaking high expense month like January was, it's refreshing to see our February expenses back to what we consider normal.

There were no surprises... well, except for a last minute long weekend to Canary Islands! We'll break down exactly how much that long weekend cost in the details below.

Traditional Berber house in rural Morocco

Monday morning, we walked about 3.5 kms (2.2 miles) over to the village of Oumesnat where there is a traditional Berber house that is now a tourist museum. 

Really interesting visit, and if you are in the area it's not to be missed!

If we ever settle down anywhere, it's going to be in a place that has palm trees!

We woke up at about 5:30am to an odd sound. At first, it sounded like a water drip, but upon closer inspection it was actually a clicking noise coming from our electrical converter under the seat.

As in Mexico, many of the campgrounds in Morocco don't have enough supply of electricity. So normally, the problem is low voltage. And I'm aware of the problem enough that I bought an electrical meter before coming here and I test the voltage when we arrive at a campground, and regularly throughout our stay.

We finally saw goats in trees!

We set out just after 10:00am and ended up doing 13 kms (8 miles) under beautiful sunny skies. Back just before 2:00pm, so we were gone about three and a half hours.

It's a really interesting landscape in this area. Lots of big boulders and odd shaped rocks.