Mergouza to Fes: A Day Spent Driving Through the Middle Atlas Mountains

Wednesday, November, 27, 2019

Mergouza to Fes:

A Day Spent Driving Through the Middle Atlas Mountains:

Today was all about driving across the High Atlas into the Middle Atlas Mountains and then to Fes. It took an entire day to cross the desert and return to civilization. 

We awoke in our desert tents in the camps in Mergouza in the Western Sahara while it was still dark and very cold. It was really difficult to stir but we had to get on our camels by 7.00 am—so we set our alarms for 6.30 am, merely washed (in really cold water), got undressed and got up to join the group. 

Off on Camels to Watch the Sunrise:

I have to say that no one was too enthusiastic about getting atop the camels today. Yesterday had been a learning curve and we all had sore butts to show for it! However, since we had little choice, we got back on our camels—the same ones we used yesterday—and set off. Mine was not a particularly friendl fellow. His name was Aboot! We were on the camels for about half an hour as the eastern sky got decidedly lighter with the arrival of a new day. 

Then, in the middle of nowhere, we stopped to watch the sun’s rays peep over the horizon and stain the sky in pearly shades. It was a little cloudy—so we did not have a clear view of the rising sun. Still, our pictures came very nice—no silhouettes as in our pictures of yesterday.

About fifteen minutes later, we were atop our camels again. The journey was painful as every turn made our bottoms even more sensitive. I think it was with great relief that we spied our hotel—at which point, we were ready for breakfast as we had worked up quite an appetite.

Breakfast and Quick Showers in our Hotel:

Breakfast was a buffet affair—rather modest but good: hard boiled eggs, cheese, butter, Moroccan pancakes with honey and jam, tomatoes, cucumber, olives. There was OJ (canned this time) and coffee and I chose the last. Indeed it was a delicious and very filling breakfast. 

Towels were then organized so that those of us who wanted showers could take them.  Llew and I chose to have showers in our hotel in Fes as it was too much of a to-do to try to race through them and get back on the van for our long drive to Fes. Those who preferred to have showers, got through them quickly and we were off on the road again after our baggage was piled back inside our van.

 A Drive Across the Atlas Mountains:

Then followed a day-long drive across the Atlas Mountains from the High Atlas further west to the Middle Atlas. The desert was left behind with its golden colored sand dunes as we hit the arid plains where there was hardly any vegetation or human habitation. I busied myself blogging on my iPad which I picked out of my baggage. Occasionally we passed by a human settlement, but they were small village affairs. 

A Visit to a Fossil Factory in Erfoud:

Abdul informed us that this area of Morocco was once entirely covered by saline sea—which explains why, after the water evaporated, the area has been left covered by marine fossils and is now famous for it. He stopped at a fossil factory where we were shown how the fossils are isolated from the layers of rock in which the creatures were trapped. We saw a lot of nautilus shells and also some elongated ones. 

After we were shown how the fossils are processed, we were taken to the showroom where we saw gigantic items such as dining table tops, double sinks and coffee tables made from marble that has trapped fossils in them. There were also smaller items which we passed through quickly before we returned to the van.

A Stop for Picnic Supplies: 

About half way through the day, Abdul stopped at a supermarket called Marjane and picked up supplies for our picnic lunch. We bought Magnum Double Chocolate ice-creams and enjoyed them.

Lunch al Fresco:

We found a spot to set up a picnic lunch in the middle of a private olive grove just off the main road. Somewhat miraculously, Abdul and our driver Husain set up a picnic tables with a table cloth and portable stools and together they tore open the many packages that had been picked up at the supermarket. The end result was a delightful picnic in the middle of nowhere with a big salad with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, avocados, green peppers and cans of tuna. There was also Edam and Gouda sliced cheese plus Baby bell cheese, not to mention juices, biscuits, apricot and peach yogurt, bread and wraps. Llew made himself a cheese wrap while I made a delicious tuna salad which I finished off with apricot yoghurt and coffee toffees for dessert.  It was a lovely experience to eat in the clear, clean, unpolluted mountain air with a close view of the curves of the mountains in the background. 

Back on the van, we pretty much drove right through but for a couple more pit stops during which time, our companions bought coffees or ice-cream. En route, we passed through Ifrane which Abdul informed us is known as the ‘Switzerland of Morocco’ as it is one of the poshest parts of the country and boasts a private university where instruction is in English. However, by this time darkness has descended upon the land and we had left the mountains behind. We had the last lap to complete before we arrived at Fes where we would spend the night.

