Morocco, Part 4

Turns out to be easy enough to get up with the dawn when the alternative is hanging around in a freezing tent... so, back on the camels and out through the desert, certainly is pretty cool watching the sky brighten and then the sun come up over the dunes.  Back at Erg Chebbi we find the place rather deserted, there is a woman wandering about who doesn't deign to talk to us, plus what looks like somebody under a blanket on a sofa in reception.  Ho hum.  We search around and find the key to the room with our bags in, and manage to get a (cold) shower and return to find that that the blanket guy is now moving about.  Some breakfast maybe?  While we're waiting I go to check the car... it's unlocked - they asked for the key the day before in case it 'got windy', so OK - turns out it is also contains some empty cigarette packets, a bag of food waste, and a whole load of beer cans.  The car in fact stinks of beer, and it even looks as though somebody has urinated on the side of it (actually there seems to be not much taboo about this in Morocco, people seemed happy to use the historic ramparts of Marrakech as a toilet, and in the desert we are told, 'use a dune' - I guess, it does dry out quite quickly here).

Sunrise in the desert.

So, I put our bags in the car, finally we get some breakfast, and after they return our car key we have a few choice words.  Maybe if they apologised and offered to take some money off the bill we'd accept that, but instead we're just given a bunch of excuses.  Well screw this, Chris and I walk out and drive off, rather expecting a horder of camel-riding Berbers to start chasing us.  At least it's an early start, so we have time to head into Merzouga, which unsurprisingly is not much of a place.  There should be a lake nearby, maybe with some interesting wildlife... well driving there over the desert is certainly interesting.  But it turns out the lake is only there in spring, maybe... we do however find a mummified camel corpse, I extract a tooth for each of us to take home as a souvenir.

And now we have a long, long way to drive - all the way to Fes, back in the North of the country.  At least this will put some distance between us and the Erg Chebbi, although I remember we did say we were off to Fes and so worry that at any time a rusty van will pull onto the road and start chasing us.  It never happens... sure is a distance though.  We break for coffee in Errachidia, then for a decent lunch in Midelt - this time the 'typical meal' is soup, beef Tagine and yes, fruit.  Really starting to fancy something different to eat now.  Our journey seems to be through mountains most of the way, not as high as the route we took heading South, but stretching over a longer distance it seems.  Certainly makes for a difference in climate compared to the arid desert we've been in for the last few days, up here it is almost alpine - indeed, we pass through a small town named Ifrane which it turns out the French built back in colonial days in the style of a Swiss resort.

Heading back to the Erg Chebbi.

The mountain roads make for slow progress though, with lorries, tractors, and vehicles belching so much smoke as to seem to be on fire crawling along.  Straining to overtake one such on a short straight bit of road, I am a bit annoyed to turn the next corner and find a police road block.  Ah well - I had a feeling this would happen at some point.  The 300 dirham fine is only £22 or so, think I can handle it.  And we roll into Fes, not too long after dark - once again we are in a riad in the medina, but Chris does a sterling job to navigate and we park up, and once again dive down an alley to find the rather impressive Riad dar Guennoun.  Hot water!  A choice of food!  I finally get some cous-cous, having several times seen it on menus with a warning it'll take hours to prepare.  And not only do we get a decent bottle of red with it, but also a second one to drink up on the roof.  Who needs to leave the hotel!

Photos to go with this post can be found here.