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Day three, October 24
Todra Gorge
Plan:
There is a full day to walk in the magnificent gorge of the Todra river and relish one of Morocco's most famous beauty spots. Heading into the heart of the gorge beneath magnificent vertical cliffs rising up to 300m on either side, there are a number of different routes that we can take, depending on the group's wishes.
The floods had subsided enough so that we could walk through the gorge without getting our feet drenched. We had breakfast in the dining lounge, then set out for a four hour hike in the mountains adjacent to the gorge. It was very scenic and hot, and I was finally glad to have brought a pair of shorts! We walked upwards for quite a while before resting on a plateau. The way up was rocky, and you had to be sure-footed not to twist your ankles or knees. I think we requested more breaks than Andy wanted, but we made it after an hour and a half.
We stopped on the plateau and had a wee snack. We then had the choice to climb even higher to get another view of the surrounding area - I chose to only climb up half way, being winded and tired at this point. We saw a man and his donkey walking through along the very narrow paths and wondered where he had come from, and where he might be going... We returned to the plateau, and headed towards another scenic view. We saw a shepherd's rest stop where we could hear a dog barking, and we were approached by a few children wanting a dirham, a candy or a pen from us... Again, where did they come from? Were they just waiting for us?...
The way back down was a bit more difficult because our leg muscles were already tired from the hike up. (I might just be speaking for myself here though...) We got a bit disoriented on the way down and weren't sure if we were following our original path, but we finally found our way. At the bottom of the path, we encountered many more tourists, and there were quite a few locals selling jewellery, rocks and hashish. We made our way back to the hotel then, in the gorge, out of the hot sun. What a difference in temperature there! We had lunch at a restaurant called L'Etoile just on the other side of the gorge. Freshly squeezed orange juice was made available to us, and was very delicious.
After lunch, we had a guided tour of the palmeries and local gardens. Our guide, Hassan, explained that the Berbers are crazy people because the cow is the king of their family... Each family has a plot of land in which they garden. These plots are near the Todra Gorge as it has a greater supply of water for the crops. They grow clover for the cows, almonds, olives, cabbage, carrots, dates, and many other things either for their own consumption or for selling in the local markets. The guide also meant to take us to a kasbah for a tour, but unfortunately due to rain the kasbah was unsafe to visit. Children followed us around, and the guide carried a stick of bamboo to ward them off if they started to hassle us. Someone in our group prepared to take a photo of three young girls, and the girls all screamed "NO!!" and ran away before the picture could be taken...
We had supper on the terrasse of our hotel that night. We could tell the weather was starting to warm up. It was a well-deserved relaxing time as the day behind us was so physically exhausting! We tried to have a hot shower again before setting off the next morning, and were successful!! (well, Lucy and I were successful anyway...) Although the rooms were cold, I think most of us slept quite well...
Last modified on November 9, 2000