Southern Morocco April 24 through May 3
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(ccl) I don't know of any other country that's smaller than California that rivals Morocco for sheer diversity of landscape. Riding through southern Morocco, we saw it all. Parched riverbeds. Red cliffs. Verdant green oases. Rich...
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(ccl) I don't know of any other country that's smaller than California that rivals Morocco for sheer diversity of landscape. Riding through southern Morocco, we saw it all. Parched riverbeds. Red cliffs. Verdant green oases. Rich farmland. Snow-capped mountains. Add to this the crumbling ruins of many former settlements and kasbahs, and you have a fascinating and breathtakingly beautiful journey. After breakfast and a shower (promised to be hot; actually cold, but who needs hot water in the Sahara?) we set off for our next destination, the Todra Gorge. There were some German tourists who had spent the night at the inn who asked us if we were hiring a guide to take us back to Erfoud from the desert, and when we said no, they asked if we had a GPS. We definitely did not see the need for a guide, as all roads eventually end up at the same place. But they wanted a guide and didn't have room in their car, so we agreed to take Hammid and Adeal in our car, back to Erfoud. After cashing some traveler's checks at the local bank in a process similar in complexity to applying for dual citizenship, we were on our way. Our destination: the Todra Gorge. After about three hours of driving we got there, only to find out that both hotels were full. No problem: one place would make us a bed in the upstairs dining room. Since we had slept outside the night before, we were cool with that. We headed out and did a little hiking in the gorge, which is quite beautiful, especially at sunset. The next day we were up early, awakened by a huge group of Italian cyclists who were up getting ready for their ride. We ate our breakfast, which was included in our 50 dirham per head lodging price. Every time we eat an "included" breakfast at a hotel, we wonder: who decided that a roll, coffee and juice is breakfast? Is this a European thing? Because it's kind of absurd, when you think about it. Where's the protein?? Probably hotels invented it, so that they could make it look like they were adding value by throwing in breakfast, when in reality it costs them about 10 cents to serve. The drive continued to get more beautiful as we got further away from the desert. The Dades Gorge is close to the Todra, and while our book talked up the Todra Gorge as being more spectacular, we actually liked the Dades Gorge better. It doesn't have the sheer rock walls and narrow canyon, but the floor is quite beautiful and lush and the buildings are a deep red color, which comes from the mud used to build them. We stopped to buy some souvenirs from a nice couple, and she insisted on dressing me for a photo opportunity. It doesn't show up in the picture, but this woman was a true Berber, one of the many indigenous tribes of nomads who have wandered the Sahara for many hundreds of years. She has the distinctive tattoo on her chin that the people of the different Berber tribes put on women to indicate which family they are from. I don't believe the practice is as widespread as it once was. Now you pretty much only see older women with the tattoos. There is a tree that grows only in southern Morocco and parts of Mexico called the argan tree. This multi-talented tree has many uses. The wood is extra hard, so it makes good charcoal. The fruit is good for cattle fodder, and can be fermented into an alcoholic drink. The oil from the kernels is used in cooking, in the preparation of sweets, and when combined with almond paste and honey it makes an incredibly delicious "butter", of which we bought a jar (we have both been craving peanut butter, which only seems to be available in the U.S.). The most amazing use of this tree, however, is made by the local goat population. Apparently, when the trees bloom in the spring, goats love the tender leaves that come out. I don't know how they figured it out, but somehow they learned how to climb the argan trees to get at these leaves. We slammed on brakes and squealed to a halt when we came upon our first sighting of a tree full of goats. It was a bizarre spectacle. We had read in our guidebooks about a little town called Immouzer des Ida
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Highlights:
~ Parasites, Amateur Dentists, and Snake Charmers ~ April 25 through May 9, 2000 $1 U.S. = 10 dirhams
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