The Gorge

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This morning we were up early again and we seem to be having trouble sleeping through the night. The long day in the car was difficult at times because we were so tired and the views can be so unexpected and spectacular that we were afraid to close our eyes.

We stayed at the Hotel de Jardin last night and were treated very well by all the staff. They all try to use a combination of English and French to communicate with us and we use what little French and Arabic we are learning to communicate with them.

Today we arrived in Erfoud and passed through the Valley of A Thousand Kasbahs... The name led us to believe that we would be seeing non-stop Kasbahs, but we saw surprisingly few. Aziz says that there are litterally a 1000, but they must all be hidden from view (which is not hard to believe as they are very well camoflaged against the mountains). The valley that held more Kasbahs than expected was the Flower Valley and it seemed that we would just finish driving through one, only to arrive in another.

While were taking pictures today we were approached by a couple young boys and their dad(?) who showed us how to weave camels out of reeds. They were so amazing that they didn't even look at what they were doing and I must say that we were pretty impressed.

We were treated by a drive through Tudra Gorge, with some of the most unique landscape. We are continually blown away by how different the world looks over here and pictures can't even begin to do it justice!

It was nice to arrive in Erfoud and know that we are able to settle in for at least a few days. We get to live in an appartment above the Mohammad's, Aziz's oldest brother, restaurant We were honored to finally get to meet some of Aziz's family and get to know them a little bit. Just like Aziz, Havid (Aziz's youngest brother), is encouraging us to speak more and more Arabic, he says that most of the ladies we will be teaching will not know any English and the more Arabic we know the better. He is right.

Havid works at the family Cafe and tonight they fed us a special family recipe for the Tagine. The Tagine is a like a pottery dish with a lid and all of the meat and the veggies are flame cooked in it (similar to pressure cooking). Each Tagine is made with many different spices but isn't hot or spicy. I would have to say that tonight's Tagine was the best by far. My favorite is the Kefta Tagine which is like little hamburger meatballs made with mixed meat and garlic and an egg on top (yum)... but mom and Aziz told me that I have to venture out and try all sorts of different Tagines and food. I just keep telling them "But I like it!"

We are looking forward to working together with the Ladies over the next few days. I will be happy to have mom with me as it is always easier to problem solve with more than one brain! The day after tomorrow mom and I will start teaching women how to use the sewing machines, and after that they may start teaching us... who knows. If things go well with mom, Aziz and I might leave her to keep teaching so that I can visit some of the schools and doing little bits of health teaching and handing out the tooth brushes. We will see, the plans keep changing and we are just going with the flow.

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Photos

The Camel Guy
There is more than meets the eye in this photo!

The Camel Guy 2
Mom went first and she didn't warn me.

The "Panoramic" View
The view on the way to Tudra Gorge.

Berber Woman in Tudra Gorge
A woman and her daughter who were gracious enough to let us take pictures.