Arrival in Fes:

As we would be staying in a traditional Riad that does not have a restaurant attached to it, Abdul stopped at a shopping mall which included a Carrefour supermarket where he instructed us to buy alcoholic drinks, if we needed them, and to pick up some fast food from the food court. Llew and I bought a can of beer (Kania) and ordered a medium thin crust Extravaganza pizza from Dominoes. We then carried it with it and decided to eat it in our room once we reached the Riad.

Just ten minutes later, we had arrived in the heart of the souk where our Riad was located. It is called Riad Reda and it is in the heart of the Medina within the city walls. It was just a short walk (our baggage was brought to us later). We checked in quickly and were enchanted by the place and what we saw. It was built in the style of a Castle with the central courtyard filled with a fountain and with rooms on three floors radiating from it. These dwellings of rich men of the past have been converted into hotels and this one was just beautiful. We did not linger long, however, as we were all hungry and tired and could not wait to get to our rooms to get showers, eat and get to bed.

And that was exactly what we did! We loved our room on the second floor—it was impeccably decorated in traditional Moroccan style with its own little sitting area, kitchenette with fridge and microwave, a very nice en suite bathroom and WiFi services (unfortunately, only available on the ground floor). Llew and I took turns to go downstairs and pickup our messages and then, back in our rooms, we enjoyed our drinks with nuts, ate up our pizza and took our showers before we gratefully crept into bed after what had been an exceedingly long driving day.

A Bientot! 

From Ouarzazate-Mergouza: Discovering the Western Sahara in Morocco

Tuesday, November, 26, 2019

From Ouarzazate-Mergouza: Discovering the Western Sahara:

We awoke at 6.30 after setting our alarms for 7.00 am for breakfast. This too was beautifully laid out in the dining room. There was Danish pastry and Pain de chocolate, there were Moroccan pancakes (eaten with apricot jam and honey), there were salad veg and fresh fruit and OJ with coffee.  I had the coffee today. After a significant breakfast, we were ready to set off for our camel ride into the Western Sahara, for we were off to Mergouza, the farthest point in Morocco that borders the Sahara dessert. 

Driving to Mergouza:

There is nothing to write home about in terms of the landscape of the interior of Morocco. It is extraordinarily dull and drab—the dominant color is yellow with the occasional shrub thrown in. It can also be exceedingly boring, these long drives...so I was grateful that I had my music and it was playing constantly. I did not have my laptop or else I could have been reading—but I had left it in my stroller as we were told to put together a small overnight bag for the night in the camp. 

Stopping at the Todra Gorge:

The monotony of the morning was relieved somewhat by the stop we made mid-morning at a place called the Todra Gorge.  As its name implies, it is a narrow pass between towering sand colored stone mountains. It reminded me a bit of the towering gorges at Zion National Park in Utah. This was just a photo stop as we climbed over low rocks to the river’s edge to get pictures of ourselves with a flock of black goats in the background.

The entire stop here was no longer than fifteen minutes and then we were on our way. 

A Stop for Lunch:

We made a stop for lunch in a rather rustic shack where Abdul who was seated at our table suggested we order the goat as it is native to this region. On the way, we could see flocks of black goats. Llew and I decided to share the goat tajine which came with vegetables and the chicken tajine—also served with olives, prunes and preserved lemons and served with bread. We had tiny sweet clementines for dessert but I soon realized that the abundance of orange juice I was drinking was causing me severe acidity as it is pure citrus acid. By the end of the day I was truly uncomfortable with acidity and have decided not to down any more of the fresh OJ.

Taking Group Pictures in Berber Costume:

The Atlas Mountain region is home to native desert communities called Berbers—a name that comes from Barbarians or people from the Barbary Coast. Through the decades, they have joined forces with various human influxes to protect their native homeland and habitat. They are a combination of Arab, Spanish, Jewish and Roma ethnic forces and they live a very colorful life in the drab environs of the arid Atlas Mountains. They have their own distinct culture characterized by a language, costume, forms of musical entertainment and dance, foods and local customs. Our guide Abdul is a Berber, although he lives in a part of the Atlas Mountains rather removed from our route. 

We made a stop at a large shop which provides tour groups with the traditional costumes and jewelry of the Berbers and offers a picturesque setting outside filled with date palms where pictures can be taken. All of us were suitably attired and then we trooped out to get some pictures taken. The sun was much too strong and none of our pictures came well—there were simply too many shadows. Still...as a sort of game, it was fun and a welcome stop as it was a chance to stretch our legs. 

