Day  Nine

Date:     6 May 2013

Place:    M’gouna (Valley of the Roses)

Weather:   Sunny and hot

Accommodation:   Gite D’etape Tamalaute

It was a lazier start as we are staying two nights in the Valley of the Roses.  Before breakfast we handed in our ‘camel’ clothes to be washed by the local ladies – no name given so we were looking forward to what would be sent back to us!

Our group met at the front of the gite for out ten kilometre walk up the valley.  It was coolish however the day warmed considerably as we moved along.

The view from our terrace....looking down the valley.

 

Stopping at a little shop on the way.

Strolling down a lane just up the road from the shop.

 

The three elder women of our trip went as far as they could enjoying the smell of the roses and the beautiful day before being picked up on the roadside as we emerged from a dirt path.  The single lane path followed the rose hedges, maize fields, small crops, palms and scattered poppies dotting the fields.  It was a very pretty walk along the valley to the Kasbah where we stopped to look at the old house of the pashir and enjoy a mint tea.

Building materials along the way.

Crossing streams.....

....following the path beside maize fields.

The day had warmed up considerably and it was a hot walk back to the hostel.  It was a fascinating walk as the green-ness of the valley contrasted sharply with the stark bare cliffs which rose prominently from the valley.

Strolling up to the old house on the hill in the Kasbah.

The top floor....dressed in camouflage!

A close up of the houses from the top of the house.

 



The beautiful roses along the way....small blooms and leaves but a powerful scent.

 

Washing the clothes in the river....we tried to spot ours! 

 

The walk had certainly built up an appetite and we sat down at two-thirty for our Berber omelette and bread.  It was delicious once again!

This afternoon we had a lazy afternoon – what was left of it anyway and we took the chance to catch up on some sleep.  A few of us strolled back to a shop and we met up with some of our shadow Peregrine group who were enjoying a cool drink at a small café.

Before dinner we were summoned to collect our washing.  After a few openings of plastic bags I found the clean gear.....knowing they had had a tough time down at the river.  Along the way we had seen clothes being dried on the rocks so I expect this happened to ours as well! 

Dinner was a goat and vegetable tagine which we had with red wine purchased in the supermarket before we headed up the valley.

We were a tired group after our hot leisurely walk.  It was off to bed to sleep under the heavy Berber blankets.....so heavy I felt I was pinned to the bed last night!

 

 

 

Day Eight - Merzouga (Sahara) to Mgouna Valley

Day  Eight

Date:     5 May 2013

Place:    Merzouga – M’gouna Valley (Valley of the Roses)

Weather:   Sunny and hot

Accommodation:   Sahara Desert!

At 5.15am the tom-tom sounded and we woke up to a dark Sahara Desert.  Actually David and I woke up around 4am as we were cold.  We pulled David’s goretex over us and cuddled in the Berber tent to use each other’s heat for warmth.  Upon discussion with the group when we were about to leave we discovered there were blankets available and we had missed the instructions …. one other lady missed them as well!

This camel had deep affection for Cameron and nibbled at his coat along the way.

Waiting for dawn....David, Desley and I.

 

 

 

Following the dunes!

 

Lil ole me!

 

This is fun!

 

How could I not post another picture of the shadows!

 

 There was no room for tardiness as we were up and away on the camels to catch the sunrise over the Sahara.  My baby camel (the runt of the litter and much smaller than the rest) was still at the rear of the camel train.

Slowly, the light gradually appeared and we were lead another way around the dunes heading back to the hotel.  It took about half an hour into the ride before the sun popped its bright head up over the dunes and we all were caught up in the moment taking photos and generally feeling pretty darn great!

It took another forty minutes before we made it back to the hotel and we enjoyed the changing colours as the day grew brighter.

We arrived back at 7.15am and had a quick wash before breakfast was served – boiled eggs, bread, jam, pancake like flat bread with coffee, tea and juice.  We all smelt like smoke from the fire and for most of us we were looking forward to the shower at the end of the day!

It was an earlier start at 8.40am and we were heading west to the Valley of the Roses.  Our guide was taking us to the Todra Gorge in the High Atlas which is where he was brought up.  At the mouth of the gorge is the town of Tinehir where we stopped and took in the views of the valley with its bare mountains, mud made homes and green lush valley with lots of date palms. 

At the commencement of the Todra Gorge where some scenes of Lawrence of Arabia were filmed.

