Morocco
Hi all - will come up with further photos - it's just gonna take some time to select the ones which are interesting to you guys.
This is just a rough description of our journey: Our trip concentrated mainly on the eastbound and southbound part of the country (Tanger-Guercif-Rekkam plateau-Bouarfa-Merzouga-Ksar es Souk which is nowadays Ar-Rachidia-Atlas-Fes-Tanger). Our convoy was consisting out of 16 vehicles - mostly japanese 4x4's (majority older Toyo's) and two Defender's - more than double the number of participants of which a friend and me were the only two germans - anybody else was french or french/italian. Not one other G was participating - as far as our group was concerned.
Nevertheless public transport consists mainly out of W123's (the so called "Africa Taxi") Mercedes limousines and 208, 308 and 408 Mercedes transporters - majority of forementioned ones with OM 616 Diesel engines - the good old 4 cylinder 2,4 litre normally aspirated engine.
The more south we went the more the participants enjoyed the beauty of the country and the more relaxed and friendly we were hosted and vice versa.
Travelling in the southern part of Morocco reminded me in many respects to travelling thru' Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Colorado due to the colour and the formation of the mountains as well as the overall panorama of the landscape.
My recommendation for further trips would presumably be the following:
-Have a smaller number of vehicles (4-5)
-Have a far less dense time schedule
-More time to spend in the south
-Plan a little chat here and there rather than just rushing through the target regions, people will appreciate this (as is the case all over the world).
Overall it was a pleasure travelling this beautiful country - Raiko.
P.S. 50% of Morocco's GNP is based on income from tourism - royal Police will keep an eye on you where ever you go - not primarily to protect Morocco from the infidels - rather than to protect you yourself - the implication of such a behavioural pattern is obviously the latent fear of an islamistic attack....always watch out! And even more important: No beer available in major parts of the country...be sure to keep a decent number of "Löwenbräu" in your Engel fridge:coffeedrink:!