FES to ERFOUD

We left Fes early and hit the road for Erfoud, which is about 400kms south east of Fes and fairly close to the Algerian border. We had a lot of stops in the mountains to take photos of the river valleys and so on, but it was largely just a long road trip. We stopped in one village to take photos of a ksar, or fortified village, and got mobbed by local children. That was quite fun. I also befriended a “Kitler” at one of the gas station rest stops. I wanted to bundle him up and take him home with me, he was such a friendly fellow.

Our hotel in Erfoud, the Xaluca, was pretty amazing. It reminded me a lot of the hotel we stayed at in Douz in Tunisia. It had a really strong desert theme and a gorgeous swimming pool in the center of the hotel complex. As soon as we got to our room and collected our luggage from the porter, I dug out my swimsuit and hit the pool.

Of course, it took a few tries to get my full body into the pool. It was a balmy 12C night but the pool had cooled off substantially since the afternoon and it felt like I was wading into ice water at first. When I finally dove in it was a shock but I got over it in a minute or two. It was magical to swim in the lighted pool, at night, all by myself.

The highlight of dinner was a wee white camel, who was led into the restaurant by his handler. He just stood there placidly while we all ooohed and aaahed. He drank from a bottle of water, then promptly pooped on the carpet. The staff discretely swept up the mess, and after a few more minutes of paparazzi flash bulbs the handler turned the baby camel around and led him out and, I assume, home for the night.