Day 13: To Todra Gorge

Sunrise at Erg Chebbi
see all photos »

Crawled out of my sleeping bag around 6, and just managed to remember on time that I was a couple of feet off the floor for a change!  Otherwise I'd have woken everyone else up with a bump.

In complete contrast to yesterday, it was a calm morning, and I savoured the last desert sunrise of the trip.  The dunes looked beautiful with the sun glowing on them as it came up.

After a fabulous breakfast of pancakes, we were packed and ready for 8:30, when our minibus was due to arrive to take us to the Todra Gorge.  At 9:00 we were still waiting, and Mostafa and Omar had started playing football to while away the time.  At 9:30,they'd settled themselves down on the camping gear for a cup of tea, and Mostafas phone rang.  We interpreted the shouted conversation to be something along the lines of 'where the hell are you?', as Mostafa then came over to tell us the driver would be here at 11:00, as he had been delayed by blizzards in the High Atlas.  Seems rather ironic, having had our schedule changed yesterday by sandstorms, that today it was blizzards causing the problems!

Todra Gorge
see all photos »

We wandered into Merzouga, to pass the time.  It seems most visitors to Erg Chebbi arrive by mobile home, judging by the number of Westerners who passed us, waving cheerfully.  Not for them a small tent and cold well-water for washing.  Their holiday accommodation included satellite TV and fully stocked minibar!  Now where's the fun in that? Returning from Merzouga, an ageing minibus careered past us, tooting madly.  Our transport, presumably.  We arrived back at the house, just in time - Mostafa, Omar and the driver had just finished loading all the gear.

Hotel Yasmina
see all photos »

After 10 days of travelling on foot, it was strange to be back on 'modern' transport.  Our driver was rather lively and erratic,  driving at high speed, and in the middle of the road.  His incessant conversation with Mostafa was accompanied by much hand-waving - worryingly it sometimes necessitated him taking BOTH hands off the wheel so he could wave both hands.  Without taking his foot off the accelerator.

After about 4 hair-raising hours, we came into the Todra Valley.  The main town is Tinehir, and is full of smart-looking hotels, for the smart-looking visitors to the Todra Gorge. Most people prefer to stay here, because the Gorge itself gets little sun, so is quite dark, and cold.  But not for us such wimpish luxury. We were roughty-toughty explorers; we were staying in the cold and the dark of the Gorge.  We continued along an increasingly deteriorating road until it just ran out.  The Hotel Yasmina sat on the other side of a stream, built into the rock of the Gorge.  It was really quite an impressive location!  With our packs we tottered down the bank to the stream, and gingerly made our way across a rather flimsy plank 'bridge'.

Being winter, the hotel was almost empty, the only other guests being a French family.  This meant everything was 'rationed'.  Electricity would come on at 5:30pm, hot water would be on in an hours time, we were told.  So we had to wait for our first shower.  With no electricity either, our rooms were cold and dark, save for the candles the hotel provided.  Oh, and no seat on the loo, which made for a rather painfully cold experience! While we waited for heat, light and hot water, we wandered outside to look at the Gorge.  Even with the disappearing daylight, it was beautiful, with sheer rock faces rising on either side.  Apparently the best time of day to see it is about 10:00am, when the sun hits it.  Sadly we wouldn't be here long enough to witness it.

In true Moroccan style, the timings we were given were rather fluid.  Hot water came on sometime around 5:30, but the lights weren't yet working.  So the first person in the shower (me) got a hot shower, in the dark, followed by getting dressed in the freezing cold.  As Sharon went in,the lights came on.  And the hot water went off, prompting wild shrieks of pain from the bathroom.  But at  least after her cold shower she could sit by the heater to warm up!!

We gathered in the wonderfully warm restaurant downstairs, and tucked into olives, bread, tagines, fruit, and mint tea.  And compared cold shower stories.  After so many days camping in the desert, these things were merely minor glitches.  We left the restaurant with just enough time to get to bed before the lights went off again.  However cold the room was, the luxury of stretching out in a bed was fabulous.  Buried under 2 thick blankets, I fell asleep toasty warm!