Ask anyone from England what Morocco is famous for and they’ll probably say Fez and then do a Tommy Cooper impression, “Just like that”… In reality, most people here have never heard of Tommy Cooper. Though when they find out you’re English, one of the first things they say is, “Lovely Jubbly”.

Fez (with a Z) is the red hat, Fes (with an S) is the city. Fes is the oldest and largest medieval city in the world. Similar to Marrakech and Chefchaouen its streets are a labyrinth, crowded, busy, hot and a severe assault your sense of smell. There are, apparently, themed tourist routes to follow and I did see signs but it is so easy to become severely disoriented in the medina, even following a guide. There are shops selling all sorts from fresh produce, clothes, carpets, silverware, pottery, snacks and sweets to electrical goods. What I wasn’t expecting as we were led through the twisting and turning streets, was the butchery section. I’m a carnivore and will happily continue to eat meat but if I was of a more sensitive nature I may have turned vegetarian. I cannot begin to describe how it smelled but in close to 40 degrees, I will say that my gag reflex kicked in early and I had to make a sharp exit as best I could, but not knowing where to go, I had to wait for the guide and group a little further on.

Unfortunately, one of the next places to visit on this medina tour was the tannery. Again, I have no issue with leather things, but it smelled really bad. Hot, dry animal skins, urine, pidgeon poo, sweat, rubbish, the lot. It was vile and is one of those smells that penetrates your clothes. Even the donkeys carrying the skins made me wish I had a scuba tank on my back so I could breathe some clean air.

In the evening, there was some organised Moroccan entertainment, music belly dancing etc. However wasn’t really in the mood for that – after the smell assault and also it was the night Croatia beat England 2 – 1 so just sat quietly and had a beer with a few of the others.

Next day we began our journey towards the Sahara but totally surprised by the Alpine style town of Ifrane. Had no idea that Morocco had a ski resort. But had an absolutely fantastic coffee and chocolate cheesecake. A couple of hours later we stopped by a river for a picnic made up of cheese, chicken, tomatoes, salad and watermelon. I know all this travelling is hard… When we got to our hotel in Midelt the exterior was fabulous and wall really excited about staying there but the rooms were a little shabby, and we’re in Morocco, not 5* in London but it was really nice and there was a pool which was a god send. Skipped the afternoon hike and relaxed by the pool with a beer instead.

I remember as a kid hearing about the Sahara desert and always wondered what it would be like but never thought I would ever visit it, let alone stay overnight there. We arrived late afternoon, but even so the temperature was pushing in excess of 45 degrees centigrade and the camels were ready to take us in to the desert to a Berber camp. I really don’t like camels and my one was giving a look as if to say there is no way you’re getting on my hump! So we kind of silently and mutually agreed that I would walk and the camel would carry my bag. The trek into the desert was only about 1.5 – 2 hours but if you got lost or separated, it could potentially be a death sentence.

Once at the camp we watched the sunset but there was quite a bit of wind and sand in the air so it didn’t look as spectacular as I expected, but still an awesome experience.

After a dinner of meat skewers (no idea what the meat was…) and veggies, there was some music and drumming etc around the camp fire as if the guides were possessed and it went on until after midnight.

I had hardly any sleep – the tents were too hot and the millions and billions of stars shone so bright as there was little light pollution but I was amazed by the amount of shooting stars I saw. Wish I could have spent longer there, but it would have been a tough experience.

Waking up before dawn, the group rode camels (and I walked) out of the desert. Still picture the film ‘Ice Cold in Alex’ and feeling the relief of reaching civilisation and having a cold drink.

After the intense heat and experience of the Sahara, we drove to a really nice hotel in Todra Gorge – apparently Morocco’s Grand Canyon, but on a much smaller scale. The hotel was perfect and I must have spend about an hour in the shower cooling off. Had probably once of the nicest and most refreshing dinners here, lots of fresh salad and juicy tomatoes. Ideal to try and fully rehydrate after the desert. A lot of Moroccans visit the gorge in the same way most English would head to the seaside on a sunny bank holiday weekend. The cliffs were about 1000ft high and all made of limestone – which brought back GCSE Geography memories.

So after a lovely night at the hotel by Todra Gorge, we travelled to Ait Benhaddou and visited the film studios in Ouarzazate where they filmed the likes of Gladiator, Last Temptation of Christ, the Living Daylights and Lawrence of Arabia to name a few. I know it was a film set but some of the sets did feel real until you touched or picked up props which were made of polystyrene or plaster. However it did feel more like Life of Brian…