We took an all-day bus ride over the Atlas Mountains to a hotel at the edge of the Sahara Desert. Â We made several stops along the way. Â On our first stop we got off the bus and walked along the road for about twenty minutes.
Mohamed saw a nomad, so we got off the bus and walked across the field to meet him as he herded his sheep.
She is one of the women who live in his family group. 
They were very friendly, and we all enjoyed the time spent together.
Roadside scenery
Date palms
We drove over an hour to reach Volubilis, ruins of an ancient Roman city. Â A special expert guide took us through the grounds explaining the architecture and how the Romans lived.
We then drove to Meknès , one time home of the Moroccan sultanate.  After passing through the gates of the walled city, we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant.
We first walked to the front gate of the royal palace in Fez.
The gold colored door is quite impressive.
At the huge Médina, we went to the central part.  Shop keepers were making and selling various items.  This woman was making crepes and throwing them over a round heated ball to cook.
We ate a delicious chicken lunch. Â We also went to shop that tanned the leather outside in large vats. Â The smell was so terrible that they gave us sprigs of mint to hold over our noses to mask the odor.
We then went to a weaving shop. Â We bought a beautiful turquoise bedspread made of agave fibers.
This evening we went to the home-hosted dinner. Â Amina is about 24 and is going to graduate from college in October. Â She and her mother cooked a delicious dinner that started with Moroccan Soup and bread. Â Next, we had lamb with plums for the main course, and a variety of delicious fruit for dessert. 
Before dinner we were dressed in traditional Moroccan clothing for pictures.  After dinner, Cha-Cha-Cha came out and sang her introduction song then “Love Surrounds Us Everywhere†in English then Japanese.  The family laughed and were in awe of her.  What fun!
