We are having a day out! Rissani is 30 kms north of the dunes and used to be the last place you could drive to before a 4x4 was needed. It's an old frontier town of moderate size which was used to having all the tourists staying there. It still has a bit of a hangover from that and the first half hour can be a bit taxing as tout after tout hassles for your attention and money. But once they get used to you, they leave you alone and a very vibrant covered market, becomes warm, friendly and full of all things interesting. We happened to arrive as several tour buses were unloading their fresh faced cargo of money laden day trippers, no doubt heightening the touts state into one of extreme excitement! A poor time to arrive!
Once we were settled, we ambled through real peoples stalls full of ordinary produce like food, tools, clothes, meat, carpenters, shoe makers, reed workers and on it goes. I bought a pair of very ordinary hand made shoes! nails still very visible and 'Michelin' for soles. 50 Dhm, bargain and genuine.
Hand made bowls, like the one Jaimie is holding can be picked up for too little money! They are very beautiful, Jaimie and bowl!!
And as so many locals must be up at 5 am to pray!!! ( like?? ), it's not uncommon to find a sleeping shopkeeper, possibly with one eye open! careful Storm photographer, he might be watching! Mmmmm lovely olives.
Rows and rows of fresh fruit and vegetables line alleyways, spoilt for choice the interaction between seller and buyer usually decides on which stall and how much you buy from them. Jaimie looks a real picture here taken by her beau.
Fill that bucket up!! It's such fun and so very cheap for us and with our Jaimie being a healthy vegetarian extraordinaire, she's like a kid in a sweet shop!
So time for some lunch and a charming chap says his home run restaurant is just what we need. And it is. We are hungry and sometimes you have to let your guard down and trust locals. Well worth it too as the views and food were perfect. Cooked there and then, no fast food here, we eat our lunch with a vista over the town and shade from the hot sun.
Shade is so important here in Morocco, especially in the Sahara. We find ourselves drying out in no time at all, as the sun and sand suck all moisture out of anything that, well, has moisture!
But we love being here, eh Jaimie! Yeah Pop, it's amazing,so interesting and a million miles from home.
Smile for the camera, no come on, not like that, a proper smile not an advert for dentures, now, how about it.
Smile
Well ok, that looks pretty cool. You all look gorgeous and it's a holiday snap to treasure. Like so many of the images from these trips, memories, reminders, how lucky we are to have each other and these times together.
So we call it a day and head back to the van. Krysia is so taken with all things Moroccan that she's even carrying the rucksack on her head, normal in these parts.
It's very hot too, so we take to the pool as soon as we get back to our campsite, which is really a hotel with camping facilities, called Kanz Erremal.
and what camping facilities they are.
Welcome to the Hotel California that is Hotel Merzouga. It's a lovely place, it's a lovely place.
as the sun goes down, we know we'll be moving on tomorrow. it's been a lovely place!!
whoops, there goes a 4x4 across the dunes, there's always a challenge in anywhere beautiful and here, it is quad bikes and occasional 4x4's but hey, a small price to pay for this magical place.
Goodnight Merzouga and your beautiful dunes.
Once we were settled, we ambled through real peoples stalls full of ordinary produce like food, tools, clothes, meat, carpenters, shoe makers, reed workers and on it goes. I bought a pair of very ordinary hand made shoes! nails still very visible and 'Michelin' for soles. 50 Dhm, bargain and genuine.
Hand made bowls, like the one Jaimie is holding can be picked up for too little money! They are very beautiful, Jaimie and bowl!!
And as so many locals must be up at 5 am to pray!!! ( like?? ), it's not uncommon to find a sleeping shopkeeper, possibly with one eye open! careful Storm photographer, he might be watching! Mmmmm lovely olives.
Rows and rows of fresh fruit and vegetables line alleyways, spoilt for choice the interaction between seller and buyer usually decides on which stall and how much you buy from them. Jaimie looks a real picture here taken by her beau.
Fill that bucket up!! It's such fun and so very cheap for us and with our Jaimie being a healthy vegetarian extraordinaire, she's like a kid in a sweet shop!
So time for some lunch and a charming chap says his home run restaurant is just what we need. And it is. We are hungry and sometimes you have to let your guard down and trust locals. Well worth it too as the views and food were perfect. Cooked there and then, no fast food here, we eat our lunch with a vista over the town and shade from the hot sun.
Shade is so important here in Morocco, especially in the Sahara. We find ourselves drying out in no time at all, as the sun and sand suck all moisture out of anything that, well, has moisture!
But we love being here, eh Jaimie! Yeah Pop, it's amazing,so interesting and a million miles from home.
Smile for the camera, no come on, not like that, a proper smile not an advert for dentures, now, how about it.
Smile
Well ok, that looks pretty cool. You all look gorgeous and it's a holiday snap to treasure. Like so many of the images from these trips, memories, reminders, how lucky we are to have each other and these times together.
So we call it a day and head back to the van. Krysia is so taken with all things Moroccan that she's even carrying the rucksack on her head, normal in these parts.
It's very hot too, so we take to the pool as soon as we get back to our campsite, which is really a hotel with camping facilities, called Kanz Erremal.
and what camping facilities they are.
Welcome to the Hotel California that is Hotel Merzouga. It's a lovely place, it's a lovely place.
as the sun goes down, we know we'll be moving on tomorrow. it's been a lovely place!!
whoops, there goes a 4x4 across the dunes, there's always a challenge in anywhere beautiful and here, it is quad bikes and occasional 4x4's but hey, a small price to pay for this magical place.
Goodnight Merzouga and your beautiful dunes.
No comments:
Post a Comment