Morocco Day 12

Before we left the Tafroute area, we went for a short walk to see a rock carving dating to 400 BC.

It was a pleasant walk on a clear, sunny beautiful morning before we headed out on a long bus ride. We are heading west to Tiznit, then north along the coastline to Essaouira.

As we approached Agadir we began to see the Atlantic Ocean! We stopped at a very large grocery store chain called and it was in a small mall – the first we’d seen in Morocco!

I couldn’t believe the vast selection, huge quantity, and excellent prices! Mike and I got prepared sandwiches, a pastille, fruit salad, cheese and black forest cake for about $10 CDN.

Our driver took us to a nice spot where we had a picnic lunch. The beach at Agadir is gorgeous!

There was a fairly strong, warm breeze blowing and I took the opportunity to walk in the water while looking for interesting shells and rocks. The city of Agadir is very modern, touristy, and expensive to live in.

After lunch we had nice views of the ocean for awhile and saw people playing beach volleyball, picnicking, motor biking, and even riding horses and camels! 

Soon the hot sun put most of us to sleep until we pulled over to photograph goats in trees again! A short while later we stopped at a women’s argan oil coop. Amazingly, argan trees only grow in Morocco. They have been using it for years but it was only recently discovered how beneficial it was. It is used not only in creams, soaps and lotions but in food products as well.

We watched them cracking and grinding the nuts and then looked through all of the many products they had for sale. The money they make goes to improve their situation – money well spent instead of in the shops.

More miles, more naps, then Essaouria. I just love the name of this place! Our bus parked close to the ocean then we followed our luggage carried in carts by porters to our lovely hotel, down a main street then into a souk-type of alley.

There was mint tea and yummy cookies waiting for all of us in the lobby, together with an envelope containing our room keys. What service!

 Our room is very nice and we had a terrific supper. I had chicken and vegetables; Mike had pigeon pastilla! Yum!

I am surprised by the amount of French spoken here in the southern part of Morocco. I don’t think I have heard much Arabic for several days now. My ear for French is becoming more tuned in. It’s only the second time since high school that it has come in handy!

Morocco Day 11

We had a 9 AM start today with 4x4 vehicles. The red rocks in the area are quite dramatic and beautiful. Our first stop was at a rock formation known as Le Chapeau de Napoleon (Napoleon’s Hat).

We also stopped by a Berber camp for a brief visit.

Then we went by the Painted Rocks. These were first painted in 1984 by Belgian artist Jean Verame and a team of Moroccan fireman who hosed a large area of rocks with 18 tons of paint. It was similar to a project he did in the Sinai. The rocks were redone in 2010 by a local man. I had read about them and wasn’t too sure wasn’t too sure what to expect. But they were actually quite interesting and beautiful. My camera and I would have liked to explore them further but we weren’t given all that much time.

Onward and upward. Oh my gosh - the switchbacks, curves and turns! There was very little traffic on the road and the area was vast and stunning.

We drove quite awhile then got out for our hike. It was an easy one, on pavement, amongst the palm trees which provided some shade. We were surprised to see so many homes along the way, even a store.

Our destination was our lunch stop – a Berber home in a small village. After about an hour and a half or so, the road forked and some of us decided to hitch a ride the rest of the way with the 4x4s. Apparently we missed ‘the best part’ of the walk. Oh well, c’est la vie!

The small village had a church but we didn’t see many people there at all. We were welcomed into the host home and sat down on cushions on the floor. It was so very cool and quiet and some of us nodded off, me included.

When the rest of the group arrived, we were served a delicious chicken tagine. There was one very large plate of tangine for every 5 of us to share. We were given a large spoon and ate it directly from the same dish. Traditional Berber style is to eat with one’s hands.

Afterwards we had some traditional Moroccan mint tea with sucre – so good. The family had an enchanting 2 year old son who visited with the group.

Bertha, a real people person, wanted to meet the woman of the house so I followed her upstairs. I was amazed at the sparseness of her kitchen and home, and the fact she prepared such a delicious meal for so many people with so little.

She was a very beautiful woman and let us take photographs, including her hennaed hands.

The trip back was via another route. Different road, different scenery.

At one point along the way back, our drivers stopped and parked by the side of the road and stopped to pick various wild herbs for tea and perhaps for cooking as well.

When we got back to town, we had a little tour. Tafroute is known for a particular type of Berber shoe/slipper and several people bought some. 

Three of the guys, including Mike, decided they needed a shave and headed off to find a barber – a Berber barber, haha! Mike couldn’t remember when his face has felt so smooth! The group wanted to walk back but I didn’t so I wandered around town. I bought a Coke Zero and some argan soap. Some was lavender scented, and some was mixed with olive oil. I can hardly wait to try it!

Supper was delicious again. This time I had spaghetti and Mike had the chicken, the opposite of last night. I also had Moroccan wine with supper, which generally comes from the Meknes area.

Morocco Day 10

It was a sleep-in day – til 11 AM. Breakfast was sumptuous and we really didn’t want to leave this hotel.While waiting to leave I took photos of the gorgeous roses in the gardens. We didn’t have all that far to go today so that’s why we had the late start.

Our destination was the town Tafraoute. Our route was amazing. The first hour or so was same old, same old straight road. And then we started to climb up into the Anti-Atlas Mountains. We are travelling in argan tree country and we got to see goats up in the trees - what a funny sight!

There was a goatherd nearby and I don’t imagine he was too impressed with the group of tourists pouring off the bus scaring his animals.

The road narrowed and there wasn’t a lot of traffic which was a good thing. The corners were hairpin turns and I had to look away. But oh, the scenery was magnificent.

We saw small villages, abandoned Kasbahs, windy roads and amazing views. I thought the journey would be short-lived but it went on and on and on.

Lunch was a picnic lunch again, just past a small village, but no carpets to sit on this time, haha!

Tafraoute is a relatively small place. We’ve got the best hotel in town apparently but that ain’t saying much. The water pressure is pretty bad and I’m not looking forward to tomorrow morning’s shower.

On the bright side, the supper in the restaurant was delicious, with good prices and service – bonus!

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!