Then we were back in the bus and proceedings further eastwards penetrating deeper and deeper into the desert. The land became more arid with every mile we covered—the landscape getting really sandy and desolate with rarely a shrub in evidence.

A View of Ancient Canal-Digging:

Abdul stopped our vehicle about an hour later to enable us to view an ancient form of desert irrigation that was all about digging canals about a thousand years ago to channel water from a river or spring to neighboring fields. Needless to say, that form of salvaging water is defunct today but it meant that we saw the rather primitive wheel-pulley method used to bring water to the surface. Next, we were led down about twenty steps into the caverns of another subterranean irrigation system that was once the mainstay of life in these regions.

About another hour later, we finally arrived at Mergouza, the base in which we would stay while enjoying the camel ride that would take us deep into the Western Sahara region of Morocco.  Our hotel was literally on the edge of the Erg Cherbi Sand dunes. It was called ..... and it was such a strange structure, sand-colored, in the middle of the dessert.

Off to Ride the Camels:

This hotel was just a base for our ride into the sand dunes atop a camel. There was hot mint tea awaiting us and when we used the facilities and refreshed ourselves, we were told to leave our strollers behind and take just an overnight bag into the camp.

Then began one of the more memorable parts of our travels—the chance to ride a camel in the Western Sahara for a couple of hours to get to our camp—tents really, in the middle of the dessert. 

The camel ride was a caravanserai of five camels all strung together and led by a young chap who was also the keeper. Having been on a camel many times before, I was familiar with the drill and remembered that getting off and on it is perhaps the most challenging part. We were placed in a string of five camels each and, therefore, divided into two groups. It was quite uncomfortable especially when we had climbed a dune and had to get down. The pace was slow and I was put in mind of the camels on the Grand Silk Route—I cannot imagine how many months it would have taken to leave from Xian in China and across the Hindukush Mountains to get into Central Asia and the fabled sites of modern-day Uzbekistan (Samarkand and Bukhara and Tashkent and Khiva)—incredible! 

We stopped about 45 minutes later to watch the sun set behind some dunes. It was rather overcast—which did not give us a clear sunset. But it was romantic in the extreme to sit in the absolute quiet of a Moroccan twilight enjoying the complete stillness of nature but for the sand buggies and motor scooters that are offered to sports enthusiasts. 

After the sun dipped behind the clouds, we got back on our camels and proceeded onwards to our camp site for the night. The ride was inordinately long and our butts were really sore by the time we got off. 

Camping under the Stars of the Western Sahara:

It was such an interesting experience to camp in the Western Sahara. I had thought that our camp site would be basically tents with dual sleeping bags. Imagine my surprise when I saw a full sized double bed with a wrought iron bed head! It had a full size mattress and thick blankets and looked very welcoming. Basically all we did was drop our things off and go outside to sit in the community area where we enjoyed drinks (mint tea) and roasted salted peanuts.

Dinner at the Camp Site:

At 8.00 pm, we were led into the dining room area where tables and places were properly set for our sit-down meal. Once again, we started off with platters of Moroccan 

Salad served with bread: tiny pieces of tomato and cucumbers with olives in a vinaigrette dressing. 

This was followed by a tajine of beef with dried peas and beaten eggs that was really very tasty and eaten again with bread. This, Abdul explained, is traditional and very simple Berber food. Dessert was a plate of fresh fruit—bananas and oranges. And that was it! It was not fancy but it was filling and good. Most interesting of all was the experience of it! How often in one’s lifetime does one get to dine out practically under the stars of the Sahara Desert? 

Entertainment Under the Stars:

Then followed the entertainment part of the evening with a group of Berber folk musicians pulling out rather basic drums and seating themselves in a group. They lit a massive fire in the center (which was very welcome as it was really cold) and invited us to join in the dancing. The other tour group had also camped at our site—we were about twenty folks, the other group led by Aziz. It was Abdul and Aziz who led us in dance. The whole group got up to enjoy the entertainment and we had a lot of fun as we stretched our legs and let our hair down. There was a traditional song they were singing in the background in Arabic and it had a rather catchy tune. 

This singing and dancing went on for about an hour—by which time we started fading and decided to return to our tents. 

It had been a most interesting and unusual day but we were ready to call it a night!

A Bientot!