Morocco… Is Awesome!!

After our not-so-brief stop over in the desert, we headed out to the mountain gorges to do some hiking and climbing.  Oh man, I didn’t anticipate that I would fall in love with yet another region in Morocco.  The views, the hikes, the fresh air, the food and the peace and quiet had me hooked. 

The view of the valley from our guesthouse. Ah, the valley was so beautiful, so peaceful and picturesque.  At night we would wrap ourselves in blankets, take a seat on the rooftop terrace and watch the millions of crystal clear stars in perfect, peaceful darkness.

Some sweet ass rocks.  I really enjoyed scrambling through the cliffs and canyons because the rocks surfaces were very, very grippy.  None of those slippery, sand covered cliffs we encountered in Jordan, or the loose treacherous shale rocks in the Okanagan. It made for more sure-footedness which allowed us to hike up more difficult sections.

Dan and I checking out the view after a crazy rock scrambling escapade.
On the left, the valley, on the right- the rock formations called ‘Monkey Fingers’

River. Poplar trees. Oleander Bushes. Bliss.

  A snap on our trek of the Canyon. At this time of year it is not possible to hike through past this point, but during spring, summer and fall, it is easily hike-able with only a few required swims. Next time.

These are the hikes that I love.  A little scrambling, some valleys, and even a few waterfalls.  This waterfall was so beautiful and the water was clean and tasty as it flowed from an underground spring.

A nice fall day in the valley.  The Berber people use a combination of Poplar trees and bamboo to build the roofs of their houses.

An old Kasbah in one of the little villages within the gorge.  I can’t say that I knew what a Kasbah was until we came to Morocco.  Now I know what that song means ;)

Dan and I hitching a ride from our guesthouse in the gorge to Boumalne de Dades to catch the bus to the big city.  Yes Moms, hitching is the norm out here and as such, it is safe and easy.

This snap was taken through the window of the bus on our way from Boumalne to Marrakech.  Lovely, I know but I didn’t think that I would encounter Laos-like roads in Morocco.  Of course, like any other bus trip we have taken, there was more than one person heaving, but I had no problem happily looking out the window at the scenery…until.  Not half an hour after saying “ I don’t get car sickness” did I find myself feeling nauseous as our large bus weaved and wound through narrow, snaking mountain roads.  It was like a carnival ride, the bus windows were large and clean and allowed me a un-obscured, uninterrupted view of the horrendous, gruesome death that awaited me just over the cliff edge if the driver turned the wheel just slightly the wrong way.  The stress took 5 years off my life.