Morocco: Dades Gorge and Berber hospitality
Ice cold shower and satellite television
I lost my rag the previous day on the Telouet piste. Normally I take all hassle with a smile, but one particularly insidious character got right up my nose and I ended up raising my voice and decided to leave. When pushing the bike round to change direction the side stand flipped up and in trying to prevent the bike from falling I ended up tearing a ligament in my right arm--still weak from the tear from the Salisbury Plain outing. I suppose you could call it karma for my ill temper.
So what with NSAID creams and compression bandages I had a fairly late start from Ouarzazate, then a boring ride along what Michelin reckons is a mostly green (scenic) road running in the Dades Valley between the M'Goun Massive to the north and the Jbel Sahro to the south. Since the map was last updated, however, there's been a pile of ribbon development along the road hiding much of the view.
Another in the series, 'Ridiculous Moroccan loads'
I left the road at El-Kelaa M'Gouna heading north to check out The Itran Kasbah that I had passed by on a previous visit, then returned to the main road before starting up the Gorge of the Dades.
Glorious colours
I last visited the Dades in a Triumph Vitesse in 1974 and gave up due to the state of the track. Nowadays, however, it's a smooth blacktop all the way to Msemrir.
Quieter than the Todra Gorge
I'm pretty certain we didn't get this far in 1974!
The road kept climbing, eventually coming out on the plateau above the gorge at 6,700'
It was now just an hour or so until dusk and too late to tackle the 27-mile piste connecting the tops of the Dades and Todra Gorges. I was considering turning back for a hotel, but a Moroccan guy walking with a party on the track kindly invited me to stay with his family, an invitation I accepted with alacrity. This is the real advantage of travelling solo--far more interaction with locals.
Moha's father's house was in Tilmi, several miles beyond the Todra turn off, but he directed me to Cafe Tayri run by his brother and I waited there whilst Moha walked. Although way up the piste to Imilchil I had full bars on my cellphone reception and was finally able to send some text messages. The scene from the top of Cafe Tayri was really quite laid back with people coming home, chatting to each other--a very close community.
Berbers tend to lead a fairly relaxed life with much visiting of relatives who have married outside the immediate locality, so once at the house I was shown into the tamsriyt, a highly decorated room set aside for overnight visitors. I had slept in a tamsriyt when trekking with mules in the High Atlas, so the rest of the house and toilet facilities wasn't going to be a shock.
LINK TO VIDEO OF TAMSRIYT (right click, save target to desktop, then watch from there)
The loo/shower was in an outbuilding. The loo was, as you can imagine, a hole in the ground; the shower a plastic bucket beside the loo underneath a cold tap. A stick ran horizontally across the outbuilding at eye level to hang clothes on whilst 'freshening up'. I had just finished showering with icy cold water when there was a knock on the door with a kettle of warm water. Too late!
We had an entertaining evening, relaxing lying back on the floor against cushions. The old guy whose house it was had been in the Moroccan army which is how come he spoke French, but was severely deaf. We had an on-off conversation in which I think I committed to going to the souk in Imilchil the next day. I showed him how to use the iPod earbuds and played him some Moroccan music at full volume. His attempts at a singalong had the family in fits.
Food is plentiful so having large families of eight or more children is easy in the countryside and Moha's brother had five children. His wife asked me how many I had and when I said two, she responded that I must have a small one. At least, I think that's what she said!
Layla, one of the five
After a ceremonial washing of hands the men ate an excellent tajine (with our hands) which was served on a low table whilst the women and children ate separately later.
LINK TO VIDEO OF FAMILY ROOM (right click, save target to desktop, then watch from there)
The house had electricity installed three years before so they had basic lighting (bare bulbs), a casette player and... satellite television! In addition to excellent Moroccan programs such as a spotlight on local towns, the fare included Desperate Housewifes, Bob the Builder and other western 'culture'. I asked what people in remote places thought of such programs and they said it was "just entertainment," it didn't make them want to leave the countryside, but the electricity and the television made life more bearable in the cold winter months when they would often be housebound for days on end.
I settled down in the tamsriyt. My bed was some thick blankets laid out over the rugs, with a cushion as a pillow but I slept well.
0620, time to hit the road for the gorges link piste
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Send rain. Please. 
Liv.
