Malaga airport

Being left alone is a bitter end to the trip. I have a commute at the other end, and it all feels a bit flat, returning to world where no-ones what you've experienced. It is quite depressing for young travellers I think. They travel around the world, have crazy adventures and then BAMM, back to normality. I think it is quite hard to adjust to.

Fortunately for me, I have 15 hours of footage to trawl through and make a documentary. The edit would eventually take two years, often left at the mercy of other projects, but also proving quite difficult in itself. The cahllenges include editing yourself and a country, trying to do justice to the experience, surrendering to subjectivity, and finding a 'tone' that works. It deserves a blog in itself, but it is simplier to say that for critics who feel that the film is in someway lacking, I recommend you try going on a journey yourself and compressing it into 85 coherent minutes. I tried to keep the random nature of the adventure, these four strange travellers taking an unusual journey. And I think it works...

Fes - Ceuta - Gibraltar

The journey out of Morocco is easy, except the customs, where we are fleeced. This kind of corruption is stereotypical of African customs - maybe unfairly so. But on this occasion it really annoys Paul, who is dead against the principle. It is a shame, as it momentarily leaves a bad impression of an otherwise fantastic trip.

We arrive in Gibraltar quite late, and get into a quaint British pub just before last orders. It is a fatal move for Paul, who has fish from the hotplate - and gets chronic food poisoning.

I don't get to witness this - as I have to fly back to teach my students back in Worcester.

Fes فـاس

Hassan, our guide in Fes, tells us that the Pope has died. I feel a little strange at the news - but life goes on, especially on a Sunday in the busy medina at Fes. It gets more exciting when Paul and I explore a little without Hassan, and we simply parade around the streets without any agenda.

It isn't as good as Marrakech in my opinion, but it is far more cosmopolitan. I even get looks from Muslim girls, which is great for a ginger bloke! Filming the medina is impossible, as there are so many crevices and you can get no impression of scale. So I hope that people can get some impression of it's fun and vibrancy just from the little sequence in the film.

Tarmac

We do a journey entirely on tarmac today, which is worthy of a mention itself. We speed up to Fez, where we set up camp and have an early night - tomorrow is a day without driving.

Erg Chebbi عرج شبّي

This is our only real escapade in the 'dunes' of the Sahara. It is a shame that the weather is a bit overcast, and Paul can't get his epic photographs, and we choose instead to shoot a quick advert for 'Jolly Ploughman'. Strangely enough, the pleasure of this weather is that the flies aren't so irritating, and I get a bit of a break from their buzz! I consider this the turning point now, as we are heading back into the more obvious direction of home, and there is a small sense of relief! I've really enjoyed the journey, but the desert is not my favourite place.