After relaxing next to the Atlantic, we decided to consult the map and do some of the off-roading in the Atlas mountains. The Atlas provides many opportunities to explore areas that can not be reached by a normal 2WD vehicle. This way we met all communities lost to the mountains

All fueled up, we headed into the High Atlas mountains. Evenings were much cooler at this altitude, but we were quite insulated in our sleeping bags, finding comfort from our rooftop tents. Both vehicles survived the rocky terrain without any problems.

The scenery was once again awesome. We drove through sections that were completely red in appearance, and this made for great photo opportunities. When the sun set in the evenings, the colours became so much more vivid, and it was as if one was in an artist's pallet, surrounded by bright primary reds, yellows and blues

It was completely desolate, and we couldn't help but feel a certain spiritualism around us. The complete silence took my breath away. Gone were the constant breaking of the waves next to the coast. Gone were the Tesco lorries reversing into bays. Gone were those Leyton bruisers playing deafening music on the High Road. I have never experienced the calmness I did in the mountains - complete solitude amonth the peaks

Although it was getting close to mid winter, all the river beds were dry, and not a drop of rain fell. To the Moroccans delight, it did eventually rain about a week later, the first rain for three years in the region. Needless to say they were overjoyed, thanking us for bringing the good luck up from the north. We didn't tell them that all we wanted was sunshine and blue skies.

Our view from our campsite at the top of the mountain pass was the topic of our literary sides taking the better of us. Soon we were thinking clear thoughts, reciting poems, dashing images of the weeks gone by so far.

 Eventually the day-to-day worry of food, water, vehicles and not knowing where we were going to camp the night, subsided, and we could start appreciating our surroundings. It felt that a great weight was lifted from our shoulders. Luckily we had the "no worries" attitude, because it put us in the right frame of mind for the next eventuality...

Not everything went according to plan. I decided to take a more challenging route without following the golden rule of Checking the terrain before traversing over it without a worry in the world. The result? Stuck to the axles in green muddy sludge. An hour of digging later, the axles were clear and Bernard was able to pull me out

Sand ladders, four guys, buckets of sweat and one determined Land Cruiser later, the casualty reversed slightly and we were able to continue via a different route. It wasn't all bad - it gave us an opportunity to build camaraderie and laugh about it later. It would have taken much longer there wasn't a second vehicle to assist