The High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara

We head out early in search of a suitable vehicle to go into the Sahara on, and find out that on short notice, most places don't have a 4x4 on hand. Trusty old Hertz did have a Toyota Land Cuiser Prado Diesel on hand for us to tool around in and so we jump on it.



Having been in countless cabs throughout Morocco, I had some reservations about driving, but my urge to explore overcame any of these feelings and I seemlessly integrated into the Moroccan flow of traffic. Getting out of town wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. We found a supermarket (rare) and loaded up on cheese, juice, bread, pitas and chips for the journey. We had to cross Marrakech to take the Ouarzazate road (pronounces war-za-zat) through the High Altas Mountains and with the exception of some minor close calls with petit cabs, we get out unscathed. Driving into the mountains was nothing short of spectacular and reminded me of Greece except there were more cars and trucks on the road. In a quick geography lesson, we had to cross the High Atlas to get to Ouarzazate, then on to Zagora, the Draa Valley and into the Sahara at the end of the road at M'Hamid. The views were spectacular.















As we were driving through a particularly lonely stretch of road, we come across an older gentleman with car trouble, and after doing a quick assessment of the situation, we deem him safe and give him a lift into the next town (70 km away) so he can get help. Of course, he's thankful and asks us in for tea when we get to his place. Tradition dictates (according to Lonely Planet anyway) that you CANNOT turn down an offer of tea without insulting the person. So we take him up on the offer and have saffron tea with him. One of his cousins was staying with him at the time, who happens to be a Berber/Touareg caravan leader who still makes caravan treks to Mauretania, Mali and Niger on a regular basis. We were dressed in some Berber outfits for a photo op and went merrily on our way.



The drive from Marrakech to M'Hamid at the end of the road is some 450km, and I rather underestimated this due to the long stretches of twisty mountain roads where you rarely go over 50 km/h. We make it in to M'Hamid around 7:30 about when it starts to get dark and fortunately find a guide/desert thingy operator that was still open to do a desert overnight. We hammer out a deal and get an overnight in the desert, a camel ride, and a guide for a 4x4 trek into the Sahara for what works out to $75 each, dinner, breakfast and lunch included.

The night in the desert (no dunes here, but far enough away from civilization to see the stars in twilight) was very quiet. It did seem to be a general area where other operators took tourists because you did see similar camps out in the distance. A French couple got lost stargazing some time around 11pm and stumbled into our little neck of the woods by accident. I of course, firmly believing in karma, help them out by grabbing a flashlight and escorting them toward one of the lit camps. Anyhow, peaceful.



The next day started out with camel racing... self explanatory... Camels can be cranky and make the most unsettling noises.



The best part of the day was the 4x4 expedition about 70km into the actual Sahara via bumpy and sand logged trails. Before you tree huggers get at me for being environmentally unfriendly, there are countless little settlements along the edge of the Sahara that rely on 4x4 access for supplies and whatnot, so it wasn't just us destroying nature.

The little Toyota didn't get stuck once, although I did have to kick it in to 4x4 low range to get out of the many sand pits that had to be crossed. It was a bumpy ride that saw lunch at an outpost some 70km from town at the Erg Chigaga dunes.

























In general, seatbelt use in Morocco is almost non existent and nowhere do people use them. We were always securely belted in the whole time on the road and on the trail, except for the guide that went off road with us. There was one point where I was getting a little more confident in my capabilities and the Toyota was bouncing around a bit on the uneven trail. I think I scared the guide a bit at one point when he started to tug at his seat belt in a futile attempt to put it on. Of course, when the road is rough the seatbelt tends to lock and he couldn't actually pull it out. Ahem... hehe..

Anyway, we get back to civilization (relatively) and asphalt roads and make our way back to Marrakech. We do stop at in the Draa Valley to look at the oasis in the desert. The Draa Valley is known to the locals as the Valley of 3 million palms. And they're probably right. It stretches several hundred km along the Draa River.





I was hoping to outrun the oncoming darkness and was actually making good time. I really didn't want to drive the narrow twisty roads of the Atlas Mountains in the dark, but the sun set just before we hit the highest pass and the way down had to be done at night. This especially when the roadside safety standards for Moroccan roads are slightly lower than those of Ontario's. There were plenty of locations where there was a barrier between the road and a 2,000 foot drop, and there were more locations where there was NO barrier between the road and a 4,000 foot drop. I can proudly say now that I survived driving a Moroccan mountain road at night. We got in to Marrakech at 11pm.

On a sort of sad note, we came across a spot on the road where several vehicles had stopped and people were out standing at the side of the dropoff looking down. As we drove by, I saw that there was a crumpled truck that had apparently gone off the side and was resting on a ledge some 100ft below. We didn't stick around, there were plenty of people there and I can only hope it wasn't tragic.

Anyhow, tomorrow we relax, see a bit of Marrakech and get ready to return to Spain for the last week of our expedition.

Marrakech

Thankfully, all of the laundry dried enough to stick it into the packs, but not 100%. What lie ahead was a 3 hour train ride into Marrakechm up against the High Atlas mountains.

