Day 6 - 28 December 2008
Trip Start
Dec 23, 2007
1
7
16
Trip End
Jan 07, 2008
Erfoud,
Morocco
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Gorge Du Ziz
. Here we were entertained by a large group of Macaque monkeys who were quite dismissive of their appreciative audience. Then, into Berber sheep-raising country to Timadite, and over the Col du Zad.
Later we cross the Tizi N'Tairhemt 'Camel Pass' a tunnel cut through the mountain by French Legionnaires, and continued via the Gorge du Ziz to ErRachidia, across a broad plateau past Meski Oasis, the so-called 'Blue Spring' which borders the desert, and on to Erfoud. Was amusing when we stopped and walked along part of the Camel Pass, as one of the guys decided he would climb up into the rocks across the road to answer a call of nature. He was an Aussie who sounded just like Cliff Richard and had plenty to say for himself and an opinion on everything. Everytime he thought he had found a private place, screened from view, somebody shouted "We can see you!" There was no hiding place and I can only imagine he ended up tying a knot in it until we made an impromtu stop at a café 20 minutes drive away. Mind you, for the first time since the beginning of the tour, he stopped talking.
Quite a tiring drive and it was good to get to the hotel. The Hotel Salam was cute, the rooms in a quadrangle with gardens in the centre. Good size room and warm which was a bonus as the nights were freezing here. I liked the fact there was a table and seating area in the room
Gorge du Ziz, near Camel Pass
. We had a really nice buffet style meal in the hotel and decided to venture to the shops outside the hotel to try to find a carpet shop that we had been told about. Layla, an Aussie living in Paris, had failed to buy a carpet in Fes despite making the poor carpet seller drag out every carpet in his shop, only for her to dismiss them, so was keen to visit this shop. Deja vue as we watched her sit there for over an hour while the desperate carpet man vainly tried to clinch a sale. Our patience ran out and we went back to the hotel, Layla eventually followed - carpet less. Entered the bar intending to have a drink but it was full of men and the air was thick with smoke. Disappointed we went to our rooms. Was about to get ready for bed when there was a knock at the door - Kim and Cara with a couple of bottles of wine. Result! We settled in the comfy seating area in my room and Kim and I started on the first bottle of wine, a brand we had been drinking regularly, and Cara drank her beer. Then we started on the second bottle which was a brand unknown to us. To be honest, it tasted dreadful but as we were merry and wine is hard to come by in these parts; we carried on drinking it anyway. They left after a couple of hours and I crashed into bed and after a short while of watching the room spin, fell into a restless sleep. Not for long though. By 2am I was sitting on the toilet with my head in the sink, both ends in action so to speak. I thought I was going to die.
Comments
Excellent
Incredibly funny and beautifully written. Your experience in the Hammam in Medina and your self exposure in the desert at night with a spade in your hand was well worth the read.
Thank you for making me laugh