No Regrets!

Just before getting on the bus to leave Aït Ben Haddou, I offered some of my festering leftover food to a couple of stray dogs in front of our hotel. The first one was enthusiastic and got jumpy as I approached with a food container. She got the remains of a chicken pastilla and absolutely loved it. The second dog looked just as hungry but scampered off any time I got close, so she missed out. The first dog became my best friend and wanted to follow me back into the hotel and onto the bus.

The drive to Marrakesh took us through the Atlas Mountains, a mix of igneous, metamorphic, and intricately layered and folded sedimentary rock. Several sections of road have been closed off due to what looks like recent rockfalls, maybe due to the earthquake last September. There’s no snow here during the summer, but Mohamed says there’s lots in the winter. (more…)

Morning found us walking through the narrowest crevice of the expansive Todra Gorge, where we found lots of people living in tents, makeshift tables and stalls with souvenirs, and the spring source of the Todra River. I asked Mohamed if we could drink the water directly from the spring, but he assured me that it would make me sick. Apparently the pathogens in Morocco water come from the source and not from the water treatment plants, as I suspected.

Mohamed is good. Friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. At each of our stops, he shares facts and history, and on the bus, he’ll do the same over the microphone. But it’s always low-key. Maybe it’s just not in his culture to be high-energy and enthusiastic.
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We and a family of noisy doves woke up to watch the sun rise over the sand dunes of the Sahara. Pretty cool.

The 4×4 Land Cruiser tour was not quite the adrenaline ride up and down sand dunes I imagined. It was a more gentle tour of camel pens, a desert oasis, and more views of the dunes. Along the edge of the dunes is a string of sand-colored hotels and resorts, and there is a strong cellular and wifi everywhere. I didn’t realize this area would be so developed.

The dunes and surrounding landscape are a palette of faded orange and gray. The orange comes from the color of the nearby Atlas Mountains, but the grayish black rocks are still a mystery to this amateur geologist. Expansive plains strewn with these black rocks make this area look like the surface of another planet. Unfortunately, the landscape is also littered with garbage, mostly empty water bottles.
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After enjoying our Fès hotel breakfast of eggs, potatoes, pastries, and the ubiquitous yellow melon, we got piled into the bus for the long drive south to the Sahara. Mohamed said the drive would be about nine hours. It was a cool, clear, beautiful morning in Fès, a nice send-off for us.

As we made our way south, trees gradually disappeared, replaced by desolate scrubland. Then scrubland and hills started to give way to higher mountains that our roads had to wind around. After were about a mile in elevation, things began to level off into rugged high plains.
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On our way to Fès, we drive through some rolling hills before pulling off the road for a quick stop. Perched atop one of these rolling hills were historical Roman ruins in a place called Volubilis. We stepped out of the van into the blazing sun, 102° F and humid. We composed ourselves in the shade of a tree screaming with crickets as our guide explained to us how the ruins are all that remain of a larger city of 15,000 people that existed sometime around the 1st century. We were shown well-preserved mosaics in the floors of former residences and some columns and arches that are still standing.
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Our morning taxi to Hassan II Mosque was a great way to beat the heat. The driver was friendly and the unmetered fare was reasonable.

We got tickets for the mosque museum, grounds, and tour. Decorative arches and buttresses covered the doorways and ceilings of the museum. Lindsay marveled at the colorful and intricate wood carvings, brass engravings, and tile mosaics. I was blown away by the photographic opportunities outside as we approached the mosque.
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I’ve been very fortunate to have done a lot of traveling over the years, and my country bucket list is growing shorter and shorter. Remaining in the top tier are Japan, China, Turkey, and Morocco. With work and life making it hard to take the several week-, month-, or year-long adventures I used to take, I have accepted that I’m going to have to take shorter trips to these places if I am to visit them at all. The only thing that’s been missing is a travel partner. Sure, I could do these trips alone, but after completing my fair share of solo travel over the years, I’ve found that it’s now more fun to take these kinds of trips with someone I enjoy.
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