Morocco part 2

Day 5 - It was time to leave Marrakesh and head south.  We toured the city of Ouarzazate, ‘a desert city at the gates of the Sahara’   Our first stop was the Kasbahs Taourirt.   It's basically a huge house/fortress where members of an extended family live. It's like a maze; small staircases, arched doorways, and narrow passageways leading in every direction.  On the upper levels, some rooms have tiny windows where you can peer outside and get glimpses of the surrounding desert.  There are said to be some 300 rooms, all of which were empty, so it was hard to visualize how they actually lived.  I understand there are still families residing in the back of the Kasbah, who will let you see their home for a nominal fee.  I totally would have done so had I been able, I think it would have been very interesting. 

Our next stop was a rug factory. There was a local Barber man explaining the process of how the materials were dyed and handmade using a loom. I have seen so many people with interesting faces that I wanted to photograph, but I think a tourist taking pictures of local people is disrespectful and I feel very awkward doing it. This man had such an interesting face; very weathered and deeply lined. Not to mention the fact that he wore the traditional scarf, called the Tuareg, around his head. He invited us to film him, so I did.  I thought he had been focusing most of his talk at me because I was taking his picture. After most of the sales had been completed, he came over and asked me if I was enjoying Morocco. I said yes and he said something about the rugs.  I said I didn’t need any rugs; in fact, I don't even have a house.  He quickly said, “that's okay I just wanted to talk to you because your eyes are so beautiful”. This is not the first time I've heard that during my time in Morocco, but I usually just blow it off as people trying to get on my good side. This time he just wouldn't give up, and finally asked if I were married. When I said no, he said he wanted to marry me. My friends of course thought it was hilarious. When we told our tour guide, he was a little put off that the man didn't ask him to arrange it. I asked how many camels I would be worth and he said quite a few. (OK, dowries are now in cash and not camels, even better) I think the comments I have been getting on my eyes are because they are very green; Moroccans have dark hair and brown eyes, so I do stand out a bit. Either way, it's a bit of an ego boost. That makes my second marriage proposal In Morocco.

Day 6 and we're on the road again, this time to Dades Gorges, which was stunning. The Dades River carved these multi-colored gorges out as it travels from the High Atlas Mountains to the Draa River at the edge of the Sahara, some 350 kilometers (220 mi). Not as dramatic as the Grand Canyon, but still quite spectacular.  Everywhere we stop of course there are people trying to sell you things. One stop there were children who had made animal figurines out of grass reeds. As I was getting on the bus there was a small boy about 12 years old that was absolutely beautiful. He had big brown eyes and long eyelashes, a very beautiful child. I gave him 20 Dora which is about $2 and asked him if I could take his picture. He agreed and looked quite shy so I took 2 pictures and thanked him. When I turned to go I noticed another girl a little bit older that was clearly his sister. She wanted her picture taken too, and both seemed pretty interested to look at their photos. I wish I had a way to give them a copy. I gave them each a piece of candy which they seem quite thrilled by. By this time some other children had come over so I traded them candy for their reed animals. I ended up having to open another bag because some secret signal went out to all the kids in the area.   

As we drove along, the countryside was mostly desert, like you might see in the Southwest United States.  The houses are mostly flat roofs, made of straw and red brick.  We did drive through one valley with a river that was quite lush, like a long narrow oasis.  We saw palm, olive, and date trees, as well as birch.   

The last bit of the Todra Gorge is by far the most spectacular and one of the most popular natural sites in Morocco. The rock walls narrow to as little as 33 ft. wide, while the smooth stone face rises up to just over 980 feet on each side.  This apparently was a very popular site for rock climbers as you could see people in bright climbing clothes on the walls.   

That evening we checked into a beautiful spa resort in the town of Erfoud.  I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out a Hammam Bath.  It’s basically a Turkish bath, but this one was in a private room.  You first take off all your clothes and they give you a bathrobe and tiny strip of paper that doesn’t even pretend to offer any modesty.  The lady, who was naked except for a towel, lead me down several hallways to a very warm room with two tile covered benches and told me to take off my robe and lay on a mat.  She dipped a bucket in very warm water and dumped it on me.  After a few more times, when I was thoroughly soaked, she covered my body with a gentle scrub.  Well, the scrub itself was gentle, not so much her application of it.  After hosing me down again, she now thoroughly washed my entire body with soap, about as gently as you might do a car.  Thankfully, she skipped my undercarriage, but not much else.  After being splashed with a few more buckets of water, it was time to sit up so she could wash my hair.  I had my eyes closed for a number of reasons, not the least of which because her towel kept falling off, so I didn’t see the next bucket of water, which she poured over my head.  I got just a tiny taste of what waterboarding must be like, and I can say I would spill every secret I had, including some I made up.  I topped my adventure off with a massage, which was very nice.  All in all, I would recommend the Hammam bath, it was actually very nice.  It was a unique experience, one I’m not sure I need to repeat, but I’m glad I did it.   

