WE may be an international group drawn from around the globe, but our travelling band shares one very British obsession – the weather.
Writing this with the sun beating down and the strains of Bob Marley drifting across our Marrakesh campsite, you could be forgiven for falling for the stereotypical view of long, hot African days.
But the last few days have been anything but predictable, providing glorious sunshine when we were prepared for whatever conditions the Moroccan winter could spring on us, then drenching us with a night of torrential rain and a howling gale that left us clinging to the side of a mountain.
Throw in the intervention of the local police, a hair-rising drive through the mountains and the torrents created by the storm, not to mention a real-life game of rock, paper, scissors (only without paper and with a genuine knife replacing the scissors) and it has been an unexpectedly eventful few days.
Back when you last left us in Fes, we were well aware of what might be lying ahead after tales of previous groups heading to Todra Gorge wrapped up in sleeping bags on the back of the truck to keep warm while snow slowed down progress.
As it was, we were treated to some spectacular views as we traversed the Atlas Mountains with the sides rolled down and only the odd jacket donned as a long drive day turned into night.
Even with blackness enveloping our new home, the towering silhouettes of the cliffs above the truck provided a tempting teaser of what lay ahead, while the news we would not need to pitch tents but were sleeping on the floor of a room in the adjacent hotel sent everyone scurrying for the relative comfort and an early night.
Opting out of the lengthy trek up a mountain path to Todra Gorge itself, my more relaxed day took me up the road through some still spectacular scenery and down the road for a less than spectacular lunch.
A chilled evening was rounded off with a competitive session of Uno – which has taken on epic proportions with a series of rule changes to be argued over and forgotten if you have not been playing total attention – and a new sleeping spot, tucked up on the Beach at the front of the truck as Joe gave up his normal position to allow a few of us to sleep on Nala (and give the rest a quieter night in the communal room).
We all would have put up with any amount of snoring the following night as we were forced to contend with the most extreme conditions to date.
The day had been fairly low key after a quick detour further up the road from the hotel to check out more of the scenery before we headed out on a two-day trip to Marrakesh.
Our one major stop of the day came at an old casbah at Ait Benhaddou, which has provided the backdrop to a variety of films, among them Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia. There is not an awful lot to see, but it provided an interesting change from the inside of the truck and one out-of-the-blue moment of drama.
As we pushed past the local children attempting to charge us to cross the bridge (well, sacks placed on rocks in the low-flowing river), a scuffle broke out on the far side – the elderly gentleman taking the money to enter taking exception to another guy’s suggestion we sneaked in the back way for free.
No exchange of words this, the older guy brandishing a knife while his younger opponent reached for a rock and two others did their best to keep them apart. They succeeded and, somehow, the guy had miraculously returned to his post to take our entrance money.
That, however, was just the start of the drama.
We eventually arrived at our bush camp for the night well after dark and a fair way up the mountain pass which will provide the high point of the whole journey (well, at least in Nala).
Up went the tents as the wind and rain threatened and cook group set about rustling up the evening meal. And then the police arrived.
Not happy with our choice of campsite, they suggested – nay, insisted – it was not safe and we should move to the car park of a guesthouse a little further down the mountain.
After driver Steve was taken down to check out our new digs – and discovered one of their number was a Moroccan rugby international – we packed up our tents in a hurry, rattled through dinner and headed down the mountain.
By which time, the storm had well and truly set in.
We have become dab hands at putting up and taking down our tents fairly quickly. Just not when being buffeted by horizontal rain and huge winds on the side of a mountain.
With the tents up and pegged down as securely as we could manage, there really was little option than to crawl inside, take refuge and listen to what the weather could rustle up.
Throughout a long night, sleep was patchy but thankfully so were the leaks as we waited until we had to brave the elements once more to take our sodden tents down again.
Remarkably, barring a small wet patch in one corner of our tent (nothing to do with an unwillingness to get out to go to the loo during the night), we survived largely intact. Especially remarkable as our tent was sat in the middle of a mini lake as we wrestled to pack it away.
It could all have meant a miserable, subdued morning, but warmed by a cup of tea by the owners of the guest house (and the use of their facilities), we headed off up the mountain in good spirits – albeit not for long.
We had already driven across one waterlogged section when we came across another, more ferocious torrent which even Nala could not just plough through – and which the couple in a car sat there waiting had wisely decided not to tackle as they sat out the night before hoping it would go down.
While they opted to head downhill – and even more issues – we waited long enough for it to subside enough to allow Nala to cross and head over the pass as the storm rolled on.
It all added up to a dramatic morning for those of us who spent it looking out at what little you could see – mostly just sheer drops just off to the side of the road and water rushing everywhere from off the mountain.
But as the road eventually headed downhill towards Marrakesh, the sky finally started to break and the sun peeked out on a whole new experience.
