I am writing this in a wonderful room in a wonderful modern kasbah overlooking the beginning of the Sahara, the Tinfou Dune. The wind is howling and the rain is throwing sand up against the patio windows. Enough, back to the beginning...
The hotel in Tata, Les Relais des Sables, was definitely a one night stop over. Because we got there early in the afternoon we thought the place was deserted. We did enjoy a quiet afternoon with a couple of beers and an early evening walk into the town. The action didn't really start until after we got back to the hotel in the evening. Suffice to say that groups of overnighters continued to roll in until after midnight. Probably the latest arrivals were in the room next to us who decided to move the furniture around at 00.30. So not a place to be recommended if you want a good nights sleep.
The journey from Tata to Forum Zguid was good, that road is excellent and we made very good time. It is interestingly surfaced, a strip down the middle, wide enough for a single vehicle, is surfaced, then there are gravel strips either side for passing other vehicles. You can tell the tourists, they pull over in good time, the locals appear to play a game of 'chicken', seeing how close they can get before some one gives way. John says he has nothing to prove and pulls over in good time. Herds of camels crossed the road, women herded donkeys or carried loads of animal fodder. They were still wearing billowing skirts of peacock blue and brilliant green, thrown over them veils of black edged with decorative borders.
At Foum Zguid we headed north. We soon came across the turning to the piste road through to Zagora, it was clearly marked. A policeman was at the junction so we stopped to ask him if we had the correct road, he quite definitely pointed us up to the road to Agdz, presumably after assessing our car. Maybe if you don't have a 4WD you aren't allowed to attempt the piste. As we climbed away from Foum Zguid towards Tazenkaht the weather slowly closed in, first light rain, then increasingly heavy. We turned east on the road to Agdz and the first 16 kms, until we had passed Bou-Azzer, were quite difficult. The road was in very bad condition, the worst we have experienced so far in Morocco, with deep and numerous potholes. The settlement of Bou-Azzer seems to be based on a large quarry and maybe the heavy lorries have caused the road to deteriorate. It got a bit better after that, but it was a slow road.
By the time we reached Agdz the rain was serious and in the town itself there were signs of flooding. We turned south on the road down to Zagora and the rain continued, with localised flooding. By the time we reached the road beyond Zagora the flood water was streaming down either side of the road. On many occasions the road was completely flooded to axle depth and we were in a convoy of slow moving vehicles. We pressed on to Tinfou where from our Lonely Planet guide book we had identified a hotel which looked very interesting. It was built by a German astronomer and has telescopes capable of viewing galaxies ten billion light years away, situated on the very edge of the Tinfou Dune. We had checked it out on the internet and the price of 500 dhs, although a little expensive, was OK as a treat. When we got here we discovered that the cost was actually per person per night. However they do take Debit cards, including ours, so we are not only staying but staying for 2 nights, we have also taken a 'suite', which has a bathroom bigger than the en-suite room we had last night including bathroom, a large sitting area with comfy couches, satellite TV, and a balcony looking out over the dunes.
However (see beginning of this post) the wind is howling, the sand is blowing and the rain continues. Who knows, we could be stuck here for days. If the road is completely flooded and we can't get out, then no one else can get in, so they might accept half price until the weather clears. It's a wonderful place to be marooned.
Other thoughts:
I love the Archos. It's doing everything I wanted. The size is just right, 8", the 2" smaller than the other tablets makes it 'hand bag' size, but the virtual keyboard is easy to use. It isn't as neat as the Kindle, but at that size OK as an ebook reader, at night at least, during the day it is almost impossible to see the screen in bright sunlight. When we are travelling I rarely read during the day so that isn't a big problem, but I will probably look into an alternatove ereader, if not the Kindle then the Kobo so that I can access library books more easily. The battery life is good if it isn't used for wifi, just as an ereader, although not as good as the Kindle. It charges from the USB so can be charged from the car as well as directly from the mains. I've upgraded it and am running Android 4, Ice cream sandwich, it's fast and responsive. A really good travel purchase.
Since leaving Tafroute and even more since leaving Tata we have increasingly seen housing more similar to that which we had expected from our sub-Saharan Africa experiences. Simple mud brick, single story buildings, often in a cluster with a surrounding wall. When we were in Tafroute we learned from an English speaking local guide that most of the large houses we had seen there were second homes, occupied only during the summer months and belonging to Moroccans working abroad or ex-pat foreigners, usually French. However the occupied housing around that area was of a type which we would consider to be more substantial than the housing we have seen here. It was usually of brick, several storeys, rendered, ornately painted. On the road here we were surprised to see what we would consider to be simple mud houses with large satellite dishes outside. Not really surprised, we saw similar houses in Botswana and Namibia, really anywhere where there is an electricity supply.
It's still raining, the wind is still howling, the sky is leaden, there is no internet connection, so that's all for now.
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