We left our luxurious riad this morning at 9 after a fantastic breakfast. Here are some photos that show how nice our riad was . . . especially when you consider that it was out in the middle-of-nowhere, Morocco:
Then it was on to Ait Bennhadou, the nearby site of a Kasbah perched high on a hill with fantastic views all around overlooking the Ounila River valley. The site prides itself on being featured in several major movies, including Lawrence of Arabia (1961) and Gladiator (2001) as well as one James Bond movie. Here are some photos:
As we were taking that last picture, an old man advanced towards us with a satchel over his shoulder and a dollar bill in his hand. Then, from the satchel, he pulled out a snake and started toward Asha and Le General. Asha ran away. Le General walked swiftly in the opposite direction, but keeping her eyes on the snake and a smile on her face. "Berber snake! Berber snake!" the man declared as he advanced. Turns out, all the man wanted was to exchange his dollar bill into Dirhams. Ed gave him 10 Dirhams in exchange for the dollar. At 7-8 Dirhams to the dollar, the old man made out all right.
Then we drove to the city of Ouarzazate. It is a good-sized city, cleaner and more modern than others we have passed. Oddly, it is also the site of a film-making studio. Our driver thought we might enjoy a tour of the "studio," so we stopped and indulged him. It was a bad tour, and uninteresting. There, we said it! Something uninteresting happened. But it was "no problem" and we soon stopped at a roadside restaurant to recharge with cous cous, tagine, brochettes and Moroccan soup while we listened to a Berber man play an interesting instrument (tip: 10 Dirham). Did we mention that we are in the heart of Berber territory? Most people here are Berber.
From there, our driver soon took us off road into the rocky dessert -- onto little used dirt roads near the town of Skoura. Bump, bump, bumpety bump we went . . . . where were we going? What could be out here?
At about 3:30 p.m., we found ourselves at an oasis: Les Jardins de Skoura. An outrageously perfect riad -- again, in the middle of nowhere. This is the finest riad yet; and believe us, we are spoiled. The grounds are spectacular -- olive trees, hammocks, cushions and pillows everywhere, flowers, palm trees, figs, grapes, a swimming pool, and even pet donkeys, cats and a dog (unlike the vast majority of animals we have seen that are solely used for utilitarian purposes). Our two rooms are fantastic, we have been served rosemary tea and cookies, and we feel spoiled, spoiled, spoiled! Here are some pictures of our present accommodations:
It's just as well. Because tomorrow we take dromedaries into the desert at Erg Chebbi dunes and sleep in tents like nomads. Don't worry if you don't hear from us for a couple of days . . . . and wish us luck!
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