SYD-SIN-LHR-RAK-OZZ

Have made it to Ouarzazate in eastern Morocco, after a couple of days in Marrakesh and a long bus ride up and over the snow covered Atlas Mountains. Dry and dusty, very reministent of Jerusalem and Kathmandu, hassling sellers of everything under the sun, and then some. As we filled up the bus somewhere on the way I noticed that petrol here is about the same price as in Australia - but there certainly isn't the income to pay for it.

Got to OZZ last night and spotted our first MdSers. Can't miss the skinny blokes with caps and legioniare flaps, bike shorts and shoes with velcro sewn around them. Quite a contract to the classic Berber local. Dinner with the US contingent, dicussions ebbing and flowing from food to weight to calories back to weight, then camel spiders sand, strange concotions of maltodextrin mixed with olive oil,and again back to weight. Andrew is battling to get his pack UP to the minimum weight of 6.5kg, whereas Trent (http://marathonman.com.au) is struggling to get his pack DOWN the the max of 15.5kg. Me? About 10kg right now, but I am feeling a little overweight looking at how some have trimmed all excess baggage... I will go be packing and repacking today, but following my lovely wife's missive to not skimp on food. Currently I have 6.5kg of food which averages out at 3,600 Calories a day. Well over the legal minimum of 2,000 C per day, but it weighs so much ;-)