The ride to the airport was uneventful. Now the story takes a twist. Joan had cleverly chosen Europcar's airport location as the pickup because a) it was in the direction we intended to drive and b) because it would avoid us having to drive through the city from the downtown depot. Good in theory, failure in practice - the airport depot has no cars! The man at the airport desk noted my height and told me that he was changing us to a vehicle I could actually fit into, at no extra charge - much appreciated. Naturally, this occasioned a delay. And of course we had to go to the city depot. After formalities were completed, with a sevenfold precharge on the card, they shuttled us back to the city depot.
We were soon underway though, with clear and simple directions for catching the road to Ouarzazate. Traffic wasn't that bad and my navigator kept a sharp watch for potential problems. There were policemen every hundred metres or so for the first five kilometers, occasioning more curiosity than concern. Initially the drive was along dead flat uninteresting terrain with walls blocking off views of anything remotely interesting. One surprising thing was that the road was lined with gum trees, most with substantial trunks, but severely trimmed of their upper branches. We have now seen eucalypts in India, Turkey, Peru and California.
Soon we arrived at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, with a gentle ascent. The road was good but nothing like a picture postcard we had seen of what must have been a different pass. We were heading over the Tizy N Tichka pass. Almost as soon as we started climbing, we saw roadside sellers and stalls of crystals and fossils, and this continued all the way through the mountains, almost 100 Km. Many of the crystals were bright red or orange - probably just quartz adulterated by some chemical process. Bob C would have known. We only stopped once early on at a lookout to the west whence we had come. That was one of the better looking parts of the traverse. On the whole it was a desolate, uninteresting landscape because it was just an unappealing sequence of greys and browns - very little vegetation, although we passed through many villages. This is not the Alps. We did see a number of snow covered peaks but were disappointed that the top of the pass was not a well-defined spot and we couldn't be sure where it was. The descent was equally long but still quite gentle.
The car - a Dacia Logan (by Renault), 1.4L diesel, gave me concern because it had developed fits and starts which seemed to become more frequent the higher we ascended. A fuel problem, I thought.
After the mountains we were in gently undulating terrain that was very dry and warm. We had miscalculated as to the clothes required, expecting cool to cold conditions. The whole day visibility had been poor - a lot of haze. In this area it became much worse, with dust blowing about.
We came to the first turn-off to Ait Ben Haddou, but it was a rough dirt track. We decided to attempt it anyway, not knowing any better, and thinking it was the only one. A local walking across the terrain hailed us and told us that this was the 4WD track and that we should not use it. The main turn-off was a further 5 or 6 Km down the main road. We thanked him and turned around, whereupon he hailed us again. It transpired that he was returning to ABH and could we give him a lift. We declined.
We found the turn-off in the next town. This was our first experience of the one-lane roads we had read about, where you must put one set of wheels onto the shoulder to let other vehicles pass. We had to do this a number of times but it was no big deal - just slow down and pick your diversion point carefully. The latter is important because sometimes there are deep furrows that would rip a wheel off if you hit them. These were usually marked by small piles of stones at the edge of the tarmac.
ABH is a Kasbah, an old fortified town. This one was in good shape, having been extensively restored. To get to it you have to cross the river from the new, commercial part of town. There are donkeys and quad bikes to take you across for a few dollars, but we elected the traditional way - barefoot. Apparently there are stepping stones somewhere but it is rumoured the locals removed them to generate revenue. The crossing was easy, the water being less than knee-deep. Getting the shoes off and back on was a tricky balancing job - we had to lean against each other.
Each of the buildings is a mini-castle of its own. They are all, like most non-modern buildings, made of mud and straw. We climbed to the top of one at the entrance and it afforded good views of the lower Kasbah. We ascended a series of switchbacks to get to the top of the hill which was surrounded by concentric walls for further protection. Like people everywhere, they must have coveted their neighbours to require such measures. The hill is topped by a lone structure whose purpose was not clear. It didn't seem defensive, but perhaps was for grain storage. Once up there, a fierce wind sprang up, causing havoc with our hats and my photography. The view was great, but as noted earlier, very hazy. The surrounding land was bleak away from the river and of varied yellow orange and red hues. The river flats were used for extensive cultivation with minor irrigation channels.
The drive to Ouarzazate, once back on the main road, was along a very good road which became very wide and even better as we entered the outskirt of the city (bigger than I had expected). Our main concern was finding the turnoff to our lodgings in Talmasla. All went well, with the route being well signposted. Dar Daif / Dar Bladi are two parts of the same establishment located in the ruins of another casbah. We're on the top floor with a terrace outside our door affording views of an adjacent minaret complete with stork's nest. Ouarzazate / Talmasla is on the shore of a lake, which is probably where the storks catch their frogs.
After been shown our room and having meal arrangements explained and agreed, by our most charming host Reda, we went for a walk through the green fields to the edge of the water. A group of Dutch bird watchers had set up there with big telescopes. The chap we spoke to enumerated about ten different birds they had observed, including something he had trouble getting the English word for - harrier. This was dusk, after 6pm, with the setting sun masked by the omnipresent haze, giving a moody but peaceful feeling. On our way back we were delighted to see a flock of storks passing overhead. That was a first.
Dinner was Moroccan soup followed by a lamb couscous, a fruit salad accompanied by a herbal tea. No grog, yet again. The meal was excellent, the best we've had to date.
A personal note about my various ailments (not for the squeamish)
Before we left Sydney I had stubbed my big toe, breaking the toenail leaving a sharp spur on the side where it could dig into the flesh. It soon became infected, and after a few days it became sore, with puss oozing out. Joan had insisted I bring the Bactroban along, just on spec, and it came in very handy, reducing and maybe eliminating the infection after three days. I used elastoplast to keep the ointment in place where it was needed.
Several days ago in Marrakech, while toweling my foot on the bathroom counter (made of stone). My foot slid off, hitting the maleus (bottom of the tibia) on the edge - quite painful. This swelled up after an hour or so and caused some little discomfort while walking. Fortunately the swelling subsided and it is sore only to the touch now.
While walking along the rough surface of the Marrakech alleys, my left footy rolled over, but while causing some initial pain, it was not a sprain - praise be to Allah.
Last night, while removing the (high quality - very sticky) elastoplast from the big toe, a part of the skin from the bottom was torn off as well, requiring yet more repairs.
The most troublesome issue is my eyes- it seems the incipient cataracts that the ophthalmologist detected may have manifested themselves in a more concrete fashion. Since yesterday I've experienced difficulty in getting both eyes to accommodate in synchrony, or so it seems. Not a real problem yet, but time will tell.
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