Todra Gorge....Berber minding his goats.

 

The road wended its way up to the end of the gorge where the spring started and there were lots of people about enjoying the sunny day as it was the weekend.  A Berber had his goats near the spring and they were sitting on the rocks attracting attention from western tourists.

Only a little way back we had lunch at a Berber restaurant in Said’s village.  It was tucked down a tiny alley and we enjoyed the speciality of Berber omelette and some tagines before heading just around the corner to Said’s childhood home.  The house is three storey’s high, mud with bars on the windows.  A large door at ground level opened up to a barn area for the animals.  Our lovely guide stood proudly outside and took photos.

We then walked along the road for a few metres and ducked down a gravel road to a Berber rug co-operative where we were warmly welcomed by a Berber rug merchant.  Of course, out came the mint tea as we sat and watched carding of the wool and explanations of the natural dyes used in the rugs.  Beautiful carpets were rolled out on top of each other once again and four of us succumbed to more purchases (including the pilgrims!).

Mint tea followed by the hard sell!

 

Our last drive for the day was to the Valley of the Roses.  We passed through Bourmaine du Dades a large town which serves the gorge and there were major preparations for a rose festival happening this week.  The gorge is noted for its beautiful pink roses which were introduced by the Persians and they are very aromatic.  Aerial views of the gorge show there are 4,500 kms of hedges!  We didn’t stop for a view of the valley here as by now it was raining.

The drive up the valley was very arid with large rocky outcrops abutting the lower region but as we neared our accommodation for the next two nights the valley became greener and with more vegetation.

Our accommodation was described as a Berber house but is is more what the French describe as a gite or guest house.  The rooms are basic but comfortable with food included.  The dinner of couscous and vegetables with our Peregrine mates was a lovely end to a happy day.

 

 

 

Day Seven Midelt - Merzouga

Day Seven

Date:     4 May 2013

Place:    Midelt - Merzouga

Weather:   Sunny and hot

Accommodation:   Sahara Desert!

Today had an exciting feeling about it as we knew we were headed to the Sahara Desert and the Berber camp!  We had quite a bit of driving to do before arriving at the edge of the desert.

The restaurant where we had dinner the previous evening.

Our sandcastle hotel.....a fantastic place to stay!

 

It was a couple of hours before we reached our first stop for the day at Er Rachidia with a few photo shoots at panoramic view spots of a major dam and the spectacular Ziz Gorge along the way.  Er Rachidia was set up by the French and it has been maintained as a significant military base in the region due in part to the nearness of Algerian territory claims.

The changing landscape.

I'm glad we went by bus!

Camel trains began to become more frequent!

 

We passed a busy souk (market) on the way before heading to lunch at Aoufouss which is in the Ziz Valley.  Along the valley are palm groves, walnut trees, date palms and general food being grown.  We had our first taste of Berber omelette which was delicious – whole eggs cooked in a tomato, onion and herb base.  It was served with freshly baked flat bread.

The souk (market) we passed a little way after Er Rachidia.  Very busy!

The delicious Berber omelette.....saffron gives it a wonderful colour.

 

Forty minutes down the road we stopped at a distributor and seller of fossil products.  The area is known as the Jurassic area for its world famous fossils – all dating backwards from 360 million years.  There was an amazing array of products to purchase but they are all very heavy.  We came away with a fossilised snail key ring.  We wandered around the yard and it turned out to be one of the hottest days so far so we were grateful to head in doors.

Fossilised jelly-fish.....an astounding display of fossils.

 

At Rissani it was to be our last stop for water before heading to the desert.  Of course, we bought the Berber head scarves to look the part on our camels – on the encouragement of our lovely guide….then we had to learn how to tie them!

Some people needed more help with their Berber scarf tying.....our guide laughed when he saw this!

 

The excitement was building as we caught our first sight of the sienna hued sand dunes in the distance.  Small camel caravans dotted the landscape and Berber camps were becoming more frequent.

Getting nearer......

Looking out to a Berber camp from the hotel.

 

We finally arrived at the base hotel where we were to leave our luggage.  Our small bag was already packed  with essential items (toothbrush and toothpaste and warm gear).  The tour group sat on the verandah sipping mint tea and organising our head scarf tying before our camels arrived.  The scene was truly memorable as we looked over a Berber camp, camel trains walking past and the huge dunes in the background!

