Keyboards and Camels in the Sahara

Blast - I JUST ZIPED OFF ALL MY TYPING AFTYER SPENDING 20 MINS OF MY 30 LOGGING ON. You can see that keys are in different places so I make errors - no time to fix. Our hotel is magnificent, looks like a posh kasbah with swimming pool and much atmosphere. Today we collected a local guide zho took us to a factory zhere they clean fossils and cut sheets of marble filled fossils into ostentacious furniture. Then to a huge market (souk) at Rissani. we were shown hoz to make mint tea and I bought a little carpet made by nomadic berbers - fun haggling in a big merchants place.
The food is marvellous and I am about to have my second swim in the beautiful pool. This arvo ze go to the desert in jeeps and I will have a camel to take me to a high dune for the sunset.
whoopee. o dear this keyboard
The people are lovely. Our guide today, Abdul Ali told us about the blue men of the sahara - he is one and zore his blue boo boo and blue turbin ( 7 metres material) The indigo is also rubbed into the face in the desert to save the skin from burning, hence their name blue men.















Sahara Spectacular
After our wonderful day in Rissani with Abdul Ali, who in his daily life is a teacher, we returned to the Hotel Kasbah Tizimi in Erfoud (it reminded me of the Cable Beach Resort in some ways) and prepared for our evening trip into the Sahara - cameras in plastic bags and head / face coverings. There were 9 vehicles waiting for us and I was lucky to be in with all my friends - Irene, Jan, Derrys and Flo. That meant lots of relaxed chat.
First the tour went to a local peak where we could look over the valley while Graham (Aziz) explained much of the history of the area in his inimitable way. Always a great performer, he interspersed his humorous presentation with incredibly informative detail, particularly including cultural and local knowledge.
Then, after following the highway for some time, we turned cross country and the landrovers spread out across the desert, what a sight it was to look across at the speeding vehicles. We stopped at a small village of mud houses (each with a solar panel on the roof - to charge the inevitable mobile phones?) Some children had run across to the cars as we approached and Aziz helped a couple to pile into his - we then proceeded to their home - a Berber tent in the middle of nowhere - this was a family of goatherds and obviously getting a ride with Aziz was not unexpected. He paid compliments to the mother, delivered the fresh vegies he had bought for them at the Risani souk that morning and explained to us their lifestyle; his generosity allowed us the privelege of looking around.

Back in the cars, some little time later we arrived at a smart looking kasbah in a flat area of the desert with dunes evident in the near distance. There was a cluster of brown berber tents, a 'park' of tethered camels and a group of men in blue and white. Here we were. After a demonstration of how to mount, we were led off in single file across the dunes which gradually increased in size. Our destination was a large dune an hour or so away, where we would sit and watch the sun go down over the Sahara. What a romantic notion. The camels were 'parked' in a sheltered drepression and with the help of our small but strong guides, we clambered up the unexpectedly steep dune to join more groups of people in our sandblasted wait for sundown.
The fun-loving young Berbers created toboggans for many by tugging them at speed back down the dune on camel blankets. Great fun! We were invited in to the kasbah to enjoy a glass of wine or softdrink and peanuts (thanks Aziz) and we were entertained by the young fellows who had taken us out into the desert. They came in as each finished tending his animals; we were all invited to join in their music and dancing.
Finally it was time for the return journey through the desert in the landrovers and I was given the front seat - I loved it, the headlights picked out the terrain as the vehicles once again spread out across a kilometre of land for the drive. Thrilling. Before reaching Erfoud, the cars made one more stop to allow us a magical view of the night sky. Aziz thinks of everything.

After Sahara - The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs from Erfoud to Ouzazate
This was a very long day on the road and Aziz later said it's where some people succumb to travel sickness. Noone in our group had that problem, but for me the day ended with equal symptoms caused by an unfortunate food experience. We were well informed by our intrepid tour leader about the use of tamarisk trees and basket fences and pens to slow the advance of the sand. The more fascinating information was about the underground irrigation system, vital to this country which is very fertile and can grow dates, henna, alfalfa for animals, okra, quinces, figs etc. However, in this area, new dams have stopped the refill of these systems and so they are dry, crops fail.The bus took us through ancient towns like Si Jilmassa, 8th century, now in ruins, was 14km long and an independent city state,was the centre for caravans on the Salt Road (trading spices for salt). For lunch we turned off the main road for 40km to Tinerhir in a gorge on the Toddra River. The obvious development of the town was fascinating in comparison to the crumbling ruins of the old ksar (walled town) and more simple houses that line the roads. Here grow olives, figs and almonds. The walls of the Toddra Gorge are 300 m high and we stopped to eat at the Hotel des Roches, which was one of many building cut into the side of the cliffs. Unfortunately, my meal appeared to be reheated and caused me extreme illness for the next 24 hours. after we had returned to the highway a couple of hours later. Unfortunately I had to stop the bus 3 times and I was pleased to crawl into bed in the hotel at Ouzazate (pronounced Wa-za-zat)where we were to stay only one night. This is an important centre for movie making, not of great interest to me so I did not regret missing the few activities there.