Even so, it is a stunning sunrise, a desert delight for our two travelling young ones.They were determined to get up early and have been rewarded with a memory of a lifetime. Singing ' We've seen the sunrise in the Morning and we've seen the stars in the night, we want to know that the van will start, We have just seen the Morning Light ' An old tune altered to fit!
Morning Storm, you look happy to be here! Sahara desert, sunrise with your Jaimie and more of the same to come. Well, it's not Bristol and work is it? Not that that's a bad thing, it's just been a very long, wet winter. Lovely to have some warm sunshine and wonderful experiences, helps dissolve the winter blues. So good to have you with us.
And that must be it! Sun risen, camel's waiting to take you back to the van and a day to get on with. After your breakfast we'll move back east in the direction of Tenrhir and no doubt have an adventure on the way!
But first it's time to mount that dromedary and walk with the shadows, hopefully well secured to that wobbly beast Mustapha? More than your job is worth to lose a tourist so he's sure to have done a good knot!
Come on lads, keep up, breakfast waiting.
In the distance is the campsite and hotels, all situated on the edge of the sand where the desert meets the hard black stones of the Hamada. Water, the essential ingredient, is brought via irrigation channels from wells which manage to be here. They are no doubt in the form of pipes now but as we find out later today, there was an older version of irrigation that goes back hundreds of years.
But first, we stop for a coffee at the desert oasis of Jorf. I call it an oasis because it is fed by waters from afar but is still a fertile jewel in the middle of a barren land.
Now stop chatting to the locals and buy those vegetables. We need to move on!
Mmmm, which skin is the best this fellow wonders. The flies are thick around him but he is not bothered. These fresh skins are lying on the floor next to the veg shop. Kilo of bananas and a goat skin please?
How much are those bananas? 180 what? Oh yes, rials. That's divide by 2 and take nought off, which equals 9 Dirhams a kilo!!! Most people in Morocco seem to delight in talking in this currency of rials? I have no idea why but it makes for a lot of laughter when a bill for a veg shop comes to 1000, that's divide by 2 and take a 0 off = 50 dirhams.
And on we go, a couple of kilometers or so and find this strange picnic spot with welcoming hosts, who leave us to our dinner, well almost, it seems they have been let down and a prepared tajine for four has been cooked and would we like it!! Well no, not really, our own food is ready and although it's very kind of you, we'll carry on. No problem, they say, after your meal, we'll give you the guided tour! To what we wonder, bon appetite.
Our van is parked in front of these strange earth mounds which we assume are some strange form of water hole?
Except they go on in straight lines for miles into the distance, literally miles! Row upon row of them seem to come from the east and head west towards Jorf. These 'picnic' stations are a way of getting us visitors to stop and find out what's going on. They are irrigation canals dug in the 11th century, we are told and our guided tour takes us down into the incredible coolness of these man made wonders.
The Hassim family own this picnic spot and have done so for years. There is even a photo of the King shaking hands with Papa Hassim in a tea tent outside. A great honour indeed. This is desert tourism in it's rawest form. It's very hot outside, very isolated and we hope they attract tourists to bring them income.
It's so cool down here in the canals, it must be 35 outside and it feels like spring in Wales! brrr I hear you mutter.
When the rains fell in distant mountains, these canals would fill up with water to feed the oasis at Jorf. They rarely run these days and Jorf must get it's water another way but this is how it was done for many centuries in this part of the dry world
Come on our two little miners, lets get back into the heat and move on to our next destination. As much as we would like to stay longer, there's a drive to do and it's melting up top.
Phew that's warm eh Storm? come on out of the sun and let's get on the road to...... The Todra Gorge!
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