MOROCCO - Part 2, Covering 4-5 days, June 1 to 5 "ish"

The five-hour drive from Medelt to Merzouga, the small Saharan village where we will stay to have some time in the mysterious Sahara desert is broken up by our driver and guide who make stops along the way so we can photograph the changing landscapes and have refreshments.  We are coming here with all our tech charged up ... and we are charged, with our imaginations of the upcoming adventure.  For many of us, this is a highlight of the trip.

Merzouga is on the edge of a vast sea of orange-coloured, wind-swept, carved and undulating sand dunes of the Erb Chebbi.  The definition of an erg is "a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover."  We are twenty miles from the Algerian border on a sealed road.  It feels like a wilderness.

We arrive in time to drop our luggage, have the welcoming mint tea and snacks and get ready for our sunset camel ride into the desert, with a change of clothes and practicing our turban wrap.  Our bags will be transported to the camp in the desert where we will have dinner and sleep.

In a short time from our arrival, the weather changed to this:

There's a sandstorm out there and thunder and lightning are circling the camp.  No one is going anywhere.  Finally, someone yells, let's go now or we're not going.  The wind has died down, although the thunder is still rolling around.  Not a drop of rain has fallen.  We leap to our feet to meet our camel that we will have for both the sunset and sunrise ride.

The camel handler has the camels in the "kush" position for us to climb on.

The one instruction we are given is to lean back both when the camel is rising (average shoulder height is 6.1") and when lying down.  It's only later when reading about camels that I learn they can scratch an ear with a hind leg, or kick with all four legs and that some are biters.  Our handler, while young seems knowledgeable and experienced.  He guides the camels with one rope, his calm, quiet voice, a bit of pressure with his hands on their necks when its time to lie down and/or sometimes a gentle kick with his slipper-clad foot.  The lead camel spends a fair bit of time nuzzling him - to the point of annoyance.  None of the camel's rebel by regurgitating their food on us.

The sunset tonight is not spectacular as clouds are still hanging around from the earlier storm.  But to climb to the top of a dune and sit there in silence with nothing but sand and the fading sun is a meditative experience.

Most of us imagined rows of us rolled up like sausages in sleeping blankets on the floor of a large tent.  No, this is glamping in these permanent tents.  There are two large open rooms for common activities then private rooms for 1, 2 or families, with comfortable beds off the ground and private washroom facilities in the back with real toilets and a wash-up area.  And the food at dinner is as good and as plentiful as any in the best restaurant we've eaten in so far.  Many of the guides choose to sleep outside in the desert.

After dinner, the drums and castanets come out.  The guides play and sing, then get us up to dance around the fire.  Things are just getting started in the photos below, more guides join in.  Here is an example of Berber music that's lively and inclusive of all: Some Berber Drumming Music

Around midnight the skies clear, the stars come out and some go walking in the desert.  We have a look, then hit the sack as it's a 4 am wake up call tomorrow to ride into the desert for sunrise.

There is no breeze at all in the morning as we go out to greet the camels.  Several who rode yesterday are choosing to not ride this morning.  We head out into the desert, then once again hike up a dune to wait to greet the sun.  Again, its an other-worldly experience and ranks up there with being with elephants in Thailand.  A ride back to the hotel where we started, then into the minivan for the next leg of the journey.

One of the stops on the way is for Mohamed to talk to us about the water and irrigation system used by Moroccans on the edges of the Sahara which involved a series of sub-surface, earthen irrigation channels called khettera and a pot-system of pulling the water up by hand (or by donkey or camel).  The water came mainly from runoff in the Atlas Mountains.  This system was used in the early 1970s when more modern irrigation was brought to the area.  In the bottom left photo, you can barely see a line of bumps of earth protecting the water.

A stop for a great view on the way to Todra Gorge.  The trees are date palms.  A man tries the hard sell on Paul with a scarf ... everyone needs a turban...and the colour is so Paul.

To reach our two-night accommodation in the Todra Gorge we need to cross over the gorge by a footbridge.  Employees of the hotel come to fetch our luggage and take it across.  It's a considerable distance between up and down.  Those of us with back-packs wear them to lighten the load on the staff.  This place has a swimming pool.  The 'village' dog named Boobie hangs out mostly here.  But the best part is the staff.  They are funny, irreverent, efficient and just great to be around.  

Here are a few photos of the hotel from the road, before we cross the bridge to get there.

The symbol painted on the hotel is the "yaz", representing the FREE MAN.  Free man is the meaning of the word "amazigh", which is the name that the Berbers call themselves.  This symbol is also found on the Berber flag, which is being used by Berber activists in about ten different African countries.

I digress but want to remember this.  Here is the Berber flag:

Each colour corresponds to an aspect of the territory inhabited by the Berbers in North Africa, or to their "tamazgha"

BLUE represents the Berbers who live near the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

GREEN represents the Berbers who live in the Rif and Atlas mountains

YELLOW represents the Berbers who live in the Sahara

RED represents life and resistance, and the open arms, a yearning for freedom.

When the meanings of the colours and symbols are put together: it symbolizes the entire Amazigh people living in harmony.

Our welcome tea is being poured by a host, nickname: "Speedy".

The only two photos I have of the inside of the hotel.  These from the second floor, where our little group stayed.

One of our lovely hosts at the hotel:

The next day a local guide takes us for a hike in the Todra Gorge.  We pass through small plots of land that are farmed by people from the villages that we pass through.  Finally, we end at the mouth of the gorge.  Boobie comes with us.

Todra Gorge is a natural oasis in the mountains and has fertile soil for farming.  The Dades Rivers formed the gorge.  Canyon walls soar to 400 meters, creating a playground for rock climbers.  

How's this for rock climbing!!

The collage below shows the small plots of land, often passed through families for generations.  There is an ingenious irrigation system that runs through the land that each family can use as needed.  The orange flowers will become pomegranates.

It's a hot day for a walk.  Booby can't help himself and he jumps into the irrigation canal to cool off, while the mule seeks shade in the rocks.  We just sweat it out.

Some of the villages we pass through

At the mouth of the Gorge:

Poor Boobie has a fear of all things with engines and so when Lahsam comes to get us to return to the hotel, we must leave Boobie behind to find his own way.  Boobie knows the short cuts and arrives at about the same time that we do.  Our hiking guide joins us after dinner to participate in some late-night drumming lessons for those who want to learn.

Mohamed, our guide invites us to the kasbah of his family for dinner.  We join his mother and father, youngest sister and three brothers and their wives and their young children.  There is a huge variety and amount of food, but the hospitality is even grander.  Mohamed's young nephews are such fun.

We have the privilege of visiting a women's' rug cooperative that our travel company, Intrepid helps to support.  We start with lunch, then join the women to learn about their work and the cooperative and to try our hand at carding or spinning, then to look at the rugs.  How great it would be to take one or two of these beauties home.

Lunch

The women's' cooperative and rugs, rugs and more rugs.

A scenic four-hour ride to Ait Benhaddou, passing through Ouarzazate (AKA: Mollywood) is next on the agenda...and the next installment of Morocco.