 A Berber princess we met on the way!

 

 



....probably the hand-maiden!

 

Laurence of Arabia finally got it right (with a lot of help!)

 

Our shadow Peregrine group was coming to the camp with us and we formed two camel trains of about eight camels with a Berber leader at each.  Three of our group stayed behind at the hotel as it was going to be a bit difficult for them as they are all in their late seventies or early eighties.  The three lovely ladies gave us excited waves as we left with a bump and a grind into the desert.

It was an hour to the camp and I loved every minute of it!  It’s hard not to take photos at every turn as the colours change from soft amber hues to pinkish tones.  The sharp lines of the dunes form a crisp contrast of colours and every now and then small hardy spots of grass appear.

How about this?

David, Desley and I.....the runt of the group got the runt of the camels!

 

Yep, pretty amazing!

 

We passed several Berber camps along the way before we awkwardly (and gingerly!) climbed down from our camels.

The camp was a lovely surprise with mats over the sand floor and a sheet covered mattress on the floor.  We wandered off in all directions to see the sun set on the dunes and enjoy the complete serenity.

Outside our Berber tent....mats on the floor and a mattress.  Pity we missed the blanket instructions!

The camp taken from a sand-dune....we didn't make it all the way to the top!

 

The Peregrine groups sat around in a circle on mats and enjoyed mint tea, olives, nuts and dried fruit before couscous, chicken and vegetables were served for dinner. 

After dinner entertainment!

 

The stars became clearer in the jet black sky as we were lucky to have a new moon.  The two Berbers played the traditional tom-toms and our guides joined in.  Most of us were co-erced into the dancing around the fire and we copied the Berber who was great fun.

About tennish we wandered off to bed, tired and exhilarated after a truly amazing experience.

This was a day to be remembered!

 

 

 

 

 

Day Six Fes - Midelt

Day Six

Date:     3 May 2013

Place:    Fes - Midelt

Weather:   Warm and  fine.

Accommodation:   Hotel Kasbah

Today we were headed to the Middle Atlas Mountains.  As we drove from Fes the landscape was filled with lots of poppies and olive groves. 

Our first stop was at Ifrane, a well-known French inspired ski resort where we had a coffee break.  The town is known as ‘Switzerland’ because of its sloping roofs however it goes far beyond that as the appearance is very European.  Ifrane has the Moroccan Athletic Training Centre which I’m sure has trained some of their brilliant athletes at this high altitude facility.  As we left the town we saw quite a few runners out training.  Ifrane is also noted for a lovely sculpture of a lion shaped from the local stone of the area.

A little way along in the bus at Azrou we had close contact with Barbary apes.  The wonderful little creatures were in a cedar forest and obviously quite used to tourists.  They accepted and devoured bananas very quickly.

The landscape was varied today but as we neared the mountains the environment became much harsher with less trees and more rocky outcrops.  Nomadic Berber homes could be seen from the road and herds of sheep were roaming for food.  The homes were made of rocks and some had tents.

Today we did quite a bit of driving so it was great to get to lunch time for a chance to stretch our legs.  The restaurant seemed to be in the middle of nowhere!

Half an hour down the road we stopped and ambled down to Burrum Gorge.  It was spectacularly beautiful in its starkness.  We could see down to the flowing stream way below framed by the tall layered sand-coloured cliffs with outcrops of small stubby green growths and blue tinged mountains in the distance.  Breathtaking!

Isn't it wonderful!

I'm sure you've heard of tourists being dumped in the desert!

 

We continued on further walking over the rocky landscape to the nearby kasbah (mud homes joined together to look like one house).  From a distance it is difficult to make them out as they are the same colour as the earth from which they are made.  We wandered down the main street and our guide pointed out that people in towns have a car for each house – in a Kasbah it is important to own a donkey for a means of transport.  As we made our way through several donkeys passed us with women and children seated on their backs.  Other donkeys grazed nearby.

In the Kasbah!

 

We picked up some supplies in Midelt, particularly water, as tomorrow night we are heading into the desert for our camel ride and overnight Berber tent experience. 

It was time for the hotel and it is such an extraordinary building as it looks like a giant sandcastle!  Inside transported us back in time to Rick’s Café – internal mosaics, a riad style centre and heavily ornate dining rooms. 

David and I quickly had a wash and headed downstairs for a couple of glasses of red – we just wanted to soak up this truly incredible experience!