Back from the desert:::

We--re baaaackkk:::

WOW. What a trip! We rented a car in the south of Morocco; and things just got better from that point on! Morocco is amazing The contrasts are stunning And the colors never cease transforming, whether its the 400 foot sand dunes of Merzuga which go from orangey-rust to dusty pink as the day progresses and the sun fades, or the Atlas mountains that shift from deep shades of red to purple as the evening descends.

We spent a couple of nights in the Gorge De Dades; one of the large gorges that cut the High Atlas. Went on a great hike up to the rocky, seemingly barren highlands which turn out to be both full of goats and sheep and the homes of numerous Berber families. Now I know that carpets here truly are made by hand; since Ive seen the loom sitting inside a CAVE with a kilim partially finished on it. The utter simplicity, some might say barreness of their life is hard to look at, much less imagine. I felt a sense of embarrasment at wandering by looking into these peoples rock hole homes. But they seem pretty content for all that, and certainly self_sufficient!

Afterwards we descended thru a dry creek gorge that was only three or four feet wide at some points. Really interesting to see how the water carves out rock. One place was obviously a whirlpool whenever the water comes. But since the last rains were three years ago, there--s not much water to worry about right now. Morocco has an amazing conservation strategy that keeps their farms and villages alive even in the face of such long droughts.

Then it was off to Merzuga and my first taste of the true Sahara! The village squats on the edge of a small territory of massive dunes, some 300 feet high or so. We took a camel trek, which is hard on the ass but worth doing _once!_ into the dunes to an oasis, and spent an amazing night under the full moon sleeping in a Berber tent after an absolutely delicious Tajine or stew prepared by our guide. Then a little drumming and Kerrys tin whistle and we were ready for bed, since we had to get up early to climb the biggest dune and watch the sun come up over Algeria and the dunes. Cool. The Pics should be wonderful!

Then a big drive through the high and middle atlas to Fes again to drop the car. Once again we were both struck by the amazing diversity of landscapes this country has. As many as BC, if not more. From the dry, jagged peaks and gorges of the High Atlas to a high and dry central plateau, then thru another gorge to suddenly appear high over a sprawling greeen valley filled with silver-green olive trees, blood red wild poppies and every other kind of flower and crop you can think of. Next to a ceder forest, and one of the most beautiful drives I can remember. Then this town called Ifrane which looks like Whistler or something! A totally modern looking resort, with beautiful condos and so on. Of course I then made the mistake of thinking that it would BE a thoroughly modern town ...but the restaurants still didnt have the stuff on the menu, so I was reminded that we were still in Morocco!!

Now we--re in Tangiers. A beautiful port fro, the look of it, getting ready to ferry to Spain this aft. First a quick look around here, then we--re off. With any luck therell be some cheap airfares from there to get us home. This is definately NOT the country to seek cheap airfares, as they have no charter flights here for some weird reason.

Time to go look for Paul Bowles, or maybe seek out the cafe where Burrroughs wrote The Naked Lunch.

Hope you--re all well, and to see you soon!

Allen