Beach time - 18th January 2009

Day 8

With only 4 hours sleep under our belts we were on the road again, this time heading about 400km south west to the coast, where we were all keeping our fingers crossed for a bit of warmer weather. We decided to avoid the more obvious larger cities and head to a smaller town off the beaten path, in a stretch of the coastline known for its beaches.

As the journey went on we left the drizzle of Marrakesh behind us, and it wasn't long before it was clear we were heading in the right direction to warmer territories. We weaved our way through the red rock mountains with the sun roof open, pointing our cars towards the slowly setting sun. The first sight of the Atlantic ocean was simply stunning: huge crashing waves and golden sand beaches.

We stopped at a small town called Mirleft which is supposedly becoming known amongst the surfing nomads. After a quick reccy of a (rather shit) campsite (in a car park) we checked into a small hotel and grabbed ourselves some pizza. A rather chilled evening following a day on the road and the souk and Pacha exploits of our Marrakesh adventures the day before. After a few chilled beers on the roof terrace of a Moroccan pub, too many cigarettes, and a silly amount of games of arsehole our day was done.

Day 9

Time to enjoy the beach! From the hotel we stayed for the evening we headed straight towards the sea for about 1km, before we found the beach. Climbing down from the cliffs where we left the cars it was clear we would be the only people here for the day. With the immense 7ft waves crashing not far off the beach it wasn't long before we were all out there getting bashed about a little. Great fun a good relaxing day catching up a little.

Today saw our first day of camping. Not too far along the coast from Mirleft we found a great little campsite and dug in the nights. Tents up, stoves on, ration packs cooked, and a 3 EUR bottle of wine. This is what we'd been waiting for.