MOROCCO Part 2 - THE SAHARA - FEZ - CHEFCHAOUEN

TOWARDS THE SAHARA
Our next adventure will be a night in the Sahara Desert and riding camels.


 On our drive we pass towns growing palm tree dates,

Roses in the most unlikely places grown for perfume.

We travelled to Todra Gorges where we had lunch.

Water is precious in these areas. These people were filling water bottles and loading up donkeys. We hoped the restaurant wasn’t serving the water. A little further on washing day was in progress.

After lunch, we depart for Erfoud where we will leave the bus and we take jeeps to the oasis of Merzouga where we get our first taste of the Sahara.

On the way we pass Berber nomads camped on the plains. 

A very impressive entry statement to this house.



In one town where we stopped for a drink they were painting a lovely mural on the walls of a large soccer field.

We arrived in Merzouga and got into 4 wheel drive vehicles for a journey out to our overnight stay on the edge of the Sahara.

Soon we start seeing shifting dunes and the stoney desert.  We have noticed mobile phone tower wherever we travel.

As we leave the stoney desert we can see the sand dunes stretch infinitely into the horizon 

The colours are amazing.

Finally we arrive at the very impressive entrance of our camp in the desert. We spend the night in tents inside the compound at the door of the Sahara desert.

After settling in we took a walk out to look at the dunes and soon were running back to beat the sand storm.

We settled in for the night with everything covered in a fine layer of sand.

Our early wake up call came pretty quickly and it was off for our camel ride to see the sunrise from the dunes.

I let Kevin get on first then me and off we rocked and rolled out to the desert following the leader.

the Saharan sunrise is well worth the journey. It is absolutely breathtaking

We climbed the hill to see the sun rise and the dunes changed to a lovey rose colour.

Our guides took a rest.

While we were sitting back having a rest we spotted two women wandering the dunes on foot miles from anywhere. They were collecting grasses. Women’s work is never ending.

Soon it was time to head back to camp to start our journey to Fez.

Some of the group dismounted and walked back, said they were getting sea sick.

After breakfast we packed and went back in the 4 wheel drives to our bus to continue to Fez. No matter where we travel someone is walking somewhere.

On the way we pass a huge lake dammed to produce power. We can see the lines disappearing into the distance. Our guide tells us the new King has promised power and water to all.

The trucks and vans are so loaded up with goods. On this first truck we could just see the heads of some boys travelling on top. Our guide told us that they would be Berber nomads who use trucks instead of camels to move from place to place.

Others  were Moroccans returning from Europe for holidays and bringing goods for their families.

police had their stingers out as we pulled to a stop for a licence check.

The Atlas Mountains come into view again with snow on the caps.

Soon we stop in the Atlas cedar forests and we see the wild Atlas forest macaque (monkeys.)

While in the forest we met this lovely family.

FEZ

We leave for Fez, a beautiful city where Morocco’s rich tradition and culture are alive and well today.

 The oldest and grandest of Morocco’s four imperial cities, Fez is the most complete Islamic medieval city-centre in the world.

 

Fes Bazaar is world heritage listed and has the most medieval labyrinth with more than 9,400 streets that make it one of the most attractive parts of Fez. The distinctive professional trades that coexist here are distributed in different neighborhoods according to their specialty.

You buy anything here in neighborhoods of the craftsmen, pottery and metal makers and tailors.  Mirrors, perfumes,chickens, pigeons, silver, gold, slippers, sandals, drums, vegetables, fruits, pottery,ceramics, cast iron, herbs (nothing illegal), spices, King portraits, cereals, books, glassware and everything imaginable, anything really, it is all here.

The streets, winding and very narrow and as well as a guide we have a minder coming up the rear so we dont get lost.

Time for Lunch

Up and Down Alleys

Beautiful gates

Time for a rest

The donkeys’ constant clatter of carrying goods is broken by the cry of "balek" from the animals´ owner, alerting the pedestrians to “watch out” as the donkeys make their way through.

Our next stop was the World Heritage listed Dye Works which have been here since (forever) acording to the guide. We are given large bunches of fresh mint to hold over our nose to help with the smell.

Look carefully and you can see the workers in the big tubs.

Then it was into the factory or the hard sell of leather products.



Our next big stop was the Carpet Showroom.

The displays start with carpets we would need a ship to carry home, not a minibus.



One happy customer

Kevin and I were fortunate, the minder took us to see a girl making a hand knotted carpet in an upstairs room.

Fez has been the most amazing experience.

CHEFCHAOUEN
We leave Fes for our last town, Chefchaouen, it is a white and blue hanging village in the mountains, The sight of the blue in the distance as we came over the mountain was quite breathtaking.

We spent a few hours wandering around with a town guide.

While wandered around Kevin poked his nose into the local bakers where the townspeople brought their bread for him to bake.

Our guide took us to a wonderful restaurant. Blue decor of course.

We left Chefchaouen and drove north along the coast passing the spot where the Medditeranian meets the Atlantic and caught the ferry back to Tarifa where Harry was patiently waiting to explore the rest of Spain and Portugal.

 

 BYE BYE MOROCCO WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE TO VISIT