Here is the pool at our hotel at Zagora - the nicest courtyard yet.
On the way out of Zagora we stopped at an informational display about the trade route between Timbuktu and Marrakesh. Zagora was a major stop and helped provide security for the caravans and collected customs fees. It took 52 days to go from Timbuktu to Zagora. After seeing some of the landscape and with the heat it would be an understatement to say that the trek would have been grueling.
We have noticed a marked difference in the local people during our travel to the east over the past day. The people are generally darker skinned, and taller and more slender than the population in western Morocco.
Our next stop was Tamagroute. We explored a small part of town, seeing how they made their local pottery, how they baked bread in the traditional manner, and visiting the library of their local school. They have some very old books in their library, the oldest being from the 11th century and made out of gazelle skin. There was also a shrine dedicated to the founder of the brotherhood of Sufi Nasariya. Supposedly you knock with the appropriate knocker (women upper left, men upper right, children lower left/right), and then go to the adjacent window, make a prayer, and it will come true.
The pottery operation was very basic, but the items that they made were very beautiful. They used palm fronds and other parts of palm trees both in their bread oven as well as in the kilns to fire the pottery as there are few other trees here. There were also bricks they had made that were drying.
Not much to see in terms of scenery for most of the drive.
We stopped in Tagounite for lunch. It was at an old traditional mud brick home that had old items all around, almost like a museum. Our host is dressed in white and is making tea. Our group leader Nabil is the person dressed in blue. This was the one day he was dressed in traditional clothing.
From there it was a short drive to M'Hamid and the start of our Sahara Desert experience.
From M'Habid we took 4x4s for about 2 hours to get to our destination for the night. The Erg Chigaga sand dunes that are the highest, most expansive, and wildest in Morocco, towering up to 300 m (1,000 feet) high and stretching for 40 km long by 15 km wide (25 miles x 9 miles).
The 4x4 ride was very rough and it was hot being late afternoon. While there are some small dunes by M'Hamid, to get to the big dunes you need to cross about 30 miles (50 km) of reg (hard packed rocky desert). There was some sparse vegetation in places, and we passed a large number of camels turned out to forage for food. It was also a bit dusty (heavy sarcasm).
The camp exceeded our expectations. The description from Intrepid said "The camp is a simple affair, with bedding and basic toilet facilities provided". I had assumed that meant pit toilets, shared tents, etc. Instead we had a mud brick "cabin" to ourselves with a king size bed. There was a separate bath house with flush toilets, and there were even showers, and although the water was just a trickle it was still a treat to take a shower in the evening to wash off the dust and the sunscreen.
We did our best to dress appropriately. The head scarfs come in handy when the wind blows as you can pull it up to cover your mouth and nose.
After getting settled in and having tea (it is a common Moroccan tradition to have tea when you arrive), we headed out into the dunes on camels. We then hiked to the top of a tall dune to watch the sunset before heading back to camp on the camels. While it would have been amazing to see the 1,000 foot high dunes, I wouldn't have wanted to hike up one, and going down even the smaller dunes on a camel was a bit of a thrill ride, with a very jerky motion - hang on!
After we returned there was time for a quick shower, and then we had dinner. Since Morocco is 99% Muslim, alcohol availability is limited, as are the places you can consume it. We had stopped the day before at a "Drink" store, and some of the group had purchased wine, so we had some wine with our dinner.
After dinner they had a fire in the center of camp, and some of the guides and drivers played drums and sang some songs until late at night. We were able to see some stars, but it was almost a full moon, plus it there were either some thin clouds or a lot of dust in the air, or both that created some haze. It was still a nice experience and was quiet, except for the music and talking, and after the sun went down it cooled off to a comfortable temperature.
No comments:
Post a Comment