If you are a kite surfer, chances are you like 1) wind, 2) sun, 3) water and 4) beaches. But if you have 2, 3 and 4, but you do not have 1, it is almost like going into instantaneous depression.

So take her shopping, and horse riding.

The end of Ramadan is a huge festivity, it is a public holiday and everyone is out:

All of this makes Katherine rather philosophical:

I occasionally get told by people close to me that I have a “testa di Berber” which means as much as being a rather stubborn individual, and it is true. Of course it could also mean commitment to a cause, and that is to get as close as possible to Toubkal, however – by machine – as opposed to by foot or donkey.

Everybody needs to learn sometimes… 🙂

But we do make it to Lake d’Ifni, as a small consolation.

And this is what it looks like:

I can positively attest that from the south side, this is as close as you are going to get, perhaps a couple of hundred meters closer on something that resembles a donkey on wheels (KTM690).

We are rewarded with a  great picnic lunch in the gardens of Eden in this valley in which water does not seem to be in short supply, in stark contrast to the rest of the country.

Another particularity of this valley is the prevalence of beautiful doors:

We continue down the less spectacular roads to Tarouddant, which has a beautiful hotel outside the city and I decide to give Katherine a rest from her tough Berber existence.

We wake up this morning with the mission to find Djebel Toubkal, at 4167m the highest peak in North Africa. Setting off from Ouarzazate towards Tacheddirt and Sour, and from there Westsouthwest towards Imlil. This passage takes you through beautiful scenery and impressive brown mud-house villages.

Here is a little reptile friend we made on route:

Nestled in-between these mountains is a beautiful town Tiourar, that I can only recommend to any off-the-beaten-track traveller.

Progress today was slower than anticipated so the search for Toubkal must continue tomorrow. In the meantime we have found a small roadside hotel and we negotiate setting up tent on the roof. Katherine argues we just had the best Tagine EVER in Morocco.

Occasionally my smurf is really cute… 🙂

And here follows her interpretation:

Beduin princess Fatma, aka WAFASPEND:

In Morocco you are never alone. Sooner or later a Berber will come out of nowhere!

We awake to the hustle and bustle of a sleepy Moroccan town on its way to work, which for the most part means or going into the fields or taking produce to market. Compared to our hectic cities, this is a rather casual affair.

After packing up the car we continue on our way approaching the Gorges du Dades from the North. The route takes you through spectacular High Atlas mountain formations:

Of course the most frequent guests along the road also happen to be Katherine’s favourite:

Impressive are also the way people live, be it in small rural towns or out in the country completely:

The tour takes us through the famous Gorges du Dades, well described elsewhere, but I suppose no blog would be complete without at least one picture (see blog entry September 14 for a breathtaking gorge off the beaten track).

After filling up with supplies again in Boumaine Dades, in which my Colombian trader again proves her unwavering, ruthless and pitiless approach to bargaining even for a dozen bread rolls, our city shelf life comes to an end and it is time again to escape.

Driving south to Djebel Sahro we found an area to camp and made a beautiful camp fire. However, as the night was dark and silent, some dogs in the neighbourhood continued to bark, and while my Colombian princess can handle austerity travel, she does not handle well not feeling safe.

So we packed up campsite again and continued our trip, this time continuing in the dark trying to find a Gite or hotel to stay. But we are in the middle of the Atlas, there isn’t much. Eventually towards midnight we end up on a road that is barely drivable. It turns out the next morning that in fact it was a pass under construction. The only other vehicles driving that road are caterpillars :-).

At the point at which we cannot continue we also realise that there is a small town alongside. It is, as it turns out, an abandoned mining town. The guard comes to greet us and welcomes us to stay in his boutique hotel… and to us it is *****!

Onwards to Midelt to find one of Morocco’s the most beautiful secrets, a track leading south south west into the mountains. 4×4 required. This one only just made it…

On the way we traverse barren solitude and the people that choose / or do not get to choose / to live there.

We also see a young goat being born, barely 2 seconds before I manage to get the photo:

Follow the track further towards Imilchil and you will eventually be shaken and stirred when you arrive to Agoudal, a quaint little sandstone town in which everyone is protestant judging by the time they wake up and go to work, and the way they mind their own business.