Dinner tonight was yet another endless course meal where the food is brought out in record speed. The kitchens are basic and simple and yet it would seem as if there was a team of gourmet, Michelin style chefs huddling out the back, lamented by the Moroccans with whips. But no, they are genuinely the hardest working and most earnest people who refuse to put themselves first in any way. Every need is catered for and I could not fault their service. Though if they could come out every time I'm about to have another round of bread and smack my hand or tape my mouth that would be great.
Our meal tonight was harissa soup (tomato, lentils, chickpeas, veges), a divine 7 vegetable pie with a famous Moroccan spice mix (32 spices!! How can I smuggle that back into NZ?) which I could eat for every meal, every day, then tagine of both chicken and lamb varieties (the latter with prunes, dried apricots and roasted almonds which pretty much meant my mouth exploded in deliciousness). Then a dessert of fruit, followed by mint tea (sweetened with about a kilo of sugar) and tonight, a special birthday cake for birthday girl Lucy.
We rolled out of the restaurant into our always timely waiting van, with smile king, Hussain. I am positive he is the kind of boy any Moroccan girl would want to take back to her parents.
Today was the most amazing day. It began before sun rise with a quick breakfast and we hit the road amongst pelting rain. Driving across absolutely barren landscapes, we drove up a hill to a village named 'Little Switzerland'. It was very easy to see why, a town straight out of Europe.
A quick photo stop and we were back on the road, up so high we reached...snow. Snow! In Morocco! We had to get out to take some photos (this required photographic proof!) and have a quick snowball fight before getting back on the bus and regretting the child like eagerness resulting in wet feet and cold hands. It was mesmerizing and utterly bizarre to be surrounded by snow.
We started to descend through the valley before hitting the Atlas Mountains which looked like the Grand Canyon and was a breathtaking view. It looked the same for miles and the rock made the richest red coloured landscape.
Once we were back on the flat, the sky was the bluest blue and the sun was shining and hot! We arrived at our hotel having to take off all our layers as quickly as possible and checking with each other that playing in the snow mere hours before wasn't just a dream! Talk about four seasons in a day. This was definitely a Morocco I hadn't expected.
We dropped off our stuff before getting in the jeeps for a bit of off roading! Somehow ending up on the back, I had to hold the roof so that my head didn't hit it constantly. Moroccans sure can drive! About an hour and a half of epic off roading and we were arriving at the camels! Chilling out on the ground waiting for their companions.
Getting on to a camel is a pretty interesting feeling. Kneeling on the ground, you climb onto one and they have a three step process to getting up, making any 90 year old look practically child like. Back, front, back and you are thrown in each direction, with a small metal bar to hold on to. (Thank goodness we're not told about the getting off till we're on!)
I can't even describe the camel ride through the Sahara to catch the sunset. Looking in each direction to see absolutely nothing, trusting in our smiley guides and our rocking camels. It was the most surreal thing.
The colours of the sand dunes and the bright blue of the sky is one of the most beautiful, pure things I have ever seen followed by a sun set that seemed too good to be true, and which I'm already beginning to think must have been a dream. Only us and the desert, stretching for miles; that's not something I can ever forget. Trekking back with the motion of the camel beneath becoming rhythmic, the eye trained ahead to see the vast horizon and the stunning muted colours once the sun had gone behind the dunes. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees in the few seconds it took the sun to disappear and we were glad to be back in the van.
Half way through the off roading back and the driver switched off all the lights, stopped the car and got out. In the middle of nowhere! We were all having visions of Taken: Morocco Edition. Thankfully, he forgoed the kidnapping and welcomed us out to share in the most unbelievably starry sky with zero light pollution. It is the most stars I have ever seen in the sky and couldn't look away. After more than a year in London it was incredible and I was so grateful to see it.
The best day of the trip so far, action packed with activities, food and weather! I have never experienced such drastic weather changes all in one day! I am loving every minute of Morocco.
Tomorrow is another day, another early morning wake up call and another day of fun!
Unemployment is the best.
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