Up until now, we were quite content with the train service and the AC that was provided on it. Up until now. The day started out fine in Casablanca, not too cold but mildly cool and without need of AC. The train of course had the AC on when it pulled in to Casa Voyageurs station. The problem occured some 1.5 hours into the train ride where the AC decided to fail. That wouldn't have been a problem if Marrakech didn't hit some 35C that day, and a train full of people can generate some fierce heat. When we pulled into Marrakech, sweaty and dehydrated, we hoped that finding a place to crash wouldn't be hard as was the precedent in Morocco. Nope. No rooms to be had at 5 places, and we walked away from one vacant place but they wanted 1,200 Dirhams for a triple for the night (about 120 Euros). My cheapness gene kicked in and we kept walking until we found a relatively good deal for less than half that almost in the middle of the tourist area. Clean and comfortable with a nice bathroom.

Nothing else of note, except we picked up Chucky at the airport and the cab drivers seem to not want to turn on the meter but rather to negotiate a price beforehand. Having not paid more than 12 Dirhams for ANY cab ride before in Morocco, one guy wanted 30 Dh before I asked him to turn on the meter. Future Moroccan travellers beware.. always ask the cabbie to "mettez le compteur" or turn on the meter.

Anyway, after bringing Chuck back and settling him in, we head off for a walk to the souks and the medina of town to see some action. It was dark by the time we went and you would be surprised at how nocturnal Moroccans really are. But come midnight, they all scurry off back home and desert the streets.

The souks were very active with all kinds of snake charmers and musicians and food stalls. Unfortunately there are no photos to show because if you take a photo of anybody performing, some guy will come up to demand payment for it. So you'll just have to take my word for it.

After wandering around the souk, remember that its dark out by this time, we head into the twisty walkways of the medina and, as expected, we got lost. Not to miss an opportunity, some young kid notices us and starts to offer his services for guiding us out. Being close to 11pm, we figured a couple of Dirhams would be a good investment in our safety so we passively follow this kid. Then all of a sudden, the kid gets anxious and asks for the money right away. He's got this look of fear in his eyes when someone who looks like his big brother grabs him, starts screaming at him in arabic and smacks him around a bit. Well, we umm... slip away into the darkness and fortunately we were close to the outside so at least it worked out for us.

One shot from the medina and the souks of Marrakech. Tomorrow, we head into the Sahara.

Laundry Day in Casablanca

Well, this sorta blew up in my face. I was expecting to find a self service laundry place or a wash n fold place or even have the hotel do my laundry for me, but we arrived at around noon and nobody was able to guarantee finishing the job before our train to Marrakech left the next day. So, I thought I was up shit's creek but I got a bright idea. Buy a packet of Tide and do the laundry in the bathroom sink at the Hotel! Bingo!



The only thing I can hope for now is whether it will all be dry enough tomorrow when they kick us out.

Nothing else spectacular today, we did see the Hassan II Mosque, but he cab driver couldn't understand my half assed french so he dropped us off in front of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Casa. We had to walk through a really sketchy part of town to get to it, but he thing is massive. Literaly MASSIVE. Its supposed to be the 3rd largest Mosque in the world, and for all I know, it is.

For those of you who will no doubtedly ask why we didn't go see Rick's Cafe Americain (from the movie Casablanca)...... IT DOESN'T EXIST! The whole movie was shot in a studio in Hollywood, none of it was shot here. So there.

Anyway, random photos from the day's events:





Tomorrow, Marrakech and Chucky!

1976 Mercedes 240D Grand Taxis

Sallam al lekoum!

To anyone who didnt understand that, its arabic for Yo Yo Yo Homeboys. I want to start off this message with a direct request for Chuck when he comes down to Marrakech on Tuesday: Bring a bottle of something that mixes well with coke. Morocco is dry and trying to get some hooch is very difficult. Our 1L of Absolut which we bought in Gibraltar for £5 is done and we need more.

On to more important matters, the day started out with the plan of going to Meknès and on to Volubilis to see the ancient Roman ruins there. Well, in comparison to what I remember from Knossos in Crete, Volubilis looks like it wasnt messed with, whereas Knossos was very messed with. That in itself is well worth the trip to witness. Intricate tile mosaics, massive columns and other Roman goodies.

The historic site aside, the ride up from Meknès was the real thriller. We managed to snag a Grand Taxi for the return trip to the site from the hotel and boy were we in for a surprise. Normally, Grand Taxis in Morocco are like small buses that take people from town to town and city to city on predetermined routes. The driver is legally allowed to take 6 other people in the car with him. Lucky for me, with my stupendous negotiating skills, I nabbed one for the two of us alone. Being big boys, I couldnt imagine having to share a ride with 4 others - 4 in the back, 2 in the front passenger bucket seat. The car looked nice on the outside, but on the inside there were no seatbelts, there was a leopard print decal over the doors, cut fan belts were screwed on to act as door handles, the speedo didnt work, and there was one window crank handle that had to be used for all windows.

We got there and back in one piece, but some moments were kinda scary, especially when the driver cut a corner rather quickly and angular momentum pressed me against the barely closeable door. On the way back, the driver blew through a stop sign and was ticketed. Lost some time there, but it didnt really matter anyway since the car couldnt get past 3rd gear and the old diesel engine was struggling at every inch.

Back in Meknès, we went for a walk in the Medina and thats it.

Tomorrow will be very uneventful. We have plans on pulling into Casablanca in the morning, seeing the big Hassan II Mosque and doing laundry. Until then, photos.



















The Grand Taxi


Some random shots of Meknès