Gateway to the Desert

We had a great day!  Having the car is very freeing. We stopped at different shops on way to the desert having no real agenda. Adam had suggested a town that seemed equipped with hotel and apartments. It sounds normal to drive in to a town and people offer you apartments for a charge, of course. 

The town we reached seemed more a city (Zagora) and I was looking for a ‘softer place to land’. Thankfully, Adam can possible read my mind as much as anyone I have ever met and sensed that. He hopped out of the car asked a police officer for his recommendation and we were off to a town about 30 minutes away. 

I am not exaggerating when I say the people of Morocco are the most helpful group of people as a whole that I have ever met. You can be parking your car in a tight space and someone on the street will start motioning you into position. We got pulled over by the police in a speed trap of sorts ( 150 MAD fine is ~ to $15) and they were super nice. They have security stops entering some towns and if can say your from the USA they go out of their way to help you. Mind you they help everyone but I do feel knowing we are a long way from home has given us some extra help. 

We entered the recommended town (Tamegroute) at about 9pm, there was a high wall perimeter to an advertised place to sleep. In Morocco you can not judge a place by its walls, gates, or doors... behind many is an oasis of color, lounge chairs, art, gardens, fountains. This beautiful woman came to us and showed us two connecting rooms with beds for about $70. It was dark we could see much else, we had walked through paths in an outdoor courtyard area to get there, but in the morning we saw what true beauty we were surrounded with.

Adam communicated with the lady that Aynsleigh's birthday was in the morning (keep in mind Bronwyn’s was two days ago, Aynsleigh's tomorrow and Karsh the next day)...

This beautiful lady made a cake for Aynsleigh before we had even woken up. We woke to a gorgeous garden, with Moroccan style lounging around low tables under colorful Berber tents. It was dreamy!!!!  We ate breakfast under a tent (included in our price to stay), and this place filled every experience that I wanted to have.

We loved it so much, a family member took us on a tour to the Koran museum, a small room filled with some of the oldest Koran materials in the World. We then toured the underground dwelling built underground because the son gets so hot.
I’m going to reserve this post for our place, and another for pottery tour.

Once again a huge thanks to my new son Adam who has helped us create many wonderful experiences that we would not have found without him. We love our beautiful hostess who for Karsh’s  birthday  tomorrow has secured us a camel trek and sleeping under the stars in tents.