Sahara Rocks - Day 1

Day 1 - Not What I expected

Morrocco...

What do I know about Morrocco?

Not much...

It has The Sahara... a very big desert... with proper sand dunes... ... thats about it...

which was fine, as this time the trip was organised for me. It felt a bit strange... not having a detailed idea of how it was all going to go. Normally I have a detailed plan A with a sketchy plan b and c.

So I crawled out of my bed at the airport, having had very little sleep. My room sharer who shall remain nameless had set her alarm for 0200. yikes. I did manage a little bit more of a doze after that but given that we needed to be in the hotel lobby at 0430, it wasn't much.

Check in, security and getting to the gate, via a really awful breakfast at Weatherspoons, was seamless and straighforward and the 4 hour flight passed uneventfully.

Morrocco..! 1st time in mainland Africa for me and the heat hit us as soon as we got off the plane. Blazing sunshine, blue skies, palm trees... no torrential rain (sorry uk friends). It was bliss.

We met up with friends from across the pond, most of whom I hadn't seen in a few years and there was a cacophany of sound as those who knew each other caught up and those who didn't introduced themselves around.

We piled onto 3 minibuses and set off on the journey to the 'gateway to the Sahara'.. Ouazazate (might not be spelt like that)

Whilst some of the others were not so enamored with the thought of a 4 hour (at least that was how it was billed) journey in cramped minibuses, I was actually looking forward to it. I have done a few longer distance foreign bus rides, Madagasgar, Costa Rica, Ecuador and they give you a great overview of the country and staring out of the window provides hours of scenery and people watching entertainment.

This journey was no exception. As we left Marrakesh, the Atlas mountains shimmered in the distance, inviting thoughts of other possible adventures that could be had.

The roads were wide and seemingly deserted once we got past the outskirts. There was a generous cycle/motorbike lane on either side of the road and more than once I saw a donkey, laden with goods or pulling a cart along utilising it.

The scenery was reminicent of the american midwest and I had to remind myself that I was on the African continent. As we got further from Marakesh the landscape changed... the land rose higher, the riverbeds dried up leaving the palms withering and brown. The road itself was a masterpiece, grey tarmac winding its way up through the dry canyons carved out by a river that had once run powerful but had now all but disappeared. As we wound our way up and round I wished I had bought my road bike but filed that in the box in my head  marked 'for another time'.

Away from the city, the houses stood largely unfinished or so it seemed. Habitated perhaps waiting for the occupiers to earn enough money to add a second floor. They were basic and functional for the conditions they withstood. Small windows to minimize the heat and the sun shining through.

The people here were clearly not well off. In some countries it is the rich that occupy the mountain slopes. Here the poorer scratched out an existance.

In some places there was evidence of small subsistence farming, a few greener spots in the oasis of brown and grey dust that made up the landscape. Yet the rocks rose up in imposing forms, carved and majestic. If they had stood in america it would have been the site of a parking lot and a visitor centre with a $20 entrance fee.

Many parts reminded me of the canyonlands, the colour of rock the same, just a different continent.

The journey was a long one and although punctuated by several stops, one which involved a lot of exchanging money by many members of the group... for alcohol that I think. we were all glad to reach our hotel. I had enjoyed the minibus journey more than some others for whom the constant bends had induced motion sickness... but I had prett. much hit a wall!  My head was pounding and I crawled into bed without a thought about food.

Tomorrow was another long day... a journey into the desert to begin our trek.