Morocco Day 8

The day started very early – 6:30 AM but it was so worth it for sunrise over the dunes of the Sahara Desert!

The weather was much nicer this morning and the sun peaked out over the horizon at 6:45 AM.

I climbed to the crest of the dunes to get the best view of the area and was surprised to see tiny dots in the distance in other directions. These were people at other desert camps doing the same as us! It had seemed like we were the only ones out there but apparently there are lots of these tourist camps around for crazy people like us.

I decided to forego a shower until later as I would only get dusty and sandy during the long ride back to ‘civilization’. We didn’t spend much time at camp after sunrise, only as long as it took to eat and pack up. I was dreading the ride back but fortunately I got a front seat this time. It was still just as rough and bumpy as before.

I was able to take a look at the speedometer this time and I saw that the driver was only doing 40 kph on the really rough spots and up to 100 clicks on the smoother spots. The way back seemed to go faster than the way out there, probably because I knew what to expect this time around. I even slept once we got to the pavement.

We stopped at a small town called Tamegrout to see a library containing many old books dating back to the 1600’s. We met a man who was 88 years old and had worked in the library for over 50 years – imagine! We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, which was unfortunate. Some of the books were open and we could see the detailed hand-scribed text and illustrations. The oldest book there was written on gazelle skin for paper.

Next door was a pottery place where they made traditional Berber goods. The blue dishes were painted using cobalt, the red ones with henna, and the yellow ones with saffron. I bought a small yellow bowl and a red candle holder to add to my collection.

Our hotel in Zagora was nearby and what a hotel it is! It appears to be old but I can’t really tell for sure. I thought the hotel in Ait Benhaddou was very old but the man at the front desk said it was built in 1985. Perhaps he misunderstood me. Our rooms weren’t ready yet so we had lunch. Meals are usually a slow affair on “Moroccan time”. Waiters (never waitresses) often seem to forget things – language barrier perhaps? Anyway, the room is quite lovely and has real character.

The garden area is gorgeous with many birds, flowers, alcoves and beautiful doorways. The shower was sheer heaven. I had sand absolutely EVERYWHERE!

At 4:30 some of the group met again and went for a tour of the palm groves. These palm groves extend for 200 kilometres.

Families own small plots of land with high walls built around them. Some of them have homes on them but people no longer live there.

After the walk, we went over to a museum for a short, interesting tour. Our guide warned us that they would try to sell us something and indeed they did. I spotted a lovely little mirror for my bathroom. I made the guy an offer I didn’t think he would take, but much to my surprise, he did. The mirror is shaped like a Moroccan door and the frame is gold with orange (saffron-dyed) camel bone. I am quite pleased with my treasure but I must stop buying breakable things!!

We decided to walk downtown which was quite far away but Mike spotted out bus driver and we hitched a ride. We walked around for a bit, had a coffee, Abdellah did some errands and Mike bought some Arabic music cassette tapes – crazy kid! The little girl pictured below was peeking at us from the shop next door. What a gorgeous smile and beautiful eyes!

When we got back it was time for supper and we enjoyed salad, chicken tagine and fruit for dessert. We have a long day tomorrow. Bed early again.