Spain/Morocco 2014

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Week 3/ 4



Our final evening in the desert was spent in the hotel restaurant, enjoying a tasty meal and listening to an 'open mic' session of drumming. A good way to unwind after quite an eventful day.



With Hammid as our leader, we headed to the Todra Gorge and the village of Tamtattouche. En route we stopped at a desert like plain and were shown an ancient irrigation system that the local villagers used to use to water their crops. A local nomad climbed down one well then reappeared in the top of another well before showing us the tunnel system below the ground. Everyone trod very carefully down the sloping steps into the dark tunnels!



Eventually we arrived at the Todra Gorge having driven along the worst road so far. It climbed higher and higher through villages precariously balanced on rock faces. The surface was full of pot holes, narrow in places, breaking away at the edges and if that wasn't enough there were groups of workmen at regular intervals, digging holes, moving boulders and building walls to negotiate. The gorge was very impressive and even though our vans were shaken to bits it was well worth the effort. We continued to follow the river bed which became completely dry to our destination.



The campsite was attached to a small hotel in Tamtattouche, a genuine Berber community of 400 inhabitants, situated nearly 6000 feet above sea level. The facilities at the the site were surprisingly good and the staff were very welcoming. Our waiter/guide took us on a tour of the village and the original kasbah and we witnessed how a community can survive in such a seemingly hostile environment. Women were washing clothes in the river, filtering water from a natural spring and carrying about 20 litres at at a time back to their homes. Men were working on the land growing food for the village and making use of the water coming down from the Atlas mountains, channelling it into ditches to irrigate their crops.



On our final evening we had a very tasty meal of kefta with vegetables and chips! There was an impromptu music session which we were invited to join in on a selaction of drums and our waiter/guide even managed to get me and Stuart up to dance!



Having negotiated the roadworks to reach the main road again, we continued west to Ouarzazate. This was just a one night stopping off point before we moved on to Marrakech. The next stage of the journey was probably the most dramatic yet. We drove through the mountains on the Tizi – n Tichka pass which was a spectacular route. It wasn't quite so relaxing for our drivers as they had to tackle endless bends and hairpins, passing coaches, lorries with cattle on the roof and avoiding individuals at the side of the road trying to stop drivers to sell garishly coloured crystal rocks.



What an exhilarating trip! We arrived in Marrakech in the afternoon and enjoyed relaxing in the sun as the temperature had risen to the high 70's.

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Photos

Museum visit
Another stop on the way - an unusual collection of Moroccan artefacts

En route
Our guide disappears down the well shaft

En route
He appeared in the next shaft along eventually