On the long and windy drive up through the Middle Atlas Mountains we happened upon some monkeys. I didn't get too close cause they can be nasty little buggars.
It was a lovely warm day, I didn't even feel chilly when I glimpsed the snow topped mountains. This so isn't what I had pictured when I thought of Morocco.
The landscape is so diverse in this part of the country ... snow topped mountains one minute and a palm tree oasis the next. Truly spectacular.
We paid a visit to a local handcrafted place where I feel in love with this wall hanging or rug or whatever. It made it into the parcel I sent home. Yay. Oh, but mine is finished, not the one part done!
A big part of the reason I had wanted to go to Morocco was to see the Sahara Desert. And not only did I see it, I slept in it!
We dumped our gear at an auberge (guest house type place) and headed out to find our camels. Mine was called Betsy.... well that's what I've named every camel I've ridden on this adventure. I think this is Betsy number 4. I got in to camel riding mode by tying my scarf around my head. I'd learned to do this in India and it comes in very handy when the sand blows in your face.
Betsy was a mild mannered camel, but like all beasts of her kind, not the most comfortable. After an hour of riding up and down sand dunes I was pleased to give my butt a rest for a while.
Our desert camp was very civilized. We had some big tents to share and even a hole in the ground loo .... much more upmarket than the tree loo I had to use in the desert in India. And it was a good thing as my trip into the Sahara coincided with a tummy bug. Now I won't go in to details, after all I didn't name this post diarrhea in the desert!
But life in the Sahara was lovely. The sun had set as we were riding in to our camp then we woke to see the sun rise over the dunes. A truly spectacular part of the world and one that I am so grateful to have visited.
The next morning I reunited with Betsy, who I found out was actually a Bobby, oops, and wandered through the rolling dunes back to our auberge.
After a much needed cup of coffee we headed to Todra George, our home for the next few days, stopping for some great photo opps along the way. It all seemed very lovely and all but let's just say I saw more of the bathroom than the landscape. So moving on...
Our mini van twisted and turned along the Tizi 'n Tichka Pass into the High Atlas Mountains. There were many stops so we could capture the amazing views, including a stop at the highest point in the country.
The group were going on a bit of a walk (up a mountain for an hour or so in the freezing cold) to sleep in a local gite that night but I was still not feeling the best so grabbed a ride to Marrakech to rest and try and shake this bug. I sleep for 15 hours so am ready for the next Moroccan adventure.
Links to all photos
 |
| Morocco - Midelt, Sahara & Todra George |
 |
| Morocco - Ait Benhaddou & High Atlas |
It is weird to think that people live in places like that, it's so different.
ReplyDeleteI've seen people living in very unusual places on my adventures, crazy stuff really
Delete