It was another long road trip today. We stopped beside the highway at one point to admire the deep wells dug centuries ago to bring water from the High Atlas Mountains to the desert. Today the wells are largely empty but there are some world heritage groups that are planning to reinvigorate the wells so that they function again.
We also pulled over when we spotted a herd of camels. A woman and her young daughter came running over to ask for money, which we duly handed over. Our driver, Hisham, also gave the young girl a sweet sticky bun, which she happily bit into.
I could be wrong, but I think we also stopped to admire the Dades Valley, an oasis-like valley filled with palm trees and small farm plots. While taking photos our bus was mobbed by vendors wanting to sell us everything from photos with a camel to fossils to scarves and jewelry. There were still holding out goods as we drove away.
We had lunch at a restaurant in the Todra Gorges. Unfortunately several other tour buses pulled up and disgorged swarms of tourists, which made it difficult to get an unspoiled picture of the gorges and the surrounding area. I wandered up the road a bit after lunch and received compliments on my tattoo from several vendors. (Contrary to my expectations, Moroccans quite like my tattoo. It’s been quite a conversation starter on the trip.) I had a good chat with one vendor about Berber tattoos. As far as I can tell, only Berber women get tattoos. They are typically facial tattoos that identify their tribe or region.
We arrived at Ouarzazate (WHER-za-zat) quite late and really only had time to have a quick shower before heading to dinner and then to bed.
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