Well I've arrived safely in Morocco! And after a short period of intense bargaining with the airport taxi guys, I managed to get them to halve the fare to take me into the Medina area where I'm staying. Unfortunately for me, the driver decided not to take me to the most sensible (and closest) dropping-off point for my hotel, so I then spent about half an hour walking around trying to find the blessed place. The streets are mostly not signposted, and have many twists and turns...in fact I'd go so far as to say that it's not really even a street, more like a dusty alleyway... Ah well, I found it eventually and settled into my very small, but very clean room.

The hotel itself is lovely. The rooms are all set around a sheltered courtyard with brightly coloured tiles on the walls. There are loads of backpackers here, mostly French and Spanish it seems, though I caught the distinct twang of an Aussie accent when I was buying an orange juice in the Djemaa el Fna.

Lunch was an enormous bowl of cous cous with chicken, carrots and something which seemed to be a cross between a gherkin and a courgette. A lone picture of the Spice Girls hung on the wall, their faces looking cheerfully down at me. I ate as much as I could but had to admit defeat in the end. Not bad for £2.

I've just been for a stroll around the Djemaa el Fna, which is like the marketplace, where it all happens. The smell of incense and freshly squeezed oranges combine with taxi fumes and dust, the calls of old women trying to persuade me to get a henna tattoo "Just a small one - for good luck!!!" and a man asking me to kiss his cobra!! "Maybe tomorrow, maybe tomorrow" is my constant reply (except to the man with the cobra, who got a flat-out "no thanks"!)

I decided to be sort of sensible on my first day and get out of the midday sun and let you all know I'm here and alive and well, in an air-conditioned internet cafe. Yes, for all you Brits - its boiling hot here, not a cloud in the sky! Hurrah! And so begins my eleven day summer - it had better not be sunny in the UK or I'll be really upset...

Just to let you know, typing this has been an absolute nightmare. Not only are the letters mostly worn off the keys, but they are also in Arabic AND western script and the letters aren't in the same order as on a QWERTY keyboard. The things I do for you all eh? (Moan moan moan)

OK, rather than spodding away in an internet cafe. I'm off to rock the kasbah.