Tinerhir

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Our first treks on Saturday exceeded expectations a lot.   We drove in convoy well into the foothills of the High Atlas with views of snowcovered peaks in the background.  We got on foot at a Berber village at the foot of a narrow valley.  A sizeable mountain stream was used for intense irrigation which turned the valley green with date palms and all variety of fruits and agricultural produce.  A very pleasant day hiking in the mountains ended with a longish drive to Tinerhir, back in the hamada.  Our lodgings were in the "Tomboktou" hotel, a converted relatively new kasbah.  Kasbah's are castle like structures originally inhabited by the local "Pasha's" extended family.  Having had our trekking adventure expectations so exceeded on the first day, it was equally amazing to have those exceeded again on the second.  Similar terrain but different in the sense of being even more beautiful and dramatic.  We entered a gorge with the valley walls stretching probably a thousand feet straight up.  Rock climbers (probably European or North American) entertained us.  Then we walked downstream for about 3 hours through heavily irrigated small plots shaded by date palms with another delicious picnic lunch break.  The locals were busy in their fields and we were joined regularly by children offering fruit and handicrafts.  The trekking ended a bit early, as we then had a fairly long drive into the Saharan desert.  We arrived after dark at a relatively new and modern auberge literally at the foot of the dunes, though we couldn't actually see them then.  After yet another scrumptious dinner, we wandered in the dark dazzled by a sky virtually devoid of a moon but seemingly just as lit up by the stars as if it had been a full moon.

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The next morning (Monday) we walked and drove into the dunes.  After a lunch served in a Berber home, about half of us (me included) set out on camel into the dunes while the rest (Bev included) rode camels (except for Mike) back to the auberge.  Those of us who rode into the dunes were on camelback about 2 1/2 hours with only one break.  The stark beauty and complete silence was only interrupted by constant camera shutters going off and the occasional complaint from a camel.  We had literally ridden across the Erg Chebbi.  The 4 X 4's awaited us near the opposite side from where we'd started, with tent camp set up and dinner cooking.  After dinner, we burned acacia wood and sat around a campfire, "singing" Berber songs and all the old favourites.  Before bedding down, we headed off in groups of 1 or 2 along the tops of dunes, checking out the celestial display, comforted by the hidden glow of our camp.  We rose early and trekked about half of the way back across a corner of the dunes, where the 4 X 4's picked us up.  We were back to the auberge by 9 and after welcoming the group back together, departed for N'Kob and Baha Baha, a Moroccan historic site and operating Kasbah which is completely booked months in advance like Lake O'Hara.  The shower and toilet facilities were unisex in a new separate building, but at least the toilets flushed and the showers had hot water, luxuries we'd become accustomed to not getting.  Our room was up six flights of stairs, several with risers about a foot high, on the top floor.  The food was as good as any we had, prepared in an authentic restored kitchen of which we were given a tour.