Tag Archives: Tinghir

Gorging

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30th October 2024 …

Lovely hotel breakfast is a good start to the day. Most left untouched as too much and too sweet, but liked the savoury hot flat breads.
Our hotel was the Kasbah Panorama.  The only one on a mound with views of the dunes. Very traditional decor, but comfortable.  £30, bnb.

We were later than planned to leave the hotel as we chatted to a French lady, married to a Canadian, living in New York. She was travelling solo to try to cope with grieving. She’d lost her mother to brain cancer in August and her 42 year old sister only a month ago, also to brain cancer.  She had thought for years about having a retirement plan / home.   Now thinks travelling and experiencing is the way to go.

We thought we were getting omelette for lunch, but delicious tagine of veg with poached eggs. And a no cook day as Brian cooked tonight.  Yay.

I was so taken by this dish that I thought about buying a tagine. But I could do this in a slow cooker.  I do NOT need more kitchen gadgets.

I am still reeling from the amazing scenery from yesterday. Nothing will ever beat that. EVER. But today did not disappoint.

This green is schist, not flora

Amazing colours and textures. But initially, so barren. Not life supporting.  As we approached our destination, Tinghir, lots of palm date plantations.

Lovely walk up a wide dry river bed with Brian and Zoa. Ladies carrying bundles of leaves up.  Two laden donkeys, but all ladies, and one small girl, all laden. Bent over.  Baa … we established the greenery was to feed the sheep.

And we’re back in the tent for 3 nights.  Glad we brought an electric heater, as the evening has turned chilly.

31st October  – Todra Gorge and Palm Oasis

Brian poorly, so we took Zoa. We started with a 7km walk in the date palm oasis. After 20 mins, Zoa settled and stopped trying to go back and look for Brian. The palm oasis is basically  a long fertile valley.   Lots of predominantly women working the fields. A really lovely shady walk.

We had expected it to just be palm trees.  But most of it was small fields (really small) with a massive network of paths and irrigation channels.
Plasterwork and decoration
We skirted the deserted mud village.
Twice we had to wade and J wouldn’t remove his shoes … guess whose shoes are now sodden!  Zoa looked for fish.

We drove up the Todra Gorge. Busses and coaches disgorged (!) tourists at the bottom and waited for them at the end. One side was wall to wall sellers.

It was actually a main road, and we headed up, intending to drive to the next town 26km away for lunch. The road got slower and slower as the surface got worse and worse. At that rate, it would have been dinner time before we ate. And I’d promised Brian salmon fish cakes. About turn. Found a good place for lunch. And into Tinghir for a little shopping in the main dirt track street.

1st November – Easy day

Brian much better, so we walked to the Palm Oasis from the campsite. Of course, there was more river crossings. J had to remove his trainers as he’d no other dry shoes. Brian sensibly wore wellies and I’d walking sandals to slip off.

This time we were higher than the mud village and then back through the valley

Two properties had been rebuilt. Presumably, locals still own the derelict buildings and plot of land. It’s amazing how mud houses could support 3 storeys. Reading, they need repair and work annually.
More women carrying massive bails of foliage on their backs up the sides of the valley. One lady explained she does this daily to feed sheep and a cow. She makes cheese.  When we have seen men with foliage, they’ve had a donkey.
60c equivalent for 3 ice creams on a stick. 2 mint tea and a coke at the campsite €4.  Dinner out in Tinghir.

JEZ UPDATE

He is fixed. Hooray. Much quicker than anticipated. The insurance even paid for the hab door to be repaired … wouldn’t lock. The only problem is that the repairer will charge £50 per week to store it, and we’re not back until Christmas.  The insurance broker has agreed that we can store it at a 5 pitch site that we regularly use in Chichester. Normally, they state that any storage has to be cassoa Gold storage compounds. Hard to find and also expensive.  Great result as a) it’s a LOT cheaper and b) it will be where we want him for when we get back.  I have asked, out of curiosity, what the repair bill was. We only pay £500 excess.