Never to be repeated!

Yesterday we braved our first Grand Taxi on the open road. Never ever will we set foot in one again - and advise all others to consider very carefully this mode of transport.

We had read and heard about the drivers being kamikaze madmen, but it couldn't be that bad... could it?

YES!! In a word, it can be that bad AND worse.

We left Marrakech at 4.30pm and getting out of the city was fine. Once on the open road though, the driver became obsessed with being in front of every vehicle on the road - those going in our direction and those not!

I said to mum at one point, 'I hate to think how fast we are going', and from where she sat she coud see the speedo.

'100... 110... 120.... 130' came the terrified whisper in my ear.

We swerved in and out of the traffic barely enough room at times for the ocassional 3 vehicles side by side on the 2 laned road. Scooters, bikes, pedestrians and donkeys were tooted a warning before being passed within inches.

There were several miles of road works in a few locations and these were treated more like a race track then the road - many vehicles were overtaken while on 40km/h restrictions.

He knew exactly where the police with speed cameras hung out so would drive sedately past them, only to put his foot down the second they were out of sight.

At one point, mum gasped as he overtook in a very stupid place barely missing an oncoming car.

'What are you worried about, we missed it by several millimetres' I said in relief.

We made it to Essaouira at 7.10pm. I think if there had not been so much traffic and road works, we would have broken the record for Marrakech to Essaouira.

Thank goodness for traffic and road works.