Day 7 started with brief tour of the village Rissani, including a 17th-century ksar (fortified village) and the souk.  As with everywhere we visited, we were followed by people selling trinkets.  One man in particular ‘chatted’ to me during the entire tour, so I really didn’t hear what the guide was saying. My new friend’s English was just as good as my Moroccan, which is to say, non-existent.   There were several children with him, I don’t know if they were his.  I ate a piece of candy and the kids all looked imploringly at me, so I traded candy for pictures.    

The souk was interesting as well, much more authentic than the tourist ones in Marrakesh.  They were selling mostly fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, different minerals and more.  What was interesting were the signs in the various barrels like, ‘Better than Viagra’, ‘Guaranteed to lose weight’ ‘Guaranteed to grow hair’.  Our guide told us it was all regular spice, like ginger, but the signs got peoples attention. 

Our next stop was a really interesting tour of a fossil factory in Erfoud.   The entire desert around Erfoud is a treasure trove of buried fossils.  They dig up large rocks or slabs with many small fossils in them, then shape and polish the stone.  They can make something small like a pendant, or something large like a 12-person dining room table.  The bathroom counter in our hotel was made of the stone and it was beautiful.   

www.fossilserfoudmorocco.com 

For our next adventure, we went to Erg Chebbi.  An erg is a large sea of dunes, formed by wind-blown sand. We were actually in the Pre-Saharan Steppes, which are semi-arid, but it was close enough to the actual Sahara for us. We hopped in some 4x4’s and headed out.  Most of the area was flat and the sand relatively hard packed, although there were enough stretches of soft and drifting sand that the rugged 4-wheel drive jeeps were necessary.  They also allowed us to climb some of the smaller dunes. There were the occasional settlements and a one or two small tourist hotels but they were few and far between, it was mostly just open and empty space.  The riding around was fun, we had about 8 jeeps and experienced drivers.  They spread out as we drove and each driver could decide which dune to climb or he could detour to show us something cool. 

Our driver took us to an isolated spot with a lot of drifting sand and a lone acacia tree for the perfect photo op.  I’m not sure how a tree could survive in this harsh environment, but we saw a few on the tour.  They were all standing alone, never in groups.  It made for an interesting photo.  At one point we all stopped at a rocky outcropping and they showed us what the rocks with fossils looked like before they were cut up.  They just looked like boulders until you poured water on them.  Sure enough, you could easily see the various long extinct creatures embedded the rock.  After about an hour of touring around, we came to a large tented area with tables set up.  It was a really fun lunch, made all the more authentic as we had been given our own Tuareg (Berber turbans) and our drivers wrapped our heads for us.  I could only wear mine briefly as they were pretty hot.  At least this area did have some grasses, a few palm trees, and a bit of a breeze.  

Our last stop of the day was to go deeper in the desert and the bigger dunes on camels.  As badly as I waned to do the camel ride, I previously made the decision not to support any type of animal tourism.  Its not that I think riding camels is particularly bad, it has more to do with the condition these animals live in when tourist aren’t around, and how they are trained, much like the elephants in Thailand for example.  I have no idea if the place we went treated their camels ethically, but I decided I would stick to my previous decision and just not participate.  I certainly didn’t judge my friends for going though.  Instead, I got plenty of pictures of them riding off and took a little walk by myself. 

Or at least, I intended to go by myself.  Our guide said there was a tent/restaurant just over the dune, with another tour group from our company.  I headed off in that direction, only to be joined by a young man who I though was one of our drivers, probably sent by our guide so I didn’t get lost.  As we chatted, he said he was a Berber who grew up in this area, as were all the drivers, that’s why they were hired.  He told me about his daily life and what it was like growing up here.  He said he liked talking to English speaking people so he could practice.  We talked about the small animals who lived in the desert and he showed me an interesting beetle buried in the sand when I asked about some tracks that just seemed to disappear.  

We never made it to the tent/restaurant as the sand got really deep and I decided to turn back.  As we got closer to the jeeps, he asked me to look at something and I thought you have to be kidding me!  This random guy followed me into the desert just to try to sell me some trinkets!   I must say, I had a range of thoughts, all about the same time.  1) How lucky was I that he only wanted to sell me stuff 2) I really enjoyed our chat and I actually learned a bit about the locals, 3) I was glad he was there because after we passed the first dune, it all looked the same and I could have ended up wandering in the Sahara for 40 days and 40 nights.  Or more likely died before noon the next day of exposure, it was pretty hot out there.

 

 

 

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