Mhamid to Taouz, Morocco   (Part One) Week 92 15th - 16th January 2013
                 
North of Mhamid, towards Zagora we turned east at Tagounite
 
Across the River Draa.
 
We followed a local truck as the driver seemed to know the way and we weren't too sure what the river crossing was like..
 
It was a causeway.

With a little water flowing underneath.

 
The east side of the river wasn't as deserted as we at first thought.

This is a school.

 
And just like the three legs of Man drawn in the field.
 
We hadn't expected a north/south bit of sealed road.

And very soon we turned east again.

The signpost to Merzouga. 

 
A bit rougher than it looks.

About 20km/hr for us. Stones and some corrugations.

 
There's a ridge that extends south from the Anti Atlas mountains that we had to climb over.
 
Then down to the next valley.

Not much sign of people.

 
Across the valley floor then up the second ridge.

We camped just below the top of the pimple.

 
After a bit of a rough climb.
 
But here we are in the dress circle.
 
Looking north.
 
And it had only changed slightly by the next morning.
 
We watched the sun rise from the warmth of our bed.
 
What we thought was an old campfire next to the truck was a collection of fossils.

We left it as is after a bit of examination.

 
There was a bit of evidence of some small scale mining at the edge of the plateau.

About 50 two meter deep holes. And remnants of huts.

 
On the way down I noticed a darker line in the track behind us which looked like something dripping from the truck.

Phew. Just the grey water drain had come adrift - I'd had to do a bit of unblocking in Mhamid.

Just a gentle reminder to be careful.

 
This valley has habitation.
 
To the south is the Algerian border.
 
So we had to pass our second military check point.

Marked as Zguilma on the Michelin map..

 
All very friendly. Just a case of writing down passport details and making sure we knew where we were going.
 
Occasional sparse vegetation.

Constantly changing.

 
A bit of soft sand as we cross a dry water course.
 
Looks like a graveyard.

There is no evidence to our eyes of habitation anywhere near.

 
After about 50 km we stopped.

Hidden behind a rock.

 
Dunes in the distance to the north and mountains.
 
The rock is about 4m high. Highest point for miles.

Another pink sunset.

 
Looking east.

Where we are headed tomorrow.

Surprisingly we have a good mobile signal. But internet is a bit iffy.

 
Mhamid to Taouz, Morocco   (Part Two) Week 92 17th - 18th January 2013
 
Gateway
CommentsHome
jon Mon, 21 Jan 13 22:07:47 +1100
Still going Julian.... :-) I love this story.

 
 
 
Sorry, comments closed.