Storyline: Highlights of Morocco
Jan 20
We left the beautiful and ever-changing landscape of the Sahara dunes for the stunning snowy peaks of the High Atlas Mountains. We’d be there in two days. After the long drive getting to the desert, the next two days we’d be on the road for just a few hours at a time.
After another lovely sunrise and good breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to the desert.
We reluctantly boarded our vehicle and Larbi drove us away from the dunes, through the stony landscape.
We drove back to Erfoud and then turned westward towards the mountains, enjoying the gorgeous views along the way.
For lunch we stopped in El Khorbate, a fortified village built in the 19th century from rammed soil and clay bricks. It was very interesting to walk through the maze of its covered streets.
About half of the houses are still inhabited and the rest are restored as guesthouses, handcraft workshops and other functions to attract tourists.
We had lunch in one of the restaurants. Although it was sunny, many felt it was too cold to eat outside on the beautiful patio. The staff turned on the propane heater and we had the lunch inside.
On our way to the hotel we stopped to take photos of Tinghir Kasbah from a viewpoint nearby. The skies were moody and we got the news that it was snowing in the mountains. The concern was that if it accumulated too much snow it could become icy and we wouldn’t be able to hike. In such a case they’d have to find an alternative accommodation. But we still had two nights before we’d head up there.
At the viewpoint there was a guy encouraging us to take photos with his camels. We had fun with the guy, and most took photos with the camels and their owner. He, as many, was trying to make a living. Each of us gave him a nice tip.
Shortly afterwards we checked into Kasbah Hotel Amazir, ordered the dinner (it is a small operation and they’d make only pre-ordered dinners for their guests) we then headed out for our Todra Gorge hike.
We hiked through the village, through some farmed fields, along an irrigation canal and then up to the gorge. Here the rivers Todra and Dades have carved a 300-meter-deep fault, splitting the orange limestone into this narrow canyon, filled with a green oasis of palm trees.
There were climbers on the rocks. It was a lovely hike, although the weather was hanging by a thread. Fortunately, it didn’t rain. The joke of the day was that we forgot George at the gorge.
On our way back we stopped at a little store for some to buy water and snacks. As everyone boarded the bus, or so we thought, and driver pulled out of the parking lot, someone noticed that George, who sits at the back and is hard to notice, was missing.
Larbi backed up to the parking lot and we saw George waving.
Alex wrote a limerick:
After a walk down the Tod-a-ra gorge
In the village we stopped by a forge
Hopped back on the bus
And left in a rush
Then cried, “Oops,we forgot dear old George”
Not knowing how a limerick works I quickly scribbled something that to me rhymed better:
After long winding walk
down Todra Gorge
we stopped by a souk,
that looked quite large
Water, wine, some laughter
… in the bus, sometime after
Hey everybody, look
We forgot dear George at the souk
Alex had to explain the rhythm of a limerick to me. I wasn’t quite happy with it all, however we gave it another chance and with Alex’s help we ended up with:
After a walk down the Tod-a-ra gorge
we stopped by a souk, very large
Water, wine, laughter
… in the bus, sometime after
At the souk we done left dear old George
Either way we had a good laughter over a slow dinner in the small restaurant of the hotel and called it a night.
Join the conversation around our e-Table