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Published: February 21st 2008
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We were almost allowed our sleep in although a cleaner knocked on the door just as we were about to get up. The CTM bus was to leave at twelve but due to a miscalculation on our behalf we arrived half an hour early. There was nobody there, no hustlers, beggars or children selling chocolates etc. We paid our 5dh each for baggage and didn't even have to argue for the correct price. We got on the bus and it set off on time and with minimum fuss and no last Minute bodies diving through the side door just as we were leaving. All quite pleasant but eerily unlike our other Moroccan experiences.
We got off the bus in Tinerhir and before we could even get our bags we had a crowd of people surrounding us and separating me from Rob. They kept on shouting and grabbing my arm and got rude when I ignored them. We grabbed our bags and moved away in the hope that we could have a minute or two to think. No such luck. I saw two boys having similar troubles and went over to see if they were intending to go on to the
gorge. Together we pushed through the hustlers and went to find bread, fruits etc. Most of the hustlers got bored when we started to ignore them, but one guy followed us the entire time, alternating between obnoxious and "helpful". We bought some fruit and bread and made a break for the grand taxi rank.
We all wanted the Todra Gorge and initially decided to wait for a collective where we would only have had to have paid 7dh each. We quickly came to the conclusion that an extra 14dh between four of us was nothing. I turned around to inform the driver of our decision only to find that he wanted 50dh for the entire car. We got into a bit of an argument because he used baggage to explain the extra cost. Needless to say, we didn't end up paying the extra amount.
The drive from Tinerhir to Hotel La Vallee was beautiful and I wished we could have gotten out for a look around. There is a palmerie that runs along the gorge, and then there were picturesque villages all the way along. We stopped at our hotel and were met by a guy who worked
there. Our room was little more than a cell but for 90dh (£6) a night it wasn't bad.
We had a welcome tea with the two Polish boys we arrived with and discovered that the Todra Gorge is a big climbing area. We chatted for a while and then decided to go for a walk through the gorge before we lost the sunlight.
We decided to walk back the way we had driven in and it was so beautiful. We spotted a fantastic looking village the other side of the river and so crossed over by way of a tree trunk to have a look. It was a farming village with plots of land separated by an intricate irrigation system which flowed very quickly from the river. All around the village was what we think is Almond blossom but we could be mistaken, it did smell nice though. We walked along the river until we came to an area of collapsed houses. We investigated these and walked through the narrow alleys until we turned out onto a roof where we got a stunning view of the area.
We had walked for about an hour and a half
when we realised we were rapidly running out of daylight. The walk back was amazing because the moon was bright enough to walk by and the stars felt so big and ever so close. We arrived at the hotel to find the guy waiting outside; he thought we had got lost.
We ate at the hotel because there wasn't anywhere else to go. We ordered the set menus and enjoyed them whilst teasing the hotels pet cats. We really have never eaten so much fruit and veg in one meal, even the pudding was just slices of orange sprinkled with cinnamon.
We nipped out to an internet café that was in the next village. There are no cash machines, restaurants or post offices but there is an internet café. We phoned our parents who are both off on their own holidays tomorrow and sent a few e-mails etc. We were back at the hotel by ten thirty and found it in complete darkness and locked. We managed to shake open the gates and let ourselves in, but we were slightly upset to find that there was no electricity and no staff to help out. Luckily I had my
Maglite in My handbag which we used to find our wind up torch. The room was icy cold, so we ended up with about six blankets on the bed; they kept us warm, but also feel heavy enough to crush you. How we miss quilts!
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