6: Uncharted Territory!

We're heading a short distance from Icht, to the village of Amtoudi, it's a tiny and unremarkable place save for the fact that it boasts not one but two Amazigh agadirs - fortified granaries used to store food, water and valuables.

As is so often the case in Morocco, as we drive along we are amazed by the spectacular rock formations. The ever-changing landscapes have inspired us to watch the TV series 'Earth' on BBC iPlayer in the evenings to help to try to understand how they were formed billions of years ago... it's fascinating stuff and a recommended watch if you haven't seen it!

We arrive in Amtoudi in the afternoon and decide to leave the climb to the agadir until the next day, it's very windy and we don't fancy the steep and narrow path in high wind!. Instead, we stroll along the dry river bed which is lovely.

We are running a bit short on supplies of fresh vegetables and Janette spots a man about to load a crate of onions and a crate of apples into his car. He isn't a trader but she asks if it's possible to buy some onions - he won't hear of accepting any money but is very happy to supply several onions - so kind.

More local children to give the dogs a love - the dogs are really popular here with the children who all end up squabbling about whose turn it is to hold the dogs' leads!

The wind has dropped overnight and it's a lovely day. We can see where the trail starts and off we set.

The path is well marked and zig zags up the mountain with some quite dizzying drops!

The guardian has to unlock the agadir for us and there's a small entrance fee to pay. He explains the purpose of the agadir and shows us the route to take to make sure we see it all.

It is at this point that we realise that we have forgotten our torches and of course there are many pitch black passageways to explore!

What a place this is! Over 800 years old and one of the best preserved examples of its kind in the whole of North Africa, it must have been an almighty effort to construct it on this precipitous outcrop. It's an extensive structure which makes the fact that it's almost invisible from ground level even more amazing.

We're so glad we made this detour; it never ceases to amaze us that wonderful, historic sites such as this are so relatively untouched by tourism.

Our plan is to travel from Amtoudi to the Ait Masour Gorge on a road taking us through a spectacular canyon but we have been told that the road has collapsed in places and not easily passable for a vehicle of Lionel's size - a rethink is required.

We use Google Earth Pro to explore the landscape, tracks and roads to assess which routes might be suitable for a vehicle of Lionels type and size... he's not really built for hard-core off roading!

We spot a track through the mountains and a number of small villages that looks OK, however good as Google Earth is, it's not showing a 'live' image of the conditions. There's been a LOT of rain over the last couple of months and many roads and bridges have been washed away.

We manage to find the proposed route on our preferred navigation app - Waze. This proposed route is so off the beaten track that it doesn't even appear on our paper map , we decide to chance it - what could possibly go wrong?

The single track road snakes up into the mountains. It's deserted, beautiful and the going is good. We stop for coffee at the top and wonder at the vastness of the landscape.

Then, things take a turn for the worse! Decision time. Should we turn back, or should we risk it and keep going?

We carry on, but things get a bit livelier, first we have to squeeze round some roadworks and then we come across several places where the road has collapsed completely and we have to divert into the dry riverbed.

Sounds alarming but we take it very slowly, we don't ground-out and all is fine.

Once again, the rocks are bent and moulded into extraordinary shapes.

The usual route for motorhomes entering the Ait Mansour Gorge is from the north but, our 'customised' route involves us entering from the south. This proves to be a great call as we get to see much more of the canyon this way, including a ruined village although the road is VERY narrow and winding in places. Palm trees lean into and over the road and we have to push our way through. There's also quite a bit of nail biting manoeuvring involved when we meet oncoming vehicles!

What a paradise this is! A lush, verdant haven in the middle of an otherwise harsh and arid environment.

The palm trees brush against Lionel as we make our way though.

There is no campsite here but you can stay in the guarded parking area under the kind and watchful eye of Fatima who charges the princely sum of £1.60 a night!

As you walk though the gorge there is the sound of running water, this gives Nick an idea which is very unpopular with the dogs......

......a bath. They hate it but we are very pleased that they are now sweet smelling, at least for a little while!

We decide to cycle back the way we drove - what a truly magical place this is, it feels so secret and protected from the outside world by the high rock walls on both sides.

The sun does reach the bottom of the gorge but it's a gentle, dappled sunlight, so different from that which beats down on the rocks above.

We stay for two nights before driving out of the gorge towards the north where it very quickly becomes arid and rocky once more, you'd never know that little piece of heaven was just around the corner.

Trafaoute is our next stop. It's a big draw for motorhomers; the scenery is reputed to be lovely as is the little town.

We'll reserve judgement as we always have reservations about going anywhere too touristy.

Tafraoute is famous for the huge area where motorhomes can stay. There are no services but the landscape surrounding it on all sides is fantastic and the price is £1.20 per night - what's not to like!

Then, there is one particularly miserable maintenance job to sort out - our toilet has malfunctioned which means Nick has to take it apart and fix it - a nasty job if ever there was one!

Mo Mo and Said have a garage here which caters for motorhome repairs - in particular re-sprays. Lionel could do with some attention to a war inflicted on a previous trip, Mo Mo says he can do it the next day for the equivalent of £120.00 - a fraction of the price we'd pay at home - we book him in.

The end result is really good, Lionel is gleaming once more.

Tafraoute is a lovely little town, it has a very relaxed and friendly vibe. There’s a nice mix of local and tourist shops and lots of coffee shops and cafes.

A specialism of Tafraoute is hand made leather shoes and babouches (slippers).

Janette sees a pair in turquoise that take her fancy but alas they don't fit.

We have topped up already in a small supermarket but in terms of fresh produce, there's plenty to choose from here. There is a fruit and veg market and a meat and fish one too.

The weather here is lovely, warm and sunny. We’ve done well on this trip so far to dodge some of the extreme weather being experienced elsewhere in Morocco.

Further north there's a huge storm. Our friend Bernd is caught in it and says it was really scary.

There is a severe weather warning for the Straits of Gibraltar and ferries are cancelled. Inland there’s a lot of severe flooding. We are told that Morocco hasn't had any sensible rain for seven years and so they do need it to replenish water supplies, but it's been so torrential that is has posed a risk to life and has destroyed roads and properties, we do feel for the people.

Fingers crossed that we can continue to follow the sun as we head to Tiznet… next stop.