On to Zagora

We left Aït Benhaddou in the morning; during a short stop we had our last photo opportunity. From here we continued to Quarzazate, Morocco’s film capital with a number of studios.

After a quick glance at the kasbah and a visit to a community project, we continued the ride over the Anti Atlas into the lush Draa valley and towards Zagora.

On arrival we had the option for a walk around the palmeries nearby; during that walk our guide shared has wide knowledge on dates (or datteln, as he referred to them) with us – a true date-ing walk.

After the walk we got ready for the evening – New Years Eve. The hotel had a special that covered a welcome drink, loads of food (essentially all the Moroccan classics as multi-course meal), traditional music to start with and a DJ later on (which resulted in us having the main course over house music). The hotel also had an alcohol license with a pretty full bar – so all with in order for a good start of the new year … with loads music, plenty of dancing, too much food and – in some cases – drinks.

Over Tizi n’Tichka Pass

To reach this day’s destination, we had to cross the Atlas mountain range via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass – at 2260 meters Morocco’s highest pass.

Market Stop

We were now heading toward Aït Benhaddou – with a first stop to visit the weekly market in a small town on route.

The market was arranged in sections similar, from fruits and vegetables, household goods, clothing, bread to meat. The oddest bit was properly the meat section with animals slaughtered on-site, resulting in a bloody mess (literally) with blood everywhere on the floor.

Back to Imlil

It was a cold night in the mountain home; though with three blankets each the beds were warm (at least mine was … after about 20 minutes). Breakfast saw us early and the hot drinks were more than welcome.

After breakfast we got ready for the walk back to Imlil and our bus; only the re-union with our luggage took slightly longer than expected and required some agitated phone conversations.