Morocco Day 6

Off by 8:30 for a long day of travel with Erfoud, the gateway to the Sahara, as our destination. Raining in Fes but weather expected to get better as we head South. Very interesting morning drive. First stop was in the Mid-Atlas Mountains, elevation around 6,000ft. Irane is a mountain ski town with A-frame sloped roofs for the snow as in Switzerland and Austria. Very busy place in the winter with Moroccans from the lowlands who want to enjoy winter sports. A walk around town to stretch our legs and a quick stop in a café for some take out tea and pastries. Second stop was in a National Park where the monkeys come out of the forest at this time of year to feed and prepare for winter. Here we also heard about the cedar forest, 2nd in size to the largest in the world in Lebanon. Morocco is learning how to protect the trees for future generations. Cedar is used for much of the building in Morocco, especially the wooden balconies we saw in the Fes Jewish quarter. Last stop before lunch was Zaida, a small town know for its meat (lamb, goat, and camel) and currently, the center for the apple crop distribution. Landscape this morning changed from the city, to the mountains, and now in the wide fertile valley before we drive over the High Atlas Mountains and into the pre-desert after lunch.
Lunch of fresh trout today from the lakes nearby (farmed), but good. An afternoon of driving in the High Atlas, up to about 8.000 ft. Then a long stretch of flat plains until we reached Errachadia- the largest City in SE Morocco. A brief stop for bathrooms and stretching our legs. About 30 minutes before Erfoud, we arrived at an oasis. Amazing – arid rocky desert all around and this wide green space around a river bed filled with date palms. Runs ~100 miles!!!
Arrived around 6:30PM at Hotel Chergui in Erfoud – a large very touristy hotel with lovely grounds. Buffet dinner and an early evening.Read more