Revisiting the desert

I already broke my decision to end this blog. This is Valli's description of the Desert Storm.

" The wail of Berber song flows across the dunes, backed by the thunderous roar of the approaching sand storm which you can see in the background. We were a day into a desert trek in the Moroccan Sahara when we spotted that the sky was darker in one part. Our guide announces, in a voice so calm he might have been ordering tea, that there is a sand storm coming and probably a thunder storm too right after.

We start running but we are running with the storm. The wind fill our hearts like a sail and there is no fear, just sheer exhilaration. The guide begins to sing and suddenly you feel heartwrenching sadness but at the same time and more strongly, the utter, heart thudding joy of being alive. I have never before felt so much a part of this world. Everything is waiting for the storm to hit and the very air was holding its breath.

The throbbing tension before an approaching storm is undescribable with words, but theberber music defines it perfectly."

The journey's over, but the destination is nowhere in sight

Like all journeys even this came to an end and so should this blog. As I settled back at my predictable world, I realized that I would treasure the memories and decided to write this blog. I still have tons of photographs with me, but I believe in less is more. But the urge to revisit is strong and I might again post stuff here. But more importantly, the travel bug has caught on, and I plan to infect as many with it, as possible !

French countryside

We drove around the Quercy region stopping at random places to take pictures or even just to relax. Driving on narrow roads in steep hilly region was a challenge and it is no wonder that compact cars rule here.

Village of St. Cirq Lapopie

Cabrerets, near the Pech Merle caves.

Prehistoric Caves

We rented a car in Toulouse and drove around the countryside. The drive was pleasant. Although we missed an exit, we got to drive through narrow country roads. We ended up in remote charming villages and finally reached the caves of Pech Merle. Pech Merle has the largest collection of Prehistoric drawings, some dating back 25,000 B.P. Entry to the cave is limited to reduce the CO2 exposure. Photography is not allowed inside the caves, although you can take a look at the pictures at this link.
Pech Merle caves
We were awed by the huge stalactites and stalagmites in the caves. As the guide explained (in French) , we could figure out that he was conveying the aesthetic sense of the caveman. The paintings were everywhere including the ceiling and included human forms, bulls, mammoths, bear, handprints and even abstract art.

Backpacking in Paris

It is funny how my name showed up in an ad near Notredame, Paris.

 

Flowers in France

 

More Beach pics

It was heavenly to laze out on the beach

Mowgli loved his dogs ( and its obvious that they did too )

My balancing act : I was learning to balance a candle for fire dance. However this felt safer.

One more try

Surf's up

We did something totally crazy; we rented a car. The rental guy couldn't speak any English, so we just signed some papers in French. Driving in Morocco reminded me every bit about India. In truth, it was much better. We could quite easily figure out roads without maps (Valli refused to use one.) and drive along the coast was fabulous. It was sunny and warm without being too hot. Soon we were stopped by a cop for speeding. As we feigned ignorance, he let us go, but only after asking me in Marriage. Thankfully he was kidding.

We reached the surfing village of Taghazout. It was very clean and not a crowded touristy beach. The waves were not too high, but it was good enough for us. We rented a jet-ski and sped through the waves. Then we started the surfing lessons. There was a language barrier, but we soon overcame it. It was magical to ride the waves (although it was a few times and we could do it only sleeping on the board). All that paddling, was quite exhausting for the arms. But on the whole, it was fabulous.

The surf instructor

Valli tried to get the horse gallopping. Notice the football in the pic.

Agadir

From Boumaine Dades we took an overnite bus to Agadir. Before that, we posted loads of postcards and figured out stamps for posting all over the place. We slept mostly through the journey, except when there was a blinding sandstorm near Ourzazate. Next day, we got out in pouring rain. We had some yummy bread with honey and started looking for our hotel. We were confused when the lonely planet guide map did not make any sense. After being totally drenched (our bags were waterproof, but not us !), a kind man told us we were in the wrong city ! Thankfully it was just 20 kms away and we rode in a collective taxi. We were totally exhausted in the end and slept till 2 in the afternoon.

Agadir is a very touristy beach resort. Luxury hotels line the coastline. There seemed to be western tourists everywhere. Menus come in 6 languages. We did lots of window shopping, but the prices went through the roof, sometimes even costlier than Europe. We mostly walked on the beach and sat in the outdoor hotels.

Baywatch : Is anyone drowning?

Quad bikes : Since it was very windy that day, we could not jet ski or para sail. Then we came across this guy riding a Quad bike and asked for a ride. Soon we found out that he is a cop. He found it absolutely hilarious and gave us a short joy ride.

Dades Valley

The next day, we had some very tasty breakfast, of couscous in goat milk. The walk on the second day, was level and easy. We reached the village of Msemir and tried to hitch-hike. A French couple in a luxury caravan offered to drop us at Boumaine Dades. The dades valley had lots of winding roads and the gorges contrasted the green palmeries. It was definitely the most pleasant drive in our trip.

Berber Wedding party

We arrived at the Berber party, totally famished. 3 colourful women came forward to greet us. It was impossible not to stare! They had very white skin and round doll like features.

There were a few sticks holding up a roof and under this were sitting all the women, including the 2 brides who were covered completely in red. It was a shame, not being able to communicate as the women didn't even understand french or arabic. (haha if they had understood these languages, sure we wud have been able to hold high level political talks with them with the 10 words we knew-V).

We werent allowed to take fotos of the women ( cos it wud steal their soul or something) and were hostile when they saw our cameras. The men were too happy to pose! When we left our cameras behind, the women opened up and dressed us in traditional Berber garb. The Berbers danced by the campfire all night. We joined them, but after few hours of the same dance, we headed to the tents, and slept very badly with the dogs howling, the mule braying and all the Berber music. Nb - never pitch your thin floored tent on sharp rocks!

Unlike the women ( who dont like to be photographed), the men wear fairly dull garb with a couple of star wars jedi type cloaks thrown in and the all important cool-buy baseball hats.
Hang on there's a berber woman!

Hare Ram..

The trek : day 1

On the first day, we trekked about 20 kms and reached an ascent of 3000m. We made it through the mountain passes. The landscape was harsh and rugged, with wild shrubs. On the way, the only people we met were the Berbers. It was a relief to reach the Berber wedding party.

Our Accomodation

Valli seems quite content with our accomodation. It is roomy, well lit and ventilated. In fact this is nothing new, it is more popularly known as campus housing.

The high atlas

We stayed in the village of Tamtoutouche for half a day as we loaded the mules with our bags and set out to the moutains.

How to climb a Mule

User manual for mule owners. Step-by-step instruction on how to climb your mule (with figures).

Step 1 : If you are tall enough try jumping on. If the mule is feeding and does not appear to notice you, it is quite normal.

Step 2 : Congratulate yourself for being on it. There is no need to acknowledge if someone gave you a little push.

Step 3: Turn to the side, pose for another picture and then jump down.

Carpets

We tried our hand at carpet making ( to soon realize that it requires way too much skill and patience ). First the wool is smoothened and made into a thread. It is then weaved into a carpet with different patterns.