A final Moroccan sunrise, heralded the start of another long day, that would eventually see me back in my own bed in just under 24 hours of non-stop travel via plenty of sights, sounds and smells!

Packing, sorting and tidying up was all sorted in the cool of the morning, before the lads had breakfast. I stuck with water, rather than tempt any travel ‘issues’. After what I hoped would be a ‘final empty out’, I knocked back some drugs before we walked down to the roadhead to meet our minibus driver.

By midday, we were in the heat of Marrakesh main square. After a calming drink in a rooftop cafe, we set out into the famous markets, to barter, haggle and stare at all the wares on sale. Once everyone had parted with their spare cash, we made our way to the airport at 17:00, with rugs, headscarfs, t-shirts and pottery in tow, but thankfully with only photos of the snake charmers and monkeys.

Slow, but steady movement through the airport was fuelled by more water and even a banana – my first food in nearly two days. It was gone midnight by the time we reached Manchester airport and I was extremely grateful not to be driving the minibus back to Llandudno! Our driver was waiting for us outside – we made it to Llandudno at 2am, then finally The Cottage at 3am, where the bed was only reached, via a much needed shower! Relieved, beyond belief that the drugs had worked, my body was starting to make a comeback, and generally, that I was still standing!

Incredibly, it was hotter in Wales than Morocco, so sleep wasn’t that easy – at 08:30 the next morning, I was swimming in the river in Ogwen!

Made the most of the warmth by getting everything unpacked, washed, cleaned and sterilised. Followed by trip reports, budget checks and money counting…and mercifully, an enforced afternoon snooze!

The days have been interspersed with small amounts of food, sorting gear, digging into the mountain of emails I’d missed, between various local swims to stay cool. Hard to relax and rest when it’s 33 degrees outside and 27 inside! Definitely record temperatures at The Cottage. Still, it’s good to be back… And clean…. And able to drink water from a tap!