Nomads, Sahara ,Gorges

** Still having trouble postong photos in the blog!

It has been a busy couple of days.

After leaving Midelt, Monday morning, our aim was to head to the Sahara Desert, but we did some really interesting things on the way.

The morning was spent driving over the High Atlas Mountains (our highest elevation was over 2200m).  Along the way there were some spectacular  views and some terrific oases.

After lunch in Erfoud ( we saw at least 4 different spellings of this on official road signs!).,we visited the area known for fossils on the rocky edge of the Sahara. The temperature was around 45C so we didn't stay there long.

Next port of call was a visit to Berber(Nomads)  camp/home where had a look at their primitive life style. Don't  think many of us would last a weekend living like they do!

From the Berbers we did some 4WD across the rocky desert.  Eventually we came out near the dunes of the Sahara.  We had an opportunity to have swim and a relax before going on the highlights of the trip.

We climbed aboard our camels ( hump) and headed easterly into the desert towards the Algerian border.  Kristin took to camel riding like a duck to water, but Andy didn't find it comfortable  or enjoyable. After an hour ride with our Berber guide, we reached a camp settled into the dunes. Here we took photos of the sunset, ate dinner and slept  under the stars. Incredibly as it may sound but half way through  our meal a cat appeared. According to our guide, Mohammed, it would have came from the village (several kms away through the sand dunes!). We rose before sunrise, climbed the nearest tallest dune and took several hundred more photos! Then we rode the camels back to the hotel,  although Andy pulled the pin halfway and trekked back alongside the camels,  and had a swim, shower and breakfast. A great experience. (Billy & Declan 100 times better than our camel experience  in Tunisia in 2009).

Tuesday journey began with a visit to a village that is famous for its music.  The village consists of descendants of African slaves.  They are all dark skinned.

From the music village we visited the Souk(market) in Rissani, where the highlight is the " donkey parking lot"

After a lunch break continued the trip westward. We first visited the Toudra Gorge, a spectacular  site and used by many locals to escape the heat and the boredom of Ramadan.

We continued to our hotel(Chez Pierre) for the night at a second gorge, the Dades Gorge.  Here we could gave swim and relax.  The supplied dinner gad 3 courses and was very nice. The owner of Chez Pierre is French so the food was of  a French/Moroccan style. It was a nice change from the standard tajine or skewered meat.

Cheers,

A & K.

Fes (or Fez)

*having trouble with putting photos on the blog...sorry*

After a breakfast of fruit, fresh orange juice, yoghurt, breads and jams with mint tea, we started our guided tour of Fes.

The tour began with visits to the Royal Palace, there is one in each of the 4 imperial cities (Fes, Meknes, Rabat & Casablanca ), then the South Fort.

A visit to a pottery factory, where Kristin purchased some goods followed by a walking tour of the old Medina.

The old Medina has been there since 808 AD. It is best described as a labyrinth inside a maze. The Medina is home to the oldest university in the world. Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries under the Marinids(Moroccan  Jews), when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual centre.

We spent over 4 hours winding through the narrow streets,  avoiding donkeys and mules, visiting the mosques, the various trades, the famous tanning (of hides) pits and much more.
We had lunch at a typical "tourist" haunt that guides take you to, but lunch was very good and made a lot more pleasureable by sitting with a lovely NZ couple, Kerry and Bruce (who were getting close to the end of a 4 week holiday).  At Andy had the kefta tajine and Kristin the lemon and olive chicken.

After lunch we started our trip towards the Sahara desert. We first went through Ifrane, a lovely university town an hour drive from Fes.  The buildings in Ifrane, could easily look like  Swiss ski resort. Ifrane is at the foothills of a ski area (hard to comprehend considering the 40+C temperatures we have had in the last few days)!

A bit out of Ifrane there is a cedar tree forest that is home to monkeys.  We stopped on the side of the road and fed them cherries that we bought just out of Ifrane, about $2/KG!

Our journey continued to a desert town called Midet. Where we are staying the night. Tomorrow we continue to tbe Sahara to a place called Mergouza, where we do the camel ride, sleep in a Berber tent , watch the sunrise and do some 4 x 4 desert driving.

Cheers,

A & K.

Volubilus - Meknes - Fes

We left Chefchaouen early for a day of travelling to end up at Fes. Just out of The Blue Pearl,  we stopped and had one finally view of this gem.

We had a 3 hour drive to Volubilus, which is the site of an ancient Roman ruins, abandoned in the 3rd century. The countryside on the trip was like travelling in outback Victoria or South Australia.  Plenty of eucalyptus  trees, reddish soil and a few hills.

The nearby city of Meknes was our lunch stop. In the Medina of Meknes is the largest Medina gate in Morocco,  a royal palace, a royal mausoleum and an ancient underground prison. The temperature was reaching 43C and was getting  very uncomfortable.

An hour and a half later we reached Fes. We are staying a lovely riad in the old Medina. A riad is like a B&B. The 2 we have stayed in have been similar, except the rooms here are bigger. A riad has a central covered courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of rooms. The ground floor is the kitchen/breakfast/recption area. The other floors are the guestrooms.

After a siesta we headed into the Medina for dinner. An Internet search found us a hotel where we could get a cold frothy, which just happened to be on our way to dinner.  We dined at a place called Cafe Clock. The food was good and the crowd was generally young and hip...so we fitted in perfectly!

Cheers,

A & K.

PS had trouble with posting photos, go to my facebook page to see more. https://m.facebook.com/andy.v.wain?id=1379671767&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fandy.v.wain.

Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen (or Chaouen), The Blue Pearl is a gorgeous mountain city in NE Morocco. It has a picturesque Medina, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains, is filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue walls. As with all Muslim countries a lot of call to prayers throughout the day. The first before 6 am.

After a good sleep and breakfast we went out for an exploration of the Medina. Our first aim was to find the Ras el Maa waterfalls and city walls. A bit of a climb through the narrow alleyways eventually found both. The waterfall is used by locals as a meeting point and also to do some laundry. Andy is a bit of a cynic because he thinks it is impossible for the flow of water to be that strong in the middle of their hot dry summer! Also the presence of an electrical substation next to where the falls start makes one wonder!

From the falls we trekked up the mountain for a little bit until the path became too rocky for our thongs. Great views across the Medina and surrounds from here. Up in the mountains the second major industry ( behind tourism) is situated. .the growing of Marijuana.

We walked back down to the Medina where we had a bit more of an explore and some lovely  freshly squeezed orange juice. It was getting very warm by now.

At the main square there is the largest mosque in the town and the ancient Kasbah. We went into the Kasbah, for small entrance fee (10 Moroccan Dirham ~$1.50). Nothing exciting but good views from the top level of the tower. It also once housed a prison.

It is the start of Ramadan here and there is no alcohol to be seen! But it is ok to smoke hashish in the streets! A bit of an internet search indicated a couple of the hotels will serve alcohol.  Just beyond the main square we discovered one of these hotels (The Parador).
We had a couple of beers sitting by the poolside terrace. Kristin decided she was coming back later for a swim! (And another beer). Which she did!

In the evening we had dinner but unfortunately meals in the last two days have been average at best.

Off to Fes tomorrow(Saturday) via the ancient Roman ruins at Volubilis.

Cheers,

A & K.