Morocco Day 9

Breakfast was at 7:15 AM and we were on the road by 8. We had many miles to cover today but we made lots of interesting stops. Abdellah is very good for that. He always starts out the day with a talk about some aspect of Moroccan life that is very informative. As well, he reads Moroccan folk tales on the bus. Most of them are nice stories then out of the blue, the characters suddenly commit some sort of violence. We laugh and ask him if he knows any stories without blood and gore.

The first stop of the day was at a market, a local souk. Unlike the big souks of the cities, these small towns have a weekly souk. They are smaller in size and cater to the needs of the local people.

Produce is the number one product sold. But we also saw plastics, pots and pans, a blacksmith fixing things, cushions, mattresses, and jewelry. Of course Abdellah could go no further until the ladies had found something to their liking at that vendor. Then he bought various fruits and vegetables for a picnic lunch later on.

We made a WC stop then awhile later the bus stopped by the side of the road at a very small town called Tazenakht. It is well-known for its carpets and is a cooperative of local people. There were a lot to choose from and prices depended on quality and workmanship.

I would have loved to replace the carpet in my living room but a decent-sized one would have cost more than I really wanted to spend. Several people bought carpets so it was worth our stop. Even Mike found something he wanted, in black of course, and I was amazed at the good price he got!

By the time the deals were made, it was time to eat so we found a shady spot under some trees to have a picnic lunch. The carpet co-op even lent us 2 beautiful carpets on which to sit and have lunch! I had a pita type of bread and ended up with cheese, pistachio yogurt and tomato inside of it. Yum! We also had fresh oranges, wonderful cantelope and yummy sweet bananas as well.

The next stop was in the town of Talouine which is a center for saffron. One gram is 30 dirhams which is a bargain. It is harvested from the stigmas of the saffron crocus. Each plant has up to four flowers, each with three stigmas and it takes about 150 flowers to produce a gram of dry saffron threads. I can’t imagine picking anything that small. Apparently a little goes a long way and you only need one in a serving. I got some for myself and the ‘folks back home’ looking after my place.

As we get closer to our stop for the day, Taroudant, we can see the towering Anti-Atlas Mountains. I have no idea why they are called that. It has been a long day of driving and we haven’t gone through many towns this afternoon.

Once in Taroudant, we stopped at an impressive gate that we could climb to the top of for photos.

Then the bus driver took us to the main square in town which is like the one in Marrakech only on a much smaller scale. There were snake charmers, musicians, a guy spinning a top and other rings of men doing I-don’t-know-what.

Only the men gather in these squares while the women prefer to go shopping, Abdellah told us.

After having a look in the square, we did just a little bit of wandering in the souks. They seemed to be quite a bit more modern in that they were selling some ‘non-traditional’ clothing.

When we were done, our guide had a surprise for us – a ride to our hotel in a calash, that is a horse-drawn carriage.

They had them in the big cities for the tourists. I felt a bit sorry for the horses having to pull all that weight in busy, noisy traffic.

Our hotel is beautiful!

The grounds, lobby and pool are quite stunning, and the room is gorgeous too!

Due to the late hour, supper was at the hotel. The service was pretty good, but the meal was rather overpriced I felt. We get to sleep in tomorrow! Hurrah!