Blogs from Ouarzazate, Souss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco, Africa - page 2

24-25 mars Avec ses 79 000 habitants, Ouarzazate est la plus grande ville de la région. Les touristes y affluent pour s'y réserver des tours de jeep ou de dromadaire dans les dunes d'Erg Chigaga un peu plus au sud. Devant moi, des bus de tours organisés ou des 4X4 passent mollement, les uns après les autres, sur la rue principale Mohammed V (encore) pendant que je mange un croissant à "La Vache qui Rit" sur une terrasse ensoleillée. Les commerçants et les restaurateurs deviennent vos amis très rapidement ici: "Vous êtes français?", "Canada Québec?", "Belle montre!", "Quelle marque votre casquette?" ... Toutes les techniques sont bonnes pour attirer les acheteurs potentiels dans les cavernes d'Ali Baba des détaillants de cossins. C'est que la concurrence est forte ici. Quelques bronzés arrivent à tour de rôle depuis ... read more

In the morning, at first light I finally managed to get the bike out and go for a cycle. This was good and bad, good because it was a really nice time to be cycling as the roads were quiet and the valley looked amazing. But bad because I ahd forgotten about the altitude we had reached, plus the up hill was a killer, but once at the top the veiw was excellent, just like the high speed ride back down. The rest of the day made a slow start to the day as I tried to dry my washing, which had sat in the tub for a bit too long. So while Mark and Alan had a walk around the town and its shops I hung the washing out. This only partially dried it as ... read more

Geo: 30.9173, -6.91912Moroccan Landscape is very dry and colorless, but is fascinating in every direction you look. It may look harsh and un-inviting, especially when it's extremely hot, but hidden treasures of old towns and green oasis are commonly found.We signed up for a three day tour to the Mergouza Sand Dunes, but to get there we had to endure two days of driving. There are many companies out there that provide these tours. There is also a two day trip to the Zagora Sand Dunes but from what I have heard and from some photos I have seen they are not as impressive as the Merzouga Dunes.Merzouga is hard to do and and to enjoy in a two day time frame. After talking with an agent, the pull to Merzouga was strong but we had ... read more

Day 7 We left behind Erfoud today and headed towards Ouarzazate, it's pronounced almost like 'what was that' We've been joking about it for a bit now, we've been told we're not far from Tim buck Too...lol... We had a beautiful spot for lunch in the Dades Valley, there was a neat restaurant right in the middle of the Gorges of the Dades, and we all walked over wooden planks to cross over the river to be able to enter into the restaurant. The views were very impressive....and the temperature was a bit chilly, 15 degrees maybe. Along our way we stopped a few times for photos, one of them was at a small village where they had many hand dug wells. They are all about 70 feet deep. The town had with a few locals ... read more

The road twists and turns as the bus takes us up into the High Atlas mountains on the impressive Tizi-n-Tichka route to Ouarzazate (how do you like those z's?) The landscapes are varied and dramatic with high mountain passes, big rocky outcrops and switchback roads. Sprinkled along the roadside are small shops and stalls selling local fossils and geodes, ceramic pots and plates. It looks very dry but surprisingly we get heavy rain showers as we go through the pass, turning the rivers red with the local mud. On the other side we are into the pre-Sahara, an apparent wasteland of rock and scrub but we spot cultivation lines in numerous places. This area is full of kasbahs and ksours, many used as sets in well-known movies. The Moroccan King is visiting Ouarzazate this week, so ... read more