I had read that the sunrise in the desert was spectacular and so set the alarm for 6.45am....
Then sat at the pool waiting and waiting......
It was an overcast morning so it turned out not to be too spectacular!
So decided I needed to take a walk deeper into the desert to check things out.....
After breakfast we went to the Camelstop! Many camels had dropped off their overnight passengers and were resting and eating before the next group arrived!
And some were still making it back!
After this we headed to Rissani, the closest town to Merzouga, which had become quite wealthy in the 14th century as it was a major stopping place on the trans Saharan caravan routes.....
It has a Sunday Souk(market) for locals and it was date harvest time!
Although the dates were the take of the day there were other items for sale...
... and of course there were the animals......
There were very few non Moroccans there......
...and the locals had their own parking lot....for their donkeys!!
Then on to the Todgha Gorge.....
This was spectacular.....
but as it is a place for tourists ..... enterprising locals were also there to sell their wares!
This was just north of the town of Tinghir....
Then a quick visit to El-Kelaa M'Gouna,
the Valley of the Roses and an opportunity to buy some creams! Interesting to see how they make them......
...and of course we didn't leave empty handed!
Finally we reached our destination in the Skoura Oasis..... by the time we got to our riad we were in disbelief......just minimal signs to show where it could be..... in fact we were quite convinced the driver was lost!
The L'Ma Lodge was however itself an oasis......beautiful gardens and a beautiful pool......much appreciated.
We would have preferred something other than tajine a second night in a row....but there was no choice!
.
Then sat at the pool waiting and waiting......
It was an overcast morning so it turned out not to be too spectacular!
So decided I needed to take a walk deeper into the desert to check things out.....
After breakfast we went to the Camelstop! Many camels had dropped off their overnight passengers and were resting and eating before the next group arrived!
And some were still making it back!
After this we headed to Rissani, the closest town to Merzouga, which had become quite wealthy in the 14th century as it was a major stopping place on the trans Saharan caravan routes.....
It has a Sunday Souk(market) for locals and it was date harvest time!
Although the dates were the take of the day there were other items for sale...
... and of course there were the animals......
There were very few non Moroccans there......
...and the locals had their own parking lot....for their donkeys!!
Then on to the Todgha Gorge.....
This was spectacular.....
but as it is a place for tourists ..... enterprising locals were also there to sell their wares!
Then a quick visit to El-Kelaa M'Gouna,
the Valley of the Roses and an opportunity to buy some creams! Interesting to see how they make them......
Finally we reached our destination in the Skoura Oasis..... by the time we got to our riad we were in disbelief......just minimal signs to show where it could be..... in fact we were quite convinced the driver was lost!
The L'Ma Lodge was however itself an oasis......beautiful gardens and a beautiful pool......much appreciated.
We would have preferred something other than tajine a second night in a row....but there was no choice!
.
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