We had to be up and away by 6:30 a.m. this morning, to have enough time to go to Todra Gorge. This was a picture-book view, another oasis, but the basin was just full of palm trees. We then drove through the mountains and out into the desert, and it was very arid and dusty. The road actually ran out in places, where there were roadworks and road building, and we had to drive onto the sand, alongside the road building, for quite a long distance! We stopped briefly at Goulmima for a drink and to make use of the toilet, and this had to be experienced to be believed - it was a hole in the ground with a tap and a bucket beside to flush away! We arrived at Midelt for our lunch at the hotel Ayachi, and we had brochettes, cheese and bread, and a delicious lemon meringue pie. The town of Midelt is situated at the base of the Ayachi mountain range in the Middle Atlas, so this is where the hotel got its name. There were pedlars selling stones and fossils, as we got on and off the coach, but the temperature was noticeably cooler, with a refreshing breeze. The landscape had gradually changed, becoming more green, first with bushes where there had been only tufts of grass, and eventually trees - Oak and Cedar forests. Morocco is a country of amazing contrasts - by mid-afternoon, over a period of about six hours, we had gone from a sandy desert to a verdant, flourishing land.
 

We stopped for a short while to walk in the cedar forests, and looked at the cedarmoss and oakmoss, and through the field to get to the forest there was a carpet of an aromatic, lavender-scented herb which Dominique said was some sort of aspic. It is said there are monkeys in the forests, the Barbary Ape, but I did not see any.

We then continued to Fes (with an's'), and this city looked totally different, with big houses and apartments, very affluent looking. The boulevards were lined with purple jacaranda and palm trees. We went straight to our hotel, the Jnan Palace, and it really was like a palace, very sumptuous, with rich Moroccan carpets on marble-tiled floors, and an exquisite mosaic ceiling with a large chandelier, and that was just the reception hall! Through stained-glass doors was the most amazing swimming pool I have ever seen, surrounded by palm trees and yet more jacaranda trees. This hotel, although a five-star, I think should have been about twenty-star! Dominique said that we deserved to stay in a luxurious hotel tonight because we had had a hard day on the coach today, about eight hours travelling. Well, we certainly would not argue with that!

Our rooms were also very luxurious, with beautifully fitted en-suite bathrooms - what a contrast to the hole in the ground we had seen this morning! After getting ready for dinner, we went to the Merinides - not a restaurant, but another hotel, and this was also very grand. The restaurant was on the third floor of the hotel, and it overlooked the whole of the Fes Medina or "old town", but since it was dark, we just saw a sea of twinkling lights. There was another mosaic ceiling, but this one slid away while we were eating, opening up to the night sky above, but they soon closed it again as it was a windy evening. We were seated on low, richly covered red and gold chairs, at low tables, and there were Moroccan musicians and the highlight of the evening was a bellydancer, also dressed in red. Paul and Denise were whisked away for a surprise, and they came back dressed in Moroccan-style clothes, Denise in a shimmering, sequinned outfit complete with colourful make-up, and Paul in a djellabah and a fez (with a "z") hat. They took part in a pretend Moroccan wedding ceremony, and they had symbolic henna painted on their hands, after which we all wanted paintings on our hands, and the young Moroccan artist was keen to oblige. The meal consisted of various salads as a starter, pastilla, a pie made with flaky pastry, and inside was fruits de mer. Then we had mechoui, but this was different to that we had tasted before, and we finished the meal with fresh fruit.
Back at the Jnan Palace, I would like to have stayed awake to enjoy the balcony, watch the large-screened television, or write my postcards, but I was too tired.

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