1C and Snow to 24C and Sand

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29th October 2024

What a drive. And, what a long drive. 385km.  Sat nav said it would take 6 hours 45, but it was 9 hrs travelling. Including a breakfast stop.
We know we will take longer than the Sat nav estimation as we are fully loaded, so go slow.  The aged Merc got up to 61mpg!

As we left Azrou at 7.00 in pitch black, we navigated around flocks of sheep being walked to market. We wondered how far some had come / how early they had started.  Tuesday is the proper farmers market.

One major factor in our slow pace was SNOW.  I’d seen a single snowflake on the weather forecast for 3.00.  But this was more than a single snowflake. It was a dump of about 5″.  The roads had obviously been salted, but there was the odd patch of icy stuff. We spotted one taxi that had bounced off both sides of the road. And 3 stationary snow ploughs. The snow barriers were manned, and we had a 30 min wait at one before they let the convoy of traffic through. Many of whom jostled like an F1 starting grid. Some interesting overtaking.

Not much habitation, but we saw droves of donkeys grazing on odd tufts. 

We had started in pitch black and watched the sun come up
As we started to descend, wide plains with distant mountains. Landscape changing colours
Thought we had left snow behind, but fortunately, not much near the road
The mosque is probably concrete, but lots of villages are made from mud.  I’d think they were deserted till I saw the washing

Around Midelt, we saw lots of piles of soil. Some reminiscent of coal mining slag heaps. Massive mineral mining. A side shoot is fossils. Museums and shops along the roD.

Gorge with majestic rocks. Not been to Arizona, but it looks like it.
Our first glimpse of the sand dunes
Our hotel is the highest around on a mound with views.  interesting to get to as the sat nav took us virtually off roading and scraping our undercarriage. Cosy Berber decoration. Mint tea on arrival.
A serene sand walk with Brian and Zoa, who arrived yesterday.  The desert has the same soothing effect as meditation. The colours with the shadows and smooth curves soothe your soul!
Early evening is when dromedary (one hump!) take guests to tent encampments for supper and star gazing. We did this in Jordan, so didn’t feel the need. Not sure how Corrie would have fared on a camel!

There were also all sizes and styles of dune buggies and jeeps charging up peaks of sand for the sunset. Apparently, tourist development here has tent encampments and hotels springing up weekly.

Meat and vegetable tagines at Brian’s campsite.  Yummy, but not the cheapest… sign of where we are.

Star gazing on Corrie’s last walk and I could see the milky way.

And so to bed; tired, happy and full

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