Travels

Day 7 I was up before dawn for the sunrise but my spouse preferred the comfort of the bed. So I soloed out with other quiet couples sprinkled around. Eerily quiet actually, with the cool sand underfoot & all manner of strange new footprints & tracks in the sand. Beautiful again.

Dunes in the morning
Back in camp, people were starting to move about & the camp crew put out a simple breakfast. No one felt the pull of the cold water shower so we are went stinky for the day. The French Canadian woman related a nighttime event. At 2am she went to the toilet & used her iPhone as a flashlight and . . . eewwww. She was asking for rice – unsuccessfully - to try to bring it back to life. We got an early start & said goodbye to the French Canadians who were going back to M’Hamid & busing – hopefully – toward Meknes. We drove back through the camels & picked up the 3rd SUV again. Btw we now have a LOT of camel pictures. We set out on a sandy track that circled the major dunes to the north. Relatively slow going but it was still very entertaining. Then it was on to the dry flat pan of Lake Iriki where 80km/hr was easy reached in the less rutted areas. This was Paris to Dakar race territory. Said’s mother has told him that before the 70s, Lake Iriki used to annually fill with water & pink flamingos would flock there. The dam that created the lake near Quarzazate stopped the flow. On the edge of the dry lake, we stopped at a very lonely house on a small dune for mint tea under a bamboo gazebo. A Berber rest stop – his brother is a member of our camp crew from the night before. The rest room facilities were basic – but appreciated. Ladies: Bring your own toilet paper supply & keep it with you everywhere out & about in Morocco.

The desert near the dunes		Dry Lake Iriki
After Iriki, the stone drive started. It starts off light with tracks worn between the frequent stones & ends up a bone-rattling bounce on packed stone. Said was kind & called another stop in a massive fossil field just before the final torture began in earnest. I almost kissed the tarmac when we reached it outside of Foum Zquid but the scenery always made up for any minor discomfort. We loved every minute of it. Back on pavement we bade farewell to the LA couple as they made their way just north of town to a deluxe riad to relax for a night. With the Londoners, we hit a restaurant – Restaurant Chegaga - for eats as the weekly market bubbled around us. Goats squalled. roosters crowed. People haggled. We had a decent lunch – the usual with lots of fries – and fun company. As we were leaving a group of 15 desert bikers rolled in – shaking off dust from their run.

The Sahara	The Sahara The notch in the mountain is the pass out		The Sahara stones
Another farewell ensued to the Londoners & we headed north with a quick stop to blow out the air filter on the SUV. The topography changed immediately as we drove into the Anti-Atlas range. Very dry & very nice to travel through. The road was 1 ½ lane so it kept Said busy while we were gawking at the scenery. Again, cameras don’t do it justice. We bee lined through Tazenakht – Berber carpet ground zero – avoiding the urge to stop as we had a long drive to our next riad in Taroudant. Yes, it was long but our necks grew sore from our swiveling heads as we tried to take it all in. Folded, tortured mountains gave way to vast plateaus with nomad camps in the distance. Gorgeous valleys ringed by towering mountains.

The Anti-Atlas Mtns north of Foum Zquid		Tazenakht

Nomad camp		Nomad camp

Lush plain	Valley in the mountains		Valley in the mountains
Then the Argan trees started, spotting the dry fields beside the highway & climbing up & down every massive hill. And not one damn goat in a tree. We saw some herds with shepherds but since it was late afternoon by this time, they were all heading back to the pen. We stopped in Taliouine for a washroom break & coffee. Said got a call from his mother & he apologized because he had to take it. Mothers are the same everywhere. As we were leaving, in came the Londoners. We all laughed about how slow their driver was & how we would see them in Taroudant. We didn’t. But we did stop for some of the Taliouine Valley’s finest: saffron. We bought 2 grams of premium saffron for the equivalent of $5 from a small general store on the main drag that Said knew. He always buys some for his mother there. We should have bought more . . . Shortly after Taliouine, we came upon more nomad camels grazing in a field beside the highway. Said stopped the SUV for a picture & the nomad herder came over to talk. He offered a jug of camel milk which Said drank with relish. I should have tried a taste but I didn't . . . Then it was down through the last remnants of the Anti-Atlas & into the lushness of fertile valley of the Souss River. Our destination was south of the Taroudant on the edge of the very basic village of Al Ein Mediour. I was getting worried as we threaded through the grim back streets of the village until we turned into the gates of the Riad Jnane Ines.

Nomad camels near Taliouine	Taliouine - saffron center		Argan tree covered hills
A Note about the pictures . . . For High Res Versions of the photos on this page go to: The Sahara & Anti-Atlas to Taroudant And keep clicking the magnifying glass in the lower right corner