Ouarzazate was a more westernised town as there were a couple of film studios nearby, the mountains making a good backdrop for film locations. The local restaurant walls were festooned with photographs of visiting stars. The following day we set off for Marrakech.
The drive was spectacular, 160k of hairpin bends with lorries, taxis and cars tackling the corners at breakneck speed. We drove very sedately, we stopped many times to admire the views and to have lunch and finally arrived at our campsite at 4 pm. As we drove through the outskirts of Marrakech we saw that the streets were lined with people, with lots of soldiers standing to attention along the route, backs to the traffic and many policemen directing the traffic and waving us on at each junction. We realised it was a bit too much fuss for mere English tourists and it turned out King Mohammed VI was leaving his palace in the city and returning to the capital, Rabat. Sure enough we saw his motorcade sweep by, forty or fifty Mercedes and people carriers.
The weather in Marrakech was warm and sunny, 22 degrees. We enjoyed a touristy visit to the Gardens of Yves St Laurant, some tombs, a palace and the souk.
