We left Aït Benhaddou in the morning; during a short stop we had our last photo opportunity. From here we continued to Quarzazate, Morocco’s film capital with a number of studios.

After a quick glance at the kasbah and a visit to a community project, we continued the ride over the Anti Atlas into the lush Draa valley and towards Zagora.

On arrival we had the option for a walk around the palmeries nearby; during that walk our guide shared has wide knowledge on dates (or datteln, as he referred to them) with us – a true date-ing walk.

After the walk we got ready for the evening – New Years Eve. The hotel had a special that covered a welcome drink, loads of food (essentially all the Moroccan classics as multi-course meal), traditional music to start with and a DJ later on (which resulted in us having the main course over house music). The hotel also had an alcohol license with a pretty full bar – so all with in order for a good start of the new year … with loads music, plenty of dancing, too much food and – in some cases – drinks.