Exploring North Africa with Survival School.

Standing next to me is my mate Pat, who I had met on a previous survival school course.

I had been looking forward to visiting Morocco. I had been told that many of the people in the country, lived as people lived in the bible (which is a bit strange, since the majority of them are Muslims !).

Mint Tea.

The 2 main peoples of Morocco, are the Arabs, the the Berbers. The Berbers are traditional Nomadic people, and were/are considered the warrior class of that country.

Our guide and drivers were Berbers and as Muslims, joked that the mint tea, is called Berber Whisky in their culture.

There were only 4 people and a driver to each Land rover, so it was a lot more comfortable than I had expected.

Later the next day, we stop to take some pictures, while travelling over a mountain pass.

Meski is a real desert oasis, and our guide Mohamed, had his son Ahmed gives us a tour of the town.

Everyone in the town has some land assigned to them, and here, an old man of 70 + is working and laughing, even though its 7:30 in the evening.

There was a cafe next to it, where people were drinking, and playing pool.

Unfortunately, the light had gone, so I have had to enhance this picture, that’s why it looks so grey.

Most people bought a desert headdress, and wore them throughout the course.

Here, Sylvie (who was married to Mark, a London Zoo keeper, ace bushcrafter and animal expert – also on the trip.) poses with her newly bought Headdress.

I embarrassed myself at bartering by having my first offer accepted enthusiastically. When I dropped my price by 5 pounds, the seller was still delighted.

I was obviously offering way to much, but I paid what I thought it was worth and have no regrets.

here he cooks a delicious meatball tagine for us at his restaurant.

In the morning, me and a few of the lads go exploring.

Here he shows us the well, which was the sole source of water for the whole town.

The sun shining on the town, from outside the city walls.

Several clay channels run to some of the outlying fields, so that more vegetation can be grown outside the Oasis.

Here I am photographed next to one of the longest roads I have ever seen.

During the afternoon heat, the only place to be, was in the shade, but in the morning, wandering around the dunes gave an immense sense of calm and peace.

Walking along the ridges was the only practical way to cross sand dunes.

Walking up and down them, no matter what your fitness, was exhausting.

Only about 20% of all desert is made of sand, most of it is made of rocks like this one.

You can get an idea of the size of the desert and feeling off isolation from this picture.

Here a person earns a living, simply by fixing bicycles and repairing punctures.

One of the strange things about desert, is that when you are wandering in the dunes, there is a sense of isolation, but back at camp, There was none.

There was only one tree, in our camp, and as a city dweller, it was strange to feel “on display” and have no “corner of your own” I got over it after a few days, but its one of the extra experiences you get from being in the desert.

Having lived isolated in the Dunes for just 5 days, and seeing how hard it was, I had nothing but respect for these people.

Here, the Berbers help Pat, mount the camel for our trek. The white camel in the picture, is the one I would ride.

Once at the top of the high dunes, we bivvied out.

In the morning, we watched the sunrise, and then travelled down to the hotel to have breakfast.

I had dried bread for breakfast each morning, and when I went to the toilet after 8 days, I thought I was going to damage myself.

We briefly stop at the side of the road for a team photograph.

Although the desert craft of the Berbers is unquestionable, there photography isn’t, and they manage to cut me out of the picture (maybe it was something I said !).